Logic's Sneaker Review: The Nike Kobe 8 System

Logic here, with another one of my sneaker reviews.  This time around, I'll be featuring the Nike Kobe 8 System. This basketball shoe is designed to be lightweight, and well suited for guards. With that said, let's get right to it. 

  

Materials - Most of the shoe is made of Engineered Mesh; a reinforced textile material that's built to be durable as well as breathable. This material allows enough heat to escape without having to put a lot of perforations. It also keeps its form well enough so it won't get torn apart when performing those quick cuts and lateral movements in-game.

Traction - The traction of the Kobe 8's works perfectly when used on hardwood.  There's absolutely no slippage on these, even if the court's a little dusty.  I can't say the same about its performance on outdoor courts though.  They still grip the floor quite nicely on those rubberized outdoor courts but you'll experience some slipping when you start using these on dusty cement courts. Another thing to note is that the traction pattern on these shoes is a little shallow so they might wear out quicker than most shoes when used outdoors.

Cushion - These shoes are equipped with a full length Lunarlon foam insert. The Lunarlon foam provides low profile cushioning that gives you good court feel without sacrificing impact protection.  This kind of cushioning setup is actually one of my personal favorites because it's able to protect your knees from impact without being too plushy. You might encounter some "sinking" issues after a really long while of use though.  I've had these for a little over a year now and I'm starting to notice that the part under my heel and the ball of my foot sort of got pressed down. This might only be an issue for bigger and heavier people but I can't be sure because most of the people I know that have Kobe 8's are smaller, lighter guards. I don't feel that it affects the impact absorption that much; the shoe just ends up feeling a little looser on those specific parts where the Lunarlon sinks.

Support - If there was one aspect of the shoe that really surprised me (in a good way), this would be it. The Kobe 8 provides really good support for a shoe that's cut this low.  The carbon fiber shank that's placed under the midfoot until the side of the foot arch wraps around those parts of your foot so that you won't feel any dead space in that area.  The TPU heel counter also helps provide support.  It's able to keep your heel in place so it won't lift off the bottom of the shoe. Heel lockdown could be an issue on some low-top basketball shoes but not on this one. It's especially good for when you push off the ball of your foot; the heel counter keeps your heel down so the shoe stays with your foot, not the floor.



Fit - The fit is also one of the highlights of the shoe (for me, at least) because it works well for all sorts of foot shapes. I personally have slightly wide feet with a high arch so some shoes don't fit well because they really squeeze the side of my feet. The Kobe 8 provides an adaptive kind of fit which comes from the Engineered Mesh that's used for the shoe upper and the the way the shoelaces are placed.  The flexible mesh allows the shoe laces to pull the sides together to really make it wrap around your feet. The flexibility of the upper also makes it follow the contour of your foot so it gets rid of all that dead space around that would allow unwanted movement within the shoe.



Overall - The Nike Kobe 8 is a well fitting, adequately supportive shoe that's designed more for guards.  I wouldn't recommend these if you plan to play on rough outdoor courts all the time due to durability issues with the shoe's outsole but they'll work flawlessly when used on hardwood.

So that's it for my review.  Make sure you tune in for the next one. Thanks for reading! And feel free to leave your comments below.