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ADIDAS CLIMACOOL

The adidas ClimaCool Basketball provides an unquestionably cool ride, but is that enough for you?

by Professor K, posted May 31, 2002

This is a good summer for basketball players. Manufacturers are releasing a huge assortment of shoes for the summer and one of the most interesting is the adidas ClimaCool Basketball. What's interesting about it is that it addresses an issue unique to summer basketball; heat.

Anyone's who's played outdoor hoops at the height of summer knows that heat is a serious issue and if you've played on a dark surface you know that your feet can get extremely hot. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association a pair of feet has approximately 250,000 sweat glands and, under normal conditions, those glands produce about half-a-pint of moisture each day (Just imagine how much sweat is produced while playing hoops on a hot summer's day!). And when all this moisture is trapped inside your shoes it's not only uncomfortable, but can also lead to blistering due to a degradation of fit and nasty fungal problems such as athlete's foot.

Understanding this adidas has developed a new line of shoes designed from the ground-up to provide adequate ventilation in even the worst conditions; the ClimaCool series. The line-up includes shoes for running, tennis, training, and basketball and it's that last shoe that I'm taking a closer look at here.

The adidas ClimaCool Basketball could easily have been executed as a simple gimmick; punch a few holes in the top of a shoe and call it a "revolutionary ventilating concept." But even cursory look at the ClimaCool Basketball makes it obvious that adidas was committed to making the ClimaCool line much more than just a marketing exercise. Under development by adidas' Advanced Innovation Team and Scheinfeld Testing Center since 1999 the shoes in the ClimaCool line, including the ClimaCool Basketball, really do provide 360-degrees of ventilation. This means that the shoe is vented from both sides, the front, the back, the top, and (this is what's really interesting) the bottom.

Even the sockliner of the ClimaCool Basketball is specially designed to maximize ventilation with a cross-hatched design that allows air and moisture through, while still providing cushioning. And, according to adidas, the result of all of this ventilation is a 20% reduction in both moisture and temperature vs. conventional footwear during any given sporting activity. I can't quite quantify my experience with the venting ability of the adidas ClimaCool Basketball in such precise terms, but I can say that the shoes definitely did feel cooler on my feet than conventional hoops shoes. This was particularly true outdoors where I could feel the cooling effects of even the lightest breeze.

And outdoors is where the adidas ClimaCool Basketball really shines. Since indoor courts are protected from the sun and, generally, air-conditioned, ventilation is not that big of an issue. But outdoors, where there's little shade and the surface of the court radiates heat like a stove top, it is an issue, and that's where the ClimaCool design really pays dividends. My feet did still sweat when playing outdoors, but I didn't feel like they were being cooked in an oven. Yet the ClimaCool venting isn't the only thing that makes the ClimaCool Basketball a good outdoor shoe.

The firm cushioning that the shoe provides is a good fit for the pounding of the outdoor game. I did find myself wishing that the shoe provided a bit more cushioning feel, but the EVA midsole augmented with adiPRENE+ at the forefoot did a good job of providing impact protection at both the forefoot and heel. I was actually surprised that cushioning at the heel was as good as it was. Because the large plastic ClimaCool venting structure sits almost directly beneath the heel I was expecting cushioning there to be really unforgiving, but adidas somehow managed to keep the heel from feeling too hard. In fact the large ClimaCool structure built into the midsole provides an added benefit in that it allows the shoe to provide very good support at the midfoot and arch. This is a good thing since replacing the special ClimaCool sockliner with an insole insert to improve support at the midfoot and arch would nullify the shoe's ability to provide 360-degree ventilation.

The ClimaCool structure in the midsole also does double-duty as a Torsion structure, helping to make the shoe torsionally rigid and enhancing overall stability. Also helping on the stability front are the large midsole wraps that extend up along both the lateral and medial sides of the shoe. The wraps help to keep the foot from sliding off of the footbed during sharp lateral movements and the internal heel counter helped to make sure that my heel always remained in a full, upright position. The adidas ClimaCool Basketball has a relatively thick midsole, so it doesn't provide a low-to-the-court feel, but the fundamentally sound design of the shoe provides a stable feel and I was never concerned about rolling my ankle.

Moving up to the upper, the ClimaCool Basketball is designed to stand up to outdoor wear. The shoe's synthetic leather upper feels soft to the touch, but is very durable. And the prominent shell-toe cap at the tip of the shoe can really take a beating. The outsole is also well suited to outdoor use, providing very good traction without wearing away quickly.

So, with all of these pluses, what's not to like about the adidas ClimaCool Basketball? While, as noted above, the shoe seems to have been designed with durability in mind, it suffers from a fairly serious durability problem. I tested two different pairs in the white/punjab/core colorway and in both pairs the outsole of the shoe became detached from the midsole on the lateral side just below the little adiPRENE+ logo. I also tested a pair in the black/silver colorway in which this did not happen, but given my experience with the two white colorways I do not believe that this is just a "one-off" problem. I think that the problem arose because I like to do a lot of driving to the basket, which often involves hard cuts and quick changes of direction.

If you're a post player or jump shooter who doesn't do a lot of driving to the basket this shouldn't be a problem, but if you do like to take it hard to the hoop the ClimaCool Basketball is probably not the shoe for you.

The one other problem I had was with movement of my foot within the shoe. The ClimaCool Basketball is a roomy shoe both in terms of width and height, and this made it difficult for me to find a locked-down fit at the midfoot and forefoot. I could feel my midfoot and, to a lesser extent, my forefoot moving within the shoe throughout testing. And though it wasn't so bad that I suffered from turf-toe, this internal movement could lead to chafing and blistering. Whether or not this is a problem for you depends largely on the shape of your foot. I did develop some small blisters at my arches, but this could be because I have fairly flat feet. If you are considering the ClimaCool Basketball you may want to try them on in both your normal size and a half-size smaller to account for the shoe's roominess.

One last note before wrapping up, to maximize the adidas ClimaCool Basketball's venting capabilities it should be worn with a synthetic sock (this is true of all of the shoes in the ClimaCool line). Cotton-based socks will absorb and retain moisture, which is exactly what the shoes in the ClimaCool line are designed to avoid. Socks made of synthetic materials such as acrylic and nylon do not absorb moisture, instead allowing it to evaporate from the surface of the sock, which is a good thing. adidas actually makes a sock that is specifically designed to complement the ClimaCool line of shoes. It's named, appropriately enough, the ClimaCool Sock. If you buy any of the ClimaCool shoes it's a good idea to pick up a few pairs of socks as well (that is if you don't already have synthetic socks) or else you may end up defeating the purpose of the shoe.

So, to sum up, the adidas ClimaCool Basketball is a shoe that definitely does deliver in the area of ventilation and moisture dissipation, making it a great choice for people who play a lot of outdoor hoops during the hot summer months -- but it's not for everyone. If you do a lot of cutting and slashing to the basket the durability of the midsole/outsole interface along with the not quite locked-down fit of the shoe may pose problems. But, if you're primarily a jump shooter or a post player, the ClimaCool Basketball should be a good fit. In addition to its ventilation benefits the shoe provides solid cushioning, very good midfoot support, very good traction, and a very durable upper, and all at a reasonable price point. If you're looking for an ultra-high-performance hoops shoe this isn't it, but if you're an occasional baller who wants comfort and durability in a shoe that can be used for multiple sports, the adidas ClimaCool Basketball is worth a look.

.:2002 Glenn's Hoop Page. All Rights Reserved:.