Nike Shoe Advice

[bryanalban]

So I ordered 3 pairs of shoes to try out, and I was wondering if I could get some advice/thoughts about the pros and cons of each.

I ordered:

Nike Air Max Breathe Cage II,
Nike Zoom Breathe 2K10, and
Nike Lunar Vapor Tour

I know that fit is most important, but assuming they all fit equally well, which shoe would you select?

Thanks for the help.

 

[DCaicedo]

So I ordered 3 pairs of shoes to try out, and I was wondering if I could get some advice/thoughts about the pros and cons of each.

I ordered:

Nike Air Max Breathe Cage II,
Nike Zoom Breathe 2K10, and
Nike Lunar Vapor Tour

I know that fit is most important, but assuming they all fit equally well, which shoe would you select?

Thanks for the help.

Which Lunar Vapor? 7? 8?
The BC II's offer the best durability out of the 3. Both the 2k10s and the Lunar Vapors wear out fairly quickly according to some users.
The Lunar Vapors, I believe, are the lightest of the shoes you listed. But I think the 2k10s are fairly comparable.

 

[kimguroo]

you might need to wear half size small for Nike Lunar Vapor Tour

 

[y12.pats]

did u get the breathe cage II of the bay?? cant find em anymore… and u shud try the cb's. 2.3 was by far the best tennis shoe I have ever worn. better than barricades, vapors and breathe cage II. Im still currently breaking in the 3.3s so not sure about those yet. still ik its extremely supportive.

 

[bryanalban]

did u get the breathe cage II of the bay??

Nope, here at TW. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Nike_Air_Max_Breathe_Cage_II_WhBk/descpageMSNIKE-NBC2WB.html

 

[itsEr]

Breathe Cage Pro's: UNITONGUE, great durability (lasted me close to 5 months without any midsole exposure), ventilation, and the max air. Plus, the outsole warranty the other two don't have really help. I actually wore my Cage II's down and bought a pair of 2K10's with my voucher.
The only bad thing I can say about the Cage II's is that they started showing some unusual wear- the dragon material started to tear away from the part of the outsole on the in-side of the shoe, nearest the ball of the foot (I have no idea what to call it). This happened on both shoes, and I guess I could've used some shoe goo to repair it, but I had none at the time.

This is where it separated.

I have no experience with the vapor series, although I definitely wouldn't mind getting a pair of Oreo VI's if I could ever find one....anyway, the 2K10's are great shoes as well. Pros: Ventilation, weight, wide, traction. Also, I got around to painting mine, they're such a great looking shoe.
Cons: Lack of sufficient cushioning for match play, in my opinion. These would be perfect if they had just a little more cushioning, especially in the forefoot. Also, durability was terrible, took maybe 2-3 weeks to grind them down.
I prefer the Cages, but that's probably my bias towards heavier shoes. But please let us know your opinions of the shoes when you try them out!

 

[bryanalban]

Breathe Cage Pro's: UNITONGUE, great durability (lasted me close to 5 months without any midsole exposure), ventilation, and the max air. Plus, the outsole warranty the other two don't have really help. I actually wore my Cage II's down and bought a pair of 2K10's with my voucher.
The only bad thing I can say about the Cage II's is that they started showing some unusual wear- the dragon material started to tear away from the part of the outsole on the in-side of the shoe, nearest the ball of the foot (I have no idea what to call it). This happened on both shoes, and I guess I could've used some shoe goo to repair it, but I had none at the time.

This is where it separated.

I have no experience with the vapor series, although I definitely wouldn't mind getting a pair of Oreo VI's if I could ever find one....anyway, the 2K10's are great shoes as well. Pros: Ventilation, weight, wide, traction. Also, I got around to painting mine, they're such a great looking shoe.
Cons: Lack of sufficient cushioning for match play, in my opinion. These would be perfect if they had just a little more cushioning, especially in the forefoot. Also, durability was terrible, took maybe 2-3 weeks to grind them down.
I prefer the Cages, but that's probably my bias towards heavier shoes. But please let us know your opinions of the shoes when you try them out!

