First Take: Adidas Top Ten 2000 Retro (October 11, 2014)

Feet You Wore...

Friend thought it was a knockoff Jordan XI

     This shoe was sitting on a store shelf when I came across it. Though it has a polarizing design, you can't really go wrong with black and red color blocking. Having never worn the original, I was curious enough to pull the trigger, and at $40 I did not stand to lose much if it turned out to be a disappointment. I have worn and played in it for a little over a week now (liking how it plays so far), and would like to share my impressions.

     The shoe has a unique lacing system in that the crossing pattern of the two lace ends is not uniform (as shown in the front view picture). I wasn't sure how this would work at first, but find that the lockdown stands out in this model. My feet felt pretty secure in this shoe.

I got a feelin'...

     The cushion setup was unlike anything I had played in before. The original shoe integrated Feet-You-Wear, a technology that was licensed by Adidas but has since been removed from their footwear. It was intended to promote the natural movement of your feet by utilizing traction pods under the pressure areas of your feet. I never had the pleasure of playing in a Feet-You-Wear shoe, but imagine that the "watered-down" version found in this shoe resembles that of the original. It was as if the different sections of my feet were sinking into their corresponding pods, promoting more natural movement and a smoother heel-to-toe transition. I will need to spend more time with the shoe to determine how effective this setup is in terms of traction.

     In terms of materials, this is a well-built shoe. This particular colorway features a synthetic nubuck and mesh on the upper, along with brushed-finish red overlays. There is also very plush fabric padding in the ankle collar area.

     That concludes my first impressions of the shoe, and I will follow up with a more detailed performance review after logging more hours in it. Thanks for reading,