Inspired by his love for luxury watches and his need for high-performance, Jordan Brand designed the Melo M9 for Carmelo Anthony. Question is — should you spend the time to play in a pair?
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I have to come clean – I haven’t worn a pair of Melos since the M5. Not that I didn’t like the shoes or the designs, I just didn’t think they fit my game or my budget with the other options available. Then came the M9. After all of the good I heard about the M8 and the Advance over the summer and the total beast mode Jordan Brand went into on the Super.Fly and the CP3.VI, I was drooling on the pics of this shoe.
When I opened the box, I was greeted with possibly THE brightest pair of shoes I have ever worn (a LOT of years in there). The Black History Month blue almost glows, and the volt around the Zoom unit and trim only adds to the rainbow. The first visual I noticed was the straps (the luxury watch influence). The only structure to the sides of the shoe, the straps run from the laces down into the midsole and pull the shoe completely around the foot. They are lined with Flywire but that, to me, was an unnecessary add-on. The nylon of the straps does well enough. Like the last three shoes I have reviewed from Jordan this year, construction is excellent. No missed stitches or sloppy seams. The shoe definitely has an old school, ’90s feel to it with thicker than modern ankle padding and a bulky look to the forefoot and heel, not at all in the mode of the Hyperdunk/Fuse and adizero lines so prevalent on feet. The traction is clear herringbone and covers toe to heel. The one doubt I had was the raised area on the forefoot area of the outsole. Anything raised leads me to doubt stability. But so far Jordan Brand has proved they know what they are doing this year, so I am in for the ride. Let’s suit up…
They sound AWESOME!!! Big cushioning, big padding, 90s style, I’M IN!!!
Great review Duke. I’m glad you like the shoes. I thought these might be a great shoe for you too. I have a pair and love them. The shoes feel a little stiff at first but break in so nicely. The comfort, fit, and traction are great. The zoom is very nice – bouncy and absorbs lots of hard landings without bottoming out. The ventilation is adequate. It could be better but it really is just fine. It’s just not as great as the rest of the shoes features. JB is really putting out some great performance shoes lately. I can’t wait to see your XX8 review.
This confirms everything I thought how this shoe would perform when I first saw pictures.
Modern day tech with 90′s construction sounds like the best of both worlds.
Im glad the shoe performs well cause it was made by jb, but i wish jb steps up their game on their cp3 and melo line.. it doesnt have that wow look compared to the lebrons and kds….
Adobo – that is what is wrong with shoes today. Too much worry about looks and not near enough about performance. The CP3 and Melo and for that matter the XX8 so far are three of my favorite shoes of the last 3 years. Everyone wants retros because they “look cool with jeans”. But let’s be honest – and I can remember this – the retros now were the “ugly” basketball shoes of their day.
Here, here. I like when hoop shoes look cool, but they need to perform first and foremost on the basketball court. I really like that JB has been making some great performance shoes lately.
I’m really excited to your final review of the XX8s. Not the best looking shoe (shroud would have been way better shorter like the Gloves), but man do they perform for me. The zoom alone is just bananas.
Adobo just look at more images of the M9, you like the LeBron because they overwhelm you with the images on the release(you’ve literally seen it thousands more times, than the Melo M9).
That’s all it is, the LeBron X, and KD V are very mediocre in looks(the KD V is even how a mold before any design happened looks, they’re generic to the max), but because you seen it thousands more times, than other shoes, you’re literally brainwashed into accepting the look.
That’s why Nike has so many ‘leaks’ of new shoes, to get you to see it enough, to stop resisting the new design.
If you see the Melo M9 enough, you’ll recognize it’s an awesome design(both functionally, as well as artistically this shoe is pushing boundaries).
Yeah..aesthetics are subjective but very few can filter out Nike’s marketing push along with their own perception of what is cool.
A CP3 or Melo offering is fighting against the current from the start. At the very least, they’ve managed to create a very unique offering that works on all levels.
The idea that this shoe needs to step up to meet the standards of the new LeBron or KD is insane to me-especially in the case of the KD as noted by nene.
For some people, it’s impossible to evaluate not only the complete package and it’s intended purpose, but design independent of brand/player reputation.
Culture of insecure copies.
