The Jordan Fly Wade 2 was a phenomenal basketball shoe and the brand decided to make some modifications to the design for the Post Season.
Hit the jump for more…
Before you read any further, this First Impression will be a bit different than the others since this model is so similar to what I’ve already reviewed. You’re mostly going to get my honest opinion rather than an actual First Impression.
Traction – Nothing has changed… literally. In my opinion, this is a complete waste of time and resources by Jordan Brand. If you are going to make a Playoff version of a shoe, you should upgrade the shoe entirely. Nike did a great job upgrading the LeBron 9 with the Elite… from what I can see, the Hyperdunk 2011 Elite is the only other shoe in the Elite series that has gotten a decent makeover.
Cushion – Again… nothing has changed.
Actually, I take that back… the insoles have changed.
Instead of providing you with an Ortholite insole that cups and molds to your foot they provide you with a basic Ortholite insole. Upgrade? Not in my eyes.
Material – The Jordan Fly Wade 2 features a full Fuse base upper… the Jordan Fly Wade 2 EV features a full on Fuse base upper with Flywire side panels.
The toe on the original featured a TPU bumper for protection of the materials whereas the Wade 2 EV does not… Instead it has a thinner Fuse-like material.
The tongue has changed from a thin mesh to a slightly thicker mesh.
Fit – They fit the same… narrow and snug which is great for me and could be bad for wide footers.
The toe is a little higher than before but again, they feel identical when on-foot.
One thing I loved about the Wade 2 was the forefoot’s flex groove. The Wade 2 EV has this as well but it’s been reduced in size. I would complain about this change but as stated earlier, the materials are so thin that flexibility probably won’t pose a problem.
Ventilation – This area is a complete downgrade… surprising since Wade specifically stated he needs ventilation.
In addition to the mesh tongue and forefoot perforation holes, there are a total of THREE ventilated sections on each side panel as opposed to the Fly Wade 2’s entire side panel being very well ventilated. Maybe he wanted more strength in the materials… something Fuse would typically offer versus Flywire, especially Flywire this thin.
Support – It’s the same as last time…
Maybe all of these minor changes were done for a reason… weight reduction for the rigors of the Post Season is my first thought. So I decided to remove the insoles and place each shoe on a scale…
Jordan Fly Wade 2 = 13.1 oz.
Jordan Fly Wade 2 EV = 13.2 oz.
I guess weight reduction had nothing to do with the changes at all.
So… the Jordan Fly Wade 2 EV is a poorly reproduced copy of the original. The rubber outsoles were manufactured so poorly that they are both severely uneven in the forefoot… both the left and right shoe… I went through every pair Finish Line had in my size and they were all the same.
Traction is the same. Cushion is identical. Support hasn’t changed. Fit is the same and ventilation took a hit… if the EV stands for evolution then they missed the mark by a long shot. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the Fly Wade 2 and feel as if it performs above average. However, to release something that doesn’t look or feel like an upgraded model at full price while the original model is sitting right next to it for less than retail is astounding. I’m actually confused as to why this was produced and released… what the heck does EV stand for?
HA so typical of JB
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, such a bad move from JB… no improvements at all.
None whatsoever
Same Here…I really don’t get this version when I saw it..
why did you get them if they are almost the exact same shoe??
If someone asks if ill review them and i explain my thoughts theyll keep asking me. Same thing happened, and still happens, with the hyperfuse 2011… Theyre the same shoe w a modified design to the upper but it doesnt stop anyone from asking why i wont review them.
I think its supposed to mean Elite Version…. Im starting to kinda look at jordan as sort of a tyrant, he signs all these amazing athletes, and instead of doing the right amount of publishing, and tending to the players on and off court needs, he sends them a wack product in my opinion, performance is there, but they need an attractive shoe or else they won’t really benefit the player much. I mean think about it, what would you rather buy, right off the shelf, the flywade, melo m8, Cp3.v, or the Lebron 9, kobe vII, or durant IV? if I was Wade I would consider moving into the nike line-up. its obvious jordan wants the hottest shoes to be his own.
That’s a lil bit too much man. I don’t think Jordan has anything to do with the declining in design department since his own flagship line took a beating too.
Maybe it’s just the designer’s problem they could not come up with appealing designs for these. Maybe it’s our fault we couldn’t see the beauty behind these shoes. But after all, they are basketball shoes. They belong to the court, not the mall or the club.
so are you going to do a performance review on these
or not?
