Adidas is not only bringing us a new Dame model, but they are bringing one that may just be my favorite from the line yet!
What's up, everyone?? AirJayP here, and we are back with another performance review for you. Adidas has brought us another banger, and man have they been lighting it up here lately! Let's go ahead and break these down and see just how good or bad they were for me on the court!
Fit: 3
I am going to start right out the gate with what was in my opinion the weakest part of the shoe and that was the fit. I almost always go down half in my basketball sneakers, but I definitely always go down half with my Adidas sizing. By doing so once again here I found myself still having these feel a little long and not very snug at all. I had a little movement within at first while playing, so to fix the. issue I laced them up super tight and that did take care of the issue for me. They do feature a bootie-style interior and this may have hindered the sizing some as well. I will say though, that I could have gone down a full size with these. Obviously, you can see from the photos I purchased the green Bape collab cw. I have considered buying the red pair and going down a full size just to see how that would work. Once again though lacing them up tight took care of basically all issues for me. My recommendation? try these on in-store or in-person if you are able.
Traction: 4
Now that we have that out of the way, we can get into the stronger points of the shoe! Starting with the look, we have a gum bottom outsole that just looks great! Next up it is a solid rubber that is what I am calling a medium compound. Not super soft, but also not super hard either. I think you would be good to go durability-wise outdoors in these for quite some time, and definitely very good for an extensive period indoors. The pattern looks fairly aggressive and does perform that way as well! The pattern mimics somewhat of a herringbone pattern that transitions into other patterns. I felt covered in all directions while playing in these, and really had no issues with any movements whatsoever. The lone issue and reason for not a perfect score is they did pick up some dust on a non-clean surface, and it was somewhat noticeable. It was nothing that would keep me from playing in them, but something that I noticed enough to probably bring to your attention. A few wipes though and you are good to go even on those dusty surfaces. Another strong traction setup from Adidas with the Dame 9, job well done!
Materials: 4
There is really nothing great, but nothing wrong with the materials either one on these. They are basically just synthetic all around and work nicely on the court. Down the middle of the toe, it gives a nice look with the soft leather look and is soft to the touch as well. The internal bootie liner is soft and comfortable on foot. The sneaker is fairly light, and the materials are a good indicator as to why. They felt breathable on court, and also offered pretty good durability for me as well. Some of the flex areas on the sneaker from my foot wore fairly quick or creased up, but that doesnt bother me to much. If you are looking for some super-premium materials, maybe these aren't it. I did think with these being a Bape collab that the materials may be a little more premium, but I am not complaining. I do think that the materials worked well and did their job on court. You shouldn't have any real problems out of these, but I just wouldnt be looking for anything premium either.
Cushion: 5
Moving along to the cushion and the feel on court.. It was great, and a setup I really enjoyed. Now from the description given by Adidas, it is basically just a lightweight Lighstrike midsole & setup. The setup is nothing short of light though as these things feel great on court! First off you have a low-to-the-ground feel, with great cushion, and mostly all cushion at that but you still get enough court feel to feel near perfect on court. You know I have been a huge fan of the AE1, and truthfully I like the cushion setup on those because of the court feel. These are the opposite and offer much more of a cushion feel. They still have great energy return or spring back, but there is definitely more cushion here. The cushion/comfort of these was probably one of the most noticeable parts of the sneaker in general for me. I've played in many Lightstrike models, but these just feel more plush to me for some reason. If you are looking for good cushion and compared to say the AE1 for more cushion?? These will be it for you.
Lockdown: 4
Not a perfect score, and truthfully it doesn't necessarily hinder the actual lockdown setup. It is more geared towards the fit, but once again, sometimes as I mention on occassion one aspect can affect another, and the fit with these somewhat did that on the lockdown. The first time out initially I had some movement within, and that was due to the internal bootie/sock liner, but after getting the sneakers laced up tighter than say I might normally do I was able to get great performance from the lockdown setup. These offer a fairly nice outrigger that works well and helps with tipping. Very nice lateral containment mixed with the full length torsion bar helps keep you contained laterally at all times. Once getting these laced up to my liking and getting the full effect from the setup I thoroughly liked these on court, and felt no movement from heel to toe. Laterally, I felt great and with these being a low you already know I am looking for the lockdown to be strong. These didnt disappoint in that category whatsoever. Once again job well done here Adidas!
Overall: 4
Could and will this be some players favorite model for the upcoming season or new releases?? Yes, it most defintiely will. These are that good! For me, I really, really liked them, but they still havent knocked off the AE1 for me. I would say these are in my top 5 hoop performers right now, and that is for good reason. Once getting the sizing situation sorted out there were no issues with these. I found myself liking them more and more actually each time out. The sneakers also seemed that each aspect actually got better each and everytime out also. That is definitely always a good thing or plus. For me it is one of those sneakers that I could really get used to, play a whole season in, look back and 5 years from now think, man! I really liked that shoe! I also think there are some great other options out there right now that maybe I prefer more, but that is not taking anything away from these. If you are a Dame fan, loved his line in the past, or just have an urge to play in these I would definitely reccomend it. They are a really good, fun, hoop shoe, and I will go out on a limb here and say my favorite from the Dame line to date!
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