When choosing a pair of kicks, I’d say that we are being a bit disingenuous while suggesting that looks should not matter, especially in regard to performance footwear. I’d be damned if I’d pay two hundred bucks for a hoops shoe, one that does not look good on my feet. Fit and the quality of build are next up on that list, but make no mistake about it, if I find that the shoe isn’t attractive, I’m not buying it, and I don’t care how performance driven the shoe is. If that were the case, I’d be wearing a pair of Vibram five fingers, with Cucinelli’s cashmere offerings.
It seems that the term “performance beast” is thrown around these days by many fans of Nike, when an ugly assed shoe is introduced by that company.
Well, I’d like to think that both performance and looks can arrive in the same package, and THAT is the real reason that many people prefer retro’s these days, back from when the designers were more thoughtful and creative, original in their offerings. I am old enough to remember when Jordan’s first shoe arrived on the store shelves, and it wasn’t that people didn’t want to wear them because they thought that they were ugly. The real question was, why SHOULD I wear them?
What makes these so different from what I am already wearing?
We weren’t fooled as easily back then. We knew that Jordan’s on court excellence came from his hard work and dedication. We also knew that the question of ” is it the shoes”, was actually tongue in cheek.
They sat back then, that is because WE had many other offerings, while not having to wear someone else’s name on our shoes. It wasn’t until the Be Like Mike campaign, the Gatorade commercial, that Jordan’s shoe line became insanely popular, then began being worn by people from all backgrounds, regardless of game, or even lack thereof.
Believe it or not, the materials used question comes into play here as well. Perhaps a generation or two down the line will have a greater appreciation for these incredibly expensive plastic shoes, which actually should be an oxymoron in my opinion. In this case, give me a choice between playing in a pair of III’s or XII’s? This Melo show will lose every single time.
Nice review BTW.
The shoe or the Melo line is being “hated” on because its Carmelo’s line. I personally have the Melo 1.5, M4, M3 V.5 M8 and M9 and have to say that its one of the best basketball shoe line performance wise. I’d say my favorite is the M8 then the M3, can’t say much about my M9 since I have only tried them on but after this review , I can’t wait to ball in them
MEDE – you are absolutely right about almost everything. I didn;t mean to jump on adobo – my frustrations with the “other” website’s comment sections came through. And really, I feel like SC is more of a general public website than here so it is probably closer to the general opinion than here.
Don’t get me wrong – if a shoe looks like a$$ I am not wearing it (Jordan VIII-X, adidas Kobe II, almost all of the Lebrons). But also, I could tell most of the shoes I won’t wear will not perform how I like (Jordan VIII straps, IX and X bad fit and traction, etc.) I just think it is a shame that because the Jordan shoe is not a retro the general public considers them trash when they are consistently performing just as well as the super-selling Kobe and Lebron series. I guess that is why I am such a fan of the Rose line – it performs very well and looks great. One reason I really liked these was the lack of an almost omplete rubber/plastic upper – yeah, the straps are plastic, but the majority of the shoe is not.
I have laid off of the Hyper series for the most part because of the weird flex and buckling – y’all know I like when my shoes crease and learn my foot. That is why I have a hard time seeing the Kobe VI, with the “shoe that forms to my foot” on the insole. We all know leather forms to the foot best – give us an option!!!
And it is funny, MEDE, that you mention the Jordan XII. These remind me very much of the XII and XIII. From fit to padding to cushioning, it feels very much like a late 90′s shoe. If you get the chance try them on. I think, knowing your opinions here and on SC in the past, you will like them alot.
I think that everyone knows by now that both Sole Collector and Nike Talk are basically used for reselling purposes. So when it comes to the comments on footwear and usage, neither site is to be taken seriously, especially when someone is seeking info on performance footwear. Hell, if they had their wish, Steph Curry should be “playing in Kobe’s”, because “lows are no less safe than mids”.
So when those idiots on both sites speak, just ignore them.
Duke, do you like these better than the KD Vs? I’m assuming so, but curious what you think. The KDs are sleeker, which is nice. The Melos seem to have a better fit and cushioning set up.
That is a tough call – I love the KDV until the top if my foot starts hurting where the tongue changes over. Usually after about an hour or so. The Melo is good start to finish but is a little bulkier. I would have to say – Melo.
If they had made the Melo a little sleeker it would go from a great shoe to one of my all time favorites. I guess ultimately I would buy multiple pairs if someone finds a way to make a shoe with an upper like the Rose 3 (comfortable yet sleek) with the fit and cushioning of the M9s.