Nike Precision 7 review

The Precisions are back with its 7th iteration! You should definitely have a look at this king of the quality-price ratio if you're looking for:

• A breathable model to hoop in the summer.
• An incredibly durable and pretty supportive companion to play ball all day long.
• A lightweight shoe with a low profile that suits guards' playstyle (quick footwork time!).
• A budget model that doesn't feel like one!

The Precision 7 performed incredibly well in our lab and wear tests, to the point we almost couldn't believe it was a budget pair. Nevertheless, its lack of Nike technologies gave it away! If you're looking for a shoe with better cushioning, the LeBron Witness 7 is a model from a more affordable line of LeBron. It features a large Max Air unit in its midsole, offering outstanding impact protection.

As a low-cost model, the Precision 7 doesn't really focus on a specific basketball position. Its low profile, close to the ground, and lightweight nature make it great for guards; yet it doesn't have any Air Units or Zoom Turbo to energise these players' moves and dribbles. If you're looking for those extra technological details that make the difference and you don't mind paying a bit more, we believe you should have a look at some other signature shoes like James Harden models, LeBron pairs, or Giannis kicks.

At 27.3 mm, this shoe's heel stack is slightly lower than average.

Which means our feet were closer to the ground during our wear tests. We could definitely feel this, and we appreciated this structure when we went for precise moves, as it allowed us to be more in control.

The forefoot is also a bit lower than average, but the v7's stack height is very similar to the v6's. So there are not many changes to mention here.

At 20.9 mm, we could feel the court pretty well under our toes. Also, there aren't any extra bouncy or responsive technologies in this model. It's not like we did expect them to be, though. It's a budget shoe after all. But this will definitely affect the midsole's performance. Stay tuned to learn more about it!

At 6.4 mm, this shoe's heel drop is also average.

Now that we can easily see the midsole in this picture of the Precision 7 cut in half, we're going to take the chance and talk to you about it.

As you can see, there aren't any Nike technologies around. There's a full-length foam (which we believe to be Phylon) midsole all in white. We can't say we felt it was bouncy, and the lack of technologies definitely doesn't help regarding responsiveness.

But there's a black line right in the midfoot, can you see it? That's a shank, a piece that focuses on support. We can also see Nike's windmill logo, which means this shoe is made using recycled materials. Some extra points for the Precision 7 going green!

If you want to see what a midsole with technologies looks like, here we have the LeBron 21 open in half.

It has a Zoom Turbo unit on the forefoot and a Zoom Air unit on the rearfoot. These cushioning technologies definitely make a difference. But hey, this hooper is hella expensive... we're talking about shoes that belong to two different worlds right here!

When we want to measure the softness of a shoe's midsole, we need to cut it in half. First of all, we need to be able to access the material. Then, we grab our durometer and press it against it until it shows a number.

At 27.1 HA, the Nike Precision 7's midsole has an average softness. Its supposedly Phylon foam is a little bit harder than the standard, but it's not something we actually noticed that much on our feet during our wear tests.

You can see it clearly in this video. It's not the plushest shoe out there, but we can't actually say it's super hard either! It felt just right in our feet, so we'd call it balanced.

But wait, on a side note, it did feel softer than the previous version!

At 4.8 mm, our durometer indicated that this shoe's insole is slightly thicker than average.

This made the shoe a bit more comfortable overall, but there's nothing special to comment on. So let's move on!

We blinked once, then twice, and then... we didn't have any other choice than to believe our eyes!

At 104.9 mm, our caliper told us that this model is wider than average in the widest part of the toebox, which sounds like a dream to any player! Why? Well, because a wider platform means the base is wider, which translates into more stability!

Our standard-with feet felt happy with the extra room of this model. It let us splay our toes and find our balance more easily during our playtests!

You can see it clearly in the picture above: the Precision 7's toebox is spacious!

At 79.9 mm, we couldn't believe this was a Nike shoe! According to our caliper, its toebox width at the big toe is one of the roomiest we've ever seen in our lab.

With only the Adidas Harden Vol. 7 and the Jordan Luka 2 as their bigger siblings (at 85.1 mm), we can confidently say the Precision 7 is a great option for wide-foot hoopers!

This shoe's materials and structure give in a little bit, and that can be seen in our lateral stability test.

But we didn't feel unstable (as we'll discuss later on when we talk about its torsional rigidity and platform width). Our feet were well-planted on its base, and its durable materials made sure we felt surefooted.

The v7's containment was way better than the v6's. We really appreciated that, as we felt way safer during our games. That was the key point to try more daring moves in our playtests.

All in all, the Precision 7 is definitely stable enough to hoop comfortably, as its sidewalls add extra points to that category.

Yeah, it's a budget shoe, but it performed incredibly well in our lab and wear tests!

Our fingers had to put a lot of effort into bending this shoe. And even after that, it wouldn't give in much!

This levels up the foot containment, which means we were feeling safe and sound playing with these Nikes. The upper materials hugged our feet comfortably and gave them the support they needed to try harder dribbles and powerful steps. Consequently, it earned a 4/5 in our torsional rigidity test.

To perform backdoor cuts or any other kind of explosive in-n-out move, we need our feet to be supported. We cannot risk getting injured, but we also need some flex from the shoe. There are some players who like the feeling of their ankles being wrapped in a snug fit, but it's true that many of them prefer some kind of freedom. That lets the joint adapt to your performance better and follow your moves closely without feeling constricted.

