Dwyane Wade and Li-Ning produced an excellent basketball shoe to celebrate their decade-long partnership. Check out our Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 performance review below.
Who would have thought that the Way of Wade signature line would become this successful? It has been 10 years since Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade first signed with Chinese sneaker brand Li-Ning, and there’s no more reason to doubt their success.
To celebrate their decade-long ground-breaking partnership, Li-Ning released the Way of Wade 10 last July 8, 2022. Li-Ning boasts that this is the most lightweight model in the WoW line, and that might be understating its excellence, as it could even be the best basketball shoe of 2022.
Check out our Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 performance review below, and discover why it is worth its hefty price tag.
MATERIALS
Despite the minimal mesh build, the Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 still has a premium feel to it.
Despite its main goal of making the shoe more lightweight, the Li-Ning WoW 10 is equipped with materials that will keep you balanced and secured. The upper’s mesh build greatly contributes to the WoW 10’s lightweight feel and excellent breathability. The upper does feel minimal, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t get much protection on your foot.
The toecap guard, particularly in the Way of Wade 10 “Blossom” colorway, provides an extra layer of protection on the forefoot. The eyelets are also made of synthetic leather, making sure that you’ll have tremendous lockdown. In addition, almost the entirety of the shoe is wrapped with TPU panel, which further helps stabilize your foot.
We haven’t even gotten into the shoe’s cushioning technology yet, which is a great feature on its own. But as far as materials go, the Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 offers a uniquely good value for basketball players.
TRACTION
The Li-Ning Way of Wade 10’s soft rubber outsole provides excellent grip.
The WoW 10’s outsole just needs some time to break it in, but when you do, you’ll surely get more than enough grip even when doing quick movements. You can see the herringbone pattern on the forefoot, and a parametric design on the bottom, which increases the grip even further.
Li-Ning says that the outsole in the Way of Wade 10 is also waterproof, which should help you stay afoot on slick courts or if there are drops of sweat on the floor. The grip in the outsole is incredible, and you won’t have any problems doing pivots or direction shifts.
The WoW 10 outsole is made of very soft rubber, which is good news if you’re playing on indoor courts. It does have the same excellent grip on outdoor courts, but the downside of a soft rubber is that it will easily wilt away when used on dusty surfaces.
The Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 is a great go-to shoe for players who need excellent traction, but its rubber outsole will not last long on outdoor courts. The Under Armour Curry Flow 9 still trumps the traction conversation, but the WoW 10 is not that far behind.
CUSHION AND SUPPORT
The Boom cushioning technology in the Way of Wade 10 works wonders.
The Way of Wade 10 offers the full-palm Boom cushion, which is Li-Ning’s signature cushioning technology. Instead of the often-utilized TPU foam, the Boom cushioning technology uses Pebax foam, which has proven to be more lightweight and more responsive.
The Boom technology is Li-Ning’s counter to adidas’ Boost technology, as they serve the same purpose of increasing the bounce ability of a basketball shoe. True to its purpose, the Way of Wade 10 is one of the bounciest shoes that have been released in recent years. The insole is even made up of an elastic material that further adds to the pair’s bounce ability.
Players often worry that bounce ability goes hand-in-hand with decreased stability and iffy impact protection, but the Li-Ning WoW 10 did a great job of balancing these three aspects. As you can see, there is a TPU panel that cages almost the entire shoe, and that helps stabilize your feet when moving from side to side or quickly shifting from one direction to the other.
There is also good impact protection on the Way of Wade 10, something that explosive players will love. Even hard landings won’t do any kind of damage to your knees or back. The notable blend of good impact protection and high level of responsiveness is what makes the Li-Ning WoW 10 a unique basketball shoe.
On the downside, the padding on the ankle area is of decent amount but not the best that you can find, especially in this price range.
SIZE AND FITTING
The Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 offers a narrow to medium fit.
Narrow to medium-footed players could go true to size with the Li-Ning Way of Wade 10. The WoW 10 has a narrow fit so you might want to go half a size up if you’re wide-footed. The midfoot portion is a bit tight, and the overall feel of the shoe is that it is very snug.
OVERALL RATING
The 10th edition of Dwyane Wade’s signature shoe with Li-Ning doesn’t have any glaring issues, and that’s a rare asset for any basketball shoe. The Boom cushioning technology works its wonders, and the full-palm curved carbon plate provides support to balance out the shoe’s increased bounce ability.
The WoW 10’s soft rubber outsole will always pose questions in terms of durability, but that’s the price to pay for getting a grippy traction on your basketball shoe. This is a very balanced shoe, and there’s no doubt that it’s the best offering in the Way of Wade signature line. Hey, it might even be the best basketball shoe this 2022.
The Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 nets an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5.
We hope you enjoyed reading our Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 performance review, and stay tuned for more upcoming reviews!
WHERE TO BUY
The Li-Ning Way of Wade 10 is now available at Li-Ning official stores for a retail price tag of US$225.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Yes. Along with the increased bounce ability, the Way of Wade 10 also provides great impact protection for bigger or heavier players.
Yes. The traction is top-notch in the Way of Wade 10, which provides excellent grip for quick and shifty guards.
Yes. You’ll still get the same tremendous performance out of the Way of Wade 10 when playing outdoors. However, there could be problems durability-wise as its soft rubber outsole will not last long on outdoor courts.
Definitely. The WoW 10 is the lightest among its predecessors, and its cushioning technology is so far one of the best among all basketball shoes released this 2022.
The Way of Wade 10 offers only a decent amount of ankle support. The padding is not thick on the ankle area, which could be a problem for players who have ankle issues in the past.
