Farewell to an Epic year...

The imminent arrival of 2019 put me in a sentimental mood, and so I began to reminisce on the year that was. As batshit crazy as 2018 has been from a geopolitical perspective, skimming through the 7,400-plus photos I took this year (almost exactly one thousand more than I snapped in 2017) reminded me how fortunate I am and how much I have to be thankful for on a personal level.

On a professional level, this stroll down memory lane also reminded me that I had a pretty amazing work experience at the very start of the year.

Inside the event venue in Seoul, just before our first round of presentations. This was the screen that I presented in front of. In fact, it was two screens, each of which was on rollers. At the point where the event photographer is walking above, the screens split open, allowing the audience to walk through into…

I’m incredibly lucky in that I periodically have the opportunity to represent the efforts of my Nike teammates at product launch events organized by our remarkable brand and communications teams. These events can vary dramatically in scale based on the scope of the story we have to tell—from small briefing sessions with a handful of participants up through auditorium filling affairs. This past January, Nike Running took the latter route to launch our first line-up of shoes to feature the new Nike React cushioning platform. The events took place in Asia, Europe and North America, and I was offered the privilege to lead the launch presentations in Asia—specifically, in Seoul, South Korea and Shanghai, China.

The experiential half of the presentation space at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. This side of the presentation space offered several interactive experiences that attendees could engage with, each of which highlighted a key benefit of Nike React. I snapped this just a few minutes before our first presentation, so it was very much the calm before the storm.

No matter how many of these things I get to take part in, they never cease to amaze. Our brand and comms teams somehow manage to consistently top themselves, securing incredible venues and transforming them in record time into site-specific experiential installations. As a presenter, I pretty much get to just show up and be made to look brilliant thanks to the efforts of this army of people who do all of the actual work but get none of the shine.

Aside from presenting our new products, a key responsibility at these confabs is participation in one-on-one interviews with members of the media. Some find this task onerous, but, perhaps because I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the microphone from my days running Kicksology.net, I actually enjoy these sessions. I can tell you from direct experience that it’s a lot easier to be the interview-ee than it is to be the interview-er.

Here I am earning my keep at the Nike React launch event in Seoul. As a presenter, I pretty much get to just show up and be made to look brilliant thanks to the efforts of an army of people who do all of the actual work behind the scenes. Photo credit: Riley Wolff/TEMPO.

Sure, I have to make certain to remember my key talking points and find ways to work them into the conversation without seeming like I’m just regurgitating talking points. But that definitely beats stressing out over whether or not I remembered to charge the batteries in the recorder; or have enough storage space on the camera; or asked all of the question I meant to ask, all while actively listening so that I can ask effective follow-up questions. Just thinking about those days ties my stomach up in knots. Much respect to those working the media beat, which is far more complicated today than those quaint days of yore when simply maintaining a blog was considered cutting edge!

Here’s the presentation venue for the Nike React launch event in Shanghai. You don’t really get a sense for the scale from this photo, but this screen was HUGE—I mean, nearly the size of an IMAX screen huge. It looked amazing, but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it put off a ton of heat. The venue itself was pretty chilly, but, by the end of my presentation, I was in a full sweat—not because I was nervous, but because standing next to that screen was like standing next to the sun.

Speaking of blogs, of these interviews, my favorites are always with the sneaker bloggers—or perhaps the term “blogger” is passé, given that few these days actually publish blogs, with most instead focusing on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or Weibo? I guess it’s more correct to simply say that my favorite interviews are with the true sneakerheads. No disrespect intended towards the mass market media folks, but, given that their audiences are, by design, very broad, they tend to ask very broad questions (“What was the ‘aha’ moment?” is a staple). The sneakerheads, on the other hand, really want to know about the nitty-gritty of the development process and, as a product geek, that’s the sort of stuff I love to talk about.

Here’s a literal look behind the screen. It would be interesting to know how many miles of cable are required to get this monster up and running. It looks crazy, but it ran perfectly through a full day of presentations.

I was happy to see that the Nike React launch events in both Seoul and Shanghai included quite a few sneakerheads. I wish I could remember the names of all of the wonderful people I met, but two interactions do stand out in my memory. The first is an interview I did in Seoul with Ryan Wolff from TEMPO, which, at that time, was a very new, running-focused publication based out of Melbourne, Australia. TEMPO is geared towards serious runners, but I think it’s fairly unique in that the team behind it recognize that there’s a cultural component to the sport that’s at least as important as the performance side. Ryan was also very clearly a sneakerhead, and it was fun to talk to someone who was as interested in how our Nike React products fit into the broader sneaker culture as he was in their performance bona fides.

Like the event in Seoul, the Shanghai launch event included experiential elements as well. Here, a room bordered by video displays and filled with balloons brought to life the cloud-like cushioning offered by Nike React. These images don’t do the experience justice, but hopefully they give you at least a taste for the amazing work done by Nike’s brand & communications teams in support of product launches.

Then, in Shanghai, I had a great conversation with the team from ULSUM. They were genuinely interested to learn more about the products we were launching and, not only how we arrived at our ultimate solutions, but why we arrived at those solutions. Perhaps due to the pressure to be the first to publish, a lot of outlets don’t go beyond asking about the surface attributes of our products, so it was refreshing to have an opportunity to dig into the why behind the what. ULSUM recorded our interview and have since published it to their YouTube channel, and I’ve embedded that video below. If you view through to the end, you’ll notice that I managed to sneak some watch-talk into the conversation as well!

Check out the behind-the-scenes story about Nike Epic React Flyknit. More Exclusive Content : Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/ULSUM Instagram: https://instagram.com/ULSUMChina/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ULSUMChina Weibo: http://weibo.com/ULSUM WeChat Official Account: ULSUMofficial ORIGINAL | CREATIVE | YOUTHFUL | EFFICIENT | AWESOME Sneaker Media From China.

Those are just two memories from a year that was more eventful than most. Honestly, I would have sworn that these Nike React events took place in 2017, as way more than the typical twelve months worth of stuff has happened over the past year. As exciting and edifying as 2018 was, here’s to hoping that 2019 is a few degrees less turbulent and tumultuous—more late-period Roger Federer than peak Andre Agassi. 2019: The ball is now in your court!