No, i just grabbed a pair so i could waste my time taking images and writing up a first impression…
yes or no
Seriously???
Try asking questions with some level of respect from now on as well… Its off-putting when someone goes out of their way to provide a service at no cost to you and you feel as if speaking or writing in that manner is acceptable.
Questions and/ or demands presented to me in that fashion will get you absolutely nothing in return.
well i dint mean to disrespect you
Its alright, ill be reviewing them.
can you please do a performance review on these
this guy is rude….. show some respect to nightwing man, you sound like he owes you shit….. his shoe reviews are the best on youtube, period…..
i agree on cib. nightwing won’t review these anymore because he already reviewed the jordan fly wade 2’s which is the same shoe as these fly wade 2 ev’s. it’ll be redundant, waste of time and annoying to review the same shoe.
Read his first reply to this guy. He was being sarcastic. He IS gonna do a review on these otherwise, like he stated albeit sarcastically, why would he take pictures and do impressions for no reason and waste his time. These aren’t exactly the Reebok Zig line. People keep requesting and being the good person he is, he will review these, though probably a shorter review than usual.
Is the Fly Wade 2 still your favourite performing shoe still for sale?
Its def one of them.
will ther be a playoff sneaker for cp3 and melo? will u be doing a performance review on these? and the kobe and hyperdunk elite version?
I havent heard anything on the Melo or CP3. Not sure if ill do the other elite series at this time.
are u gonna test these? are u gonna pick up the wade d’reign
I LOVE ALL UR REVIEWS, HAD 2 WATCH IT EVERYDAY, AND CHECK FOR NEW UPDATE. I JUST WANNA ASK A QUESTION: WILL THESE FLY WADE 2 CREASE ON THE TOE AREA? 🙂
Thanks, they crease while being worn just as all shoes do.
Hey Nightwing2320,
may I have a suggestion? It would be very helpful if you could tell us the width of your foot, so that we would have a better comparison to how a sneaker would fit. I read you review on the wade 2 and was about to buy the shoes online. Fortunately I had a chance to try them on before and even thou i went up half size they felt super narrow!
In the review on weartesters.com they have the same issue with the fit at the toe box. Now for you it’s a great fit.
That’s why it would be great to know your foot width.
Thanks
The width of my foot isnt really needed. I state in the reviews & first impression how they fit and whether they are true to size or not.
But true to size for you doesn’t mean it’s going to be true to size for others.
And like i said with the wade 2, althou i think i have a “normal” foot the shoes wear too narrow even with half size up. for you they seem to fit perfect …”There is a slight snug feeling around the base of the midfoot just before the toe, this is something I prefer personally since I do have a narrow foot”…
Are the wade 2s true to size? ’cause i don’t think so
True to size is length, place your foot on a measuring tool and if it says your size in length then that is what true to size means. Width is something that will vary on each shoe depending on the last the manufacturer uses.
The Wade 2 for example used a narrow last but length wise they are true to size. Because there is a narrow last used to shape the form of the upper it wouldnt help much if you went up 1/2 size. Sometimes going up can help but not usually. When a shoe is built on a specific last then it means its made for a particlar foot shape. Hyperdunk, HD 2010 are made with a basic last that is supposed to occomodate most foot shapes, for my foot it doesnt work well because my foot is narrow so I tend to have dead space in the shoe. The HD 2011 used the same last as the Kobe V, which was a narrow last, so those fit me much better.
Width has nothing to do with length which is what true to size means. When a narrow footed person says a shoe fits very narrow that usually implies that someone with a wide foot may want to stay away from the shoe altogether.
So, to answer your question… yes, the Wades fit true to size. Are they narrow? Yes, which I explained. Should you go up 1/2 sz to try and see if they work? If you would have asked me that I would have said no because the midsole is inside the shoe, something they call a double last, as the arch within the shoe is very pronounced so placing a pair of shoes that fit true to size (length wise) on your feet in a 1/2 size up from your true size will result in the arch sitting in a totally different area of your foot that how it was meant.
What you need to keep in mind is all the details and aspects of a shoe. True to size means length not width. Narrow fitting shoes usually are manufactured for those with narrow feet and can casue some people pain and discomfort when worn if you have normal or wide feet. Another thing is that you yourself dont even know if you have a wide foot or not, you think you have normal feet, so I’d go to a shoe store and measure your foot with one of their tools and most have a wide measurment option available so you can figure out what type of foot you have.
