When A Legend Designs A Sneaker, You May Just End Up With An Epic Performer On The Basketball Court!
What is going on everyone?? AirJayP is back and today have we got a pretty sweet pair of basketball sneakers to talk about. The recently not only created sneaker, but also brand. These are the EQLZ 247 which were created and designed by long-time sneaker designer and innovator Aaron AC Cooper.
With no more introduction needed let's dive right into these and see how they performed on court for me!
Traction: 4
I have had some recent great luck with basketball sneakers having really good traction which is always a plus number one for me! These are no different and offered a really nice setup on court. The outsole features full rubber and if I say so myself has one really awesome look to the traction pattern. According to the tech details the pattern had 3 inspirations behind it. The scales of a shark, the laminar flow of water, and a pressure map of the human foot. I definitely get the natural human foot vibes from the "look" standpoint of the outsole. The outer edges of the outsole which runs around the entire perimeter of the actual outsole is fairly hard and reminds me a lot of the outer perimeter on say a Kobe 9. The middle of the outsole where the pattern actually is, is much softer, has wide grooves in some areas, and the "look" once again gives just these are going-to-be sick vibes! When talking about the performance or feeling on court, they worked out very well for me. Laterally, vertically, anywhere I wanted to go on the court I was covered and they gripped the floor really well. Cuts and quick stops felt easy and offered me no issues either. I did pick up a little dust on some dirty courts, but nothing horrible. This did hinder me from giving them a perfect score as it was noticeable, but nothing that would keep me from not playing in them. Overall you are getting a great traction setup here, and one that felt dang near perfect on the first try.
Fit: 5
No issues from a fit standpoint for me. Personally, I went down half and that is normally a norm for me with basketball sneakers as is. I was really happy with the fit and how these felt on foot with going down half. I do think had I gone tts, I may have thought they would fit a little long. Most of that would be due to the materials possibly stretching some as well. I would recommend down half, and if you have liked that with my reviews in the past, you will be fine that way with these as well.
Materials: 5
One of my favorite or strongest points about the shoe is the materials. These things feel so comfortable on foot. A blend of nice leather and knit materials makes up the upper of the sneaker. The leather is very soft and keeps getting better with each wear in them. The knit material is very soft on foot and gives me the sock shoe-type feel. When I first put them on the materials were something I noticed from the jump and just knew I was going to love them when getting them on court. As I write this review I finished playing in these again tonight and got another 2.5 hours or so in them. The materials once again just keep feeling better and better after each wear. Job well done on these EQLZ.
Cushion: 5
Onto another strong point of the shoe and that is the cushion. The materials above as I mentioned were super comfortable, and when you mix them with this cushion setup you are getting one really comfortable hoop shoe! The 247 features a PEBAX supercritical cushioning setup. This setup is soft, but also springy with a nice bounce back that will offer great impact protection for bigger players or a comfortable springy-type feel for the shiftier guards. I had great cushion and comfort with a mix of some court feel, but I did get more of a cushioned feel here than a court feel. I am not complaining though as once again these felt so good on foot. The cushion is semi-like the materials as well. The more I play in them it seems the better it gets, or maybe trying other sneakers and going back to these makes me realize how much I just like this setup! Either way, mix this setup with these materials and you aren't going to be complaining about the comfort/cushion of these guys on the court.
Lockdown: 5
The biggest question I have been asked over on Instagram when I have posted photos or videos of these is if the containment/lockdown is any good with these. I will be honest, I was a little skeptical myself after getting them in hand. I was worried they may just not work out for me. After playing in them even just the first time out, I knew we had a solid performer in the lockdown category. The sneaker features Ergonomic TPU lateral containment. The TPU is on both sides of the sneaker giving you lateral and medial containment. I really like that they did this as with the knit or sock-like upper had they not it may have given a lot of problems. That is where most questions I believe are coming from others to me, and here is more of the detailed answer. With having the TPU on both sides you are more than locked in or contained with this shoe. I wouldn't call these hard to "put on," but they are more difficult than a standard material sneaker. Once you do get into the sock upper, you will notice a locked-in feel from heel to toe. I do use all the eyelets on the lacing system and lace these guys up pretty tight. Once I got them to my liking, there was absolutely nothing to complain about with these. The lockdown setup did nothing, but exceed all the expectations I had for this shoe.
Overall: 5
Man oh man, did I have a fun time playing and testing these. You best believe these will stay in the bag for a go-to pair for quite some time. These have also cracked my top 5, and maybe top 3 to play in right now. There are a lot of great hoop shoes out right now, and honestly, its almost as if take your pick for your preference of play. I will say though for me the materials used on these set them apart from almost anything out there right now. I really like what they did and utilized with these. The cushion is also very nice and something that just worked very well for me. Even with having more of a plush feel than court feel I loved them! The lockdown was not only great, but also exceeded all expectations I could have expected, and the traction.. yeah, it was great too! I really can't bring you any complaints here, and if these are on your radar definitely give them a try. A great start for a new brand, and I cannot wait to see what's next for them!!
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