Gear: NikeLab Veil

Ernest provides an in-depth look at an innovative new shoe from Nike Running called the NikeLab Veil. The Veil delivers breakthroughs in fit & versatility, combining the second-skin-like comfort of a sock with the barefoot-like feel of Nike Free and a very high level of water-resistance.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen the two videos I posted showcasing a shoe called the NikeLab Veil that my team at Nike designed, developed and helped bring to market.

Those brief snippets elicited tons of questions, so I created the long-form video embedded here to share answers and to provide an in-depth look at the shoe. If you have any interest in the NikeLab Veil or in how modern-day athletic shoes are made, please give it a watch. And, afterwards, don’t hesitate to shoot any follow-up questions or feedback my way on Instagram or @edotkim on Twitter.

Kevin Delicious

The Zoom KD 9 marks my rather late introduction to Durant’s signature line. Does its new take on Nike’s much loved Zoom Air make it worth the wait?

Longtime visitors to this site will know that it used to be focused exclusively on performance-based reviews of basketball footwear. During its heyday through the early 2000s, Kicksology.net attracted more visitors than either NikeBasketball.com or Rbk.com—not too shabby for an endeavor started for fun in the non-existent free time I had while co-managing a Web start-up.

This notoriety was both exciting and unexpected, but, unfortunately, before too long, it also started to become very expensive. You have to remember that this was in the era before turn-key Web hosting with infinite bandwidth; the site was transferring gigs of data per month and I was paying by the bit. Thanks to Google’s AdSense platform I was able to break even and occasionally turn a profit, but that was without taking into account the tens of hours spent per week writing reviews, snapping and editing photos, and maintaining my virtual server.

By late 2004, I had reached the point where I needed to make a decision: Dedicate myself full-time to growing Kicksology.net into a sustainable business, or shut it down so that I could reclaim my life and pursue other interests. Long story short, I chose the latter, and, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that it was the right call.

figure 1. The Zoom KD 9 is surprisingly restrained in its application of overt athlete branding, with this KD logo at the heel representing the only easily visible callout to the shoe’s namesake (the iD version shown here is a stealthy black-on-black, but most inline colorways “pop” the KD logo to make it more visible). But, as highlighted in this excellent interview with the shoe’s designer, Leo Chang, the shoe is rife with more subtle cues. For example, “the texture on the heel, it’s actually inspired by the texture on a handgrip from a camera, because [Durant’s] gotten really into photography.” The shoe’s performance is also deeply informed by Durant’s unique needs, as noted below in the section regarding the shaping of the KD 9’s all-new Zoom Air platform.

The reason for this history lesson is to explain why it is that the 9 is the first shoe in Kevin Durant’s signature line that I’ve purchased and played in. You see, after shuttering Kicksology.net, I was very much “on the wagon” when it came to kicks. I gave away all but a handful of the 1,500-plus pairs of shoes that I had amassed during my four years running the site, and promised myself—and my wife—that I’d only buy new sneakers when I really and truly needed them (what a novel concept!).

And I held true to this promise, even during my stint as a product manager in Nike’s Running Footwear category starting in 2007. That was akin to an alcoholic working in a whiskey distillery and somehow managing to steer clear of the hooch, which was only possible because I was so damn busy learning what exactly it meant to be a product manager.

It just so happened that 2007 was the same year that a certain Kevin Durant entered the NBA, with his first true Nike signature model debuting in 2008. Since this period coincided with my self-imposed exile from sneaker-dom, I completely slept on it. And my somnambulance continued through the entirety of Durant’s career in Oklahoma City. I never even tried on a pair of KDs, let alone purchased a pair, until the 9s opened my eyes and convinced me that it was time to open my wallet.

figure 2. Here’s the shoe that knocked me off the sneakerholic wagon, the stunning Kobe 9 Elite. It’s shown here as a low, but its ultra-high-top execution is the defining version of the model.

Truth be told, the shoe that knocked me off the sneaker-holic wagon was the Kobe 9 Elite that hit the market in early 2014. Representing the first-ever application of Flyknit in hoops and featuring a sublime design penned by the legendary Eric Avar, that shoe absolutely shattered my willpower. Still, while I’ve since relaxed my ban on non-essential kicks, a decade of abstinence has shown me that I can do without. So I’ve approached new buys with a much more discerning eye, limiting pick-ups to shoes that strike me as special, perhaps due to an iconic design (e.g. the aforementioned Kobe 9), or because they mark an important milestone (e.g. the Kobe XI), or because they meaningfully advance the state of the art in on-court performance.

When I saw the Zoom KD 9 and its entirely new full-length Zoom Air platform, I thought it had the potential to fall into that last bucket, and a few weeks with the shoe confirmed that assessment. Is it worth the $195 bones I put down for a customized pair via NIKEiD? Value is a difficult thing to quantify given its innate subjectivity, but I can tell you that the KD 9 is the best performing basketball shoe I’ve played in over the past two years—a comparison that includes the significantly more expensive Kobe XI Elite. Since I’m out of the shoe review business, check out KickGenius, Schwollo.com or WearTesters.com if you’re looking for on-court assessments. And, while you’re at it, definitely give Nick DePaula’s excellent in-depth backgrounders a read to learn more about the genesis of the KD 9. His coverage of the shoe includes a terrifically candid interview with Leo Chang, the designer of every KD to date, as well as an extended conversation with Durant himself. The latter touches on a range of topics, including the pricing of the KD line, and I found Durant’s direct response on that point to be a breath of fresh air in an age when star athletes are about as forthright as politicians in an election year.

So, this isn’t a performance review, but, for the benefit of those with a keen interest in the technical aspects of contemporary kicks, I thought it worthwhile to take a closer look at the feature of the KD 9 that most sets it apart as a performance shoe. As its full name suggests, the Zoom KD 9 is built on Nike’s Zoom Air, which is a variant of the company’s iconic Nike Air cushioning platform. Many of you will already know this, but what sets a Zoom Air unit apart is that it’s reinforced by an internal matrix of very strong synthetic fibers. Those fibers are lined up in rows like soldiers in formation and, in the case of the KD 9, those rows are visible through the shoe’s clear midsole sidewalls (see figure 3 below).

figure 3. In this profile view of the Zoom KD 9, the rows of synthetic fibers that hold its pressurized Zoom Air unit together are clearly visible. Also visible is the deep forefoot groove that contributes to the KD 9’s terrifically smooth, natural feel underfoot. In my experience, this is the best execution of Zoom Air that Nike’s ever offered in a basketball shoe, and I hope we’ll see more of this configuration in other hoops models.

