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Adidas Kobe Bryant The KOBE TWO | Review

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The KOBETWO was the Mamba’s final shoe with Adidas and to put it lightly, I’d have to say that it was probably for the best.  While The KOBE ignited my obsession at first glance, The KOBETWO felt almost like a half-assed attempt at marked improvement.

–== Complete Line of Kobe Shoes ==–

Breakdown

Adidas and Audi took their initially brilliant idea and gave it a little too much cat nip.  I’m all for fresh new looks and design concepts, but at the end of the day, wouldn’t you want your basketball shoe to look like…a shoe?

Milking concepts in the sneaker industry is a dangerous game of balancing maintenance and innovation, which is where I must say that Nike has done a remarkable job in progressing forward from the Zoom Kobe IV to the Zoom Kobe V.  Adidas however, in my opinion, committed an epic fail by releasing The KOBETWO as they did.

Before I continue, just let me reiterate the fact that the actual design itself is quite beautiful, with an incredibly smooth upper composed of a synthetic almost skin-like material that truly displays Audi’s influence on the sneaker.  Like I said though, I’m not exactly trying to play ball with the Bat Mobile on my feet.

Performance

The rubber outsole flaunts a herringbone pattern for maximum traction and if you also notice, the midsole is completely internalized within the upper.  As if it could not be identified as Adidas without it, the shoe loudly boasts a substantial shell-toe that, speaking from personal experience, gets quite beat up – and it’s not a pretty sight.  The most obvious external feature of the shoe is the “hood” that perfectly conceals the laces and blends in perfectly with the lines of the upper.  A 3D Torsion system also resides within the kicks to provide mid-foot stability and support.

I had no problem refraining from blowing hundreds on the other colorways that were released because in my personal opinion, I did not deem it practical to do so.  Why?  My main beef with The KOBETWO was its weight.  I think the overall design, while great to steal glances at, added to the heavy and bulky feeling while playing in them.  I recall my feet not feeling close to the ground, but rather suffocating inside.  As far as stability and support, the shoes didn’t fail, but the feeling of being bogged down was a deal breaker for me.

Overall

Even with four public release colorways (Charcoal, White, White/Yellow/Purple, Silver) and one special American flag edition (in light of 9/11), The KOBETWO failed to surpass, even live up to, the standard that The KOBE had forged.  In the grand scheme of things…not a bad thing at all.  Adidas however, does not seem to think the shoes were such an atrocity because even these have been re-released under the alias, The Crazy 2.

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Kobe did however, star in a sick commercial showing off his dunk arsenal.  Check it out!

http://youtu.be/TxsJMoDo18s

Worn By:

  • Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers
  • Jimmy Butler | Chicago Bulls

Colorways

  • Graphite
  • White/Cadmium/Eggplant
  • White/Graphite/Lead
  • Silver/Black

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