Air Jordan XX9 Low Review | How Can You Beat This?!

Welcome to my Air Jordan XX9 Low review! The Mid XX9 was seriously an awesome shoe and the low top looks to be a slightly improved version.

So I’ll cover the shoe’s tech specs, performance, comfort, materials and decide if it’s worth buying for a basketball player. Let’s start the Air Jordan XX9 Low review!


THE TECH

Just like the original Air Jordan XX9, it uses a ZOOM AIR unit in the forefoot and phylon foam in the heel. This is just the same as the original mid version that doesn’t have a ZOOM AIR unit in the heel. That’s not a very good thing, but neither it is bad – more on that later.

FlightPlate is that little bridge between the forefoot and heel areas on the outsole. It basically connects the two areas and unlocks ZOOM AIR’s potential to a full extent. It also greatly enhances your comfort experience – the heel-to-toe transition is a lot smoother thanks to this. 

Flight Web is much like Nike’s FLYWIRE. It’s a cable system that connects to the shoe’s standard laces. In result, this provides one of the best foot lockdown and fit experiences on the market, period. Flight Web is made to enhance your fit and tightness in the shoe, prevent from sliding and ultimately grant additional support. That is just like FLYWIRE.

If you still have no idea what all those tech names mean, go HERE.

PERFORMANCE


FIT/COMFORT

I will say this – the shoe feels exceptionally well. The soft material inside the shoe glides with feet perfectly and wraps around it granting a very pleasant experience. Thanks to FlightWeb features and other improvements, lock-down is something that’s worth a million.

The Mid XX9 was already awesome, but this almost took it to another level. If you like wearing lows, this shoe is at least a top-three in terms of comfort.

CUSHION

This is pretty much like the mid XX9 with a couple of tweaks. Overall, it is very responsive, soft and springy enough for all types of players. Things are a bit different for the heel area, as there’s no ZOOM unit there.

It’s a setup for a smaller player (guards, small forwards) because they don’t need impact protection in the heel. Overall, a very responsive setup for a guard or someone who doesn’t require lots of bounce.

A warning, be prepared for a 3-5 day break in period. The foam doesn’t want to be effective at the first couple of days. After that, it will feel amazing. Foam doesn’t want to be effective? What kind of sh*t is that?

TRACTION

Traction is great as well. It’s pretty difficult to compare them to the original version, as they’re very similar. All you need to know that it’s definitely good and grips the floor well. One thing worth mentioning, the traction pattern collects dust VERY quickly. You will need to wipe a lot and very often, which is a slight negative.

But the rubber compound looks solid and kind of durable, so I guess you could try them outdoors.

SUPPORT

Support is simply awesome for a low top. The TPU heel counter, FlightWeb and basically a superb fit grants top-notch support and stability. Of course, don’t expect them to lock your ankle in since it’s a low top, but the overall foot support is awesome.

MATERIALS

Lastly, the upper is Performance Woven. Again, that’s super great, the material is extremely breathable, light and most importantly, REALLY comfortable. It’s not going to be ultra durable, but for a soft upper, durability shouldn’t be expected.

Fans of soft uppers will get to feel how amazing woven actually feels like. It’s not a supportive material like Fuse or leather, but it does what it needs to do – stretch in areas when it has to, hold tight in areas where it needs to.

FINAL VERDICT

Performance is everything you want – great traction, responsive cushioning, unbeatable comfort, all-around support, high-quality materials and plenty of technologies. If that’s not enough, I don’t know what is.

You could be wondering why I’m giving it such a high rating. You probably noticed that some other shoes do certain things superior to this one. But that’s the thing – the Air Jordan XX9 Low does ALL things great, it does not shine in a PARTICULAR aspect. That makes it one of the most versatile shoe packages ever.

The only issues are the need to break the foam in, the traction pattern collects dust quickly and the Jordan XX9 Mid probably had a SLIGHTLY better outsole. But just a tad bit.

If you’re a guard, check it out, if you’re a somewhat bigger player, still check it out.


PROS

+ Every performance aspect is great and well balanced
+ High quality woven upper which is supportive
+ Attractive design, which should suit most needs

CONS

Outsole pattern collects dust very quickly
Cushioning needs 3-5 days to maximize its potential

That’s it for the Air Jordan XX9 Low review. Hope you found it useful.