The fibers hold the top and bottom of the air bag together, which does two very important things. First, it enables the creation of an Air-Sole with flat, completely uniform top and bottom surfaces that, unlike the rounded, balloon-like topology of a Max Air unit, doesn’t require a moderating layer of foam to be stacked on top of it. This, in turn, allows for a lower-profile, more inherently stable platform underfoot. Second, the combination of the nitrogen pressure within the bag pushing out and the synthetic fibers pulling in makes the overall system work like a compression spring, storing energy on impact and returning far more of it back to the wearer than conventional midsole foams or even Max Air. It’s this combination of low-profile stability and trampoline-like springiness that’s made Zoom Air such a hit with ballers.

The thing is, precisely how much of that springiness you can actually feel is very much subject to the way Zoom Air is implemented in a given shoe. Taking my Swoosh hat off and speaking purely as an outside observer, I’d have to say that, in too many of Nike’s recent hoops offerings featuring Zoom, that springiness is MIA. In some cases you might start to feel it after multiple wearings, as the surrounding foam breaks down; or you might feel it if so long as you weigh in excess of 200 pounds. But the bottom line is that a Zoom Air logo on the midsole is a promise that Nike doesn’t always deliver on.

If you’ve felt let down by Zoom Air in recent years and have joined the ranks of lapsed adherents to the technology, the KD 9 may well rekindle a spiritual awakening. Its implementation of Zoom is the best I’ve ever experienced—better than the OG Air Jordan XIV, which has been my benchmark for Zoom-based cushioning since its release nearly two decades ago. What makes the KD 9’s cushioning so great, you ask? Allow me to explain…

figure 4. These cutaway images of the Zoom KD 9 (left) and LeBron XIII Low (right) from Fastpass.cn aren’t controlled for scale or the angle of the photos, so they can’t be used for a direct comparison of midsole heights between the two shoes. But they’re instructive nonetheless in that they reveal the flat, uniform top and bottom surfaces characteristic of Nike’s Zoom Air vs. the rounded, irregular topology of a Max Air unit. The latter must be topped by a moderating layer of foam to be made wearable, invariably resulting in a taller, less inherently stable—but also more cushioned—underfoot platform. The greater cushioning afforded by Max could be worth the trade-off for bigger, heavier players, but I’ve always preferred the lower profile feel of Zoom. As an aside, note the pronounced hump of foam added atop the midfoot region of the KD 9. This sits right behind the metatarsal heads, supporting the foot’s transverse arch, which is the arch that spans the width of the foot. This might seem like an inconsequential detail, but I absolutely loved this feature of the KD 9 and believe it meaningfully contributes to the shoe’s overall comfort and performance.

First, is the fact that even non-heavyweights like me—I tip the scales at 172 lbs/78 kg—can actually feel its springiness right out of the box. This is largely a function of the capacious volume of the KD 9’s full-length Zoom Air unit: Because it’s so big, there’s room for the nitrogen gas inside the bag to displace on impact, then spring back as your weight shifts. It may appear that there’s a thick slab of foam stacked on top of the Zoom, but that foam only wraps up around the perimeter of the midsole to provide lateral support and stability. Cushioning directly under the forefoot and heel is delivered almost exclusively by way of the Zoom Air unit, as you can see in figure 4 above.

It’s worth noting that, while the KD 9’s Zoom Air unit is big, it’s not the biggest Zoom Air unit that Nike’s ever offered in a hoops shoe. That distinction belongs to the Zoom 360 unit that debuted in the Lebron X way back in 2012, and re-appeared in the KD VI Elite in 2014. We’re often led to believe that more is better, but, in KD’s case, that oversized Zoom 360 unit made the KD VI Elite feel “way too stiff and clunky.”

This is where the KD 9’s new full-length Zoom Air unit really shines: It holds a significantly higher volume of nitrogen gas than Nike’s standard Zoom bags, but still manages to provide a smoother, more natural feel underfoot than any previous full-length Max or Zoom Air-based shoe I’ve worn. This is in large part due to the ultra-deep forefoot groove that allows the shoe’s midsole to flex with ease under the toes. In fact, the Zoom Air chamber under the toes is all but separated from the body of the shoe; it’s only linked to the larger Zoom Air chamber by way of a very small tube (see figure 5 below).

figure 5. I didn’t have a chance to mention this in the main story, but the Zoom KD 9 provides exceptional traction. It seems like such a basic thing, but so many high-end basketball shoes fall short in this critical area. This outsole shot also reveals the small tube that links the primary Zoom chamber to the smaller chamber under the toes. This link is important because it allows the nitrogen gas captured within the Zoom unit to flow from one chamber to the next, contributing to the KD 9’s perceptible springiness underfoot, and also giving its midsole a more uniform, consistent feel from heel to toe compared to shoes featuring smaller, discrete Zoom Air units (i.e. separate units under the heel and forefoot). The downside to this design is that the tube represents a single point of failure that can compromise the entire Zoom Air unit, and I’ve seen numerous reports of Zoom bag decompression failures on the KD 9 after repeated wearings. See the section below to learn how to get a refund if this happens to you.

Although this link is small, it’s important because it allows the nitrogen within the Zoom unit to flow from one chamber to the next, contributing to the perceptible springiness highlighted above and giving the entire midsole a more uniform, consistent feel from heel to toe. The only downside to this configuration is that the small tube between the two chambers represents a potential failure point, and I’ve seen a number of posts on message boards reporting that the tube can indeed break after repeated wearings, resulting in complete decompression of the Zoom Air unit. If this gives you pause, just make sure to buy the KD 9 from an authorized Nike retailer and save your receipt. Should the Zoom Air unit in your pair fail, Nike will take back the shoes so long as they’re within two years of their manufacturing date. Note, though, that this is at Nike’s discretion—if it appears that the failure was due to normal wear-and-tear or tampering, they won’t authorize a refund. See Nike’s footwear return guidelines for the nitty-gritty.

