35th Shoe Review: Brandblack J Crossover 2

    Background Information: One the best upcoming brands has to be BrandBlack. Not many people recognize this brand but the quality and material the company uses gives Nike some upcoming competition. These models were designed for Jamal Crawford who is a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Clippers. Not only does BrandBlack sell basketball shoes but they also sell casual shoes and clothes such as jackets, t-shirts, joggers, etc. 

    Quality: As I said in the previous paragraph BrandBlack provides great material in their shoes. Especially this one which is designed for basketball, it provides great traction and comfortability. The shoe also provides all the ankle support needed and has a knit-like upper toe on the shoe making it extremely comfortable. The "J Crossover" 2's also look real nice and slick. Overall the quality is amazing and top-notch. 

    Traction: 10, since the shoe has a similar pattern to the Kyrie 1's traction it has outstanding traction. 

    Retail: $140 however these shoes can be bought only on Ebay and bought for $70-$140. 

    What to Wear With: Basketball gear with some plain black short and long basketball socks makes the shoe stand out and look beastly. 

    Where to Buy: Ebay or GOAT app

    Overall Summary: For sure these would be in my Top 5 basketball shoe list. BrandBlack company deserves more recognition and more shoe reviewers are starting to make BrandBlack their favorite brands. If you are one of these people that want to stand out Brandblack shoes are the shoes for you. 

    

34th Shoe Review: Air Jordan 4 'Motorsport' Alternate

    Background Information: This is not the only "Motorsport" 4's that were released. There was another color way of the "Motorsport" which had primary colors of white and blue. Unlike this "Motorsport" this is more easy to dress with since it's primary colors are black, grey, and blue. The alternate "Motorsports"(featured in the picture above) release on June 17, 2017. These are much better than the others "Motorsport"4 design. 

    Quality: Compared to the other "Motorsport" design of the Jordan 4, the difference is night and day. The alternate one's feature that leather that is on the Nike Air Jordan 1 "Banned". So when it creases it looks real nice. The color way of the shoe is also way cleaner and much more attracting. Unlike those stay on shelves "Motorsport" 4's. Comfortability on the shoe is really nice because the Jordan 4 has great cushioning compared to other Jordans. Jordan 4's also have a bubble which is that area of the outer sole that shows the inside of transparent are which is nike's "bubble". Amazingly this "bubble" provides more comfortability, the only downside is when a wide-footed person wears this shoe the black are right between the outer sole and heel starts to crack showing little white cracks. However everything else is amazing. 

    Traction: 9

    Retail: $190 

    What to Wear With: Jeans are the best way to show off these shows. Especially if it's skinny, almost any Jordan shoe looks nice in skinny jeans. If jeans are not an option for you, just wear black or grey joggers.

    Where to Buy: Finishline, Footlocker, Footaction, Eastbay

    Overall Summary: No doubt these upcoming "Motorsport" 4's are better than the other "Motorsport" 4's. In my opinion these are one of the best color ways of the Air Jordan 4's since it is simple and clean. I predict that these will sell out and be one of the top kicks of the summer 2017.  

33rd Shoe Review: BrandBlack 'Rare Metal' WearTesters Edition

    Background Information: WearTesters is a website that has information about shoe dates and performance reviews. WearTesters love the brand BrandBlack because BrandBlack provides very nice material in their shoes making the products extremely comfortable. Some BrandBlack product's prices are also very reasonable especially when the company have sales. When BrandBlack have sales the prices of the shoes can go from $90 to $45. 
    Quality: As I said BrandBlack provides great quality material which means a great quality product. The "Rare Metal" model is a basketball shoe and is extremely comfortable and it's material is jacquard which is becoming very trendy in today's basketball shoes. If protection is what you want in a shoe this is the shoe for you. It provides a very secure fit and great foot and ankle support reducing chances of injury. On the heel of the shoe is the WearTester's logo and the color way of the shoes is the color way of the superhero "Nightwing" from Batman because the owner of WearTesters who is Chris Chase has a youtube channel and is known as "nightwing2303". 
    Traction: 10, the traction on this shoe is amazing imagine the Kyrie 3's traction but also providing cushioning. 
    Retail: $140 
    What to Wear With: Basketball gear is the best option but if you really want to represent WearTesters go to the WearTesters website and buy some the merchandise. Link for WearTester Merchandise: http://weartesters.bigcartel.com/
    Where to Buy:  Finishline, WearTesters, BrandBlack
    Overall Summary: BrandBlack has great quality products even if it isn't a well known brand it is starting to be recognized by shoe reviewers. The "Rare Metal" is one of the best basketball shoes in the business and shouldn't be looked over. 

Special Edition Dress Shoe Review: Cole Haan Garret Grand Cap Toe

    Background Information: Cole Haan may be expensive, however they are probably the most comfortable dress shoes in the market. This is not only because of the quality Cole Haan uses but it's relationship with Nike material. Cole Haan soles sometimes associates it's shoes with  lunarlon(which is a material nike uses for most of it's running shoes). For example the Garret Grand cap toe has a lunarlon sole making the shoe extremely comfortable. 
    Quality: Beside from the shoes excellent comfortability, the material is great. It's material is real leather which makes the shoe have a very pricey retail price. The shoe is very simple and well done and can match with almost anything.

