Where I‘ve been? I was super sick last week… Couldn’t do shit… Bed mode 24/7. But now your boy is back on track and ready to bring some heat cuh!

Probably everyone will agree with me that it was one of the best signature line debuts in a long damn time with the PG 1 leading the way. However, we have a new kid in town – PG 2. Let’s see what’s up with these bad boys! Is it gonna be an awesome continuation or a hard fall to the bottom? It’s only the one way to find out.

 

MAIN SPECS

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WEIGHT: 369.3 g / 13.03 oz

TECH: ZOOM AIR

TYPE: LOW-TOP

COLORWAYS: 3+

FIT: TRUE TO SIZE

RETAIL PRICE: $110

BD RATING: 8.5/10

BEST PLACE TO BUY: FINISH LINE

 

PERFORMANCE

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MATERIALS

KEEPIN‘ THE SAME

Followings its roots, the PG 2 features the same old-school, back in the future Mesh/leather/Neoprene combo for the upper. Actually, this Neoprene inner sleeve isn‘t that old school, so you can say we have a nice past & present collaboration on ‘em.

Anyway, as much as I did enjoy spending my time on the hardwood with the PG 1’s, the 2’s were basically the same – nice step-in comfort, premium materials (not completely, but almost) and enjoyable blend between comfort & supportive fit.

The only difference that I was able to spot was the mesh material feeling stiffer on foot. But it wasn’t something like on the CE ’17 regular version, where you actually feel like playing with cardboards on your feet. That being said, that small issue didn’t take away from me that awesome experience with the 2’s.

 

CUSHION

2 MILLIMETERS OF IMPROVEMENT

While the main idea of having a low-profile, responsive tooling is still alive on the 2’s, the Zoom Air pillow gets a nice update – from 8 to 10mm. in thickness. This 2mm. increase doesn’t sound like a huge game changer (and it actually doesn’t perform like one), but the forefoot still does feel slightly plushier and even more responsive, while still maintaining that low profile ride. By the way, the Air unit is now top loaded which means you can easily feel it sitting under your forefoot & taking care of your joints.

Meanwhile, the heel section is made out of simple foam sockliner, which you can find on its predecessor as well. It would be nice though to receive another Zoom Air unit here for complete impact coverage but oh well… I guess you need to cheap out somewhere to maintain that low price tag.

 

TRACTION

OH YEAH, THEY MADE IT RIGHT

Straight out of the box, these bad boys have some serious bite, and I’m not talking only about clean courts. I know a lot of you guys do play only on dirty ass courts with dirt, dust & all kinds of debris all over the hardwood (mix everything with a few spits here and there, and you got yourself a killer mixture to deal with lol). For this annoying crap that you have to fight every single day you need some serious stuff. So that’s where the PG 2’s come in with some shades on.

It seems like they were specially made for those ghetto courts – widely-spaced grooves + multi-directional patter + soft/pliable rubber = I got 99 problems but dirty floors ain’t one kind of performance. Still, you’ll need to wipe the outsoles time to time. A few regular wipes you know. Nothing too crazy.

 

FIT

WIDE FOOT FRIENDLY

As I mentioned previously, they kept the same materials on, just implemented them differently this time. But that doesn’t change the fact that the 2’s did feel pretty similar on foot. Only two noticeable differences made the fit more one-to-one than on the 1’s. The new lacing system & two forefoot wings instead of one strap were those pieces that did affect this final outcome.

I’m happy that they decided to get rid of that forefoot trap and instead implemented these wings, both on lateral and external sides to ensure better lockdown and prevent your foot from rolling over the foot bed in high stressed situations. Also, this new lacing systems des look like a bunch of randomly placed lace holes that doesn’t do much apart from looking quite bizarre. It’s not true. The laces are strategically shaped & placed in different levels to provide the best possible fit. That’s why the PG 2 does feel closer to your foot and gives you more natural fit.

Talking about sizing, I went true to size and I thing you should do the same move as well, no matter what kind of foot shape you have. Unless you have a very wide foot, then going ½ size up would be a smart move to make.

 

SUPPORT

STRONGEST ASPECT

Although the PG 2 doesn’t have any crazy support tech, just the basic one, support is still outshines everything else that I have mentioned before.

This whole adaptive forefoot band system which takes place from a single band on the PG 1 ensures nearly perfect lateral coverage. I was doing all kinds of lateral moves throughout the test, putting as much pressure as possible to test their limits. Guess what? I couldn’t role my foot over the foot bed no matter what I was doing. So if you’re a blend between Kyrie and Harden or just a super active & explosive player who loves to perform some crazy stuff on the hardwood, these should be your #1 option on the list.

The back is slightly more laid back (less supportive) as that partially soft internal heel counter isn’t strong enough to hold down a bigger dude, but for more guard oriented type of player it’s all good. All in all, I didn’t receive any slippage or containment problems whatsoever.

 

OVERALL

While the PG1 has more appealing looks & slicker silhouette, the PG2 has better overall performance. So as a true baller and sneaker reviewer I’m looking at performance first and then everything else fallow. That’s why, in my opinion, the PG2 is a better ball shoe than its predecessor.

Adidas has its Dame 4 and now Nike has the PG 2 – the best two value for the money performers in the business right now. So if you want to save some money, you know the rest.

 

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GRAB THEM NOW ON FINISH LINE

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Hope you enjoyed my Performance Review on the NIKE PG 2. Will you be picking them up? Let me know!

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment down below!