Now, I noted above that the KD 9’s uniquely smooth, natural ride is due in large part to its deep forefoot groove, but that’s not the only factor. Also playing a key role is the shaping of the primary Zoom Air chamber—the one that extends from the heel to the forefoot. Look at the bottom of the KD 9 and you’ll see that that chamber gets very narrow at its mid point, with a significant chunk of the Zoom bag sculpted away under the medial arch. According to the shoe’s designer, Leo Chang, this was based on the specific way Durant began to apply force into the ground after suffering a Jones fracture in 2014. As Chang relayed to DePaula in the interview cited above, “In the midfoot, where [Durant] had the Jones fracture, he actually has a lot of pressure there. We shifted the silhouette of the outsole ... on the lateral side to help give him more cushioning.”

figure 6. Here’s the view of the Zoom KD 9 that you’ll get when it’s on your feet. The front half of the shoe is constructed of Flyknit that’s reinforced with webbing straps (the same straps that you lace into) captured between the Flyknit and a smooth inner lining. This package is engineered to eliminate stretch, but the combination of materials is much more pliable than Nike’s previous generation of “fused” constructions, which is a good thing because I found the upper to run quite narrow through the forefoot. As someone with wide feet, this meant my first wearing wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it felt great thereafter.

In addition to providing more cushioning under the lateral, or pinky toe, side of the midfoot, this sculpting under the arch allows the KD 9’s Zoom unit to flex torsionally in a way that the KD VI Elite’s Zoom 360 bag could not. There was a time when it was believed that torsional rigidity was advantageous in a basketball shoe because it contributed to a stiffer underfoot platform that would, as the anecdotal line of reasoning went, decrease the risk of ankle sprains. Scientific research has since shown, however, that torsional stiffness, by limiting the ability of the rearfoot to rotate independently of the forefoot during cutting movements, can actually increase the risk of ankle sprains. So, not only does the KD 9’s more sculpted Zoom Air unit feel more natural underfoot, by allowing your foot to move more naturally, it may also reduce your risk of the dreaded ankle sprain.

At this point, I could get even further into the weeds, and explain how the new manufacturing process used to create the KD 9’s Zoom Air unit makes it more inherently stable than any Air-Sole before it, or how the four notches engineered into the heel of the KD 9’s Zoom bag contribute to enhanced rearfoot stability. But I think 2,000 words on the magnificence that is the KD 9’s cushioning platform is probably more than enough for most readers. See the “Buying Advice” section below for my overall thoughts on the shoe and, if you enjoy spending time in the weeds, we can keep the conversation going on Twitter @edotkim. The bottom line from my perspective is, if you’re a fan of Zoom Air-based hoops shoes, you’re going to love the Zoom KD 9. And you don’t have to go whole hog and plunk down $195 for an iD version like I did—the standard, “inline” colorways feature the same stellar cushioning platform and retail for a more accessible $150 USD.

Who’s Worn It:
Kevin Durant (F- Golden State Warriors)

Reviewed by Ernest Kim, December 29, 2016
	Nike Zoom KD 9 iD Overall:  Comfort & Fit:  Cushioning:  Ankle Support:  Weight:  14.1 oz* * Based on a US men’s 11. For context, a can of soda weighs 13 oz.
Price: $150 base, $195 as tested Key Tech: Nike Flyknit upper (forefoot only); all-new full-length Zoom Air unit Pros: The best implementation of Zoom Air in a basketball shoe that I’ve yet to experience—an all but perfect blend of cushioning, court feel and responsiveness; unusually good support for the transverse arch; upper offers an excellent balance of comfort and lockdown, though wide-footers may find it too narrow to start; generous, squared-off toe box gives the all important big toe room to move freely; insanely great traction (at least in colorways with a solid rubber outsole—I can’t speak to the traction in versions of the KD 9 with translucent rubber) Cons: Can be challenging to get on your foot, though this does improve with wear; upper is narrow across the forefoot and offers limited adjustability for fit; allows some up-down heel slip at the rear; numerous reports of Zoom Air decompression after extended wear (see the full story for more) Buying Advice: For in-depth recommendations from a performance perspective, see the reviews from KickGenius, Schwollo.com or WearTesters.com. What I will say is that the Zoom KD 9 is the best performing basketball shoe I’ve played in over the past two years—a comparison that includes the significantly more expensive Kobe XI Elite. As an aside, the KD 9’s low-profile, relatively firm midsole and low heel-ball offset (i.e. the difference in the height of the midsole under the heel vs. the ball of the foot—the KD 9’s heel-ball offset is 6mm, which is significantly lower than the 10 - 12mm offset typical for running shoes) make it a great option for lifting and HIIT workouts as well. From a sneaker geek perspective, I think the KD 9’s all new, beautifully engineered full-length Zoom Air unit alone is worth the price of admission. $150 is a significant chunk of change, but you’re getting a lot of tech for your money. Plus, that tech is wrapped into a shoe feels great on the foot (once it’s broken in) and transitions well to off-court wear.

This One Goes to Eleven

The Kobe XI Elite is a fitting capstone to the Black Mamba’s storied on-court career.

When I wrote about the Kobe 9 Elite last January, I suggested it might be the last shoe that Bryant would wear in action as a professional in the Association. But, as all y’all already know, the Black Mamba proved doubters like myself wrong and has managed to will his battered body back for one more season—a season he kicked off in the Kobe X and will finish in his ultimate in-game shoe, the Kobe XI Elite. It’s clear that this final campaign won’t go down as among Bryant’s best, but, after spending time in the Kobe XI Elite, I’m convinced his final game shoe will nonetheless be remembered as a high point in a signature line that’s changed the shape of basketball footwear.

figure 1. Really, what is there to say—the Nike Kobe XI Elite is a stunner. As you can see on the tag affixed to the collar lining in the shot above, this is a colorway I created via NIKEiD. You’ll pay beaucoup bucks for the privilege, but the results can be pretty damn compelling.

