A very anticipated release for me every year is the flagship model for Jordan brand and the 36s have not disappointed on court whatsoever! This year they have given us a very lightweight shoe that performs amazing in basically every single category!
Whats going on everyone?? We're back to talk about the recently released Jordan 36s today. Let's go ahead and jump straight into it and see how these performed on court!
Traction: 3
Normally we start with traction as we all know its probably my favorite or most important piece to my basketball sneakers, and the 36s performed phenomenal from a traction standpoint. The shoe features a herringbone pattern which seems to never disappoint on basically any sneaker it is put on. The traction performed great for me laterally and vertically and I didn't have any complaints whatsoever from the traction standpoint. The 36s had just a great overall feel on the court from the traction in my opinion. I look for this to be a pretty standard liking for most consumers or in other words I don't think too many people will be at all disappointed from a traction point of view about the shoe.
Fit: 2
The fit for me on my personal pair was probably the overall most disappointing part about the 36s. I normally always go pretty much true to size on all my Jordan sneakers and have no issues whatsoever. For the 36s, I personally would recommend going down half a size and I plan to eventually get another pair where I do go down half a size. I have heard many say or not have this issue and they were fine with going true to size. For me there was a little slippage especially in the heel area and at first it was noticeable, but not so bad that it actually bothered me. After the last time out in these the left shoe tore my heel up pretty bad and its definitely noticeable at this point. Take this lightly as I absolutely love the 36s on court, but I do feel going down half a size would have been best for me. My advice is if at all possible just go try them on in store as for some you may be ok going true to size. As for wide footers sometimes I do not have the best judgement as I have a pretty narrow foot. They fit semi snug in my opinion but not so much like a Kyrie sneaker or anything to that snug of a fit. I would almost say there as snug as most basketball shoes would intend to be. You should be fine going with your normal size on a Jordan sneaker, but if you have any doubts I would just try them on in store as well.
Cushion: 3
Once again another home run is from the cushion standpoint. the 36s feature full length air zoom strobel which has become my favorite setup overall, but with these you have a double stacked unit! These are definitely very comfortable on court, with in my opinion minimal break in time to get the ultimate cushioned feel of the shoe. I have said on many occasions I prefer court feel over cushion, and that is still true. The air zoom strobel units though are just so comfortable in my opinion and gives me the ultimate cushioned feel that I am looking for when looking for more cushion in a sneaker. The responsiveness from the cushion was also great and I never felt as if it was lagging in any aspect. Overall the cushion is great, but what can I say there is not much that can go wrong with that zoom strobel setup!
Materials: 3
The materials on the 36s are super light, very comfortable, and overall a very great piece to this shoe on court. The shoe features what is called a jacquard leno-weave upper which feels like a mixture of mesh and almost fuse In my opinion. The materials are very breathable and almost to the point of literally being able to look thru them. On the initial look of the shoe or the materials I was kind of worried they may rip or not be very solid if stepped on. They have proved me to be very wrong as they have turned out to be very strong and I do not see any issues going forward. The materials definitely didn't disappoint and actually over-performed from my initial thoughts when I got the shoe.
Lockdown/Support/Impact Protection: 3
The shoes performed very well for me from a lockdown standpoint and I had great support with a nice safe locked in feel at all times in the shoe. When moving laterally or vertically the lockdown worked great and there were never any issues for me. To me the 36s are one of the shoes I try to describe at times where the lockdown and traction work together to give the locked in feel for all movements that I am looking for. The 36s also feature a plate system that is similar to what was implemented into the Jordan 34 and 35. Basically the way the plate system works is the impact from the court/floor is taken in by the plate system and pushed out thru the forefoot giving you great impact protection, cushion, and responsiveness. I was not able to test the 35s due to having a lack of gyms/courts to play in last year due to Covid. The 34s were overall one of my top picks from the prior year and one of the parts I really liked was the plate system. I am a big fan of it and love the impact protection the system is able to offer. I feel the shoe is setup for all types of players. You have an overall very lightweight shoe that is great for guards, but also a great impact protection setup that is ideal for a big man or bigger players in general.
Aesthetics: 3
I absolutely love how the shoe looks from an aesthetics standpoint. From the materials to the designs/details on the heel tab; the 36s are a very good looking basketball shoe. I love how they have implemented parts or prior retros into the new models they are releasing. This year there are several hints or details from the Jordan 6. One in particular detail that did not bother me, but could be a bother for some is the tongue flap or the piece of material that is overtop the laces as is on Jordan 6s. The only real issues it brings is it can make it a little dificult if you want to get your shoes extra snug or when taking them off it can make it a little tough to loosen. Overall it did not bother me and I think its a nice touch and hint from the Jordan 6. I believe there are several options to have some really nice colorways, PEs, or collabs for the 36s as well. We have already got a few awesome color ways and I feel like there will be plenty more to come.
Overall: 3
I have a feeling that after my testing ends for the 2021/2022 season that the Jordan 36s will definitely be in my top 3 pairs of the season. There were really no issues for me except for the one fit issue I explained but other than that I absolutely loved these on court. Everything seemed to work hand in hand together to create a near perfect basketball shoe on court. From the materials, to the traction, cushion, and down to the lockdown there were no complaints from me. I will say my two overall favorite parts of the shoe were the traction and the materials. I loved the feel and how lightweight the materials were, but also how the traction gripped and allowed me to get where I wanted to on the floor. Out of the shoes I have tested thus far this year these would definitely be highly recommended on my list!
You don’t find the zoom air unit in the forefoot to feel a lil bit excessive at all? For me it’s almost like the air pressure in it is too high or something. Just the forefoot zoom air units. The heels feel fantastic to me. Just feel like it could be a little bit softer. I haven’t worn them out of the house yet but I feel like if I walked around in these for a few hours then the forefoot area in both of my feet would be sore as hell. Thats just me though and of course everyones feet and bodies are different. Got the 36 lows for just a casual summer shoe. Don’t play much anymore but…