Hope that helps.
This helps a lot. Thank you.
And with the HD 2010 i had to go half size smaller…
The Hyperfuse half size up.
What does that make my foot?
Thats normal… HD have a wider last and the fuse have a narrow last.
when i size up, i notice the location of forefoot zoom bag is off. instead of bag being underneath the forefoot, its near the base of my toes. waste of zoom bag in my opinion
These actually have full length Lunarlon. No Zoom is in the shoe.
yes, you are correct. i was just referring to other models with forefoot zoom bags
cant really complain because now we can get the original and superior fly wade 2 cheaper lol
Thats true haha
Should have waited on the Wade D’Reign. That’s more interesting.
I may grab those as well.
you buy all your shoe or do you companies send products for you to review?
I buy 99% of my shoes.
Yo yo my man, what’s good. Is there actually any benefit to putting flywire in to a fuse upper? My impression is that the fuse upper doesn’t give, so would you not receive the same type of lockdown without flywire as the material doesn’t give or stretch and is still wrapping your foot in the same manner? the fuse upper is anchored at the base if the shoe just like the flywire, Seems a but of a redundant upgrade to me.
It seems redundant to me as well but ill find out for sure once i play in them,
it really seems like they are screwing wade over. the wades are good performance wise, but design of his shoes arent the best i would say, and for some reason my wade 2s squeek in the sewn part of the hyperfuse. this ev shoe is worst then the original wade 2. i respect wade a bunch, but i feel sorry for how jb is treating him, why he wears 14s instead of his own shoe. plz jb, make better shoes for him.
They squeak bc of the double last midsole, its inside the upper not attached to the upper. I think JB is doing fine with the performance side of things but if Wade wants a fashionable performance model he needs to be the one to vocalize his needs and desires.
he actually does but he does it so vaguely. he wants a sleek shoe. aston martin type. what kind of cues can you get with those. i’ve been following wade jordan sigs through interviews videos articles. if i was a designer, i wouldn’t be able to pick up anything specific to what he wants the shoe to look like. what they definitely got was how it should feel. i think its because of the mentoring his brand like how Shaq does it, wants too much but gives ideas so vaguely or ideas too broad to start with with aesthetics etc.
Hey Nightwing last time you said fly wafe 2s were good for you because they suited your feet., well my feet are pretty wide and I usually have to go half a size up for my shoes would they suit just fine? And if not would the Rose 2.5s be a better choice?
Thanks.
Gordon, even wide feet come in lots of shapes. You can have an entire wide foot or just a wide forefoot etc. Most people just have a wider than usual forefoot and mostly just people with flat feet have their entire foot really wide, starting from the ankle down basically.
If you usually go up half a size and its ok, then i’m sure you’ll be fine in the fly wades. I went half a size up in hyperdunks 2011 and my forefoot is relatively wide but it doesn’t bother me.
Yes, your odds of finding a better fit are usually increased in an adidas product because they fit people inbetween sizes.
Nike size 9.0 = 42.5 euro
Nike size 9.5 = 43.0 euro
Adidas size 9.0 = 42.66 euro
Adidas size 9.5 = 43.33 euro
And so on and so forth. I found out that an adidas product size 9.5 fits me perfectly, its my ideal fit. But i can never ever get that same fit in a nike product. If i go 9.5 in nike, its too tight, so i have to always go size 10 as far as Nike is concered.
Like NW usually tells us, go out and try them on in stores. Unfortunately i live in a country where Nike doesn’t import that many basketball products, focusing more on soccer and running shoes. So if you live in the US for example, go out and try everything on, then come back to nightwing2303.com for the review and make your decision.
sergiu, wher r u from?
If you have wide feet the wade 2s are not for you. i think that my feet are normal and even going up half size they were very narrow at the toe box. best for you if you could try them on before you buy them. the rose 2.5 would probably be a better fit.
I think nightwing will agree with that
Both options could hurt your feet. If you have a wide forefoot then the 2.5 would be better.
hey nightwing2303 sir would you recommend these shoes to anyone
Id go with the wade 2 over the EV at this point.
is the outsole material fly wade 2 ev same as the normal fly wade 2
Can you read?
