ANTA KAI 2 TEAM

Too Narrow, too curved, too hot.

On the positive side the shoes look great, the soles provide good traction on an outdoor court, and the toe box has more than adequate space. I want to preface the following comments by admitting that I am bit old school, and my frame of reference relates more to running than hoops. The last (shape of the outsole) in this shoe is very curved. I notice this is an ongoing trend with Basketball shoes. In running shoes a highly curved last is only for underpronators (supination). Anta does not appear to offer any basketball shoes that have even a semi-curved last, let along a straight last. As someone who over-pronates, this type of last is not a good match for me. Next is width. I know Basketball shoes like to have a "locked-in" feeling, but I still do not consider this shoe medium width. I have a medium width foot and this shoe is tight in the middle. If I compare it with my running shoes, this shoe looks like a ballet slipper. The breathable material is really limited, and the shoe really feels very artificial and plastiky. My foot heated up real fast. A heated foot swells, so the longer you play, the more uncomfortable the shoe is. My ankles were really hurting me after one game of hoops. At the end of the day, after a game of hoops, I had to take these shoes off and switch to a different pair of non-basketball shoes to play another game in greater comfort, and might I add, better performance too. If you are used to modern basketball shoes and are under the age of 30 you might still like this pair. But to me, I think this pair, and basketball shoes in general are sacrificing comfort, and protection, for speed and performance. Maybe that is why modern Basketball players seem to be injuring themselves at higher rate.

The show is light, good cushion, great grip, and has good balance to protect from rolling your ankles.. Only reason i didnt gove it a five was because i got a burn mark from the shoe on my ankle and i was wearing good socks. I think it was the shoe lace I re-laced it and hopefully that does the trick.

Crafted Elegantly & sporty can get away in "no tennis shoes: club easily if worn slick