Nike Book 1 review

Is it a hooper? Is it an AF1? Well, yeah, it's actually both! We believe you should give Devin Booker's first signature shoes a chance if:

• You're a quick player that goes for fast dribbles and cuts, and loves shoes with a smooth transition.
• You want a pair with a good lockdown feel, lots of padding and a solid structure.
• You want to be comfortable when you play.
• You want to go for some casual hoops outdoors from time to time.
• You're looking for a bball pal that can double as a sneaker because of how stylish it is.

You can most likely tell once you look at these pretty pals: forget about playing basketball in the summer with them if you don't want your feet to become a couple of hot springs! Like, yeah, this shoe's style is pure fire, literally and figuratively. If you're looking for a more breathable pair, we suggest the Under Armour Curry 10. Just don't play outdoors with it!

These Nikes midsole is not the most bouncy out there. Additionally, it doesn't have an Air Zoom unit in the forefoot. After all, we believe this model was designed for quick guards and small forwards, like Booker himself. If you're a centre, a bigger player regarding size, or if you just fancy a more cushioned shoe, the Nike Cosmic Unity 2 might be worth checking out. If you don't mind going for something pricy, then the Nike G.T. Jump 2 is a solid choice. During our wear tests, it definitely felt like it was built to jump!

At 26.9 mm, this shoe's heel stack is lower than average.

But wait, before you start worrying about cushioning, let us tell you a couple of things!

First, heel stack and cushioning do not need to be directly proportional. In other words, the higher a shoe is doesn't equal how plush it feels underfoot. Second, in the picture, you can probably see that white detail right between our caliper tentacles, right? That's the Zoom Air technology. In our wear tests, we could feel its responsive stride, making us play more confidently.

We ABSOLUTELY love these details, they make us feel like real NBA players!

The forefoot stack is also slightly lower than usual.

At 19.9 mm, this provided us with a lot of ground feel. We think this is something incredibly convenient for guards or players who might need to change their mind at the very last moment; either because they've found an opening in the rival's strategy, or because they're trying to deceive their defenders.

Having the ball of the feet closer to the court equals more precise and controlled moves. If that resonates with you, then you should definitely give this pair a chance. If you're looking for a more padded option that puts impact protection first, you should have a look at the LeBron Witness 7.

Following the differences between the heel and forefoot heights, we found out this shoe has a drop of 7.0 mm.

If you zoom in the picture, right in the middle of the midsole, you'll see a top-loaded shank. This detail gives some extra support to the cushlon midsole, which is always welcomed for jumping!

Do you remember that we were saying that high stacks aren't necessarily plush and low stacks don't need to be specifically stiff? Well, we can take our durometer's reading as an example.

At 26.6 HA, the Book 1's midsole has an average softness. Even though it's not the highest midsole out there (yes, yes, G.T. Jump 2, we see you), we can't say it isn't soft.

It felt just right on our foot, and it gave us the right amount of sock absorption, just what we needed for our landings after a strong layup. We felt confident playing with these Nikes on, and that's definitely priceless!

Its midsole is just a bit thicker than average, but nothing big.

At 4.8 mm, your feet will definitely not notice anything different. It's a pretty standard piece, as the shank we found in the midsole already offers some arch support. If you need some more, you can always change the standard insole of this model (oops, spoiler detected!).

Our caliper didn't expect anything different from a Nike pair.

At 100.7 mm, we can't say this shoe is wide at the widest part of its toebox. Our measurements tell us that it definitely doesn't accommodate wide feet, but we still need to measure its tip!

Yep, turns out we were right! At 73.5 mm, this shoe tappers quite a lot, so we couldn't recommend it to big-toed hoopers even if we wanted to.

Our standard-width feet felt just fine with this pair. But it's true that some extra space in the toebox is always welcome! Still, we had no problems with the fit, it was comfortable overall for us.

They look big and chunky on our feet, we know! But this is because of the wide lacing system and the amount of padding these pals offer.

We were pretty excited to check the lateral stability of this lost twin of a sneaker. So we went to the court, put it on, and started wobbling our ankles.

Look at that! There was no dancing for our heels, and we felt incredibly surefooted with these Nikes during our wear tests. The shoe's structure definitely contributed, that's for sure, but we want to highlight the incredible job its padding did regarding our lockdown feel.

