Jordan XI

Jumpman Jam

The Jordan 11 is quite possibly the most popular Jordans of all time.With it's cordura mesh and iconic patent leather upper,the Jordan XI was what opposing NBA teams saw during the bulls spectacular 72 win season.The Jordan XI also introduced us to a carbon fiber midfoot shank which is now a staple in basketball shoes.With a resume like that the XI should be a world beater. Let's see if it makes you believe you can fly or will send you crashing back to earth...

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note the cordura mesh and patent leather upper

Relatively speaking,aside from the Jordan VII,the Jordan line up to this point has been a little bit on the heavy side.with the Jordan XI, a cordura mesh upper provides breathability and reduced weight.Unfortunately the Jordan XI suffers from the problem of minimalizing the upper tends to sacrifice support.With only minimal padding in the ankle area and speed lacing,the amount of lock down is negligible at best.The patent leather as a material does a pretty good job of keeping the foot from coming off of the footbed because of it's stiffness but still doesn't make up for the lack of lockdown especially around the ankle area.

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note the raised phylon midsole for added heel support

The Jordan XI sits on a full length encapsulated air unit.Having played in the 2001 retro as well as the countdown pack black and red XI,this review will focus on the 2009 spacejam XI retro.Cushioning wildly fluctuated from soft full length air in the 2001 retro to what felt like cardboard in the countdown pack XI.Thankfully the 2009 XI sat right in the middle of the two.While not as soft as the 2001 retro,it provided enough cushioning to absorb some heavy pounding on concrete courts without experiencing any great discomfort.

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note the excellent herringbone traction coupled with the soft translucent rubber

Where the XI truly shines is in the traction department.Herringbone traction on the heel and forefoot coupled with super soft translucent rubber.The Jordan XI also was the first time a carbon fiber midfoot shank was used to add some lightweight midfoot support.Now standard in most signature shoes,at the time the addition was a huge step forward.

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When initially released in 1996,the Jordan XI was truly an innovator pushing for a reduction in weight as well as the introduction of new materials previously not used before.Nearly 15 years later and we are dizzy with shoes that have patent leather or have carbon fiber incorporated in them.The lack of any real lockdown really overshadows all of the advancements the Jordan XI was able to accomplish.

Comfort and fit-3/5
Cushioning-2.75/5
Ankle support-2.5/5
Traction-4.25/5
Overall-3/5

While it was definitely cool to bring this classic back on to the court,it definitely showed it's age..well not really it's age but maybe more the quality of Jordan retros.Regardless of how the shoe holds up today compared to what is currently available I'm sure the minute we get a chance to play in the Jordan XI's you'll see no shortage of people playing in them.