.:SHOE REVIEWS:.

NIKE     [ Air Max Duncan II ] [ Air Futuristic ] [ Air Hyperflight ]
[ Air Jordan XVII ] [ Air Kidd ] [ Air Payton IV ] [ VC Shox ]

ADIDAS     [ ClimaCool ] [ KOBE TWO ] [ T-Mac ]

AND 1     [ Kg Select ] [ Silky Smooth ]

REEBOK     [ Answer V ] [ X-Beam Franchise ]

AIR JORDAN XVII

The Air Jordan XVII breaks new ground, not in the area of technology, but in the area of price. Can any shoe be worth $200?

by Professor K, posted February 5, 2002

To start with, much love to Niketalk member Collie27 for helping us to procure these kicks in advance of their U.S. release. We couldn't have brought you this review prior to U.S. availability without him. Thanks Collie27!

Now, onto the review...let's cut to the chase. You've probably already heard that the new Air Jordan XVII costs $200. You're probably asking "is it worth the price?" The answer: of course not, how could you even ask? We're talking about a basketball shoe here. A product that is beat on, sweated in, stepped on and flexed, pulled and stretched in every imaginable direction. It's also a product that, if used to actually play basketball in, will decline markedly in performance after just one season of wear, even sooner if you're on the heavy side and/or play regularly.

But no shoe in the Air Jordan line has ever been about getting the most bang for the buck. The justification for buying an Air Jordan shoe has never been that it provides the most value for your dollar -- it's about buying a piece of the aura and mystique of Michael Jordan. So, if you're looking for value, read no further because the Air Jordan XVII does not deliver in that regard. If, on the other hand, you want to own a piece of the Jordan mystique and are curious to learn how this latest shoe in the Air Jordan line performs on the court read on.

The Air Jordan XVII comes in a metallic looking case along with a CD-ROM that contains some music and a few videos describing the development of the shoe. The shoes themselves come with two optional pieces that I would recommend keeping in the box. They are lace-locks, which can be used to keep the laces in place, and removable midfoot support straps that can be used to provide additional support at the midfoot of the shoe. While I found the removable gaiter on last year's Air Jordan XVI to be an interesting design concept, the removable midfoot support straps on the Air Jordan XVII are largely useless, hard to put on and feel like they will break within a week of use. I say that they are largely useless because only those with extremely narrow feet will be able to actually wear the shoe with the straps on. I couldn't even get close to closing the straps when I had the shoe on and, even if I had managed it, I have a feeling that the flimsy plastic tabs that keep the strap in place would have broken loose anyway. It's no wonder that MJ wears his Air Jordan XVIIs sans straps.

Giving the shoes a quick once over before lacing them up I was both impressed and disappointed. I was impressed by the quality of the materials used for the shoe and the attention to detail displayed in its design. One element that really stood out was the link between the white leather portion of the heel and the black ankle collar. They are connected by way of hidden stitches (see figure 5) and the curved, folded over leather at that seam results in a super clean look at the ankle. From a manufacturing standpoint this has to have been extremely difficult, but it gives that part of the shoe a subtle, understated elegance that I really like.

What disappointed me was the overall build-quality of the shoe. The hidden seam I just mentioned was a clear high-point, but there were also lots of lows such as glue residue visible at the interface between the upper and the midsole all around the left shoe, a warped TPU heel-support (the silver piece at the heel) on the right shoe, and horribly poor fit-and-finish on the midfoot support straps for both shoes. I highly doubt that Nike would allow such quality control issues to manifest themselves in their Cole Haan line of dress shoes, so why the lower standards on $200 Jordan shoes?

When I put the shoes on, though, my disappointment over the build-quality was quickly forgotten. While the inner of the Air Jordan XVII employs a seamless inner-bootie that is very similar to that employed in the Air Jordan XVI, the feel is very different. The Air Jordan XVII feels more snug around the foot and the wonderfully smooth, Lycra-lined ankle collar runs high up the ankle, providing a lot of support. I think that a lot of the credit for the snug fit goes to the lacing system, which has a much wider than average reach across the foot. With two rows of laces (ala the Air Jordan V) the shoe is actually designed to provide flexibility in lacing to accommodate pretty much all foot widths. The standard lacing setup has the laces running through the inner row of lace holes. The wide, foam-filled laces make lacing and tying up the Air Jordan XVII a breeze.