The support we felt was outstanding. Additionally, the plastic sidewall this model features adds extra points to its overall stability. And we LOVE IT!

Of course this well-structured shoe decided it would not bend with our thumbs, we had such a hard time trying to make it move!

We couldn't give it any less than a 5/5. The thing with shoes with high torsional rigidity is that they require a break-in period, as their structure doesn't naturally follow the foot's moves. These types of pals are designed to ensure safety and surefootedness, so they might be slightly harder to tame than other more flexible models.

But let us tell you: once the break-in period is all over? COMFORT is coming. We were so surprised when the Book 1's made our feet feel so happy. We found it to be an incredibly comfortable shoe, and not only for the court! Its killer looks made us want to wear it to just walk around town.

Hey, you always gotta be ready for some hoops, right? If you're nodding right now, then this is your shoe!

As we were saying, once we could overcome these Nikes' break-in period, they became incredibly comfortable! But once we overcame it, that is...

This model's rigid structure goes all the way to its heel. We tried to bend it, twist it, push it, pull it... we almost tried to take it out! But it didn't give it at all, just look at our video and you'll see.

This unbending part made sure our ankles stayed right where they should. Its firm resolve to keep our feet secured translated into a welcoming 5/5 in our heel counter stiffness test. Despite what it might sound like, getting used to it was not that bad thanks to the amount of padding this area had.

At 113.7 mm, this shoe's midsole width in the forefoot is just about average.

Its platform is not especially wide, yet we didn't feel unstable at all. This is also because of the rigid structure and nature of the shoe, as it made sure our feet didn't dance around.

The brand gave this shoe's padded and stiff heel counter a midsole width that matched the same vibe. At 83.6 mm, this model's midsole in the heel is definitely snug, and way narrower than average.

Even though there are times when a platform that is not wide enough makes the ride unstable, that's not the case of these Nikes. That's why it's so important to conduct wear tests, sometimes our feet and our lab results have different versions of the same story!

We did say this shoe was comfortable, right? Well, mark out words, because at 30.4N, our gauge showed us how easily it bent with our feet!

This only added some more extra points to the fact that we would happily wear these hoopers as casual sneakers. So it was not just because of its incredible style, but also because of how comfortably they moved alongside our feet. When we were running up and down the court or when we were just walking around, once the break-in period was done, we didn't want to take this pair out!

So it seems like and us, the RunRepeat lab geeks, were on the same page regarding this model's weight.

At 13.6 oz / 386.0g, the Book 1 is lighter than average, and that's exactly what our feet would tell you if they could talk!

During our wear tests, we felt agile and ready to go for any move. We believe this shoe is designed for guards, just like Devin Booker himself, as it responded accordingly to quick footwork and fast dribbles in our games. We believe hoopers with a fast and explosive playstyle will feel at home with this pair, and we absolutely loved how it felt when we went for unexpected cuts, layups, or Euro steps.

When we opened this shoe's box and had a first look at it, our mind was already telling us it wouldn't be very breathable. But as the whole bunch of researchers we are, we decided to stop hypothesising and start testing.

Our smoke test showed the Book 1's breathability (on the left) compared to the UA Curry Flow 10's (on the right). We can see in the video how our Nike model manages to let the smoke out through the tongue, yet the UA one has a constant flow of air coming out of it. That's why the Book 1 couldn't get anything higher than a 1/5 in our breathability test, while the Curry model stands with a solid 5/5.

Our microscope just verified it. With such solid and dense material, it's pretty much impossible for the air to happily go through it!

This model was clearly not build with breathability in mind.

As our final test, we put this shoe right in front of our light. We do this in order to find some pores or holes that will promote airflow. But we didn't even see a single one of those!

So yeah, we can't recommend this pair to hoop in the summer, but we do believe it's a great pal for winter. Comfy, warm, and ready to play whenever you are!

Our feared Dremel is always ready to show us the reality behind the materials of our lab-tested shoes.

At a speed of 5K RPM and with a force of 3.2N, our tool attacked Book 1's upper for 12 seconds. We always get excited when we see it rolling and rolling, and this time we expected a good result.