I know a lot of people will disagree vehemently with me on this, but I think it’s a matter of fact that no signature shoe line has done more to change the fundamental silhouette of basketball footwear than Kobe’s eleven namesake models. Okay, okay, after you’re done yelling at your screen and rage tweeting me, hear me out because I know what you’re thinking: “Clearly, you’re forgetting about a certain Air Jordan line, you dumb ass.”

I acknowledge that the sixteen signature models that MJ donned for in-game action did more to change the aesthetic of athletic footwear than any other line of shoes, before or since. But let’s compare MJ’s first shoe, the Air Jordan I, with the last he would wear on court, the Air Jordan XVIII: Both were cut high around the ankle; both were fashioned with cut-and-sew leather uppers; and, while the XVIII featured double-lasted construction (meaning its upper was wrapped over its midsole, obscuring the midsole from view), both were built on the same basic architecture of outsole cemented to midsole and topped off with a thin foam sockliner.

figure 2. This is where Bryant’s signature collection with Nike officially kicked off back in 2005: The Nike Zoom Kobe I. Pictured here is the Midnight Navy/White-Varsity Red colorway, better known as the USA. It drew heavily from the shoe Bryant had worn the year prior, the Air Zoom Huarache 2K5, but with a streamlined upper and more extensive use of carbon fiber. It retailed for $130 when it launched, which translates to just under $160 in today’s dollars. It was a fantastic playing shoe and would, I think, compare favorably to many of the hoops offerings on the market today from a performance perspective.

There’s no question that the XVIII delivered significant advances in performance and comfort—for example, its midsole featured a full-length Zoom Air unit supplemented with an additional Zoom Air unit under the heel for incredibly responsive cushioning, and its sockliner was augmented with a molded carbon fiber “control plate” for added support—but I would argue that these advances were evolutionary in nature. To cite an analogous example from another industry, compare today’s Ford Mustang to the original introduced in 1964 and, while the 2016 model clearly offers major improvements versus its progenitor, you can draw a straight line between the two because their fundamental architectures have remained the same. This same sort of through line is evident across the Jordan collection.

Now let’s compare Kobe’s first signature shoe from Nike, the Zoom Kobe I, to the Kobe XI Elite: The ZK I offered a traditional mid-height cut around the ankle, while the XI Elite is cut as low as a running shoe; the I’s upper was formed from leather and assembled with traditional cut-and-sew techniques, while the XI Elite is almost entirely fabricated from a single layer of engineered Flyknit; and, down below, the I featured a conventional outsole-midsole-sockliner stack, while the XI is built on a removable midsole insert that forgoes a separate sockliner and can be customized via NIKEiD. In short, the Kobe XI Elite represents a fundamental break from its origins; as compared to the Zoom Kobe I, it manifests a wholly different concept of what a basketball shoe can and should be.

figure 3. Nike’s Kobe line has changed in fundamental ways from its start with the Zoom Kobe I to its latest incarnation in the Kobe XI Elite. Along the way, it’s also changed many ballers’ definitions of what a basketball shoe can and should be. To my eyes and feet, the magnitude of this shift is as profound as the leap made by BMW from their flagship 8 Series launched in 1989 to the current generation i8 flagship launched in 2014. Both the XI Elite and i8 represent breaks from the past and bold statements of intent for the future.

Returning, once again, to the automotive world for an analogy, this is akin to the paradigm shift that breaks the line between BMW’s flagship 8 Series coupe introduced in 1989 and its modern-day counterpart, the i8. Where the 8 Series was built on a conventional steel frame and body, the i8 features a core of carbon fiber onto which injection molded plastic panels are draped to form the body shell; and where a gas guzzling V-12 engine motivated the original 850i, the i8 is motivated by a tiny turbocharged 3-cylinder engine that’s augmented with two small electric motors. As for performance, the 850i’s giant V-12 could propel the car from 0 - 60 in about six seconds, but consumed 16 mpg combined in the bargain. By comparison, the i8’s puny powerplant rockets the car from 0 - 60 in about four seconds and sips a miserly 76 mpge. That’s what I call paradigm shifting progress.

Of course, both the 850i and i8 are cars, both come with two doors and both feature BMW’s signature roundel on the hood, but that’s about where their similarities end. In a similar sense, the Kobe XI Elite shares a Swoosh and a namesake athlete with the shoe that kicked off the series, but that’s essentially the extent of their kinship. If anything, the Kobe XI has more in common with the Nike Mercurial soccer boot and Nike Free Rn Distance runner than it does with the Zoom Kobe I.

figure 4. As you can see clearly in this image, the Kobe XI Elite is very much a true low-top. And yet, thanks to the exceptional containment provided by its upper, its relatively low-profile midsole and its artfully designed outsole—complete with outriggers alongside the lateral forefoot and cuboid regions of the foot—it feels reassuringly stable during hard cuts.

Visually, the difference between the Zoom Kobe I and Kobe XI Elite is most obvious in profile view. Any baller playing at an elite level back in 1985—the year the Air Jordan I was introduced—would think you were pulling a practical joke if you showed him the Kobe XI Elite and told him it was a performance hoops shoe. Back then, the high-cut ankle collar defined the look and feel of basketball footwear, and the Air Jordan line did little to challenge that convention over the span of Jordan’s career. Yes, low-top versions of MJ’s game shoes have always been a thing, but His Airness only wore those drop-top variants in a handful of games. By contrast, the low-top Kobe XI Elite is the shoe—it’s what Bryant wears on court and Nike does not offer a higher cut alternative.

But it’s not only in profile that the Kobe XI Elite defines a new silhouette for hoops. Look at the shoe from above—what industry folks refer to as the “toe-down” view—and you’ll notice that it wraps around the foot in a way that’s more akin to a form-fitting soccer cleat than a conventionally clunky basketball shoe. In most all hoops shoes today, the bottom unit (i.e. the combination of the midsole and outsole) is clearly visible from toe-down view because it protrudes out beyond the perimeter of the upper. But look at the Kobe XI Elite from above and its outsole is barely visible. More so than any other basketball shoe on the market today, the bottom dimensions of the Kobe XI Elite actually reflect the bottom dimensions of your foot, which is a large part of the reason why the shoe has been so consistently praised for its natural, agile feel.

figure 5. It’s not only in profile that the Kobe XI Elite defines a new silhouette for hoops. Look at the shoe from above—what industry folks refer to as the “toe-down” view—and you’ll notice that it wraps around the foot in a way that’s more akin to a form-fitting soccer cleat than a conventionally clunky basketball shoe. I think this sleek fit contributes to the XI Elite’s agile, natural feel on court.

