u/hoopandtooth

Recently picked up reps for the first time, ox gt cut 1 ariza PE and harper PE. My initial impression when I first unboxed them was, "they feel kinda heavy." Been breaking them in for a couple days and that first impression is living rent-free in my head. So I decided to weigh them and compare them to the rest of my rotation. Results below and in pics from heaviest to lightest.

Method:

Left shoe, all size 12 US except trae 2 at 11.5, weighed with the same left custom orthotic.

Sidenote: I have a low profile custom orthotic that fits on top of the drop in midsole and it's the setup I would run whenever I get a chance to bring the gt's onto the court. I do the same with the speed XI's, a low profile custom orthotic on top of the drop in. Otherwise, I replace the stock insole with my custom orthotic.

Results:

640 g. harper PE

634 g. ariza PE

561 g. trae 2

517 g. ff bb v3

505 g. lebron 21

492 g. ac 12

482 g. wow 10 low

481 g. speed XI

470 g. liren 5

459 g. big3 5.0 qp

443 g. yushuai 18 v2

247 g. xen slide lol

Discussion:

I knew the reps would be heavy from research, wasn't expecting the difference to be so stark.

For some reason, I didn't expect the 5.0 qp's to be so light. They never felt heavy, but given that it runs pretty big for it's size, I just assumed it would be higher up the list. Anyway, enjoy the numbers.

Couldn't pass up the chance to see what all the hate was about for $87 on sale in the Nike app. Got the Dillingham cw.

First day impressions:

Cushioning - this is my first zoomx drop in and it is SUPER mushy. It could be too mushy, to the point my foot is going to waste extra energy trying to find firmness to push off. Will know more after a shootaround. Other zoomx foam shoes I've had bottomed out pretty badly, not sure if it will happen to these drop ins too.

The fit is as bad as everyone says - pressure points everywhere just on lace up; more pressure points walking around. Lock down is good, but painful. Weird caveat, the toebox is actually roomie for me compared to a lot of nikes; roomier than lebron 21's, roomier than kobe 8 protros.

Now, here's the thing, no way I can wear these with a stock setup. So I've been experimenting. First, NO WAY to regular socks. I have to wear my bulky, thick, padded, unifoot, elite socks. Those socks neutralize the pressure points and make the shoe tolerable, but also makes the toebox more cramped.

I also usually play in custom orthotics, so drop in shoes are typically something I pass on. But again, for $87 and universally reviled, I was curious. I have 2 kinds of orthotics, a thick and thin pair. The thick pair didn't work, took up as much room as the drop in practically and cramped the toebox. The thin one worked surprisingly well. It takes up less room than the zoomx drop in, so with my performance socks, there was enough room in the toebox and no pressure points. Cushion is mostly shot, but zoom air strobel might be enough to be playable.

The best setup I've found so far though, utilizes another drop in. I happen to have another shoe that has a drop in (I didn't know when I ordered the shoe that it was a drop in lol). The other drop in I have comes from Li-ning Speed XI:

Li-ning Speed XI

These beauties have a Boom drop in midsole that is a good deal thinner than the stock zoomx. And they fit like a glove in the GT cut 4's, same sizes.

The boom drop in feels like a significant upgrade. It's firmer and more responsive, while being thinner. This setup with the boom midsole and performance socks definitely feels playable.

But, we shall see.....I'll try to let ya'll know after some reps.