First Opinion:
At this point, I am confused which are the actual Kawhi Signature Shoe, but these should be right. At first glance, it’s very much different from the New Balance Omn1s which was supposedly Kawhi’s shoe. The New Balance Kawhi 1 is more layered and feels beefier compared to the Omn1s.
The materials really caught my eye, there doesn’t seem to be much tech on there but the way the materials are put together really intrigues me. It seems like this coral-like pattern is going to be the theme of the shoe as it is on the side of the shoe, as well as the outsole. It may not look flashy but what we focus on here is performance and I can’t wait to play in these.
Significant Tech Present in the Shoe:
- Multi-Material Upper
- External Heel Counter
- TPU Shank
- FuelCell Cushioning
Materials & Aesthetics (8.5/10):
Looking at the New Balance Kawhi 1, it’s a mix bag of feelings for me, just like the mix of Synthetics, knit, textiles and Fuse that are on the shoe. The overall structure of the shoe is very minimalistic in terms of materials used yet the many overlays on the shoe gave it a little complexity.
To me, it all comes down to the colourways. Some colourways made these shoes look really great and the others… are just wacky. The materials throughout the shoe are fairly simple and isn’t something that will stretch as you wear them. That said, some people did experience some discomfort at the achilles which I will get into in the FIT portion.
For me, the Kawhi 1 is definitely on-court only unless you are talking about those single toned ones. In the NBA, only Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) has been spotted wearing these.
Fit (8.5/10):
In terms of fit, the New Balance Kawhi 1 fits true-to-size. The shoe is on the snug side, so from if you are the kind of baller that prefer that one-to-one fit with little to no wriggle room, this is the shoe for you. That said, wide-footers will probably have to go up half a size.
Snug as it may be, there were people who noticed that the top of the toe box seems to bubble up a little once it’s laced up. Personally, I didn’t have such an issue but it’s probably something you will have to live with because there’s no way you can go down further from your true size.
Now to the part of the Kawhi 1 that caused a bit of issue… the collar area. As I’ve mentioned previously, some people did have complaints about the achilles and ankle discomfort, and this is something that I felt as well.
I do not know exactly why, but it seems that the collar structure made the ankle area feel very vulnerable and that was very evident throughout play, I believe that was what caused people to feel some discomfort at the achilles as they were really straining and being cautious about their ankles during movements.
Support (9/10):
Support on the New Balance Kawhi is something that is pretty straight-forward. Simple lacing system, supportive materials and supportive features are all on this shoe. Given the fit is a little odd at collar of the shoe, the Kawhi 1 still managed to hold its own somehow.
The upper is a made of different layers and some of it is on the thinner so some might feel that their feet may slip out. However, the lacing system really kept my feet singed within the shoe. The External Heel Counter also help to keep my heels well contained.
On top of that, there is a TPU Shank to provide some torsional support and to top that off, the shoe has a pretty flat base which provided more stability.
Cushioning (8.5/10):
The New Balance Kawhi 1 features New Balance’s FuelCell Cushioning which is basically one of the latest foam mixtures that New Balance came out with for its shoes. This iteration of the FuelCell is slightly caged at the heel by the External Heel Counter but free to compress throughout the rest of the shoe.
At the heel, I felt that the FuelCell Cushioning is thicker or denser and just feels a little higher profile than at the forefoot. The slight caging of the midsole helps with containing the compression of the cushioning at the heel so that the heel does not have any instability. So far I don’t think it compromised the impact protection though.
As for the general cushioning throughout the whole shoe, there is adequate impact protection and it is probably something that would not bottom out so easily. Not only that, at the forefoot there is tons of court feel which was great.
Traction (9.5/10):
Do you see the coral pattern at the side of the shoe? Now, look at the bottom of the shoe. I do not know why but New Balance took the same pattern and used it as the traction pattern. And now look closely… doesn’t it look a little familiar? This traction pattern reminded me so much of the traction pattern of the Adidas Crazy Explosives. If you do not know what it is, you can image search on google. If you want to see how they performed, you can look here and here.
The coverage of the traction on the Kawhi 1 was pretty consistent and the outsole really gripped the court very well even on different types of courts. Dust hardly gets trapped as the groves are far apart but time to time, a little dust does stick on the rubber. That said, a few wipes now and then and you’ll be good to go.
One thing to note is that the rubber is not very pliable and is decently durable so you might be able to pull this off as your outdoor option.
Final Conclusion: (8.8/10)
Overall, I’m pretty impressed with what New Balance came out with and I’m glad that we chose to do the performance review for the NB Kawhi 1 rather than the Omn1s. Those just didn’t feel quite right. This is also our first review of a brand other than Under Armour, Nike or Adidas and I’m glad that it turned out so well. With a lot of room to improve, I’m hoping that Kawhi’s signature line really hits so that we can see more of other brands actually coming out with more competition for the bigger brands.
BBALLEQUIPS 