Another important contributor to the Kobe XI Elite’s exceptional on-court ride is its drop-in midsole. The concept of an interchangeable midsole is something both Nike Basketball and Brand Jordan have experimented with off-and-on since its February 2011 debut in the Air Jordan 2011 and subsequent application in the “Kobe VII System” later that same year. To my feet, the implementation in the Kobe XI Elite is the best yet in that it does a great job balancing the often dueling benefits of comfort, court feel, impact attenuation and responsiveness. Two big upgrades from the insert featured in the aforementioned Kobe IX are the inclusion of a top cloth, which presents a more pleasant interface for your sock-shod feet, and the addition of a Zoom Air unit under the heel. Even as a fan of Nike’s Lunarlon foam, I appreciated the added bounce delivered by Zoom.

figure 6. The concept of an interchangeable, “drop-in” midsole isn’t new—it debuted in the Air Jordan 2011 and first appeared in the Kobe line later that same year—but, to my feet, the implementation in the Kobe XI Elite is the best yet. It does a great job balancing the often dueling benefits of comfort, court feel, impact attenuation and responsiveness, and introduces the added benefit of customization. Pictured here is the “Responsive Full Length Zoom” drop-in, which offers fantastically springy cushioning that lasts. Bear in mind, though, that this full-length Zoom option demands a $20 premium over the existing $45 uncharge associated with the Kobe XI Elite iD, meaning your wallet will be $265 lighter after all is said and done. Even as a big fan of the shoe, that’s tough to justify.

I should note that those specs I just cited describe the midsole that comes with the stock version of the Kobe XI Elite. Those of a more persnickety nature can customize the insert via NIKEiD, though you’ll pay dearly for the privilege. The iD version of the XI Elite starts at an eye-watering $245—a $45 premium over the already stratospherically priced “base” model.

Aside from the typical aesthetic tweaks available to those with fat wallets, the XI Elite iD offers three midsole cushioning options: the stock Lunarlon + heel Zoom version, Lunarlon with no heel Zoom for those who prefer straight foam, and an ultra-primo version with a full-length Zoom Air unit. That last option will set you back an additional $20—do the math and that adds up to a total cost of $265. As someone who’s always lived by the credo: “Why spend tomorrow what you can spend today?,” I had to go the full-length Zoom route. And I do love actually being able to feel the springy-ness of Zoom Air under the full length of my foot, but, damn, that’s a hell of a lot of coin to drop on a shoe that might not make it through a full season of play (certainly not if you spend any amount of time balling outdoors).

figure 7. Beautiful outsoles have been a hallmark of the Kobe line, and the Kobe XI Elite’s rubber holds to that tradition. What I particularly like about this iteration is the artful blending of lateral outriggers along both the forefoot and cuboid regions of the foot. This is a very elegant way to enhance lateral stability without adding a lot of bulk or weight to the shoe. I haven’t spent enough time playing in the XI Elite myself to comment on traction, but the performance reviews I’ve read suggest that it can vary greatly based on your playing surface, with the XI’s tread not faring particularly well on dusty courts.

There’s a lot more I could write about the Kobe line in general and the Kobe XI Elite in particular, but I suspect I’ve already gone on far longer than most would care to read. The fact that it’s the last shoe Bryant will wear as a pro cements its claim to a spot in sneakerhead history by default. But as someone who’s into kicks for their performance and engineering, I believe the XI earns that recognition. I noted above that the specifics of form and execution have changed dramatically from the Zoom Kobe I to the Kobe XI Elite, but what holds the line together as a collection is that they all reflect Bryant’s singular commitment to performance. Look over each successive model in the line and you see this commitment getting sharper and sharper—unnecessary layers being stripped away, unnecessary components being shown the door—until all you’re left with are the elements essential to peak performance. That commitment is what made Bryant a great player and it’s what makes the Kobe XI Elite a great shoe.

Agree? Disagree? Have questions? Let’s continue the conversation on Twitter @edotkim.

Who’s Worn It:
Kobe Bryant (G- Los Angeles Lakers); DeMar DeRozan (G- Toronto Raptors); Jrue Holiday (G- New Orleans Pelicans); LeBron James (F- Cleveland Cavaliers); Stanley Johnson (F- Detroit Pistons); Zach LaVine (G- Minnesota Timberwolves); Isaiah Thomas (G- Boston Celtics); P. J. Tucker (F- Phoenix Suns); John Wall (G- Washington Wizards)

Reviewed by Ernest Kim, April 7, 2016
	Nike Kobe Elite XI iD† Overall:  Comfort & Fit:  Cushioning:  Ankle Support:  Weight:  14.8 oz* † Ratings based on a meta-analysis of third-party sites. * Based on a US men’s 11. For context, a can of soda weighs 13 oz.
Price: $200 base, $265 as tested Key Tech: Nike Flyknit upper construction augmented with high-strength TPU yarns and integrated Flywire cabling; full-length Lunarlon drop-in midsole augmented with a Zoom Air unit under the heel (base model)—can be customized via NIKEiD to a foam-only option or a full-length Zoom Air option (as tested) Pros: Very comfortable overall; very good fit and support around the midfoot and base of the ankle; highly breathable; exceptional court feel with great flexibility at the forefoot (even with the full-length Zoom Air midsole); lightweight; stunning design Cons: Bigger players may want more forefoot cushioning than that provided by the stock Lunarlon + heel Zoom drop-in; don’t even think about it if you crave ankle coverage; some reports of poor traction on dusty court surfaces; crazy expensive Buying Advice: For in-depth recommendations from a performance perspective, see the reviews from NYJUMPMAN23, Kevin Wong or Jake Sittler. The fact that it’s the last shoe Bryant will wear as a pro cements the Kobe XI Elite’s claim to a spot in sneakerhead history by default. But as someone who’s into kicks for their performance and engineering, I believe the XI earns that spot on its merits. It points the way forward to what the mainstream basketball shoe of the next decade can and should be—lighter, more natural and more tailored to individual needs—and you don’t have to be a Bryant fan to appreciate that. The Kobe XI Elite is heinously expensive—no doubt. And the hurt on your wallet is even more acute in NIKEiD form. But, if you have the means, it gives you an opportunity to experience the future of basketball footwear, today.

