words & images // Zac Dubasik
The Nike LeBron 8 Vs. The Nike LeBron 8 V2
Nike LeBron 8
Somewhere down the road, long after LeBron retires, and fans look back on his sneaker line, chances are the Zoom LeBron V won’t stand out as a high point. I completely understand how it may have missed the mark aesthetically for many people, and I would never even try to argue that it has any casual appeal. But while I may not even consider pulling out a pair to wear with jeans, it was the last shoe in the line that I truly loved from a performance standpoint. Its footbucket-based construction offered memorable stability. Large heel and forefoot Zoom Air bags added excellent and responsive cushioning. And its neoprene-like tongue is probably my favorite of all time. It was the type of shoe I could always keep in the car, just in case I didn’t like whatever else I had decided to play in on a given day. It was that good when it came to performance.
Ever since, things began to change dramatically for the line. While still a very good performer, the Zoom LeBron VI’s AF1-like visual appeal came at a sacrifice to performance, as the sleekness of the V was replaced with a casual-friendly chunkiness. Still though, the Zoom Air offered a great balance of cushioning and court feel. Then, things took an even more dramatic turn. The Air Max LeBron VII was stunning visually. It employed a brand new, full-length Max Air bag, a Flywire upper, rolled edges everywhere you looked, and a truly dramatic look. It was also, by far in my opinion, the worst performer in the line. As someone who has never liked full-length Max Air shoes going back across the full history of Nike Basketball, I was very disappointed by the shift in cushioning. I never liked the clunkiness of older shoes, like the Air Max Uptempo line for example, but the Air Max LeBron VII, with its lack of a traditional midsole and poor fitting heel, offered a lack of stability on top of the bulk.
Having accepted that, at least for now, Max Air was part of the direction the LeBron line was headed in, I did find some reason for hope. The transition was definitely not as smooth as the best hoops shoes out there, but it was definitely better than what I’d come to expect from heel-to-toe Max Air. A major reason for this was the impressive way the team at Nike Basketball was able to actually give the Air bag itself a slight radius in the heel. Also, the Flywire upper, and impeccable construction, gave me faith that performance innovation was in fact the line’s direction, even if it wasn’t exactly refined yet. The Air Max LeBron VII was best thought of as a starting point, rather than the sum of the seven previous years.
Now that I’ve laid all my cards out, it’s time to get to the Air Max LeBron 8 and its fraternal twin, the LeBron 8 V2. I’ll start with the most important improvement over the VII, and that’s the heel fit. Although I wasn’t a fan of the stability of the Max Air bag itself, I was far more concerned with the sloppiness of the heel in the VII. There was just nothing to hold your heel secure built into the collar. The 8 completely corrects this flaw with a molded collar foam package. The lockdown isn’t as precise as that found in the Kobe line, or the notched version often found in Jordan Brand shoes, but it does the job. With my heel secure, I was able (and willing) to push much harder in the shoe than I ever felt safe doing in the VII.
The other major highlight of the upper is its targeted use of Flywire. Rather than dominating the entire upper, it’s been incorporated into the points where the support is most important. This, in conjunction with the relatively wide-set eyelets, created a glove-like fit in the upper when fully laced. I also found the toe volume to be better than that of the VII. The upper’s breathability wasn’t great, but commendable for a shoe that features such heavy padding.
Moving to the cushioning, there are some positives, and some negatives. The ride of the 8 felt considerably softer than the VII. While the Air Bag is the same, the sockliner is much improved, having been noticeably beefed up, and the primary reason for the softer feel. The bag itself is still too firm for my tastes, but still offers excellent protection on heavy landings. Unfortunately, the court feel leaves a lot to be desired. I just never felt completely comfortable and coordinated with the court beneath my feet while wearing the 8. It’s a common problem with heavily cushioned shoes, and when you have this much cushioning (the Max bag, plus the beefed-up sockliner), it’s only amplified. Although the aforementioned heel radius makes for as-good-as-it-gets transition in a full-length Max shoe, I still felt like I was fighting with it at times. It’s not nearly as good as the smoothest shoes out there.
