adidas DON ISSUE 8 review

The DON ISSUE 8 is a hot issue for hoopers who:

• Need a fast and flexible shoe with wonderful outsole grip to keep up with their quick playstyle.
• Want top-tier energy return paired up with the softest landings.
• Are looking for an ultracomfortable and supportive pair that won't cost an arm and a leg.

If you're a heavier hooper or your playstyle relies on a lot of jumping... we believe you should go for a basketball shoe with better impact protection, even if that means spending a little bit more. Both the Harden Vol. 9 and the Harden Vol. 10 are from adidas, and as they're not that new anymore, you'll most likely find them on sale!

Nevertheless, if around 100 bucks is your top budget, don't worry too much. Here are the basketball shoes we've reviewed that are a bang for your buck.

PS: Don't forget to play with our filters to find your perfect match!

Even though the LighstrikePro of the DON ISSUE 8 feels soft like a cloud underfoot, its shock absorption is nothing crazy. With 103 SA in the heel and 75 SA in the forefoot, it's even lower than our current average. To be honest, this result caught us a bit off guard, but it shows how plushy shoes aren't necessarily an ace at impact protection.

As we were already hinting at before, we really liked this cushioning setup. Apart from soft landings, this foam-divided structure offered us wonderful energy return, reaching a solid 76.2% at the forefoot and 62.6% at the heel! Not only do these results surpass this category's average, but they also translated into powerful moves on the court, helping us blow past our defenders.

At 26.6 mm, this adidas pair's heel stack is lower than average, yet that doesn't mean it's any less comfortable! We verified that during our wear tests, as every step felt really plush.

And the forefoot follows exactly the same path. With a caliper reading of 20.3 mm, it's not as tall as the current standard for basketball shoes, but our feet didn't even notice. Lastly, this translates into better court feel, which let us perform quicker moves more easily.

The difference between the forefoot and heel stacks is not too big, so the DON ISSUE 8's drop wouldn't be incredibly steep either. At 6.3 mm, the step-in comfort you'll feel will come hand-in-hand with a familiar foot placement.

Let us tell you about this adidas' decoupled sole setup, because we really loved it. There are three key pieces: a LightstrikePro piece at the forefoot, another one at the heel, and a carrier foam in between them. Consequently, the higher-than-average durometer reading of 44.8 AC has nothing to do with the LightstrikePro sections, as the needle is in the carrier foam!

Don't worry, we never felt such firmness! Due to the location of the softer foams, our feet enjoyed plush takeoffs and landings.

Now this is the number that actually shows how the DON ISSUE 8 feels! At 32.7 AC, the LighstrikePro foam is an impressive 29% softer than average, which explains why we felt so comfortable from minute one.

In order to balance this plush comfort, adidas decided to add a bottom shank that offers great support. And it was spot on!

Overall, we'd say this adidas pair has a snug fit. To put our feelings into numbers, we created a gel replica of its inner space, which led us to our first measurement. At 94.2 mm, it's wider than the category's average at its widest point!

Nevertheless, the DON ISSUE 8 tapers quite a lot. In fact, when we checked its toebox width, our caliper returned 65.9 mm, which is painfully lower than the standard for hoops!

And our toes didn't really have a lot of vertical space either. Our caliper reading of 23.3 mm is just the standard! Additionally, you should not expect this hoop's upper material to really give in...

Confidence and safety are two key aspects to play basketball at your best, and the DON ISSUE 8 makes sure you enjoy both! With an awesome coefficient of friction of 0.81, the traction level of this adidas is no joke.

Featuring four pivot points, a pretty cramped pattern, and soft lines, the outsole design of this hoop lets us know about its decoupled nature, as you can clearly see the forefoot and heel are strongly divided.

Even though this shoe felt pretty supportive on foot, our machine showed us that lateral stability doesn't have to completely eliminate forefoot flexibility! We needed 16.5N of force to bend it all the way up to 30 degrees, which is lower than our lab's current average.

Despite the surefootedness we felt in our games, we could move around pretty quickly, and fast breaks or explosive cuts were both a piece of cake with this adidas pair. Our scale explained why, as it marked a fairly low 13.1 oz/371g!

This adidas hoop's lateral stability was fantastic, and we loved how that paired up pretty well with its comfort levels. You can check it out yourself in the video below: there's no wobbling at all!

We were surprised by the DON ISSUE 8's lower-than-average torsional rigidity. At 17.9 Nm, it's easier to twist than many other pairs of this very same category, yet this only meant faster moves for us. Instability was nowhere to be found!

The extra padding and doubled-up structure of the heel counter earned it a perfect 5/5 score on our stiffness test.

Most likely to keep the weight down in an already supportive structure, adidas opted for a platform with an average width of 115.7 mm at the forefoot.

Nonetheless, adidas decided to design a wider heel that reaches a wonderful width of 95.0 mm, surpassing the average. Even though in basketball you should always try to land with your toes in order to protect your joints, sometimes rebounding in heavy traffic makes that impossible... but don't worry, the DON ISSUE 8 got you covered!

Dodging the rubberized protection of this shoe's toebox, our Dremel drilled its upper nonstop. Even though it looked disastrous, this adidas hoop has so many layers that we gave it a solid 3/5.

We had pretty much the same experience with the heel, so we couldn't give it anything else but another 3/5 in durability.

We really couldn't believe our eyes when the outsole of the DON ISSUE 8 lost only 0.6 mm of rubber! That's what we call unmatched durability.

We know adidas designers had their eye on this shoe's weight, and after seeing the incredibly good result of its rubber in our durability test, a 2.4 mm thick outsole was more than enough for them. And we totally understand it!

Just a quick look was enough for us to notice we couldn't ask the DON ISSUE 8 and its solid build for a lot of ventilation, and the 1/5 it earned in our lab test just confirmed it. So, please, don't listen to adidas' words when they claim this hoop is breathable!

Completely losing its breathability battle against the Curry 11, it might be better to enjoy this adidas hoop when the weather is slightly cold!

As you can see, the outer mesh layer is covered up by a secondary one that didn't let the foam from our smoke machine get out at all.

This shoe's tongue is not crazy padded, as our caliper marked only 5.5 mm. Despite being lower than average, this never meant discomfort!

A semi-gusseted tongue makes sure lockdown and containment are on top!

Even though it features a thin insole (3,5 mm), the DON ISSUE 8 still felt incredibly comfortable!

This shoe features a removable insole that's quite hard to put back in once you take it out due to its pointy shape. So, if you want to change it... be careful with its tapered design!

The small finger loop in the heel of the DON ISSUE 8 helps put them on!

With its fantastic energy return, solid stability, speedy structure, wonderful cushioning, outstanding outsole traction and durability, and even a supportive shank, we really couldn't ask the DON ISSUE 8 and its $120 tag for anything else. You really will get your money's worth with this Donovan Mitchell pair!