words & images // Nick DePaula
Shoe: Nike Hypermax
Size: 13
Wearing: 1
There’s a pretty simple reason I got into sneakers: I like playing basketball in cool shoes. Whether it was wearing black/emerald Shake Ndestrukts in middle school, or Vis Zoom Uptempos, Pippen III’s, Garnett III’s and Hyperflights in High School, I’ve always looked for performance and a bit of flash in my hoops shoes. (Perhaps the Hyperflight was a mistake.) Obviously of course, this pair of McFly Hypermaxes might not be best suited for my game. Its overly high cut is better suited for a big man. The full-length Max Air might not be as responsive as I’d like with my less than brute-like frame. And oh yeah, the whole damn upper is SATIN, as there’s a slight style-over-substance swag taking place and gone is Nike’s lightweight Flywire paneling.
Either way, I like cool shoes, so I balled the hell out of these. Right from the start, it was pretty obvious I’d be better off hoopin’ in a white leather based version, as the satin upper added a bit more weight to the shoe. While the cut was fairly high, I laced them up to the very top eyelet and the shoe offered some great lockdown. I couldn’t ever get to the top of the lacing on the Hyperdunk, as the shoe became a bit too restrictive at that point, but with the Hypermax, the lacing set-up is well executed and placed, and the collar has some sweet lockdown. While the satin upper added some weight, the most noticeable difference from a traditional upper was also the added give on lateral cuts and the added heat build-up as I got to my second and third games of the run. It’s pretty unrealistic to expect the satin fabric to offer the same hold and security as Flywire and synthetic leather, so the difference in support was pretty expected. By contrast, the upper is pretty much crease-proof, which is definitely a bonus if you’re planning on getting a ton of casual use out of them.
A definite bright spot of the Hypermax is its straightforward and efficient traction pattern — it’s tough to go wrong with herringbone. While the Hyperdunk’s recessed groove pattern was a bit of a problem for some, both the Hypermax and Hyperize have gone back to basics in featuring simple herringbone. The heel cushion of the full-length Max Air unit was another bright spot, as it was fairly soft and great on supporting any landings, but as I’ve always found to be the case with full-length Max Air, the forefoot is fairly stiff and not all that responsive. As a lighter guy for my frame (6’3″/ 185 lbs), I’d figure it’ll take some extra poundage and size to really get the feedback you’d like out of the forefoot Max Air. If you’re a guard or lighter forward, you’re probably better off checking out the Hyperize, which offers cushioning better suited for a smaller player.
Overall, the Hypermax probably isn’t an ideal option for my game, but if you’re of the Carlos Boozer, Jermaine O’Neal or Paul Milsapp mold, then it surely could work for you. Over time it’ll be interesing to see how the satin upper holds up, or if it’ll begin to stretch like a suede would and offer diminishing support each time out. It also goes without saying that for serious hoops you’re better suited to check out the Flywire-implementing versions, but then again, you won’t be doin’ it quite as much, which was the admitted goal with this McFly colorway. Cool shoes, they’re hard not to hoop in.
For more detailed images, check HERE.