Symphony No. 9

The KOBE 9 may mark the end of the Black Mamba’s on-court career, but, sad as that would be, this stunning shoe would represent one hell of a closing act.

As I noted when I re-booted Kicksology.net last September, I won’t be writing any new performance reviews—the reason being that my body is too broke-down to play anything beyond a game of H-O-R-S-E these days. If you’re looking for thorough on-court assessments of the latest kicks, check out Nightwing, Mr Foamer Simpson or the guys at KicksGenius.

But the end of my playing days doesn’t mean the end of my irrational exuberance for footwear. So I’ll continue to highlight shoes that pique my interest, whether it’s for a clever design element, or the introduction of an important new method-of-making or an unusually beautiful fusion of form and function. The KOBE 9 Elite just so happens to deliver on all three of these counts, which is why I was willing to empty out my wallet and harvest all the change from behind my sofa cushions to purchase a pair of the Elite Lows via NIKEiD (yes, they’re spendy).

figure 1. Sneaker design legend Tinker Hatfield described the KOBE 9 as “one of the most iconic, most beautiful shoe designs I’ve ever seen.” Who am I to argue with greatness? One of my favorite aspects of the KOBE 9’s design are the subtle ridges molded into the rubber sidewalls that wrap up around the base of the toebox. To my eye, their organic curves echo the shoe’s beautiful, pressure map-inspired outsole, while also evoking the many threads that comprise the KOBE 9’s innovative Flyknit upper.

It might seem strange that I should post this on the day that Kobe’s next signature shoe, the Kobe X, is officially unveiled. But the X won’t hit store shelves until February 7th, so any sneaker aficionados out there who’ve slept on the KOBE 9 Elite still have a brief window to cop a shoe that I believe will go down as the most important chapter in a storied line of signature kicks. And it’s worth noting that I’m not alone in my admiration for the 9: None other than Tinker Hatfield—he of Air Jordans III through XV, amongst many other icons of sneaker history—described the KOBE 9 as “one of the most iconic, most beautiful shoe designs I’ve ever seen” in an interview with Complex TV’s “Quickstrike” crew.

So, what’s so great about the 9? Well, for starters, as Tinker observed, it’s just drop-dead gorgeous. Yeah, yeah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. But the allure of some works transcends individual subjectivity: Take Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor as one example, or the Jaguar E-Type as another. Like those universal classics, I’m convinced that the soul-stirring beauty of the KOBE 9 Elite High and Low will be recognized far-and-wide for decades to come.

figure 2. Among the many customization options available for the KOBE 9 Elite Low via NIKEiD is the ability to add an embroidered message to the inner side of the tongue. You can add a large, two-character “Short iD” (useful for jersey numbers or initials) and a smaller, eight-character “Long iD.” In my case, I’ve opted for the Long iD only, and included a reminder to myself to “Dream By Day.” This shot also offers a good look at the KOBE 9 Elite’s beautiful carbon fiber heel counter and lateral support wing. Given the relatively high cost of carbon fiber, the material is limited to the primo priced Elite versions of the shoe.

A critical enabler of the KOBE 9 Elite’s transcendent design is the innovative manufacturing method underpinning its upper: Nike Flyknit. For the past several centuries, shoe uppers have been constructed using a process industry folks call cut-and-sew. As the name suggests, this involves cutting small panels of material out of larger sheets, and then sewing or glueing those panels together to form a finished upper. The longevity of this basic process speaks to its utility, but there are some downsides.

First, joining panels of material together—whether through sewing or glueing—invariably introduces stiffness along the interface where those panels meet. Related to this point, it can be very challenging to add targeted performance features via cut-and-sew without sacrificing comfort. Say, for example, you want to build stretch into one region of an upper and support into another. This would require disparate panels of materials with the necessary properties to be joined, but the more panels you introduce, the greater the potential for discomfort along the stiffened seams where those panels meet. Finally, this process is inherently wasteful because it’s based on cutting small panels of non-uniform parts out of large, uniformly rectangular sheets. Manufacturers have developed clever software that enables them to maximize the parts yield from each large sheet, but, because shoe parts tend to be oddly shaped, there’s always some material left over (the scraps can be recycled, but there’s cost and energy associated with the recycling process, so it doesn’t fully mitigate the waste produced at the cutting stage).

figure 3. The medial view above provides a good look at the different stitch and fiber applications that Eric Avar references in his quote below. You can see that the toe box area of the KOBE 9 Elite features a much tighter knit to help keep the forefoot planted on the footbed during hard cuts, while the midfoot features a more open knit geometry to allow the upper to move with the foot through that crucial fit zone. Among the many cool features of Flyknit is the ability to engineer “tunnels” into the regions of the upper where the designer wants to deliver added lockdown by way of dynamic Flywire (in the shot above, you can see Flywire cables tunneling through the upper along the medial arch). The net result is great fit around the midfoot without the “board-y” feel sometimes associated with more traditional, multi-layer applications of Flywire.

What makes Flyknit remarkable from a design and manufacturing perspective is that it addresses all of these issues. Rather than attempt to explain this myself, I’ll turn to two people with much greater expertise on the topic: Nike CEO Mark Parker and Eric Avar, the creative mind behind the KOBE 9 and a footwear design legend in his own right.

Mark Parker: Flyknit is, in many respects, game-changing in terms of performance, in terms of design … It used to be largely cut-and-sew construction for many centuries, which is more of a collage, where pieces come together. Today, we’re working at a fiber level and at a pixel level … down to the millimeter. On top of that, it changes the game of manufacturing. You’re taking one of the most labor intensive parts of the manufacturing process and simplifying it. There’s a sustainability factor and in this [KOBE 9 Elite High], there’s about 50% less waste than in a conventional basketball shoe. If you look at running [models], it’s potentially 80 to 90% less waste.

