Tennis Shoes of a Superstar (Nike)

Member Name: thespurs

Product:	Nike
Date:	21/04/05 (3700 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well Styled, Very Comfortable, Aid Free Movement

Disadvantages: Limited Availability

---Introduction---

It may have come to the attention of one or two of you that I am very much into playing tennis and also watching it should I get the chance. I play around two to three hours a week, for around six hours. I therefore feel it necessary to have all of the correct equipment on me, or in my hand, when playing the game. It is important that you are kitted out correctly in order that you can play the game to your full potential. This review is about the new pair of Nike Air Zoom Vapor tennis shoes, that I have recently purchased to replace my Nike Breathe Two shoes that I can no longer use.


---The Need for Tennis Shoes---

Making certain that you have the right footwear on when playing tennis, or taking part in almost any other sport, is often imperative. There is little use in playing tennis with a pair of trainers designed for leisure on your feet. This won't offer the support that your feet need when pounding around the court and moving into position to play a shot. A tennis trainer will typically offer the ankle a lot of support and the whole shoe will protect your feet and lower legs from the potentially difficult changes in direction that you may have to make. In the long run, they may prevent you for sustaining any sort of serious injury that may stop you from playing tennis for a long period of time.


---Style---

These Nike tennis shoes are very neatly designed and they do look rather snazzy on any tennis court. They are obviously styled with the consumer in mind, making the whole product a more attractive overall package. They have tried to get the most out of emphasising certain aspects of the shoe, in terms of the technology, that makes them what they are.

The actual shape of the shoe is pretty standard. There aren't really any real variations from other tennis shoes that are currently available on the market. They wideness and broadness across the top of the foot is present, in order to protect the feet and give a range of movements to the player. The shoe gets much thinner towards the heel area, which aims to stabilise the heel and joint between the lower leg and foot.


---Colour---

The shoe is mainly a mixture of blue/turquoise and white material. The top of the shoe is all blue and there is like a clip shaped section of white that runs from one side of the shoe, around the back and finishes up on the other side. There are numerous air holes that run around the side and across the top of the trainer and a luminous yellow meshing set on the inside, shows through which is really effective in making the shoes appear very attractive. There is a large turquoise Nike emblem on either side of each shoe, which is pretty much standard on any Nike footwear.

There are other colour ways available in America, such as all black and all white. However, I think that Nike have chosen to retail by far the nicest in this country. It is a slightly different colour from what you normally expect and it is a nice refreshing change. It isn't one of those colours that really get in your face, but it does still stand out. I would have perhaps liked another colour in amongst the blue/turquoise areas just to break it up a bit, but overall I can have no complaints.


---Comfort---

The most important aspect of a tennis shoe, in my somewhat qualified opinion, is how comfortable and easy on the feet your tennis trainers are. If you can go out onto a tennis court and feel that your shoes won't cause you any discomfort or problems, then you have one less thing to worry about. There is no use in wearing shoes simply because they look nice or because everybody else is, it's about what suits your feet.

If I compare this trainer to the previous pair of tennis shoes that I owned, these are certainly a level above those. Although the old pair were Nike, the technology has advanced even further to make these shoes even more easy on the feet. I never have to worry about my feet being sore or hurting during a tennis game when wearing these, I can just get on with things. They are exactly the right size which means that they are a perfect fit and your feet get the maximum of protection.


---Control---

The way that these shoes are designed, gives the player wearing them a great degree of control over their movements. They are very compact which means that you won't get you feet in a twist and your range of movement won't be restricted in any way. The grip on the soles of the shoes, allows you to change direction pretty quickly. There are some tennis shoes that grip the surface too well and that slow you down to a degree. The grip on these shoes allows you to plant your feet securely but also to help you get into a position to hit your next shot. The movement and change of path, is also helped by the little bit of freedom that the top of the shoe gives to your feet.

I think that these certainly help my tennis game a great deal. I feel that I can reach even the most difficult of balls, with the level of movement that these shoes provide for me. There were times in the past when my feet would get caught up under my body and I would end up playing a very poor shot. I can prevent this happening much more easily and create space between myself and the ball in order to hit the ball efficiently.


---Durability---

Much like all tennis shoes, this particular pair is designed to be very strong and that means that they are very well made. They use very strong materials that have been specifically researched and developed in order to offer protection for the feet and longevity of such protection. The way that the shoes are put together, contributes to the hard wearing attributes that they posses. The sole and the main body of the shoe, are bound together in the toe area with a strong piece of rubber. This prevents wear and tear from causing a hole to form after continuous use. The vast majority of tennis players drag their trailing foot along the court surface when serving and this more often than not leads to the toe area being worn away faster than any other part of the shoe. Where the sole and the main section of the shoe meet, there is added padding and protection to make the shoe more secure and that in turn makes the shoe less susceptible to being worn away.

If these shoes are looked after in the correct manor, then I would expect them to last for between a year and a year and a half. I play for around six hours a week, so that is a fair amount of use over that period of time. A fair amount of stresses and strains are placed on a tennis shoe, with changes in pace and movement, so any shoe that can last for over a year is generally of a very high quality. The grip on the sole of the shoe doesn't appear to be wearing away very quickly, so that won't be the first thing that goes wrong with these shoes.


---Availability---

It is often very difficult by tennis products and equipment in the United Kingdom. There is nowhere near the level of choice available as in the US and there tends to be a lot fewer variations of individual products available in this country. There could be a number of reasons for this, but they aren't really worth going into. There are only two websites that sell this particular shoe and they have both been out of stock for a very long time. I had to get mine from Nike Town in London, because there simply isn't anywhere else to buy them. There are about four different colour ways available in America, but only one over here. Therefore, you will have to really search hard for this pair of tennis trainers in order to be able to purchase them.


---Value for Money---

It is certainly worth your while to spend a bit of cash on some specialist tennis trainers, if you are committed to playing the sport regularly. They will help your game and make you feel much more comfortable on the court. They will protect your feet, both in terms of injury and keeping them free from blisters or getting sore after a long period on the court. They are available for £80, which is the recommended retail price. I managed to get my pair from Nike Town and they appeared to have good stock levels. It is worth checking out pwp.com and also tennisnuts.com, in the event that they get new stock in the near future.

As far as this particular pair of tennis shoes is concerned, I really couldn't recommend them more highly to anyone. I think they offer any player everything that you could want from a shoe designed specifically for tennis. On top of offering you stability and control on the court, they look pretty nice too. They are worn by Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt, arguably the two best men's tennis players in the world at present, so you can't really be going far wrong in your choice. They are used by the best, they won't necessarily make you as good, but they will certainly add something to your game.

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