First Impression: Li-Ning Way of Wade
This is how a sneaker should be made… period.
Traction – The ‘DW’ pattern looks iffy to me. The rubber itself is sticky as hell so for the first few wears, traction should be great. Will the sticky properties of the rubber last is something that would make or break the shoe. But I will remain optimistic as the pattern isn’t all bad…
The major strike zones located at the heel and forefoot are covered with the ‘DW’ pattern but all the rubber that would surround the pattern – as it does throughout the rest of the outsole – was removed and might end up being their saving grace should the rubber lose its stickiness… my spell check didn’t go off so I’m going to assume that stickiness is an actual word and not something a child-like brain such as mine would just make up as a failing attempt to describe an object.
Cushion – I’m no stranger to Li-Ning’s BounSe & CushioN foam system. It was mentioned in the Turningpoint and Villain Performance Review but I will say it again… I love this foam. It feels great and has an awesome bounce back feeling. Lunarlon and Micro G are tied for 1st while Li-Ning’s BounSe and CushioN are at a close 2nd.
Step in comfort is great as well with this weird insole they provide.
Material – Just as its stated in the beginning… THIS is how a sneaker should be made. Raw materials formed in a proper shape featuring a narrow/ modern last. It will require some break-in time but nothing compared to what you’d get from a cheap split grain with a PU coat. Even the patent leather is REAL patent leather… I haven’t seen REAL patent leather placed on a shoe since 1995 and we all know what shoe that was.
Fit – They fit true to size length wise but slightly narrow width wise. Wide footers may want to go up ½ size but keep in mind that real leather breaks in and stretches – because its skin – so how well the fit will hold up going a ½ up has yet to be determined.
Ventilation – There isn’t too much ventilation but there are some areas made with air flow in mind. The tongue is mesh while the side panels and toe are perforated… just like a lot of 90’s shoes. If you are an old school hooper/ sneaker enthusiast then I can tell you right now that you will like this shoe.
Support – Carbon Fiber is placed at the arch for torsional support while the eyestay and midsole feature a lightweight plastic for structural support which will come in handy once things begin to break-in. These features along with the awesome fit should provide the wearer with plenty of support.
They don’t make shoes like this anymore. They can but they don’t. Even Li-Ning’s previous models are made of synthetics so I feel that this premium look and feel may be because this is part of the Wade brand. If D Wade is truly hands on in this new venture of his then I applaud him for bringing back the 90’s with these right here.
Wade knows what up… he grew up in Chicago and remembers what Jordan Brand used be… maybe this is his way of paying homage.
All I know is this, I’ve never been this happy with the quality of materials and build of a sneaker since 2005 or 2006.
Been waiting for this almost 7 months now! Question is will this perform like a modern day shoe looking like a 90′s shoe? Will traction last on outdoors? Can’t wait for the performance review!
Yo nightwing how did you get your hands on these? Been waiting for these for a while now.
watch the 1st video. he explains it all
Where can I get these, did these release?
I agree with the questions above. Where? How? lol! I’ve been waiting for these to come out or even be reviewed for a minute. Good work.
After seeing the uploaded vids, I have even more respect for what you’re doing. You reviews have honestly been my guide for the last few shoes that I’ve purchased (Nike Hyperfuse, Nike Hyperdunk 2011 Low, Fly Wade 2, Melo m8, Melo m9, and I’m sure there are more and will be more). Your work is appreciated man. Take it easy.
I’m very excited for these. What was the retail of this for you?
wow real patent leather + BounSe and CushioN.. i can’t wait to see the performance review on these
Was looking forward to these since I’ve got wide feet with very low/flat arches and they seemed like they might fit my foot shape. Disappointed to hear they run a bit narrow
These will release February 20th I think and will have a pricetag of about $180. Correct me if I’m wrong, NW.
Where did you hear that man!?
Same , where did you get them :O ?
Wow!!! pretty cool man!!! how did you get this sneaks bro?!!!
why no video? is it uploading?
You must be new.
LOL
It’s so hard to imagine these playing well, based off their clunky image. Perhaps it has awesome cushioning (which would make sense for Wade considering his injuries), but they look like they wouldn’t be good for quick moving guards based on the midsole and sole…
Been waiting for these ever since I started rocking li-ning back when baron davis had his own signature model (defend). Always felt they were the most comfortable shoes to play in, and they were dirt cheap cause there was little to no exposure about the brand in north america. Definitely looking forward to your review of this model!
does anyone know if these are going to release in footlocker or finishline?
Wow big statement there, guess the quality of the shoe gotta be real good coming from a Chinese company. Well not too happy if the fit is too narrow…
How did you get your hands on these?
you deserve to be excited for what we used to get from JB but never will again because they’re too much about the dollar now…hope these play well and eventually hit stores or at least the Li-Ning site, seems they’re dragging ass getting them to market.
gotta admit, these look good for casual wear as well.
I’m an old school hooper, and I’m excited on how these will perform for you. Looking at fit, traction & cushioning on this one since the materials are already a check mark for me.
¥ 849 = 136 $
Not really that expensive for premium leather kicks
it’s expensive considering how much labor costs and raw materials in China are.
Sure, but consider the fact that most American brands are probably manufactured under very similar circumstances.
Well have you been to China lately? Did you know that standard cost of living multiply so much for the last decade? Do you know that raw material prices and labor costs have increased so much that people are starting to move away from manufacturing in China to lower cost labor countries?
do you thing that those will perform better then the jordans fly wades 1 and 2 (both regular em EVs)???
when they will be for sale?
and what is the great guard shoe?
because i want to buy a new shoe and this shoe looks great
where can i buy these?
I always looked at this shoe and thought that the cushion looked so terrible. It reminds me of Jordan 4 cushion besides the zoom air in the Jordan 4. Good to hear it isnt dense garbage that comes on retros.
Of course Jordan and Nike can make their retros with raw material and in this build quality, and it would probably costs them less to make them than Li-Ning due to economy of scale. But they will charge us like $300 for a pair because we all know how they do business nowadays.
can they be laced without the “W” design? Like straight across?
Honestly, I was skeptical about Wade changing brands initially, but these changed my mind. Can’t wait for the review on these!
Much respect to you and John!
The price on the bottom of the shoe says Yuan 849 = USD 136 (should be around that price when retails in North America)
yea guessing it’ll come out at $140 which seems to be the price point for most new shoes these days
I hope this would be released soon.. cant wait for nw’s review!
i wanna see a floridian cw for this though..
Hey Dude, Which Site Did You Buy An Incredible Shoe Like This?
I just got an email from Li-ning saying
“Thank you for your interest in Li-Ning. The Way of Wade collection will be released by the end of this month. The retail price will be set at around $135. For more information, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you.”
i want these bad!! nice review