adidas Crazy Hustle REVIEW: Another SICK Budget Model?

So after a seriously successful chain of mainstream performance models in 2017 (Lillards, Hardens, Roses…), the brand has been putting out these budget releases in between. And a lot of them were actually awesome for the money. Today, you’ll find out if this is one of them. Here’s my detailed adidas Crazy Hustle review.

I’ll talk about the shoe’s tech specs, fit, performance, materials and decide it it’s worth the price. Let’s start the adidas Crazy Hustle review!

THE TECH

BOUNCE

adidas is using a full-length BOUNCE midsole for their budget lineup as the cushion setup and this is no exception. For $100, you can hardly ask for more and I’ll tell you why this is a fair deal in a bit.

NON-MARKING OUTSOLE

Do I really have to tell you what this means?

FIT

TRUE TO SIZE, SOLID

So the shoes fit most people (as far as I’ve heard) and me true to size which is surprising since adidas tends to be weird with the sizings. As for the fit itself, I have a slightly wide foot, however, that didn’t stop me from getting a solid experience. And that’s a nice bonus.

So I didn’t have any problems, for the most part. They fit me well, not too tight, not too loose or unstable. Containment felt fine and I didn’t feel restricted or annoyed by the shoe’s construction.

The two main flaws were some heel slippage and the slightly bulky feel overall. Once I laced them up nice and tight, I still had some heel slippage here and there. And even though it wasn’t anything deal breaking, it still sucks. As for the bulky feel, not the first time from adidas, not surprised at all. They feel a little heavy and a bit too “mushy” but, again, nothing terrible.

PERFORMANCE

CUSHION

I’ll say this – BOUNCE is right next to BOOST for me (from adidas). However, these aren’t the same as the Dame 3 or the D Lillard 2.0. Or any other shoe with BOUNCE. All of them feel a bit different, even with the same tech on paper.

My experience with these is positive though – not as bouncy or powerful as on the Dame 3 for example, but still, that balance and versatility BOUNCE provides is awesome. You get some response, still have some court feel, especially in the forefoot, while the heel provides solid impact protection and you don’t feel like you’re on stepping rocks.

TRACTION

The outsole is taken right from the Crazylight Boost 2016, so these have some fine-ass traction. Killer, period. Grips the floor extremely well, no matter the condition, you will need to wipe but not that frequently.

Continental Rubber isn’t mentioned like on the CLB 2016, so maybe these aren’t as durable for outdoor play. But judging from the rubber compound, it feels the same – not shallow, pretty thick and hard. I think you can definitely take these outdoors.

SUPPORT

All the features you need plus a decent fit will result in a solid support experience. We have a torsional shank between the midfoot and forefoot areas (right off the CLB 2016 again), an internal heel counter, the upper is reinforced with TPU, there are outriggers in place and the base itself is pretty wide.

So from a feature perspective – everything you’d ever need. However that heel slippage and that slightly weird, mushy feel takes away from the experience a bit. It’s not that you don’t feel confident while playing – I really did. But it’s just that I know it could’ve been wayyyyy better if those problems wouldn’t exist.

UPPER

DEPENDS ON THE COLORWAY

Similar to a lot of adidas’s past releases, the upper is a bit different on each colorway. The two main ones are the Black and White. The Black one has a mesh with Fuse upper at the front and nylon at the back.

The White one has a textile knit instead of mesh, also reinforced with Fuse and also nylon at the back.

I have the white pair and I’ll say I’m glad I bought this one. I heard the mesh version is even heavier and could’ve felt bulkier. So the upper I was playing in wasn’t bad – pretty breathable, definitely supportive thanks to Fuse in the mix and for $100 what more could you want.

Not on a Primeknit level but still pretty flexible and comfortable to play in.

OVERALL

BEST FOR ANY GUARD, LIGHTER FORWARD

So the adidas Crazy Hustle brought decent tech, solid performance and a nice upper to the table, which made a pretty good basketball shoe to play in for a lot of different players out there.

If you’re looking for a very cheap model that you can tear apart for a few years, including outdoors and if you’re not too big on crazy explosive plays (or the opposite, super low to the ground plays), then the shoe might just serve you really well.