adidas Harden Vol 3 Black/Blue/Grey Basketball Shoes (G26811)

Product Information

Now, this won’t feel like a “premium” setup to the touch but it does play nicely. Since it’s a textile at its core, we’re getting comfort and it doesn’t take ages to break these in. Wide footers should all go true to size, which is what I did and I have no complaints after a break-in period. It’s not THE best shoe for a wider foot, sure, but definitely not a terrible choice. While it doesn’t go all-out in one aspect (like the LeBron 18 cushion-wise or the Kyrie 5 responsiveness-wise), it provides all the qualities most player types will find extremely enjoyable. So I've been playing very often in the Harden vol. 3 for 2-3 years now, I've pretty much worn the shoe down to the bone, it's not really even wearable anymore lol so here is my review.(My pair are pretty destroyed at this point so it feels kinda pointless to upload photos of it, so if you want visuals here is a 360 view of a new pair, here is the outsole) There’s also a midfoot plate going from heel to toe which provides torsional structure. A decent choice if you’re a flat footer and need a new pair.

Perhaps much shiftier, Kyrie-like players might not find it suitable but for the average player, this is still fine. As you can see, the pattern is quite dense which has become a common tendency among adidas’s basketball stuff. It sure does grip all kinds of courts well but debris will get into those tight spaces of the outsole. The shoe sports a standard lace-and-loop lacing structure and there’s a large tongue for easy entry. Forget about all the one-bootie stuff, while some of those do work, I’d always prefer a traditional construction. Pin image source: adidas.com You can already tell what The Beard and adidas were going for with these – simple, minimal, and straight to the point. That’s exactly how the shoe felt for me. But if you do though – just know that you’ll need to wipe these down a little more often and expect some slips here and there. It’s still fine. Pin image source: adidas.com OUTDOOR DURABILITYDon’t get me wrong – I love me a Harden Vol. 4 (and the Vol. 5 is on the radar too) but if we’re talking pure performance and ability to offer balance to MANY different players, the third shoe is still the king for me. Let’s break it all down in my comprehensive Harden Vol. 3 review– the 2018 hit from adidas. BEHIND THE REVIEW

They’re nowhere near as stiff now, the midfoot shank does provide strong torsional structure but there’s some flex now to accommodate better step motions, and all that internal padding & exaggerated achilles heel piece made for a comfortable, no B.S. ride.

IV. SUPPORT

I was playing around with these for a long time now but the last 2 months were focused on really testing it to put together a review, so you could say these have been in “the lab” for a few years now. SPEC SHEET Pin image source: adidas.com

One gain to having tightly spaced grooves is they had been capable of % on a whole lot of the sample from heel to toe. So, while there has been dirt, and you will be in a scenario in which you cannot wipe, there has been sufficient insurance to subsequently get that chunk you would assume from this form of setup with excellent grip. This is the best part about this shoe IMO. The shoe is made of a really nice, soft yet supportive knit, and it's super well-padded inside, which makes it super comfortable. The lacing system is great, didn't have any problems, and the soft yet supportive upper combined with the padding inside means that this shoe wraps perfectly around my foot. When I'm playing the thing feels like an extension of my foot, like I was born with a pair of hardens on my feet. Heel area is super well padded as well, and the heel tab is huge so after breaking it in and tying the laces tight I didn't have any heel-slip issues. The majority of basketball shoes I've tried have given me blisters, but this one I didn't get a single one for 2 years of wear because it fits so nicely. Yes, it's not the lightest, but I wouldn't consider it heavy either, and it fits so well you hardly even notice the weight, so it doesn't feel slow/bulky at all. Sure, you could say that about most shoes but particularly with the Harden Vol. 3, it went from questionable to awesome for me in a matter of a couple of weeks.Similar to the Dame 7 and the Crazy Explosive 2017, my laces loosen up pretty fast, no matter how hard I pull them down. But since the shoe is as compact as it is, overall support & containment mostly comes from the fit & the upper. If you get the size right, you can definitely expect a secure fit and the upper has enough structure to hold your foot in and wrap around it very nicely. For someone like me, I’m mostly playing outdoors during the spring and summer, while I shift to indoor gyms during the autumn & winter. Well, since the world is anything but normal at the moment, I’ve been playing more outdoors than ever. If you’ve had some adidas hoop shoes in the past – these should feel right at home with how the sizing goes. Overall, once again there’s nothing so special about the build and the upper – it works. It’s durable, it’s comfortable, and it holds your foot in at all times.