Turns out we were right! Our Dremel ate up the very first layer, but it didn't manage to make a hole in the material or put the integrity of this shoe at risk. That's why this Nike earned a solid 4/5 in our toebox durability test. Great news!

Here you can compare the results with a shoe that got a 1/5 in this same test, the Nike Precision 6. As you can see in the picture on the right, the material of the toebox got completely obliterated by our tool. It managed to go through every single layer!

We can happily tell you that the durability of the heel padding is even better!

Our Dremel tried its best, but it didn't manage to do much. This shoe's heel padding acted like an armour and defended itself against our rolling tool. Check the results out!

Impressive, right? Look at that! The heel padding seemed just fine, and even though it's such a vulnerable spot for shoes, the Book 1 handled it like a champ. Easy, peasy!

All in all, this shoe got a wonderful 5/5 in our heel padding durability test. If you wanna see what the total opposite looks like: that is, earning a disappointed 1/5, you can ask the Reebok Answer DMX. On the right, you can see the white material all ruined. An outstanding victory for our Dremel!

At 80.2 HC, our durometer told us this model's outsole is just as hard as average.

This usually means the shoe offers a good mix of traction and durability, and we couldn't wait to test it!

Even though we don't want to spoil the outsole durability results, regarding this aspect we can say that we enjoyed the Book 1's herringbone pattern during our wear tests. We'll talk more in detail about this topic in its corresponding section later on, stay tuned!

We grabbed our Dremel one last time to check this shoe's outsole durability.

After a 22-second long rolling attack at a higher speed (10K RPM) but with the same force as before (3.2N), our tool left a dent of 1.0 mm.

Even though this is just over average, during our wear tests in highly abrasive courts we felt this outsole might not last as long as we'd want it to. The hardness and the grip of the outsole make this shoe okay for outdoor playing, but make sure it's a rubberised court. Asphalt ones will make you change hoopers before you want to!

When our caliper returned 4.0 mm, which is an average score for an outsole of a basketball shoe, we nodded thinking that using this pair outdoors would definitely make it last way less. Still, we cannot say it's specifically designed for streetball, but it's decent for outdoor courts.

Still, the material is not soft, so giving this model a thicker outsole would also make it heavier. We believe Nike went for the smartest choice here, as expected from such a popular brand!

These baddies SQUEAK. But honestly, this happens to a lot of basketball shoes, so it's not like it was a dealbreaker or anything like that for us.

Its full-length rubber outsole is grippy, that's for sure. Once it warms up, its traction gets even better! That was our feeling during our playtests.

We can't say these are the hoopers with the best traction, though. We'd say it's neither bad nor good, it's more of a forgiving grip. We didn't mind this at all, as this model focused more on allowing easy transitions. We found this to be perfect for light and fast players, it felt like this shoe was ready to support their quick moves and decisions!

The Nike Book 1 doesn't have any reflective elements. Lights: off!

At 11.7 mm, this shoe's tongue is padded!

The overall locked-in feel we got from this was fantastic! Additionally, this meant no lace bite or hot spots. Yay!

Its overall stiff and supportive structure doesn't have a gusseted tongue as the cherry on top.

But it's not like we felt we needed it. In fact, with the overall stiff build of this model, we were actually grateful its opening was wide enough for our feet to get in without any difficulties!

Also, the loop it has in the middle of the tongue, the top orange eyelet, and the strong lacing system united to give us the surefootedness we needed.

We'll use this chance to talk about the soft layer the lacing system, the loop and the top of the tongue have. It felt wonderful when we touched it, and it adds an extra stylish and classy touch to the shoe that we found incredibly appealing.

This sneaker-like hooper is just so aesthetically pleasing!

The Book 1 has one of the coolest heel tabs we've seen lately.

A finger loop that keeps looping! We loved the different colours, but the best detail (in our opinion, of course) is the fact that it has the year Devin Booker was born right at the top.

But that's not all! As this is the first model the player launches, we can see it says "Chapter One" at the back. In our colorway, the mix of black and golden made it look incredibly epic.

An elite player with an elite taste!

We found this shoe's insole to be pretty comfortable!

Still, if you need your own orthotics or if you're simply looking for something different, don't worry: you can always change it. We love removable insoles!