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AIR FUTURISTIC

It seems like at least one player on every NBA squad is wearing the Nike Air Futuristic, but does that mean it's right for you?

by Professor K, posted January 31, 2002

If you've watched any NBA games this season you've almost certainly seen at least one player wearing the Nike Air Futuristic. It is Nike's low-cost team shoe for this season and many pro and college level players are sporting the shoe. The only reason that you may not have noticed it is that the Air Futuristic has a fairly low-key design that doesn't stand out and grab attention like some of the more high-profile hoops shoes out these days.

The fact that it's a low-cost team shoe (relatively speaking of course since, at $90, the Nike Air Futuristic is really at the middle of the overall price spectrum) does not automatically mean that it's going to be mediocre or bad. For example, last season's all-purpose team shoe from Nike, the Air Flight Disrupter, was a very good all-around hoops shoe. The same could be said for the Nike Air Jet Flight, which was a low-cost guard-focused team shoe released by Nike around the middle of last season. So, given my positive experiences with Nike's team shoes in the past, and the number of pro and college level players wearing the Air Futuristic, I had high hopes for the shoe.

When I first saw the Nike Air Futuristic I was impressed by the quality of its materials and construction. The upper is made of a combination of synthetic leather (the red parts of the shoe pictured here) and a molded synthetic material (the white parts of the shoe pictured here) that feels something like vinyl. The ankle area of the inner is lined with a silky smooth lycra and the tongue is made of a stretchy and breathable mesh. The basic makings of a good shoe are all there.

One thing I was a bit concerned about was the amount of stitching that was exposed within the shoe. Running my hand inside of the shoe I could feel the stitching that reinforces the lacing system all along the midfoot and forefoot of the shoe. My concern was that the stitching would cause chafing and discomfort during on-court wear, but this turned out to be a non-issue.

What was a bit of an issue on my first wearing of the shoe was its width. The Nike Air Futuristic runs a bit narrow at the forefoot and because the upper is made of synthetics it doesn't stretch. The Air Futuristic isn't quite as narrow as the Nike Air Flightposite III, but I was prepared to work my way through several painful test wearings. Luckily, by the end of my third wearing, the material of the upper had formed to the shape of my foot and I did not feel any discomfort due to the narrowness of the shoe on subsequent wearings. Other than the width, the shoe fit very well and did a good job of keeping my foot locked in place. Still, those with wide feet should probably steer clear of the Nike Air Futuristic.

Something else I noticed on my first wearing was that the midsole of the Air Futuristic is very thin, particularly at the heel. I was surprised by this because the heel contains a large-volume, visible Max Air-Sole unit, yet it actually felt to me that the heel was lower than the forefoot. This was a bit of a strange feeling -- to have my heel feel lower than my forefoot -- but I did like that both the forefoot and heel of the shoe felt really low to the ground.

Providing cushioning at the forefoot is the shoe's combination Phylon/polyurethane midsole. Given the light weight of the Nike Air Futuristic I'm guessing that the forefoot portion of the midsole is primarily Phylon-based. The benefit of Phylon is that it is very light. The downsides are that, because it is not a very dense material, it will "bottom out" more quickly than something like polyurethane and will also degrade in cushioning performance more quickly. That's the theory at least.

The reality on the court was that the Nike Air Futuristic provided adequate cushioning for general purpose play, but the cushioning at the forefoot could not quite handle the impact of big takeoffs and landings. When I felt this most was on hard drives to the basket that ended with one-footed takeoffs to elevate for a layup. As I pushed hard against the court with my forefoot to elevate I could feel the vibrations from the impact run through my shin, which was usually accompanied by a sharp pain generally referred to as shin splints. This wasn't a huge problem as it only happened on my hardest takeoffs and landings, but it's still the type of impact that a hoops shoe should be able to absorb and dissipate more effectively. I would be more concerned for heavier players who would be applying even more force. If you're on the heavy side you're probably better off looking at other options.

While I wasn't a huge fan of the cushioning provided by the Nike Air Futuristic, I was very impressed by its stability and traction. The Air Futuristic has an extremely solid heel counter that did a great job of keeping my heel in place and preventing it from rolling over. Because of this I was never concerned that I would injure my ankles, even though the Air Futuristic is cut relatively low. And a great complement to the stability that the shoe provided was its traction, which allowed me to plant, stop and cut without wasting any energy or worrying that I might slip.

To sum up, the Nike Air Futuristic is a shoe that has its merits, namely its low-profile, generally good fit, stability, light weight and very good traction, but it also has its downsides in the form of its narrow cut and inadequate cushioning at the forefoot. If you're light or average in weight, have narrow feet and don't do a lot of driving to the basket the Nike Air Futuristic may be worth considering. But there are lots of better all-around options out there today and I would recommend that serious ballers opt for a shoe that doesn't require any compromises.




Who's Worn It
Shandon Anderson (F- N.Y. Knicks), Terrell Brandon (G- Minnesota Timberwolves), Chris Crawford (F- Atlanta Hawks), Mark Jackson (G- N.Y. Knicks), Derrick McKey (F- Philadelphia 76ers), Jamaal Tinsley (G- Indiana Pacers), and many more.

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