    Traction: Traction isn't really needed for a dress shoe since people don't really run in dress shoes. It's really about how comfortable the shoe is. 

    Fit: You can always buy your true size, however if you want a perfect fit get a half size down. 

    Retail: $230 

   What to Wear With: Obviously formal clothing such as a Suit or this can also be worn in with blue jeans. 

   Where to Buy: Cole Haan Outlet store

   Overall Summary: Even though Cole Haans are very pricey, they are super comfortable and last a long time. The Garrets Grand's can be found for sale at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont. Specifically these pairs are on sale at F.O.C for $120 so if you need super comfortable dress shoes I recommend these. For $120 these are considered to be very cheap and the shoe is really great because that comfortability on the shoe helps people who have foot gout or those who have really sensitive feet. 

30th Shoe Review: Air Jordan XXXI "Why Not"

    Background Information: Russell Westbrook plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder for the people that don't know who he is, Westbrook is the person who broke the record for most triple doubles in a season and is most likely to be named MVP of the NBA. This limited release of the Jordan 31 is designed for Westbrook and is very different from the other 31's as you can see in the image. The shoe is called "Why Not" is because it's Westbrook's motto. These shoes released on April, 29, 2017.
    Quality: Everything about this shoe is amazing. From start to finish, all the material is amazing and used really well on the shoe. Three logos are displayed on the shoe. The Jordan Jumpman is on the Elephant skin area, the swoosh is usually where it is, and Westbrook's logo is located on the tongue of the shoe. What makes this shoe stand out so much is the sole. Usually the sole on a Jordan 31 is like this...

however the sole on "Why Not"is the sole of the Jordan 29 which has more stability and traction. (the sole on the "Why Not" is the image shown below).

    Traction: 10 since the Jordan 29 has great traction. 

    Fit: True to Size

    Retail: $185

    What to Wear With: Basketball Gear or Joggers 

    Where to Buy: You won't find these for retail prices anymore since they did release in April. However you can find these shoes where people resell them. Online websites like Ebay or GOAT

    Overall Summary: These shoes are amazing and will definitely have a rise in price when Westbrook wins the MVP race. If you come across these shoes for $245 or less they are pretty cheap. But hopefully some of you reading this got these for retail and hopefully Russell wins MVP.

29th shoe Review: Air Jordan XXXI "Chicago"

   Background Information: There are many color ways of the Air Jordan 31 but the "Chicago" color way is probably the cleanest models of all of them. Just like the Jordan 1 "Chicago", this shoe has he same color way. However this model contains more things that represent Chicago such as the Chicago Skyline on the sole and the phrase "CHI" on the back of the tongue. This color way was released on November, 5, 2016 as one of the first of many models of the Air Jordan 31.

    Quality: To be honest I love the way the shoe's color fades from red to clean white. The shoe is very comfortable and durable on the outer however the sole of the shoe is kind of slippery which means the shoe doesn't have good traction. Don't be alarmed there are only problems with traction for first release models. Newer color ways of the 31 have renewed soles which have better traction than the older ones. On the other hand everything else is fine.

   Traction: 7 (only on the older models but the newer models have way better traction) 

   Fit: True to Size

   Retail: $185 (On this color way it is on sale on Eastbay for $150 and shipping is free).

   What To Wear With: Anything, the shoes looks good casually. 

   Where to Buy: Eastbay, Finishline, Footlocker

   Overall Summary: Many players that are signed with the Jordan brand wear the 31 models. For instance Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls specifically wore this shoe. There are manny more Jordan athletes in the NBA like Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, etc. Many players wear this because the shoe is not only great for basketball but the shoe has many color ways that match the teams uniform but if you do want these head on to the Eastbay website and get it for less than it's retail. 

    

    

28th Shoe Review: PG1 TS Prototype EP

   Background Information: This is the very first release of Nike's Paul George "PG1" which is why it's called "Prototype". Paul George plays for the Indiana Pacers and is probably one of the Top 10 players ion the NBA today. 

    Quality: Quality is amazing on this shoe especially for it's price at $110. It contains a translucent sole, suede midsole, and forefoot made up of mesh. For full foot support there is a strap that wrap the foot for maximum support. The PG1 is a mid-top which means comfortability of a low top and enough support just like a high top. Comfortabilty is amazing on this shoe, it is truly a hoopers dream shoe. 

    Traction: 10 (comfortabilty and traction are amazing!)

    Fit: True to Size

    Retail:$110 ( Price can't get any better) 

    What To Wear With: Basketball Gear

    Where to Buy: For this exact color way the buyer would have to go to Ebay or a reseller. 

    Overall Summary: Overall this shoe is probably the #1 basketball shoe of 2017 released so far. Price is worth for the shoes material. Traction is top- notch and comfortability feels like the shoe is worth $200. Paul George may not be as famous as Lebron or Kevin Durant but Paul George's shoes are way better.