My Thoughts on the Kobe I Protro and WhyNot Zero.1 Midway Review

 **damn, took the L today. Sorry but review on the Protro is not coming until a restock*

4/13* damn, took another L today. I’ll try again tomorrow*

4/14*you guessed it, another L and I was on SNKERS at 8:58 and clicked buy right away. Smh

If you didn’t know, I love the Kobe 11 and it still resides in my rotation even after 13 years.

 

If you didn’t read the Nike marketing press release here you go:

The key takeaway:

“We really wanted to make sure that the shoe looked exactly like the [Zoom Kobe] 1, but was built through the lens of performance athletes, specifically professional athletes on the NBA court,” says Grosso.

Another push was to improve the shoe’s cushioning. Nike Zoom Air has come a long way in the last 13 years and the team was able to use those advances to add a better system for performance athletes, specifically in the form of a Zoom bag setup with a rocker and ride that is smoother than the original. They were also able to improve the ride by eliminating foam and decreasing the size of the carbon fiber shank to create a more engineered feel.

So basically Nike Freak 3 is retroing the Kobe I and keeping the looks the same, while “improving” the cushioning for a smoother ride by making lower to the ground and taking away some of the carbon fiber shank which is 3/4 length (I got a peek at the shank when a pair of mine needed some extra glue).

What’s this mean performance wise

Not a whole lot of the USA colorway out there.

Probably very little. The rocker for the Zoom bag sounds interesting and I’m curious to see what it all means. Bleacher Report states it was full length Zoom but I’ll have to see for myself if that’s really the case (sorry BR I don’t trust your sneaker credentials). Cushioning is predominately preference but if it’s full length Zoom I may have a new old number one shoe again if it’s implemented right. Weight wise, I don’t see them cutting out more than an ounce if at all. Just because they say it doesn’t mean it’s true . Curry 3Zero anyone ?

I find it interesting that Nike did not “upgrade” the upper since air jordan 36 is about improving performance. Oh that’s right it doesn’t matter . Thanks for validating my point Nike. Flyknit is cheaper to make, thus the push of its “performance” benefits.

Regardless of what’s done or not, I’ll be trying to cop these even if I have way too many.

This was only what was close by didn’t go into storage to dig out the rest.

Jordan Why Not Zero.1

I got a hold of these thanks to an early release at a certain store that starts with an F which coincidentally gets the same grade for customer service. I’ve been playing in them for the past week and here is a quick rundown. I’ll have the full review done before this colorway releases.

Traction has been very good but I wouldn’t put in the top tier. It’s pretty grippy overall and doesn’t require much wiping thanks to the tiny blade pattern. Still very very good and consistent, let’s hope it gets a little better.

Cushioning has been disappointing so far. The Zoom is bottom loaded and I can feel it a little after a week but it isn’t anything close to the Jordans 2021 , Zoom BB or even the AJ XII feel. It does play very quick and is responsive though. I’m hoping it breaks in soon but so far it’s very Phylony with a touch of Zoom. It rides very low the ground though in the forefoot which I like a lot.

Fit is true to size no issues here. Almost overly tight.

Support and Stability are its greatest strengths. Very flat wide outsole and low feeling make this shoe feel very stable. Add in the huge heel counter and you’re good to go.

Containment is also very good thanks to the raised midsole that goes from heel to toe.

So far it’s a very good shoe thus far and does everything well. Check back next week and my full review should be done.