Don’t know which one to choose when faced with so many options? That may be exactly what you are experiencing right now. Well, since under many circumstances we can’t have our cake and eat it, we usually have to choose one and ditch the others. So in that case, some relatively comprehensive comparisons between those options usually seem quite helpful and essential.
Here I am gonna present to you the both the performance reviews of AJ 33and Irving 6 and make a comparison between the two, which I hope may be of valuable reference and do some help for you to better make decision.
Let’s begin!
AJ33 Performance Review
Wrapping
To begin with, it should be mentioned that for wide footers, they may find the shoes not so comfortable if they’ve gone with their regular sizes. Although these look quite snug and compact, it may not be an ideal shoe for wide footers like myself. But I cannot say it is intolerable. Actually it is doable, so don’t stop reading yet.
Therefore, the recommendation here for wide footers is to go up 1.5 to 2 a size. It may be ideal for some but not for others, which actually depends on how wide your feet are of course. Personally I’ve changed the size from 42.5 to 44, thanks to which I can also enjoy the relatively ideal wrapping. And with the Velcro on the side of the shoe and the FastFit my feet are firmly and securely locked inside the footbed.
As for regular/narrow footers, going true to size will be enough to offer you an ideal wrapping. In other words, you can expect a snug, near one-to-one fit.
Comfort
Talking about the CPU or carbon plate that is seen in the soles of the AJ 28-32 but has been replaced by the lacing system, I am reminiscent of the traditional setups. After all, new things may not necessarily equal good things.
When I first put on the shoes, I felt it somewhat strange underfoot because I’ve been used to the feelings given by the “foreign matter”. In short, I think it is definitely not as good as 28-32 generation.
Although things are not solid comfort-wise, there’s still plenty of smooth and soft padding, not least around the ankle & heel areas. So if we would take the carbon plate completely out of the formula, everything seems to be fine and even impressive.
Cushion
The rear cushion offers a feeling that is far removed from that given by Boost. While Boost is super bouncy and can be obviously and easily felt, AJ33’s rear cushion, I think, is more protection-oriented. Let’s put it this way. When designing the shoes, I think maybe the designer place more emphasis on the cushion’s protection performance. The rear cushion in fact feel tougher than the Boost but is still elasticity-ensured. For players who are used to landing on their heels, the thick foam material of rear area and the zoom of the midsole offer the impact absorption and protection that are both stable and reassuring.
While I was running on court, the forefoot cushion offered me the powerful energy return that is forward-propellant. So for players like me who belong to the explosiveness style, this sounds wonderful and thrilling.
Over and above that, there’s also the Flyspeed that is sandwished between the thick insole and the air cushion, which can accept the feedback of the cushion without being lessened of the energy return because of the soft insoles. This is similar to AJ32, but the difference is that the sole of AJ33 is not soft enough, making the shoes less flexible than AJ32.
Traction
I only played in it on indoor courts for several times, but on abrasive surfaces outdoors, I can ensure you that the shoe has quite aggressive traction, though not the best or perfect one under the sun. After all, of those AJ shoes I’ve worn previously, they never failed me in this respect and I think that AJ seldom fails consumers in this perspective, either.
While on courts, I had enough to complement my movements properly and that’s all I require. Whatever movements I am going to make, I feel rather secured in it. So I’ve so far hadn’t any issues with the AJ 33.
In terms of its indoor performance, though I’ve merely tested it for a very limited number of times, the impression it left one me is that it can handle the smooth surface well, if not as well as on outdoor courts. Previously I also wore some sneakers with poor traction on indoor courts and it turned out that those sneakers were quite a disaster, leading to my slippage several times during an hour’s play alone. So I deem that the traction of AJ 33 can be reliable even indoors.
Irving 6 Performance Review
Wrapping
The vamp adopts the separated design. The front part of the Velcro is a material similar to the engineering mesh , and the back part is made of leather material.
To be frank with you, I don’t have any complaints about its wrapping, but neither do I have compliments for it. Objectively speaking, the wrapping can only be said to be OK, not excellent. During my plays, I sometimes encountered slippage inside the shoes though my forefeet were firmly locked. Anyway, I am a wide footer and the forefoot wrapping is good. But the problem here is that there’s heel-to-heel movement, which means I have to stop to adjust the wrapping frequently. That certainly can be irritating.
But if you can come up with any ideas to make up for this, maybe you can overlook this problem. Besides, I should mention that this is only a personal problem and not everyone is set to run into the same situation. The best way here is try on the shoes in person so that you may avoid any similar hassle.
Cushion
The midsole features the forefoot zoom turbo and rear phylon. It sounds to be an excellent setup and there’s no other way to put it.
Excellent as it is, it is still a bit inferior to its predecessor. The entire midsole actually is thinner than that of Irving 5 and the court feel it offers is not as strong as that offered by Irving 5.
Still, I need a couple of sessions to really start feeling the cushion’s full potential. But I don’t consider it a hassle because after that, things are just awesome.
However, things should have been more satisfying but for the strong contrast between the two. If you haven’t experienced the Irving 5 before, you are likely to be more than satisfied with the Irving 6’s cushion. But if you happened to have tried Irving 5 previously, the odds are that you’ll feel a bit disappointed because this one is not an upgrade over the Irving 5.
Nevertheless, let’s think it positively. Goods news here is that with the shoes, I have no slappy step transitions or any unnatural difference that would feel like one while performing movements. So I’d say still that Irving 6 is its own beast in this aspect.
Support
Without any TPU, the Irving 5 has also been ridiculed a lot by many consumers. So, is Irving 6, also without TPU, severely criticized? Hardly no the scenario! Not having adopted TPU though, Irving 6’s Velcro design has extended to the arch area, providing support to some extent. Besides that, the extension of the outsole on both sides help a lot as well.
Overall, the support is definitely an upgrade over the Irving and not outstanding though, it is still enough for on-court use.
Traction
Different from Irving 5’s outsole pattern, that of Irving 6 is more impressive and good-looking. But, of course, this is merely a part of the whole story.
Initially, I did have my concerns with the shoe’s traction. But the more reviews I read the more assured I felt for most of them were reporting on indubitable grip these provide. When it came to my actual plays I found that the traction was deadly and consistent under the condition that I played indoors.
The sneaker features different traction lines all over the outsoles for multi-directional coverage, and its good is particularly noticeable on non-abrasive surfaces, say, the hardwood. So if you are a big indoor advocate, you may find it quite after your own heart.
Durability of the two sneakers
Which one is more superior? I think that AJ33’s outsole is hard enough so that it can stand the test of abrasive surfaces. As for Irving 6, though there are changes in the pattern, it is hardly suitable for outdoor playing. So what I can say is that they have their own merits and which one is superior depends on what you require of a sneaker.
Overall
Once again, these are all my personal experience and thoughts, and surely there will be some who are not aligned with me. In a word, these are for your references and you may keep your different views, if any. So I’ll talk no more and leave it for you to decide which one suits you better.