The shoe felt great on my feet, but once I started playing I got a bit of a shock; the shoes felt horrible on the court. I thought that perhaps I just needed to let them break-in for a few minutes, but even after an hour of play I felt like I was wearing a cast on each foot instead of a high-performance hoops shoe. This was partially due to the extent of the support structures built into the Air Jordan XVII. When the shoe is laced up, the structures at the midfoot and heel of the shoe wrap around the perimeter of the foot providing a lot of support, but also a unique feel that takes some getting used to. I think that a lot of people will find the TPU-based heel support, in particular, to be a bit of a distraction and perhaps the cause of some discomfort (I became accustomed to it after a few wearings, but some may not).

What I realized after this first wearing was that you have to be careful not to lace the Air Jordan XVII too tightly -- especially at the midfoot and the transition between the midfoot and the ankle. I had laced the shoe up very tightly and consequently they put a vice-like grip on my feet, preventing them from flexing at the ankle and thus imparting the cast-like feel I had mentioned. For my subsequent wearings I loosened up the laces a bit and had a very different experience. The feel of the support structures still took some getting used to, but the overall fit of the shoe was just awesome. I felt absolutely no heel slip and no movement of my feet within the shoes in any direction. The only downside is that because I could always feel the support structures around the base of the shoe it never quite felt like an extension of my foot, a sensation that the shoes in Nike's Flightposite line (see our review for the Nike Air Flightposite III for a recent example) provide. Up to my last test wearing the Air Jordan XVII felt great, but it also always felt like it was there.

Moving down to the midsole, though the Air Jordan XVII uses the same cushioning setup as its predecessor (Zoom Air up-front, blow molded Air at the heel), the feel provided by the XVII is different. For one thing, the midsole of the XVII is thicker, which means that there's more distance between your foot and the court. It's not a huge difference, but it's definitely perceptible if you wear the XVII on one foot and the XVI on the other. The downside here is that, because the base of the foot is a bit further away from the surface of the court, court-feel is diminished. The upside is that the Air Jordan XVII provides plenty of cushioning both at the forefoot and heel. Even centers should find the cushioning provided by the Air Jordan XVII to be more than adequate.

My one other complaint about the cushioning, albeit a small one, is that it does not provide much in the way of cushioning-feel. If I put all of my weight onto my forefeet I could feel the Zoom Air-Sole units give a bit, but while wearing the shoe on-court the cushioning did not provide any percetible response. This won't be a big deal for big men, but quick, active guards may miss the responsive feel provided by previous shoes in the Air Jordan line such as the Air Jordan XIV. Overall, it seems that the Air Jordan XVII was designed around the changing needs of Michael Jordan. With a little more weight and older bones, MJ could probably do with a bit more cushioning. And since he doesn't drive to the basket nearly as often as he used to, court and cushioning-feel are not quite as important as they once were. This means that the Air Jordan XVII will appeal to big men more than Air Jordan shoes from previous years, but lighter, faster guards may be a bit disappointed.

Before I sum up, one last word on the price of the shoe. I have to say that I was very, very disappointed when I heard that the Air Jordan XVII would be priced at $200. Some might try to justify the price by saying that the shoe comes in a fancy case that includes a CD-ROM, but neither the case nor the CD-ROM is going to do anyone any good on a basketball court. Nike used to say that it was a company built by and for athletes, but now it seems that it's profits, not performance, that comes first at the company. Is this what Michael came back for, to make Phil Knight's already healthy bankroll just a little bit fatter? Or to take just a little bit more money out of the pockets of parents who have a tough time making it as it is, but want their kids to be happy? This move seems to be driven less by a love of the game and more by a love of money and that's disappointing.

That's not to say that Air Jordan XVII does not deliver in the area of performance. In fact I would say that the Air Jordan XVII is the most performance oriented shoe in the storied Air Jordan line, but its performance does not justify its price. I say this because there are several shoes available today that provide near, equal and, in some areas, superior performance for far less money. For example, you could buy two pairs of the very good Nike Air Effectivity Max (one for home games and one for away games) for the same price as one pair of the Air Jordan XVII. Same goes for the very good adidas T-Mac except that even after buying two pairs you'd have $20 left over. But, as I said at the outset of this review, the Air Jordan XVII is not about providing value.

What the shoe does provide is exceptional fit, very good cushioning, very good support at the ankle, very good stability and very good traction. The fit of the shoe takes some getting used to, though, and some may not like the structural feel of the shoe, particularly at the heel. Overall I'd say that the Air Jordan XVII is a great choice for guards or forwards who are on the big side, but are still active and mobile. Even mobile centers will find a lot to like about this shoe. Quicker, more agile guards who don't need the ankle support and heavy-duty cushioning at the heel will probably prefer a less restrictive and more responsive shoe. The bottom line is that if you're a Jordan fanatic you are going to want this shoe. If not, there are plenty of options out there for you that do a better job of delivering the goods in both performance and value.




Who's Worn It
Michael Jordan (G/F- Washington Wizards)

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