Looking back on the positives of the shoe, it’s worth highlighting the improved stability of the Air bag. The addition of an outrigger, and the slight wrapping of the outsole along the sidewall of the heel, have added much more stability than their visual subtleness would suggest. I found the cage-based system used by the Jordan Brand Take Flight to offer better stability, but this method was still a huge improvement over the VII. A combination of the Take Flight’s cage and the 8′s outrigger would be even better. Unfortunately, it would totally kill the looks of the shoe. But speaking strictly on performance, it would be a welcomed addition. Rounding out the shoe’s tooling is the outsole, which provided solid, if unspectacular, traction. It required more swiping than I’d like to worry about, but was sticky as long as it was kept totally clean. If your normal court is a dusty one, you’ll be giving the outsoles a lot of attention.
Nike LeBron 8 V/2
When it comes to the performance of the Nike LeBron 8 V/2, you can take pretty much everything I’ve said about the original 8 and repeat it here. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. The upper is more minimal, and feels slightly lighter. It’s also more breathable. The team at Nike should be commended for taking a much more innovative, lighter-weight construction and replicating the performance of the 8, without it breaking down or falling apart.
With one of each shoe on each foot, I could feel a small difference in weight, but when I was just playing in the V/2, the weight difference was barely noticeable. The minimalism of the upper was much more noticeable, though, and the biggest perceivable difference between shoes. For me, though, if I’m going to play in a shoe that is bulkier and more protective than I like, I might as well go all the way. I preferred the fully plush feeling of the 8 rather than a slightly lighter, but still bulky V/2. It just wasn’t a big enough difference for me to sacrifice the comfort and protection. I also found the more substantial upper of the 8 to offer a somewhat better balance to the large tooling.
Both versions of the LeBron 8 are tough shoes for me to grade, because they fall so far from where my personal tastes lie. Did I enjoy playing in the Nike LeBron 8 and V2? Nope. But do I think they are well-designed, well-developed, effective shoes that lots of people will like playing in? Absolutely. The bottom line is that if you don’t like full-length Max Air, the 8 and 8 V/2 won’t do anything to change your mind. But if you are a fan of full-length Air, the 8 and V2 are easy recommendations. They are expensive, but you have to know going in that part of what you are paying for is the visual wow factor, which they completely deliver on. And more importantly, they deliver on the promise of what a full-length Max Air shoe can deliver, by doing it as well as any shoe has yet.
Break Down -
best for: Players who place a priority on impact protection and upper support.
key tech: Full-length Max Air, TPU-encased Flywire support overlays along heel and forefoot.
pros: Excellent comfort; fit; impact protection.
cons: Lack of court feel inherent with full-length Max Air.
improvements: Better stabilize Air Bag.
buying advice: While the Nike LeBron 8 and 8 V/2 may not be shoes I would reach for personally, fans of full-length Max Air should find its best use yet here. I preferred the cage system of support incorporated by the Jordan Take Flight when it comes to stability, but felt that the 8/8 V/2 offered a better overall playing experience. If you like Max Air, the 8 and 8 V/2 come highly recommended. As for which one to go with, if every ounce counts, and you want to go as high tech as possible, opt for the V/2. If interior comfort and protection is what you are after, go for the original 8.
Available now: Nike Air Max LeBron 8 and Air Max LeBron 8 V2
Nice review. I appreciate that y’all took the time to review both pairs. Keep it up.
Great and balanced review. If my preferences were so different from a shoe as your’s are here, I’m not sure I would’ve pulled that off.
Solid work as always, Nick!
wheres the K.D.3.. review at!!!!
Get outta here with that ish!!!! B+ no way!!!!! I can’t believe these didn’t get the highest rating for cushioning. You’re kidding right??? Usually your reviews are pretty acurate even though it seems like you favor all the Jordans. I just thing these are scored a little low. You must be a Kobe fan huh????
the cushioning should have been perfect. IMO. but overall, nice review..
