With the all-new UA WARP upper technology, the Under Armour Curry Flow 9 could rank as one of the best guard shoes that we have seen in the basketball sneaker industry.

First released back in November 2021, the Under Armour Curry 9 Flow came in with tons of expectations. After all, its predecessor, the Curry 8 Flow, was a huge success thanks to its tremendous traction performance and excellent lateral containment. However, the Curry 8 Flow also had its flaws, as players took note that it could have infused more premium materials, especially since it is the flagship pair of the Curry Brand.

So it doesn’t come as a surprise that in the new Curry 9 Flow, Under Armour focused on improving the quality of the pair’s materials, along with maintaining the phenomenal traction performance that it is always known for. You’ll be glad to know that there’s plenty of good stuff to unpack in this exciting latest rendition of Stephen Curry’s signature line with Under Armour.

From its materials and traction down to its cushion and support, we wrote an in-depth performance review of the Curry 9 Flow below.

MATERIALS

With Curry line users clamouring for a more premium feel on the pair’s materials, Under Armour delivered by greatly improving the materials on the Curry 9 Flow. The Curry 9 Flow is infused with the UA WARP, which is Under Armour’s signature upper technology. The UA WARP is also seen on notable running shoes such as the UA Flow Velociti Wind and is known for its combination of lightweight feel and extreme durability.

Oh, and if you want to take a look at some of Under Armour’s best running shoes, check out our Amazon picks below.

Going back to the durable UA WARP upper that takes on a mesh structure, it does make the Curry 9 Flow lighter and thinner. One of the best assets of the Curry 9 Flow is that the UA WARP upper doesn’t need any break-ins at all — you can play in these shoes right away without feeling stiff or restricted. The base layer is also made up of mesh, and the heel portion puts on the more premium and long-lasting synthetic nubuck leather.

The materials on the Curry 9 Flow indeed feel more premium than its predecessor, and that’s a huge plus for Under Armour’s battle with other basketball sneaker giants like Nike and adidas.

TRACTION

Basketball players who are looking for phenomenal traction on their sneakers should always visit their nearest Under Armour outlets and consider getting a Curry shoe. The Curry line has always been known for its excellent outsole performance, and that still applies to its latest iteration.

The Curry 9 Flow features a multi-directional pattern on its traction, which is the same style as seen in the Curry 8 Flow. This is a really great sign because the muti-directional traction pattern basically works in any direction that you want to shift or stop. So if you’re a basketball player who loves changing directions or stopping on a dime, we’re sure that you’ll love the excellent grip that the Curry 9 Flow traction will give you. There’s no doubt that the Curry 9 Flow has arguably the hardest-biting traction among current basketball sneakers.

CUSHION and SUPPORT

Let’s start with the tremendous support and stability that the Curry 9 Flow provides. Do you notice all those nylon threads wrapped around the shoe? Those nylon threads will keep even your quickest movements stable and locked down, which is always a good thing for a guard-oriented shoe like the Curry 9 Flow. The stability in this low-cut pair is tremendous, and it makes you feel more agile and quicker when you move laterally or change directions.

The cushion has always been a question mark for the previous Curry line shoes, but the Curry 9 Flow surprised us with an adequate amount of cushion and impact protection. It’s not as great when compared to cushion-heavy shoes like the Nike LeBron 18, but the Flow cushioning technology on the Curry 9 does the job. It is light and bouncy, and definitely more responsive than the HOVR and Micro G — two cushioning technologies that Under Armour rolled out in some of the previous Curry signature shoes.

The Curry 9 Flow has incredible stability and lateral containment, and while it doesn’t have the best cushion out there, you can be confident that the pair can protect you from forceful landings.

SIZE and FITTING

The Curry 9 Flow is a bit snug and narrow on the toebox, so if you’re wide-footed, make sure that you go half or even a full size bigger. We always advise fitting and testing the pair on your feet first before you buy a sneaker, especially one that you will use for sports performance.

OVERALL RATING

The Curry 9 Flow could go down as the best iteration from the Curry line. It copied the excellent traction performance and stability from the Curry 8 Flow, and then added more premium materials and improved its cushioning. If we could pinpoint a couple of drawbacks, one of those could be the fact that the Curry 9 Flow is not designed for bigger or heavier players. It doesn’t have the best impact protection, and the lightweight materials used in the shoe could cause vertically-explosive players to experience issues upon landing.

But if you play the guard or wing position, and you are light on your feet, then there’s no doubt that the Curry 9 Flow is the perfect pair for you.

The Curry 9 Flow nets an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5.

WHERE TO BUY

The Curry 9 Flow sells at the retail price tag of $160, and is available at your nearest Under Armour outlets. If you’re a big Stephen Curry fan, you can also visit Amazon to score some of the best merchandise and sneaker deals from the UA Curry line. You can choose from our Amazon picks below, or use the powerful Search bar to find what you want.