Everything is the same except the addition of flywire.
are you for real? 😀
why did you even bother to get it if i were you just return the shoe if your going to review these i think its a waste of time unless you really mistaken that this shoe performs well
Why are you even questioning this? It’s not your time or money. He’s doing everyone a favor by doing these reviews. If you are questioning the fact that he is pulling coin out of his own pocket to buy the shoes and spending his own time to review, then don’t read or watch it. C’mon, man, get real.
Because i want to review them. Ppl will continue to ask me to even though id say theyre the same shoe.
Do you think they will last in outdoor? How long do you think they will last? pls reply ASAP
I only play indoor
Does the fly wade 1 have better traction than the fly wade 2? and will the fly wade 1 upper be durable enough ?
Once broken in the wade 1 had great traction but wouldve been better
If it were solid rubber. Wade 2 has a better upper.
Hi night wing I see that JB Havnt made any improve to the shoe, but are you able to do a performance review in the hyperdunk 2011 low or the adizero shadow please?
Not really any improvements.
I dont know if ill review the HD low and the adizero shadow hurts my feet every time i put them on so i dont think i can play in them.
On saturday apr 21st my fly wade 2s should arrive from the States and if anybody’s still interested in how they fit somebody with a wide forefoot, i’ll post my thoughts on this thread.
Nightwing thank you very much for all the reviews you made!!! i read all your reviews and i was able to decide whats the best shoe for me. i bought fly wade 2 marquette and kobe 6 instead of 7. i was wondering if the elite series of kobe 7 would have a major revision?? and one more thing im confused on buying d.rose 2.5 v.s lebron 9?? maybe you could give me some advise
Thanks, glad i could help. If you have trouble deciding its best to use the rating scale and choose based on the ratings in the categories that are most important to you.
First off love the site and reviews, krishna is a moron. Cant wait for the review, hoping there is a performance difference, so its not a waste of time for you. I have been waiting for these to come out for the wade 2’s to go on sale. I love my fly wade 1. Im really hoping the changes make an upgrade in performance some how.
Thanks, ill have this review up soon. Almost done w them.
What size do you wear? Assuming that which you are reviewing (here) is for your own “consumption?
I wear a sz 9
That was my guess just looking at the proportions of the shoe, thanks.
Hey Nightwing, just want to say I love watching all your sneaker reviews so keep up the good work! Anyways, I’m planning to pickup a new pair of sneakers for basketball (performance sneakers). Could you give me a few suggestions. Currently, I’m planning to either get the Fly Wade 2, Fly Wade 2 EV, Rose 2.5, or CP3.V? I’m usually shooting guard or point guard by the way. Also, what’s the purpose of ventilation in a shoe, does it affect performance and anything? Thanks!
Theyre all good shoes so itd be best to check their ratings and compare them based on your specific needs. Ventilation allows the foot to stay as dry as possible to avoid slipping within the shoe. Sometimes its not needed so much if the lockdown is adequate.
ohh i see thanks for your recommendation. I’ve narrowed down my choices to either the fly wade 2, fly wade 2 ev, d rose 2.5. I’ve seen you gave a higher rating for the rose 2.5 so do u mean that the rose 2.5 has better performance overall than fly wade 2 for u personally? and if u were to choose fly wade 2 or fly wade 2 ev, which one would you choose personally as a performance shoe and why (not including factor of price)? I know it should really be my personal pick but may i know what you personally think please. also, do you personally think fly wade 2 ev’s added flywire benefits the shoe? I’m sorry if these questions are frustrating you but I really want ur own opinion, thanks.
The overall scores are what come from each attribute added together so its best To make a decision based on individual attributes that are most important to you rather than the overall score. I personally favor the wade 2/ EV bc of the cushion and they fit my foot perfectly. The flywire doesnt do anything special on the EV imo.
Hi nightwing2303,I had the Fly Wade 2 but the mesh from the tongue started ripping off the front of the shoe,I wanted to know if I buy the EV will I still have the same problem?btw I have wider foot but if I buy a 0.5 size larger it is alright with me
(sorry if my english is bad)
Hey nightwing, i wanna buy the fly wade 2 (non ev) but i read about the tongue ripping and other stuff, so should i take the risk? or should I go for the lebron 9s which I wanna buy too because i idolize lebron..
HI Nightwing, I have a pair of Fly Wade 2 for about 5 month now, I totally love everything from it but i got a super anoying problem. the thin mesh tounge ripped right at the Flex groove by some how. PLz plz reply or tell me what should (or could) I do to fix it or if you have the same problem. I got mine off Champs Sport in Toronto 🙂