“Large heel and forefoot Zoom Air bags added excellent and responsive cushioning.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the V had full-length Zoom with a double-stacked heel, not heel and forefoot cushioning.
it’s a personal reference to cushioning i think. if you don’t like the air maxxes… can we have someone who prefers air max review it, then maybe compare it to other shoes that have airmax as well.
lol n u lbj fan! huh!
Still too much you, too little shoe.
And lay off the Take Flight promotion, it’s one of the slowest shoes known to man(also due to that TPU cage, which you don’t need, if you put in a little power, the 360 Air Max bag is self-stabilizing, you also don’t really need the outrigger(it’s there mostly for ‘mental support’), only if you can’t actually move the bag, it’ll be unstable). LeBron 8 >>>>> Take Flight.
How’s the heel fit? How’s the lockdown? How roomy is the toebox? During lateral movements, does the foot stay on top the footbed? How does the shoe wear, does it get better with age, or does the plastic upper deteriorate into something nonwearable?
This is one of the most comfortable basketball shoes that I have encountered in a while, and hands down blows the Kobe VI out of the water. To give the Kobe a higher rating is ridiculous, its flimsy and completely unsupportive. This is clearly a biased review on all accounts.
1st of all, the cushioning and impact protection are second to none.
Zoom my be slightly more responsive but it sacrifices cushioning.
For ppl concerned with maintaining overall health of their knees, joints, ankles. This is much better than anything else out.
97/100 in my opinion. Please make sure you review the PS (V3) as it has Zoom were players need it along with Max Air
Although I am not a fan aesthetically, the Lebron 8 PS v3 should score the highest performance score ever.
That was a great review Zac! I think that the cushioning should have gotten a 5+ but that’s just my opinion!
Mede-
As I mentioned in the review, I thought the heel fit and lockdown were very good. That was the single biggest improvement over the VII. Toe volume was pretty normal, rather what was way too much for me in the VII. The upper does a great job of holding the foot over the footbed, but I still don’t love the feel of the Max bag when I cut. I didn’t experience any “deterioration” in the upper, but it broke in a bit after a few wearings (the 8 more than the V2).
Nene-
I do think the 8 is a better shoe than the Take Flight, and I said that in the review. But I still like the cage better than not having it. Maybe it’s a mental thing, but I felt more stable in it.
As for the cushioning not having a higher score, the forefoot is far too firm for me to give it the highest grade. The heel is great, and the sockliner definitely helped it feel softer than the VII in the forefoot, but not enough to make a huge difference when playing.
Well, you didn’t grade ‘em like you liked ‘em better(Take Flight got a better score), plus you said slightly better, which is selling the LeBron 8 short, they’re a lot better.
Also the fore-foot cushioning, what do you mean by stiff?
I haven’t heard of any unusual stiffness in the fore-foot anywhere else.
So if it’s simply the fact that a 360 Air Max bubble is a little stiffer than Phylon, or Zoom, that shouldn’t actually diminish the cushioning score, because that’s what is expected(the price of Max impact protection), and the shoe doing what it should(which is what should be reviewed, “if the shoe does what it set out to”, and if the readers then keep in mind who they are, they can find the best option for them).
I have to second what Don said too BTW, people that really don’t like a shoe, shouldn’t review it, find someone who does like it, they’ll get a much better connection, a more detailed, and more in-line experience with the people the shoe’s actually made for.
^I did give it a higher score. I liked some areas of one shoe better than the other, and other areas better in the other. But overall, I liked the 8 better, which I said, and which was reflected in the scores.
the most comfortable shoes i have right now, still waiting for my cool greys i bought from ebay to arrive, i cant wait
Zac, just wondering, when it comes down to traction and you had to choose between the kobe 6 or the lebron 8′s, which one would you choose and why?
