Nike Hyperize

Don't Criticize

Last summer we were introduced to the Nike Hyperdunk.Lighter,faster,better the culmination of Nike's obsession with making the ultimate lightweight performance shoe.While not perfect,the Hyperdunk did push the brand closer to that ultimate goal.This year,armed with what was learned with the Hyperdunk and even the zoom Kobe 4,The Hyperize was supposed to be the next step...Ah yes the kicker..supposed to..

figure1
note the heel tpu heel cup and the height of the collar and slope to the Achilles

Nike once again pushed the envelope and gave us yet another shoe even lighter than the Hyperdunk(I wont count the Zoom Kobe IV because of it being a low top and obviously less material needed).The Hyperize takes a couple ques from the Hyperdunk.Y notch on the heel,keyhole notch above the ankle for added flexibility.What they Hyperize failed to carry over was the stiff heel counter that was on the Hyperdunk as well as two speed lace loops just behind the keyhole notch that really helped the Hyperdunk secure the wearer's foot.Unfortunately the exclusion of these among other things hurt the shoe in terms of having any kind of support.As we learned in playing in the Kobe IV,even without a higher cut shoe,support did not have to be sacrificed as long as the heel was well supported.Unfortunately except for a flimsy plastic heel cap,there is absolutely no heel support which marginalizes any kind of support the shoe can give anywhere else.The shoe seems to be higher cut than the Hyperdunk because the slope from the top of the collar down to the Achilles is at a higher angle which allows for more freedom without sacrificing height.The collar is padded but anything less than a crew sock might cause some rubbing from the shoe to the skin.Moisture management is good with the mesh tongue and mesh cutouts on the Flywire panels that take off that micro fraction of weight while still being functional.

figure2
note the large lateral outrigger and mesh vent cutouts on the flywire panel

There have been alot of knocks about lunar foam.I currently at the time of this writing own four different shoes that have lunar foam as the primary cushioning setup.From the Hyperdunk to the Lunar Racer to the Lunarglide and Hyperize I have felt a small difference from each application of the lunar foam.I ran through my normal test runs of the shoe and the lunar foam in the Hyperize seemed to be holding up a little bit better than the lunar foam of the Hyperdunks.Not saying that this should would probably survive a season of practice and games,but it seems like there have been some improvements to the durability of lunar foam.Once again the lunar foam does not give the "springy" feeling that zoom air gives but the impact absorption of the foam is excellent.I am a little curious to see what a setup of lunar foam in the heel and zoom air in the forefoot would feel like but I think with the constant pounding on the heel would flatten out the lunar foam rather quickly.

figure3
note the "t-notch" and herringbone pattern

Traction is greatly improved from the Hyperdunk.A more traditional herringbone pattern with what felt like a softer rubber compound improved on what was decent traction of the Hyperdunk.A large lateral outrigger allows the wearer to make hard cuts without the fear of tipping over,and the "y-notch"(in this case t-notch) on the heel gives the shoe good flexibility without sacrificing alot of support on lateral heel strikes.A carbon fiber midfoot shank makes for a rigid mid foot without adding too much weight.Unfortunately another thing missing from the Hyperize from the Hyperdunk was how the Hyperdunk cradled the wearer's foot with phylon support on both the lateral and medial sides of the mid foot.I constantly found my foot sliding back and forth on the footbed during hard cuts.Issues with the heel support amplify this problem.where the shoe lacks almost any support.

figure4

I really did not want to make this a Hyperdunk versus Hyperize type of review.Unfortunately it works both ways in terms of improving each shoe,you would simply have the other one.Improve support you might as well buy the Hyperdunk.Better cushioning and traction thats lighter get the Hyperize.Unfortunately the complete lack of support really killed the shoe for me.For some reason unlike the Hyperdunk when I wore the Hyperize,the shoe seemed to fight my foot when running and seemed like it did not flex naturally.

Comfort and Fit-2/5
Cushioning-4/5
Ankle Support-2.5/5
Traction-4/5
Overall-2.5/5

The total lack of any support with my foot sliding on hard cuts completely turned me off to the shoe.In hindsight,when I give the Hypedunk a 4.5/5 and the Hyperize a 4/5 in terms of cushioning and claim the cushioning is better in the Hyperize,this was before we realized the lack of durability of the lunar foam.I saw it as a potential problem for the foam but at the time of the Hyperdunk review did not experience a significant loss of cushioning the Hyperdunk would eventually have with regular use.That being said,given some of the durability issues lunar foam has had in the past,in this shoe it performed very well.It seems just like in movies where sequels rarely are better than the original,the Hyperize fails to surpass the Hyperdunk.