Welcome to my Kobe Mentality 2 review! The first Kobe Mentality wasn’t a bad shoe. It was an okay shoe. With the second release, let’s see how well this one improved.
I’ll cover the shoe’s tech, performance, materials and see if it’s worth the price.
MAIN SPECS
Shoes: Nike Kobe Mentality II
Weight: 256 g. / 9.03 oz
Type: Low Top Sneaker
Technologies: Lunarlon, Flyweave
Fit: True to Size
Available Colors: 5+
My Rating: 8/10
THE TECH
Lunarlon is the type of cushion the Kobe Mentality 2 uses. It’s a full-length removable midsole.
Flyweave is the upper material. This is a nice addition since Flyweave is a premium material. It’s light, soft and has zero restrictions. Also used on the KD 8.
Not much to start with, but don’t be afraid. The shoe isn’t a bad performer.
To get familiar with the most popular shoe technologies, go here.
PERFORMANCE
FIT/COMFORT
They feel simply great. You have some internal padding, Flyweave is very breathable and feels simply awesome on foot. Lunarlon could be a bit softer, but it’s very stable and this is meant for low profile guards anyway.
CUSHION
So the Mentality II uses a pretty standard full-length midsole Lunarlon setup. This setup is made for guards, like it or hate it. It’s firm, light and very responsive. You get a lot of court feel, stability and speed. In terms of softness or impact protection, there’s not a lot of it and you shouldn’t look for it on this shoe in the first place.
Definitely not an option for big guys. Also, consider something else if you tend to feel sore after games since the lack of impact protection isn’t good for your knees, back etc. But if you’re a quick guard, this is a great choice.
TRACTION
Easily the strongest aspect of the Mentality II. The traction pattern is absolutely SCARY. You rarely see that on modern basketball shoes. To sum up the traction in one word – awesome. Both indoors and outdoors. The pattern is really sharp and strong, so no durability issues here. You won’t even need to wipe that much since the pattern is not dense.
SUPPORT
There’s no FLYWIRE to begin with. That’s a little disappointing but the shoe still has some tricks up its sleeve. The fit and material are really snug, so your foot is locked in pretty well. There’s an internal heel counter, so you won’t have any heel issues. At least most of the time.
What’s awesome is the shoe’s construction to wrap around the foot strongly. Flyweave is more supportive than it looks. Of course, don’t expect this to feel like Fuse or leather. This probably wouldn’t fit a super explosive attack-first player like Derrick Rose or Russel Westbrook, but it still gets the job done for someone who’s quick and can do a little bit of everything.
MATERIALS
So like I said, the upper is made out of Flyweave. This feels like soft textile. And yes, it is soft. And then it is really light. Combine that with very loose and you get an awesome material with no restrictions. That’s how you do it. The only flaw of this is durability. And not everyone likes these loose, not support-orientated uppers. But it’s a personal preference.
FINAL VERDICT
So to put things into perspective, the Kobe Mentality 2 is a good choice for a low profile guard. Besides traction, there’s nothing crazy, unique or spectacular in this shoe. That doesn’t mean anything bad though.
You get full-length Lunarlon cushioning which is very responsive (with minimal impact protection), amazing all-around traction, decent support with no annoying restrictions and a fantastic upper. Everything for a very affordable price.
Well done, Nike and Kobe, I think this is a successful product, an improvement over the first Mentality AND it beats the Kobe 11 with its unstable performance. Yes, you heard it right.
PROS
+ Killer traction both indoors and outdoors
+ Premium Flyweave material, which is soft, unrestrictive and comfortable
+ A good signature shoe for a hundred dollars
CONS
– Lunarlon cushioning would only fit young, low profile guards
– Support only comes from the decent fit and heel counter
Hope you enjoyed this Kobe Mentality 2 review! It’s a pretty good improvement from the first one, don’t you think?