Under Armour Drive 4 REVIEW: A Sick Sleeper?

Not many people give proper credit to Under Armour’s basketball shoes, and they really should. UA has put out a few really awesome kicks at unbeatable prices, so let’s see if this new release is one of them. Here’s my Under Armour Drive 4 review!

I’ll talk about the shoe’s tech specs, the fit, performance, the upper and decide it it’s worth the price. Let’s start the Under Armour Drive 4 review!

SPEC SHEET


WEIGHT: 377 g. / 13.29 oz
TYPE: HIGH TOP
TECH: EVA & MICROG
FIT: TRUE TO SIZE
COLORWAYS: 4+
MY RATING: 6.5/10

THE TECH


EVA & MICROG

We have an interesting cushion setup here. An EVA midsole along with a MicroG unit in the heel for a balanced experience. And it does just that – provides a pretty solid setup for just about any player out there. More on that later in the Performance section.

FIT


FEELS JUST HOW IT LOOKS

At first glance the shoe doesn’t look traditional. It’s big, bulky, in your face and looks kinda stiff to me. Well, not good news, but that’s pretty much how I felt playing in them. They felt moderately heavy, stiff, firm and lacked flexibility a bit.

The whole upper is definitely not a soft one – the material doesn’t stretch or move around at all, so after a short break-in period, the shoe still didn’t feel like it adjusted to my foot shape completely. That’s because the upper actually doesn’t mold to your foot and what you get out of the box is what you get.

They do fit true to size and good news is that they are very wide footer-friendly. The forefoot area is wide and there’s plenty of room all around the shoe. I guess it’s a trade-off of some sort in this case.

Overall, not terrible. I don’t see the shoe’s fit as a deal-breaker but it could’ve been way better. It’s secure and stable but lacks comfort.

PERFORMANCE


CUSHION

That EVA with MicroG combo sounds very promising but I guess it’s just a simple, trusty and solid setup that doesn’t blow your mind like thick full-length BOOST would for some.

The heel where MicroG sits offers very good impact protection, stability and still doesn’t sit that high of the ground. It is definitely not that bouncy as BOOST or BOUNCE but it’s also not a firm cushion. I’d put this one somewhere in between the two, while slightly pushing towards bounce just a bit more.

The rest of the foot is meh. I guess it’s nothing out of the ordinary since it’s just EVA foam. It provides good responsiveness and court feel, but don’t expect softness from it.

TRACTION

Traction on this shoe is straight up SICK. You can even tell from the way it looks. Aggressive, deep and dense pattern that will grip any floor like crazy. It’s not too sensitive to dust but I did wipe a few times during a game for optimal performance.

That on top of a high-quality rubber compound will get you a shoe that also lasts long outdoors. So traction – crazy good, no complaints here.

SUPPORT

Now the whole fit experience was damaged by the stiff construction and feel of the shoe but it doesn’t really harm support. The Drive 4 has all the basic features such as a heel counter, a torsional shank, a supportive upper and a very stiff & high ankle collar.

That ankle collar actually provides good lock-in but causes some discomfort since it is high and tight, so every movement – I kinda felt pushing towards my ankle. Don’t wear low-cut socks with these.

So, containment and lockdown were fine, no problems there. It sacrifices mobility and flexibility a bit but big guys would like these.

 

UPPER


SOLID BUT NOT MY CUP OF TEA

I like super soft uppers like knit and I also appreciate hard uppers like leather. They do their job as they should but this one here on the Drive 4 makes little sense to me.

It’s a mesh or synthetic looking material, I can’t really describe what it truly is. But as long as it performs – I don’t really care. This one, it didn’t perform all that well.

So the main negatives are a complete lack of stretch and flexibility, it’s too stiff, so it makes the shoe feel bulky and there’s a lack of ventilation.

There are advantages too. The upper is definitely durable, so beating them down outdoors will be fine. It’s also wide footer-friendly and provides good support.

OVERALL


BEST FOR BIGGER GUYS

This is a shoe that’s supposed to be versatile. It is, technically, but I think quick guards wouldn’t enjoy these as a heavier, bigger player would.

I think looking at UA’s Clutchfit Drive 3 or 2 would be best if you’re looking for versatility from Under Armour.

+ SUPERB  & DURABLE TRACTION ANYWHERE YOU STEP ON
+ SOLID SUPPORT
VERY DURABLE
LACK OF MUCH NEEDED COMFORT
BULKY FEEL & NEEDS MORE FLEXIBILITY

Okay, that’s it for the review! I hope you found it useful!