Ever since Nike’s announcement of the Nike Hyperadapt BB, the sneaker basketball world has been buzzing. The shoes were available for preorder on the SNKRS US app. Not much was said about any other regions stocking the coveted shoe. Like most people, I also thought this would be a US exclusive ; I was thankfully very wrong.
That evening I received an email from Nike Town London, inviting me to come try out the new Hyperadapt BB at their store, as well as get a chance to reserve my very own pair! I was super excited to try out the new tech and could not wait for the morning to arrive.
I made my way to Nike Town London in the morning, and was met with a totally re–done ground floor, that showcased the Nike Hyperadapt BB. The whole floor was decked out in Hyperadapt gear, and they even installed a half court basketball hcourt in the store. Not knowing that we would actually get a chance to play basketball in the shoes, I immediately regret wearing jeans to the event haha. I was then met by some Nike reps, that took me into the event space and brought me out a pair of Hyperadapt BBs to put on.
FIRST THOUGHTS
The shoe was surprisingly lighter than I thought it would be. Definitely comparable to the lighter sneakers that are worn today on court, by athletes. The upper materials looked and felt tough.
They feel like they would be able to endure the daily grind of playing basketball, yet were light enough to form to my feet. As you put your feet into the Hyperadapt BBs, immediately the shoes SMART technology tighten to the form of your foot. Your feet are in a relaxed state in this position and the technology recognizes this, which gives you a relaxed but tight feel. Once you stand up, the SMART technology picks up that the weight and form of your foot has changed, and it once again automatically changes the tightness of the sneaker. It is now tight enough, that you can walk around in them without any concerns. This was beyond impressive coming from Nike. For the shoe to be able to automatically recognize the changes in real time and react to those changes, is something else entirely. Next, we were individually given information on how the Nike FitAdapt App interacted with the shoe and what features it held.
FitAdapt App
The Nike FitAdapt App does 5 things for you and the Hyperadapt BB:
- Lets you change the color of the two translucent buttons, on the base of the shoe
- Lets you check the battery status of your Hyperadapt BB
- Lets you individually tighten or loosen the fit for both your feet
- Lets you create a “preset” that you can quickly go to when needed. This preset is like a playlist for your Hyperadapt BBs. You can create different playlists such as: warm up, street, court, etc. (some of the few Nike showed us. You can change the names and create your own versions of these). When you click “warm up”, the shoes will go to your preset tightness; loose and relaxed. Then when it comes to game time, you click on your “court” playlist the shoe will tighten giving you an optimal fit. One thing that was not shared was whether or not these playlists could be set as timed playlists which would automatically go into your game time tightness at the allotted time. When asked, the Nike reps indicated that this was something Nike was looking to add and may be added before the release date of the Hyperadapt BB. If this does not turn out to be the case, subsequent updates will look to add in this feature.
- Nike will continuously send updates to the firmware of the shoe via this app.
After the fitting session, we were given opportunities to ask any questions that we had and of course there was many questions to be asked. Below are some of the most FAQ that came up in the event:,:
Is using the app the only way you can tighten or loosen your Hyperadapt BBs?
No, the two translucent buttons on the shoe that change colors can be used to tighten or loosen your shoes in real time. They act independently of the app so that you do not have to come to the bench and reach for your phone to change your fit. (This is similar to the original Hyperadapt)
What if my phone dies?
Once again because the two buttons are provided for you on the shoe itself, you do not need the app to tighten or loosen your sneakers as long as they have a charge.
How will I be notified of when my shoes are losing their charge?
The app will send you a notification that your shoes are dying. You can also manually check this from the FitApp in the charging status section.
If you do not have your phone with you and your shoes are losing charge, the two translucent buttons on your sneakers will start to flash red indicating that they need to be charged.
Sizing advice?
Nike reps acknowledged that this can always be a tough question but, they recommended going true-to-size. Personally, I went true-to-size and they fit perfectly.
Does the FitAdapt App work on other devices aside from Apple?
The Nike reps there assured me that the app would also be coming to the Android platform as well. Although they gave me a yes to this question, I could see that this was not a confident yes. We will have to wait and see in the upcoming weeks whether this app gets released cross platform or not.
Warranty?
There is no “warranty” per say on the Hyperadapt BBs. Some influencers there argued that as they are a piece of technology, a warranty may be something Nike would want to look at. The reps at the event said that if there was anything wrong with your Hyperadapt BBs, that contacting Nike would be the best route to take. They said that they were not sure what would happen and that any claim would be handled by Nike individually.
Basketball
After the questioning session the participants were given the opportunity to go and try out the Hyperadapt BBs on a half court basketball hoop. We were given 15 minutes each on the court alone, to do whatever we wanted.
Naturally being a basketball player, I tried to do everything that I could possibly do to try and destroy the sneakers that were on my feet as the ultimate test. Having tried the Jordan 33 and being disappointed with the lacing system, I went in quite skeptical on how well the sneakers would dperform. Although 15 minutes is a short time playing basketball in a shoe, the shoes surpassed all my expectations and held up amazingly. Some things that I noticed and loved:
- The shoes kept a consistent level of tightness on my feet no matter what movement was occurring.
- There was no “break in” period needed for the shoe. Once I had them on I felt like I had been wearing them for months.
- The form and fit of the shoe around my feet never changed or loosened unless I wanted them too.
- Not once did I have to go back to my phone to change any settings once I had found my optimal comfort zone
- My ankle felt tight and secure during all movements in the Hyperadapt BB (cross overs, cuts, sprinting, jump shots, etc.)
- I have tried on the Nike Hyperadapt 1.0 lacing system as well as the Jordan 33 lacing system and these, by far, blew those two out of the water. The comparison is not even close.
At the end of the event, the participants were able to reserve a pair of their very own Hyperadapt BBs. After the trial session I knew that I had to get a pair! With the price being the lowest of all the Nike “adapt” line up, it made my decision that much easier. I cannot wait to give these the ultimate wear test, in my next basketball game!
For any further questions that this post may not have answered, hit me up on IG or Twitter @kingkhamba or @yycsolediers and I will do my best in trying to answer them all.
The Nike Hyperadapt BB releases on February 17th at select Nike retailers, at a price of $350 USD. Will you be copping a pair?
Written by a Soledier, for a Soledier
@kingkhamba
#YYCSOLEdiers
