Nike Air Zoom GT Cut Performance Review

 Nike Basketball’s GT series of footwear seems promising after the first model, the Nike Air Zoom GT Cut, impressed me on-court.

Traction

Traction required a bit of break-in time during indoor testing, but once the dust settled, things were pretty much a go. The grip held well and I had nothing but confidence in my movements, despite main sections of the outsole I tend to use featuring a flat traction surface. For whatever reason, the rubber just stuck to the floor.

Outdoors on the other hand — wasn’t quite as good. The rubber is showing good signs of durability as the outsole hasn’t frayed at all. However, the grip was lacking in comparison to my indoor coverage. It was quite a surprise as I tend to have great grip in nearly every shoe outdoors, but the sb dunk  just didn’t seem to have what it takes to transition well from outdoor to indoor.

The score that you’ll see will be for indoor only. If I were to rate the traction on outdoor performance alone I’d have to give it a 6th Man badge.

Cushion

Cushion is interesting as we have three layers of Nike’s various cushions directly under-foot.

React sits below your foot and does a solid job of absorbing most of the impact from gameplay. Under the React is a full-length Air Zoom strobel. There is an additional (traditional) heel Zoom Air unit as well. While there are three layers of cushion, this is still a minimal setup. You’re very low to the ground and you have just enough impact protection to make you feel comfortable, but also extremely light on your feet. While the GT Cut is, as its name states, for cutting and slashing, anyone that prefers a low profile setup with what feels like limitless forefoot mobility should enjoy the ride.

It will be interesting to see how the upcoming air jordan and GT Jump differ in terms of cushioning and feel.

Materials

The materials are all synthetic, and while that isn’t usually my cup of tea, I have zero complaints.

The neoprene build is soft and formfitting. While the mesh outer layer is strong without needing any break-in time. There are a few layers of TPU here and there for structure but you never feel like you’re wearing a shoe made of plastic. The entire build is so light and airy that you often feel as if you aren’t wearing shoes at all.

This aspect has also proven to be fairly durable thus far. With the only wear and tear shown being dirt from playing indoors and outdoors. Otherwise there is no peeling or tearing anywhere.

Fit

The Nike Air Zoom GT Cut fits true to size. They fit perfectly 1-to-1 and I have loved every minute in them. Wide footers should be okay as the materials used are very forgiving. Just give them a little break-in time if you’re maxing out the space internally and once things start to conform around your feet you should be good to go.

Lockdown was excellent and I have no complaints at all. I was able to lace tightly in the areas I prefer without lace pressure causing pinching or numbness.

Support

Support was solid for a shoe that is this lightweight. The TPU torsion bar did a good job keeping the midfoot rigid while the internal heel counter is quite strong. There is also a forefoot rubber/TPU brace that hugs the foot upon lateral movements ensuring you don’t roll off of the footbed and it did a perfect job containing without discomfort.

Overall

Overall, I love the Nike Air Zoom GT Cut. If you’re a Nike or nothing player, then these should suit you well. The best comparison to a previous Nike Basketball model would be the Nike Kobe 8 — but the GT Cut has an upper that I wish we had on the Kobe 8 at the time.

If you’re looking for a low profile, lightweight setup then the GT Cut might be right for you. If you require a bit more impact protection then you’ll want to stick with something like the Nike KD 14.