Super high expectations for this shoe from me! Did they live up to what I expected?? Let's find out!
Whats up everyone? Airjayp is back and today were taking a look at how the highly anticipated Adidas basketball Trae Young 1's performed for me on court. The testing on this sneaker was done completely indoors and on three different courts. Let's jump right in and see how they performed!
(Scoring/Grading system is 0-3)
Traction: 1
Normally we start off talking about the traction, so we will keep that pattern going! The traction on the 1s started out strong and straight out of the box was what I thought in my opinion was going to be a strong point. Let me just say the more I played in the shoes the worse the traction has become. The first night out the floor was very clean and I believe that is why they performed well. The other gyms I have been playing in were dusty/dirty and each time out I end up switching into another sneaker because they just did not work out for me at all on a dirty court. The pair I tested featured a translucent outsole. I know some color ways will have a solid rubber outsole which could possibly perform better. You have heard the expression "it feels like I am on skates," well that is exactly how I felt if the court was dirty. Let's not take away though on the clean court they did perform just fine for me laterally and vertically. A big issue though once again on a dirty court is even with wiping I was not able to get the traction to perform any better. The grooves on the outsole are pretty thick/deep which plays a role in why the wiping just did not help. Overall the traction, which is what we come to know I do care a lot about on the court just did not live up to my expectations overall. If your always going to be able to play on a super clean court you should be fine. If not, you are probably going to have some issues from a traction standpoint.
Aesthetics: 3
I think the TY1 has an overall really good look to the shoe and some really cool upcoming color ways as well. We have the "So, So Def ATL" cw about to come out on Nov. 5 and is probably one of my favorite color ways that I have seen thus far, but honestly I have really liked just about every one that has come out thus far. I normally do not like sneakers that have an altered lacing system from standard especially on a basketball sneaker, but I think it looks great on these. We will talk about the performance of it a little later on, but from an overall look the TY1 looks great in my opinion!
Fit: 2
Almost every single Adidas sneaker I know I am going to have to size down by at least half a size and these were no different. I went half a size down and they worked out well for me. They initially fit a little long in my opinion which is why I sized down; it had nothing to do with the width of the shoe. Speaking of the width the shoe does fit pretty snug in my opinion, but with the sneaker being basically a one piece upper construction that is to be expected. I definitely recommend going down half a size, but if you do not normally like a snug fit, these may be a shoe you need to try on in store to find your preferred fit.
Lockdown: 3
In past years this is a sneaker that I would purchase as a basketball fan, but not one I would play in due to them being so low top. I usually do not like a sneaker where In my own words that the cut around the ankle or collar area is lower than my ankle bone. When I first got these in I was a little concerned, but after finding the correct fit and feeling how locked in I was inside the shoe I was very pleased. I felt very locked In, in the heel of the shoe with no movement which was definitely a plus. The one piece upper also gave a very nice locked in/snug feel or fit in the forefoot area as well. I spoke a little bit earlier about the lacing system being a little odd. There are only 4 eyelets, 2 on each side. This obviously doesn't give you a lot of lacing/tightening options, but overall the sneaker features such a snug fit this really is not an issue. I do feel in my opinion a more traditional lacing system may have worked out a little better or gave more options, but if so I think it would have taken away from the aesthetic of the shoe in a negative way. Personally, I had no issues with the lockdown and if you like or enjoy playing in low top sneakers from this standpoint you will be well taken care of.
Cushion: 2.5
I had super high expectations for the cushion setup on this sneaker, and it was not a disappointment, but it had a different feel than what I thought or was expecting. The sneaker features a mixture of light strike and boost. I honestly was a little worried that the cushion may be a little to soft or plush for me and this was not the case. The sneaker has such a low to the ground feel it gives you a ton of court feel. This is something that did not really bother me, and I actually enjoyed. I had no issues or concerns from the cushion setup and actually really liked how they felt on court. There are definitely more cushioned sneakers out there on the market, but this one gave me exactly what I needed or liked to feel from a cushion/impact protection standpoint. There is Definitely way more than minimal cushion, but still a great amount of court feel for my liking on the court.
Materials: 2
The materials on the upper are far from premium, but they do actually work pretty well on the court. I think that overall the materials will be durable, but a lot of outdoor use or getting stepped on a lot, etc could wear them down pretty quick. The simplest way to say it is if you take care of them they will probably last you a while. If you are tough on basketball sneakers they probably will not last you as long. The overall biggest concern for me about the materials is the "felt" like material going across the tongue on my pair. I feel this would be easy to rip off or come off after some wear to the sneaker. Other than that, overall performance wise the materials were breathable for me and really gave me no issues performance wise on court.
Overall: 2
Let me basically end this review the same way that I started. Did this shoe live up to my expectations? I would say it was not quite what I was hoping for, but it sure is a fun shoe to play in. I really enjoyed these if the court was clean/non-dusty. The only time I really had issues was when the court was not clean. If if was not for that single issue, we would be looking at a prime performer for me at this point. I have considered getting a completely rubber outsole pair to see if they perform any better from a traction standpoint, and this may be something I do a little further down the road. Looking past the traction basically every other part of the shoe I really liked. The lockdown and cushion was great for me, sizing down gave me a great fit, and overall the shoe looks great in hand and on court! I have got so many complements as well as questions asking "What are those!?" If your looking for a super fun shoe to play in I would not hesitate to give these a try!
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