The adidas Dame signature line is facing a make-or-break scenario in 2022. Continue reading below for Dribble Media’s adidas Dame 8 performance review.
Damian Lillard and adidas continue to make wonders for the Portland Trail Blazers superstar’s signature shoe line. The adidas Dame line is already in its 8th installment, yet, advancements with build and technologies are still imminent.
For better or for worse, adidas made another crucial revamp on the newest Dame shoe technology. Whether the change is an upgrade or a downgrade, the adidas Dame 8 will surely speak for itself.
Hence, here is an in-depth adidas Dame 8 performance review to fill you in on the latest from Lillard’s signature line.
MATERIALS
The upper of the adidas Dame 8 is pretty much what you can expect from a basketball shoe
The adidas Dame 8’s upper is implemented with a variation of soft and firm mesh uppers. The mesh on the forefoot portion of the upper is made softer for better foot flex and movement.
The upper material, however, is thickly built. It does not offer much ventilation compared to other sneakers such as the Nike KD 15.
Nevertheless, there aren’t many problems with the mesh upper as it offers an adequate amount of durability. Also, the forefoot is infused with a fuse for better support and longevity.
Traction
The adidas Dame 8’s traction can be the pair’s best asset or worst liability
The adidas Dame 8’s traction is divided into two portions – the wave pattern on the inner traction and the thunderbolt pattern on the outer. These portions offer contrasting, yet, coactive purposes.
The inner wave traction pattern caters to the user’s fluidity in both forward and backward motions, while the outer thunderbolt pattern provides excellent grip on side-to-side movements. Moreover, the additional feature – the undulating medial outsole — grants compression and allows users to easily pick up speed when moving.
Thus, the pair is suitable for players who prefer easy push-off from the ground and quick acceleration. Also, the traction’s variated patterns reduce feet and leg strain since they are designed to allow players to easily change directions and grip through hard pivots.
The biggest downside of the Dame 8’s traction is its capability to accumulate dust. No doubt, the Dame 8’s traction has a huge potential on the court, but its crucial flaw hinders it from being great.
The outsole easily accumulates dust, which makes the traction slippery. Moreover, unlike other pairs where wiping can solve this inconvenience, the Dame 8 gets slippery again after a few runs.
Thus, the pair is only advisable for clean courts. If possible, refrain from using Dame 8 when playing in dusty hardwood courts or even blacktops to avoid injuries due to slippage.
cushion and support
Adidas continues to experiment with the Dame line’s cushion technology
For some reason, the Dame line has been infused with almost every cushion technology that adidas has. The Dame line has already been introduced to Bounce, Boost, and Lightstrike.
While changes are done to further improve the overall performance of the sneaker, it could also be a form of strategy to increase the marketability of other sneakers with the same technology.
No doubt, the implementation of the Lightstrike in the adidas Dame 7 is a battle won since the signature line already used the Boost, which is adidas’ best cushion technology in the past.
The German brand opted for a major revamp with the adidas Dame 8’s cushion technology. Now, Lillard’s latest signature pair is implemented with the recently introduced Bounce Pro, a supposed upgrade of the Bounce technology.
The adidas Dame 8 is infused with a full-length Bounce Pro, which offers two different densities of the Bounce foam– the high-density Bounce on the forefoot and the low-density Bounce foam on the heel.
The Bounce Pro is designed as such in the Dame 8 to drastically improve the overall performance and durability without compromising comfort.
The high-density Bounce foam on the forefoot provides a durable cushion setup, so the stepping comfort will last longer and will not easily flat out thanks to a stronger cell structure and amount of foam. Moreover, it allows the user to easily change gears when moving since there is less air on the foam.
While the low-density Bounce foam on the heel provides excellent impact protection and rebound. The low-density Bounce foam is much softer, thus, it is very ideal for hard landings.
Overall, the Bounce Pro offers a good combination of lightweightness, durability, responsiveness, and impact protection.
However, the Dame 8 does not possess a pretty good court feel unlike other low-to-the-ground basketball sneakers like the Under Armour Curry 9 Flow or the Nike Kyrie Infinity. Also, due to the pair’s wide base on the forefoot, it is not really suitable for shifty guards who primarily depend on their ballhandling skills.
Nonetheless, the pair provides protection, an important aspect of the sneaker. Along with the bombarded cushion technology, the pair is also infused with an adequate amount of foam in the tongue, and is built with ankle pillows on the heel, along with a soft Achilles pad.
It is also noteworthy that the pair has a wide base, thus, it boosts the pair’s lateral stability without heel slippage. This is possible thanks to the ankle pillows infused and the additional fuse on the forefoot.
Size and fitting
The adidas Dame 8 has a wide base, literally
This could be bad news for ballers who really love snug-fit sneakers, but pleasant to hear for wide-footers. The adidas Dame 8 has a really wide base. Thus, players who really intend to play in these will have to go up half or even a full-size.
On the other hand, the pair is really suitable for wide and flat-footed players due to the pair’s size features. Nonetheless, it would be best to fit a pair first before purchasing.
OVERALL RATING
The adidas Dame 8 has balanced pros and cons, which could either be good or bad for a sneaker depending on the perception of its user. There are universal issues that the brand may want to address in the future to avoid the Dame line’s reputation from getting stained.
Regardless, the Bounce Pro is an excellent cushion technology. But honest to goodness, adidas could have retained the Boost technology in the adidas Dame line and improved the other aspects instead.
The adidas Dame 8 nets an overall rating of 8 out of 10.
WHERE TO BUY
The adidas Dame 8 is already available at selected adidas stores and other retail outlets for US$120. Some stores are now offering the pair for a discounted price.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While Bounce Pro offers a good amount of compression and impact protection, Boost is still ahead performance-wise. The Boost technology has the upper hand in quality, durability, and court feel.
Definitely. The pair has a wide base, which is very suitable for players who are wide-footers, flat-footers, and short-toed.
Yes. The best feature the adidas Dame 8 could offer is its superb impact protection and comfort. The combination of low-density foam and high-density foam does the job very well, especially when it comes to shifting and landing.
We hope you enjoyed reading our adidas Dame 8 performance review! Stay tuned here at Dribble Media for more reviews of your favorite sneakers.