Quote: “^I did give it a higher score. I liked some areas of one shoe better than the other, and other areas better in the other. But overall, I liked the 8 better, which I said, and which was reflected in the scores.”
Is this a loop-the-loop, you gave ‘em(Take Flights) a higher score, but didn’t like ‘em better, and that’s reflected in the scores. Simply put: you gave ‘em a lower score, because the 8′s are better?
And again, what do you mean by the Stiffness, did you find it to be out-of-line with normal full Air Max fore-foot cushioning?
*no edit button
* the Simply put clarification: You gave the LeBron 8 a lower score, because the 8′s are better?
Personally i think the V2 are better basketball on court sneakers , but they are not holding up for me as street wear , they crease more and the support is better in the 8, the 8 hold up better to street wear and for any sneaker head who will spend as much as it takes thats important..Can you picture the “south beaches” in V2 ?
I think the cushioning the got the right review. Every time I play in shoes that don’t have zoom in the forefoot, my knees start hurting. That might only be me though.
SOLID27-
I can’t wait to play in the PS. It’s the shoe I’m most I’m looking forward to playing in right now. Heel Max, forefoot Zoom is my favorite setup. I loved the PS last year, other than thinking the fit was a little sloppy. I think this one will be even better.
cjav27-
I haven’t played in the Kobe VI, so I couldn’t say for sure.
Nene-
I gave the Take Flight an 88, and the LeBron 8 an 89. 89>88. I’m not sure what you don’t understand about that. The reason the LeBron 8 isn’t much higher is because there are aspects of the Take Flight that I liked better that certain aspects of the 8. But as I’ve said about five times now though, I thought the 8 was a better shoe overall. Also, if you are asking about me saying the forefoot being firm (or you term, “stiffness”), I’m not sure any other way to word it. The forefoot cushioning is not as soft as I like. I find it to be perfectly in line with Max Air, which is one of the reasons it’s not my preferred cushioning. The fact that it’s inherent to the cushioning doesn’t mean it should receive the highest grade though. If a shoe is built with no perforations, vents, etc. as methods of providing heat dispersion, I wouldn’t give it a 5/5 just because it wasn’t breathable on purpose. If a shoe had a full leather upper, lots of overlays, and a bulky tooling, I wouldn’t give it a 5/5 in weight just because it was supposed to be heavy. Same idea here.
AGHHH!!!! I’m getting glitched out again :hithead: (I had a bigger, better answer, but here we go trying to get around the censor(seriously, have the ‘bad-words’ highlighted, because this is very frustrating)
Your comparison is wrong though, Cushioning is about impact protection(or at least it should be), Breathability is about a couple of factors(Breathability, but also Heat-control, and moisture-wicking).
And Air Max delivers maximum impact protection(even if it’s too firm for you), on that alone it should get 5/5.
The fact you don’t like it, shouldn’t have that big a role in the review, it’s about the shoes, not about you.
That’s why Cushioning can be objectively scored, where Breathability will always be a subjective category, because of different personal needs.
i agree with nene33. this should get a perfect score in cushioning. i’m not a fan of lebron or his shoes, but i tried on a pair of v/2′s and i have never felt so much cushion under my feet on any other basketball shoe in my life. it’s not as responsive as the kobe’s, but it is definetely perfectly cushioned.
I like the V2s better than the V1s. I like that they are lighter, breathe better, and look nice (very subjective). I really don’t like how high the tongue comes on either shoe. I wish they had dropped the height down by one eyelet. Oh well.
I don’t think the 360 air unit feel appreciably different than it did in the 7s. Just like with the 7s, the air unit is just too firm and dead feeling for me.
I wonder how the v3 will compare to the v2 and v1 perfomance wise
The V/2′s are the most comfortable shoes I own, but I love the quality of the V/1′s.
I think they both are outstanding shoes I tried them both on but for some reason could not tell the difference. Is there a big difference between them or I’m I missing something?
when is the review for the comparison of the 8 and the 9?