Eric Avar: You can design the amount of stretch and breathability exactly where you want it. Between the stitch and the fibers, you can create an unbelievable amount of performance properties. In the forefoot, where you really want some lockdown and security against all of the lateral forces, you can use a certain type of stitch and a certain type of fiber. Then, through the midfoot, where you want more of a dynamic and secure fit, you use another stitch and fiber … Knit, from a design perspective, allows us to use so many variables, and it’s essentially a blank canvas that allows us to design from a functional standpoint and also from a visual standpoint, so it’s really amazing.

These quotes come from Sole Collector, which interviewed Mark Parker, Eric Avar and Kobe Bryant at the launch of the KOBE 9 Elite last February. And, just to be clear, the stitch- and fiber-level control over performance characteristics that Parker and Avar highlight above is all built into a single layer of Flyknit construction. In the case of running applications, that single layer can constitute the entire upper, meaning that overlays and seams joining disparate materials are effectively eliminated. The net result is sock-like comfort and fit combined with precisely tuned support; the dramatic reduction in waste material is a huge attendant benefit.

Sports involving lots of lateral movement—e.g. basketball, soccer and American football—generate so much shear force that the Flyknit construction has to be reinforced to keep the wearer’s foot planted on the shoe’s footbed. But, even so, the KOBE 9 Elite completely dispenses with traditional overlays and is, instead, reinforced internally using a stitch-less process that Nike calls “Fuse.” Much as in running, the promise is an upper that fits and feels like a natural extension of the foot, but with no compromise in the support and overall protection required for court sports.

figure 4. The KOBE 9 would get my vote for most beautiful outsole of any basketball shoe, stretching back to the original Converse Chuck Taylor. And the great thing is that its beauty runs more than just skin deep. Molded from an ultra-thin layer of rubber, the KOBE 9’s underfoot pressure map-inspired outsole design delivers tenacious grip, while also contributing to the shoe’s excellent court feel and feathery weight. But, unless you have an unlimited budget for shoes, I’d limit game time exposure to less abrasive indoor surfaces (note, however, that an ultra-durable XDR outdoor outsole option is available via NIKEiD).

One additional benefit of Flyknit is that a reduction in seams and overlays also nets a reduction in overall weight. In the case of the KOBE 9 Elite Low, the shoe tips the scales at a gossamer 13.7 ounces in a U.S. men’s 11. In all my years of Kicksology, only one shoe has bested this: the Nike Air Flight Lite II circa 2000 - 2001, which weighed a scant 13.5 ounces. But the Flight Lite II’s weight advantage came with a significant trade-off in playability—here’s how I concluded my review back in April of 2001: “the Nike Air Flight Lite II is unquestionably a light shoe [but] that lightness is a product of compromises that make the shoe less than ideal for people who play a quick cutting, hard slashing type of game.”

What’s remarkable about the KOBE 9 Elite is that it’s a featherweight that, by all accounts, punches well above its weight. In other words, you get the benefits of an ultra-light shoe without the compromises in support and protection typically associated with ultra-light kicks.

figure 5. Kobe’s signature shoe line has featured removable midsole construction since the VII, which was introduced in late 2011. There are pros and cons to this approach, but I’m a big fan because it enables a degree of court- and cushioning-feel that can’t be matched by more traditional midsole constructions. I can understand why some reviewers have said they would have loved a full-length or heel Zoom Air unit to augment the Lunarlon insert, but I’m partial to the purity of this foam-only approach. My favorite feature of the midsole is its textured surface, which gives my toes something to grab onto and helps keep my feet awake and active.

At this point, I could go on at length about the KOBE 9 Elite’s unique Lunarlon midsole insert, but I think I’ve blabbed enough. The TL;DR version of this post is this: Get a pair of the KOBE 9 Elite while you still can because you will regret sleeping on this future classic. I know that as an employee of the Swoosh I may not be seen as an impartial observer on this topic, but I was a sneakerhead long before I moved inside the berm, and all my sneakerhead instincts tell me that the KOBE 9 Elite is a shoe that matters—the sort of shoe that, like the Air Flightposite and Huarache 2K4 before it (both shoes designed by Eric Avar, btw), will serve as a frame of reference for much that follows. If that matters to you, procure a pair posthaste!

Who’s Worn It
Kobe Bryant (G- Los Angeles Lakers); DeMar DeRozan (G- Toronto Raptors); Manu Ginóbili (G- San Antonio Spurs); Andre Iguodala (G/SF- Golden State Warriors); Zach LaVine (G- Minnesota Timberwolves); J.R. Smith (G/SF- Cleveland Cavaliers); Dion Waiters (G- Oklahoma City Thunder); Nick Young (G/SF- Los Angeles Lakers)

Reviewed by Ernest Kim, January 31, 2015
	Nike KOBE 9 Elite Low† Overall:  Comfort & Fit:  Cushioning:  Ankle Support:  Weight:  13.7 oz* † Ratings based on a meta-analysis of third-party sites. * Based on a US men’s 11. For context, a can of soda weighs 13 oz.
Price: $245 via NIKEiD Key Tech: Nike Flyknit upper construction augmented with integrated Flywire cabling; full-length Lunarlon midsole insert; carbon fiber heel counter and lateral support wing; ultra-thin rubber outsole Pros: Very comfortable overall; surprisingly good support around the midfoot and base of the ankle; remarkable court feel with great flexibility at the forefoot; excellent traction; incredibly lightweight; stunning design Cons: Some reports of discomfort related to the rigidity of the carbon fiber heel counter; some reports of front-to-back movement within the shoe during hard stops; bigger players may want more cushioning; very expensive Buying Advice: For in-depth recommendations from a performance perspective, see the reviews from Nightwing, Randy Booker, Mr Foamer Simpson or KicksGenius. From a sneakerhead perspective, if you consider yourself a sneaker fan and don’t already own a pair of KOBE 9 Elites, what the hell have you been waiting for?!? Okay, they are really, really expensive, so don’t go blowing your college fund on these if you don’t have the coin. But if you can swing it, by all means do pick up a pair of the KOBE 9 Elites while you still can, because these shoes are something special, and peeps who sleep on them today will regret it for decades to come.