Tennis experience/background: Self rated 4.0. Played high school tennis back in the day and currently playing recreationally.
Describe your playing style: Baseliner looking to come in on short balls and finish points at net. Typically play singles.
Current shoe: Asics Gel Resolution 8 (6 pairs). Nike Vapor X before that (7 pairs)
How many hours did you play with the shoe?: 22 hours across 8 sessions
Normal Size: Men’s 9
Playtesting Size: Men’s 9
Comments on shoe performance (3-5 sentences per category):
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Comfort: Immediate comfort was decent. Compared to the earlier Barricades (2,4 & 5), they are more comfortable and less stiff out of the box. However, there were several pressure points on my foot, including on the medial side where the pods are to lock down the heel and both medial & lateral sides of the ankle collar. The pressure points from the pods went away after a few hours of use, but the high ankle collars were really pushing up on the ankle bones on both sides. The remedy was to wear multiple pairs of socks, but I haven’t experienced this in a flagship tennis shoe until this one in the last 2 decades. The last shoe I can recall doing this were the Nike Courtposites with the very hard shell. Initially, the cushioning is firm but absorbs impact without sacrificing court feel. As the shoe broke in after a couple sessions, the forefoot and heel cushioning got softer and my biggest complaint about the shoe became more apparent. The entire footbed isn’t proportionally cushioned, which led to a pretty serious level of discomfort and pain, especially toward the end of playtest (more on that in the arch support section).
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Fit: This will always be YMMV, but the shoe does seem to run short for some folks as TW notified the selected playtesters that 2 out of 4 members went up half a size. I stuck with my usual size 9 for this playtest. The shoe does fit a little tight initially. I believe the shoe runs “short” for two main reasons: 1) The inside of the shoe feels a tad bit shorter than other shoes with the same size, including other adidas shoes. Part of this is due to the pods in the heel area that have not been broken in and end up pushing the foot forward. 2) The toe box height is very low. The rubber toe cap that extends from the medial side feels like it needs to be a little bit taller, but I personally didn’t have any issues. It does make the toe box more restrictive, so if you require a roomy toe box, you most likely will want to go a half size up. Also, this is the first shoe with asymmetric lacing that I wasn’t bothered by.
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Arch support: Arch support is good when trying the shoe on. It’s noticeably higher than the GR8 and any Nike I’ve worn but not overwhelming when just trying them on. The issue (and one of the biggest flaws of this shoe in my opinion) is that the midfoot is not cushioned proportionally to the forefoot and heel. The midfoot is supported by the Torsion plate, but there isn’t much cushioning there. Add that to the softer forefoot and heel midsole once the shoe breaks in, and the shoe compresses at the forefoot and heel on impact but not at the arch. The arch support quickly went from sufficient while remaining stationary to overbearing and painful on impact. This was also noticeable on the bottom of the shoe. From my first hour with the shoe, I had scrapes on the Torsion plate because the midsole of the forefoot and heel would compress so much that the plastic shank would make contact with the court surface.
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Stability/Support: Barricades have always been one of the most stable and supportive shoes in my opinion, and this 13 is no different. The biggest difference for me between these and the older Barricades of yesteryear is the stack height. I was never a huge fan of earlier Barricade models because the shoe just rode too high for my tastes. They were still stable, but I just don’t like having my foot that high off the ground in a new pair of shoes. However, these were lower while still retaining that stability and support. The issue I had is that the midfoot shank is way too stiff, and it was really affecting my heel to toe transition. These Barricade 13s just don’t allow that as smoothly as other shoes on the market. It basically flops down the entire outsole when trying to transition from the heel to toe, making it incredibly clunky to me. It was something I got used to after the first 1 or 2 sessions, but I just felt like I moved better instantly in Gel Resolution 8s or Vapor Xs. Folks needing an unforgiving midfoot shank would love these, but I can’t say these were too stiff in the midfoot for me.
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Ventilation: I’ll admit that I haven’t really had any issues with ventilation in pretty much any tennis shoe since the mid 2000s (Yellow Nike Courtposites, looking at you). Nothing stood out to me with the Barricade 13s, good or bad. They ventilate enough to not be uncomfortable. Part of that may be because it’s winter out here in still sunny southern CA, but even 3 hour hitting sessions during the day weren’t an issue.
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Sole Durability: I’ve had these shoes for about a month, and the sole is just starting to wear at the typical spots, particularly the medial forefoot area and the heel. For a shoe that doesn’t ride super high, sole durability is pretty great. I can confidently say that the outsole is more durable than the Gel Resolution 8s. I also haven’t noticed any abnormal wear in the outsole, so that is a check in the positive column.
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Toe Durability: This was another positive aspect of the shoe. The outsole rubber extending over to the toe creates a super durable toe box. I didn’t get that unpleasant sensation of dragging my toe over the rough court surface like some thinner shoes in the toe area like the Vapor X. Overall, the shoes have great toe durability despite the abnormally low toe box.
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Traction: Traction was also excellent. I love a nice herringbone pattern, and these had very solid and consistent traction throughout the playtest. No complaints at all in this department. Another positive characteristic for this Barricade 13.
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Weight: The weight of a shoe has never mattered that much to me as much as how the shoe plays and feels while playing. I never got the impression that these were heavy while on court, but they did play clunky for me due to the heel-to-toe transition issue. Outside of the heel-to-toe clunkiness, it wasn’t hard to move around in the shoe at all.
General Reactions and Comments:
- Overall, if I had to play in a Barricade model, I’d choose the 4 or the 5 over this particular model. I was able to play in those without any pain or discomfort.
- At the price point, I prefer the Asics Gel Resolution 8 over the Barricade 13. The Gel Resolutions don’t do anything spectacularly, but they’re solid in every aspect. In comparison, the Barricade is better in durability but worse in comfort. I just find the GR8s to perform better on my feet than the Barricade 13.
- I received the black/white/grey example from TW
- I’ve spoken to several folks who had the previous versions of the Barricades and none of them mentioned the same issue I had with the arch and the cushioning. I’m wondering if this is a design flaw or just an issue w/ my specific example. The midsole is just way too soft in this one.
- The high ankle collars issue was also a bit perplexing because it was more prominent on my right shoe than the left.
Thanks TW!
