Peak Kidd1

Climbing to the Peak

Recently there have been a number of NBA players signing endorsement contracts with various shoe brands based in china.It all started with Damon Jones signing with Li Ning and a number of other players most notably Shane Battier.PEAK is one of the top domestic shoe companies in China along with Li Ning and Anta.After the 2008 Olympics,Peak went out and signed future hall of famer Jason Kidd.Being Jason Kidd's first signature shoe baring his name with PEAK,it forces people to take a step back and notice the companies in China and their step into the mainstream.Lets see if the shoe makes a step towards the top or stuck at the bottom.

figure1
note the asymmetrical collar for maximum coverage on the lateral side of the ankle

At first inspection,the shoe is well made.No random glue stains or undone stitching,and what felt like quality materials to construct the shoe.The shoe was a bit on the heavy side,with a lot of the weight more towards the heel.The Kidd1 features an internal heel counter as well as a tpu support for added stability on the heel.The collar is well padded making for an excellent locked down feel with very little heel slip.The collar is also asymmetrical allowing excellent range of motion without sacrificing ankle support.One major problem the shoe has is the lack of breathability.While the tongue does feature some mesh lining,there is no where for the heat or moisture to escape.The perforations on the lateral side of the shoe do not help the shoe breathe at all.The moisture management problem got to the point where the moisture had accumulated in the shoe and turned my sock blue from the blue material inside the shoe.

figure2
note the beautiful Chinese art inspired details on the upper

The Kidd1 features PK Rocket cushioning.PK Rocket works by using a phylon midsole in combination with a lighter responsive foam and a dense impact absorbing core .I found the cushioning to be very soft.However I had some problems with the sockliner being too soft.It felt like I was fighting through the sockliner at times because it was excessively soft.Another problem the shoe has is the lack of responsiveness and being a little bit too high off the court surface during active play.Impact protection is excellent and I think would do very well on outdoor courts where cushioning is paramount due to the unforgiving concrete.I would like to see designers continue to progress PK Rocket by finding ways to make it lighter and more responsive all while lowering the profile of the shoe putting the foot closer to the ground allowing for greater court responsiveness.

figure3
note the triangular window giving us a view of the dual density driven PK Rocket cushioning system

Traction on the shoe Kidd1 was very good on all of the surfaces that I played on.The rubber compound used for the outsole is very soft and features a herringbone and concentric triangle pattern.One slight problem I encountered was I felt my forefoot slip at times on hard cuts due to losing some of the surface area with the PEAK logo on the forefoot in a key pivot point.A TPU midfoot shank adds midfoot lightweight midfoot support.The shoe also has a bit of support on the lateral side with the rubber outsole overlapping to the upper adding support and preventing the wearer's foot from sliding off the footbed on lateral cuts.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Peak Kidd1.I ran into a few issues but overall a solid shoe that was nearly on par with some of the shoes the bigger mainstream companies put out.Obviously the shoe is not perfect,with it's fairly heavy weight,excessively soft cushioning and lack of breathability.One other slight problem I ran into was a little bit of inconsistency in the materials.The lacehole on the tongue on one of my shoes nearly tore completely off.

Comfort and Fit-3/5
Cushioning-3/5
Ankle Support-3.5/5
Traction-3.5/5
Overall-3/5

Overall the shoe is solid for a first time experience.The heavy weight,lack of breathability and excessive cushioning need to be tweaked a bit but a solid start.The use of the asymmetrical collar for maximum ankle coverage was great and made for excellent support.It is always exciting to try something new and from a completely different angle from which we are used to seeing.If the designers can resolve some of the issues with the Peak Kidd1 I'm sure we will be hearing more from this company in the near future.