Nike Air Max Wavy - the almost Foamposite

I do not always buy shoes based on the fact that someone famous endorses them. This is one of those cases - the Nike Air Max Wavy. I do not know of any major sporting basketball athlete that wears this shoe, but then again, I am not looking hard to find one.

The shoe is well priced. Depending on where you buy it, and the time of when you buy it, it will cost around USD$80, and if you then factor in shipping, you could have it delivered in Australia for around AUD$100 to $110. If you want to buy it in an Australian shop, it will be around the AUD$130 mark. This shoe appears to take inspiration from the Nike Foamposites that were made popular by Anfernee Hardaway.

The shoe does not feel like it has as much grip as I have found my Nike Hyperfuses I use on a regular basis. I found it very stable, but not as quick or responsive as the Hyperfuse. I believe at this point, I am comparing most of my shoes against the Hyperfuse, as I have found these to be a light, breathable, snug-fitting shoe. In terms of being breathable, I feel some air movement on top of my foot, but the rest of the foot heats up quite quickly. This may translate to feet expanding somewhat in the Wavy, which may mean it may feel tight fitting in its own right. It does not make the shoe uncomfortable. The Wavy is well padded, and quite comfortable, but could do a better effort in cushioning in the heel. Even with the exposed heel air cell, I would have thought it would have been similar to my everyday Nike Hyperizes, but they are not.

Saying all that, I still believe that this shoe is good value for money, and in that price range, I think it is only beaten (slightly) by the Hyperfuse. The "look" of the shoe is definitely its biggest draw card - but only in the metallic-like finishes. This is where they surpass the Hyperfuse or the Hyperize, but as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", this is my opinion, and yours may differ after seeing the images below, and by following the links to other images on this blog.

My thanks, like a few times already, goes to the team at crazyforsneaker.com. Their site is still going through maintenance, but crazyforsneaker's ebay shop is up and running. As mentioned in my post on the Nike Hyperfuse Rondo PE, the strategy to lowering costs is to buy many shoes at once and save on shipping. I had these shoes shipped with the Hyperfuse Rondo PEs, as well as a pair of Nike Foamposites, which I will document in a future post.