Thanks so much for the great info ... a real help.

So I got the three shoe.

I have an question about the break in for the Cage II's.

I love the feel of them - the best of the three. The only thing I'm a bit concerned about is that the have a slightly narrower toe box. So my big toe kind of "hits" the side of the shoe a bit (not the end). Since I've read that these need a break in period, with your experience with the shoes, will this loosen up as I play with them. I've never bought "good" tennis shoes before that required a break in period. Thanks!

 

[itsEr]

Thanks so much for the great info ... a real help.

So I got the three shoe.

I have an question about the break in for the Cage II's.

I love the feel of them - the best of the three. The only thing I'm a bit concerned about is that the have a slightly narrower toe box. So my big toe kind of "hits" the side of the shoe a bit (not the end). Since I've read that these need a break in period, with your experience with the shoes, will this loosen up as I play with them. I've never bought "good" tennis shoes before that required a break in period. Thanks!

I don't really remember a break in period that much for them, as I had the shoes in spring of last year. But i do remember the narrow toe box, which even for my tad-wider-than-normal feet, there wasn't a problem in the toe box.
I also remember that the fit was incredible-when I put them on, I remember telling my brother that these are the first shoes of mine that I could actually claim to have a glove-like fitting. I don't suppose it'll be a problem to you for that much longer, the shoe as a whole did seem to loosen up quite a bit as I continued to use it.
Wait, when you say your big toe, do you mean the "rear" of the toe? Like if you were staring straight down at your toes, and a horizontal line divided your big toe in two, then the half closest to your ankle? <<Sorry, really finding difficulty explaining that one, but thinking about it, I may have just gotten used to it and never thought of it as a problem.

 

[kimguroo]

now I am using cage and I like it. I saved it for summer time ^_^
I played about 10 hours and felt I might need a little more time for perfectly comfortable.
first 6 hrs were horrible haha.

I am wondering about warranty though. cage shoes were produced around 08.
Nike warranty policy said the shoes has to be within 2 years of production date.
I might claim sooner than you so I will let you know whether nike grant the warranty or not.

 

[Power Player]

Out of those, the 2k10s were pretty great.

 

[The Big Kahuna]

I got my pair of 2K11s yesterday and played in them for the first time this morning. Some initial impressions:
1) This is not an updated 2K10 - the shoe feels plusher, more stable, and beefier than the old model. Nike may be doing to the 2K10 with the 2K11 what Asics did with the Resolution 2 when it came out with the Resolution 3. This shoe feels more like a CB 2.3 than it does a 2K10 - and that may be a good thing.
2) As a result, the shoe needs more break-in than the 2K10. I will update in a week or so and let you know how that goes. The shoe may be more like the Nike Cage in that respect.
3) In general, there was less "slop" in the toebox than the 2K10 and the foot was help into the shoe more securely. There was more cushion and this this may also relate to this being a more durable model than the 2K10. The tongue was more padded and the shoe felt more comfortable, as well.
In short, if you were looking for something like a lighter CB 3.3 or a more stable and cushioned 2K10, this may be the shoe for you. It seems to be the missing link in the Nike line, a relatively light, breathable, stable, cushioned performance shoe that appears to be geared to be more durable than the prior model. I am liking the changes Nike has made in this model. More to come as this shoe breaks in.

 

[parasailing]

I got my pair of 2K11s yesterday and played in them for the first time this morning. Some initial impressions:
1) This is not an updated 2K10 - the shoe feels plusher, more stable, and beefier than the old model. Nike may be doing to the 2K10 with the 2K11 what Asics did with the Resolution 2 when it came out with the Resolution 3. This shoe feels more like a CB 2.3 than it does a 2K10 - and that may be a good thing.
.

Is the toebox still s wide as the 2K10 or is it somewhere between the 2k10 and CB 3.3?

I had the 2k10 and the midfoot was just too wide thus lateral support was just average at best.