The Harden Vol 7 looks weird but performs great, and brings back plush cushioning to adidas basketball.
Colorway: Better Scarlet / Core Black / Better Scarlet
Release Date: 2023
Price: $160
James Harden’s 7th signature shoe, the adidas Harden Vol 7 is odd-looking, to say the least, but the shoe features a bunch of different performance features that could make these elite performance basketball shoes. The design team at adidas put together a very intriguing hoop shoe that also brings back the Boost we all know and love. Let’s jump into the performance review, to see exactly how they performed on court.
The adidas Harden Vol 7 comes with both solid and translucent rubber on the outsole. The solid portions are pods in the forefoot and feature (slightly slanted) herringbone traction, and the rest of the outsole is translucent with a radial traction pattern.
Traction on the Vol 7 is excellent. Both the solid and the translucent rubbers are grippy, and the combination of the herringbone and radial traction patterns offers very consistent and multidirectional coverage on court. This set-up is elite indoors and outdoors, but it won’t last long on the blacktop. The traction pattern isn’t deeply set, and translucent rubber tends to wear down quickly, but the shoe will grip well as long as the traction pattern lasts.
adidas Harden Vol 7 Cushioning
Cushioning on the adidas Harden Vol 7 might be the shoe’s best feature. What we have is a dual-density foam setup. In the forefoot and midfoot of the shoe we have adidas’ Lightstrike foam, and in the heel, we have adidas’ Boost. Now we have good news regarding both foams: the Lightstrike doesn’t feel like Lightstrike, and the Boost doesn’t feel like modern Boost. The Lightstrike in the Harden Vol 7 is much more bouncy and plush and the Boost in the heel is like the Boost we know and love from the mid-2000’s.
The adidas Harden Vol 7 offers a very well-balanced ride on the court, with just enough impact protection and bounce to keep you comfortable as you play, as well as the right amount of reactiveness to help you stay agile. Just a really great cushioning setup from adidas, and we finally have a more plush feeling hoop shoe in the adidas lineup.
adidas Harden Vol 7 Materials
In terms of quality, it really depends on which colorway you pick up. Some come with mainly textiles along the upper and others come with a leather build. In both cases, the materials a good but not great, but both do their job well on court. You get more than enough support and comfort from both builds.
One drawback you will find with this build is ventilation. This isn’t a huge issue for most hoopers, but, it is something to keep in mind if your feet tend to overheat.
adidas Harden Vol 7 Support
Support on the Harden Vol 7 is on point. We have a full-length, bottom-loaded shank plate that helps to keep you stable and springy on court, a very wide base with a ton of surface in contact with the court, and several portions of the outsole and midsole wrap around the upper and add containment to the shoe.
Two of the more remarkable design features on the shoe also affect its performance. That synthetic overlay we see in the forefoot of the shoe, which is similar to what we saw in the Harden Vol 1, adds containment in that area and flexes naturally with your foot. On the other hand, the sock collar and heel of the shoe are somewhat lackluster. The sock collar can make it difficult to get your foot in, especially if you use ankle braces, and the heel is not as well padded as we would have liked, and therefore lockdown isn’t excellent.
adidas Harden Vol 7 Fit
The adidas Harden Vol 7 fits true to size but because of the unusual build, finding the right size might be a bit tricky, and this is again, because of that sock collar. If you are planning to use ankle braces or have wider feet, you may want to go up half a size or try them on in-store. But in general, go true to size.
adidas Harden Vol 7 Overall
Well done adidas! The Harden Vol 7 brings back a ton of stuff we were missing from adidas basketball: the wow factor, a plush cushioning system, a well-performing Harden shoe, etc. and we get all of this in one of the most unique-looking hoop shoes of the year. Personally, I would have loved to have seen how the market would have received this model back when Harden was in Houston at the height of his powers and fame. I think these would have been ICONIC.
The Harden Vol 7 is one of the best hoop shoes of the year overall and is just a very well-balanced hoop shoe with a ton of flare.
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