Wall's Zig

Reebok experienced a "golden age" of selling basketball sneakers in the 1990's with the advent of Shaquille O'Neal. This larger than life personality added to what was already a solid market of what Reebok had done in pushing "The Pump" shoes. Most older sneakerheads will remember the Reebok Shaqnosis. The late 1990's also saw the production of the Allen Iverson Answers. Sometime during the early 2000's, Reebok's appeal started to diminish. They became better known for their jogging shoes, and apparel, as opposed to their basketball sneakers.

Around 2006, Adidas took over Reebok in an effort to gain market share against Nike. After all the payments and aquisitions have been made, Adidas removed Reebok as the manufacturer of NBA jerseys, and manufactured it with their own logo. Reebok, now operating as a subsiduary of Adidas, had a very low profile.

In 2010, with the advent of John Wall in the NBA, Reebok signed Wall up as their ambassador for their new shoe - the Reebok Zigtech Zig Slash Wall. I am amazed at the quality of play that Wall exhibits at the point guard role, and I believe he would be even a greater player, if it was NOT for these shoes.

These shoes have some advantages, but there is one huge flaw in them. Starting with the advantages:

• Ankle support is comfortable and does not dig in like the Air Jordan 2010s
  
• Comfortable cushioning / good "ride"
  
• Good toe box room
• Heel lock down is good when the shoe is laced all the way to the top
• Breathability is suitable, but poor in comparison to the Nike Hyperfuse
  
• Visually intriguing shoe to look at

And here is the one disadvantage that overshadows all those points above:

• Poor traction

If you examine the images below, the only part of the soles that provide traction are the white horseshoe shape strip up at the toe, and the small D-section strip on the heel. The blue section which makes up the midsole provides no to little traction at all. It is my understanding based on some suggestions on the internet that the traction improves with time, as the sole develops traction after being used. I do not know how long this will take.

The biggest claim of the new Zig sole is that it is designed to reduce muscle fatigue for the user. This claim may be true, but I have not worn these shoes enough to determine that. I would suggest them to be used on a rough surfaced outdoor court, or just for straight line running, but if your style of play is to quickly change directions while moving at speed (known as "cutting"), this is the wrong shoe for you. Walking around casually is no problem, though.

My thanks for shipping me this pair of sneakers goes to the team at crazyforsneaker.com. Their site is still going through maintenance, but crazyforsneaker's ebay shop is up and running - although at the time of writing, but has no items for sale. If you are thinking of ordering from them, do not buy sneakers individually - buy in bulk and save on shipping. Email them with your wish lists, and they will see if they can get them for you. Their owner / manager assures me it is business as usual.

If you are a sneaker collector, and you appreciate the look of these shoes, then go ahead and source them. If you play any form of court sports, and are looking for a shoe, these are to be avoided. I would suggest the Nike Hyperfuse over getting these, but "your mileage may vary".