In the heel counter stiffness is where we've seen a massive improvement compared to the previous iteration.

It was hard for our fingers to bend it, so we gave it a well-deserved 4/5 in stiffness. This improved the shoe's overall support by leaps and bounds. It was one of the main drawbacks of the v6, as its ankle support was non-existent. This naturally made us feel less confident on the court, which is something a hooper should NOT experience!

Look, this is a video from the Nike Precision 6. It got a 2/5 on our heel counter stiffness test, which means it's way more flexible than the next iteration.

We can clearly see that shoe might lack the support needed for some hoopers. If you play basketball in a more serious way, we believe the v7 is way more suitable when we're talking about containment and ankle safety!

To take its stability to a whole new level, Nike decided to give the Precision 7 an incredibly wide midsole in the forefoot.

At 120.2 mm, our feet enjoyed this shoe's spacious and substantial base. We love this kind of design in basketball models, as it makes jumping way easier and much better. Even if we believe the Precision 7 suits guards better, we loved going for rebounds and performing layups with it.

A wide base equals stable landings. And we're loving it!

At 90.3 mm, its midsole width in the heel is average.

But don't worry, this reading does not mean that the Precision 7 has lost any stability. The shoe itself is still very stable, and this part being average instead of more on the wider side only adds extra points to the snug fit of its heel.

All good here, chief!

There's yet another big difference in comparison with the previous version of this shoe!

When we performed our stiffness test, which basically consists on how much force is needed for a shoe to be bent up to 90 degrees, the Precision 7 got a way lower score than its predecessors.

At 23.8N, the force needed is an incredibly 40% less than average, and 32% less if we compare it with the performance of the Precision 6 in this same test.

This meant we could bend the ball of our foot easily, so our heel-to-toe transitions were pretty smooth!

When we grabbed the Precision 7 to take it out of its box, we realised how effortless our movements were. This shoe felt really light in our hands, and we couldn't wait to hear what our feet had to say about it!

Well, they agreed! We felt really quick playing with these Nikes. That's why we believe it's a great model for guards and forwards who rely on their fast footwork to overtake their opponents.

So our hands and our feet totally agreed, but what about our scale?

At 11.6 oz/329.0g it couldn't be more on our side! This incredibly low score makes the Precision 7 an incredibly 17% lighter than average. Trust us, for such a resistant shoe, this score is absolutely wonderful!

But that's not all. The previous iteration was also heavier at 12.03 oz/341g, yet its upper was less durable and less breathable. Talk about meaningful improvements, Nike has surpassed itself once again with this budget shoe!

Most basketball shoes focus on being protective, and thus, durability overpowers breathability. After all, the tougher the materials are, the less air they usually let through..., right?

Wow! Well, it seems we're off to a good start! Look at all that smoke coming out of the Precision 7. It didn't even have to get some steam up to get a fantastic score of 5/5 (yeah, yeah, pun intended). Also, if we compare it with the Reebok Shaq Attaq, which got a sad 1/5 in this same test, the Precision 7's ventilation capabilities are even more impressive.

Thanks to our microscope, we could see the materials of its upper closer. In the picture, we can see a thin protective layer and some mesh.

The material itself already looked breathable despite not having any pores or holes to let the air go in and out.

We verified this by putting half of the upper right in front of a light. We couldn't see any openings in the mesh material, but that didn't stop this model from getting a perfect score in breathability. What a kill! This is so unusual for basketball shoes, we were so happy to see a Nike model that breaks the norm!

There are many times when breathability and durability are mutually exclusive. When you go for tough materials, as we mentioned before, they usually don't let the air go through very easily. And then the other way around, where very breathable materials tend to be thinner and less durable.

The Nike Precision 7? Oh, that's another story. It is getting the best of both worlds, and we love it!

Our Dremel struggled in this fight, look at that!

Just a mere aesthetically unpleasing scratch. Can we even say that's a scratch? If we didn't have the video of the tool actually roll-roll-rolling all the way into the upper, we would have thought we hit a small branch with it or something.

On the left, the Nike Precision 7 and its fantastic 5/5 in our toebox durability test. On the right, the previous iteration, the Nike Precision 6, and its scary 1/5 in this same test.

We are very happy to tell you that this latest iteration has not only improved in breathability, but also in durability!

We moved our Dremel all the way back to the heel to test its durability. Let's see if this generally fragile part puts up a fight!

Not bad, not bad! The heel didn't end up crying for mercy, so we're pretty happy with this result too!

This is what it looked like after the 4-second drilling session at 5K RPM and 3.2N. We decided to give it a solid 3/5 in heel padding durability, which is pretty close to the average.

The Reebok Answer DMX was not as lucky. That's what a 1/5 in heel padding durability (on the right) looks like. What a mess!

At 88.0 HC, our durometer indicated this shoe's outsole is harder than average.

This usually means that the material is more durable. Yet the score was not so high to say it would lose traction. That's our prediction! But we're here to spit facts based on actual lab and wear tests, so let's keep the party going!

Our Dremel's last main character moment is finally here. We grabbed the tool and started digging the outsole to see if it was actually as durable as its hard rubber indicated.

Well... we could actually see the material flying around a little bit, but it didn't look so bad. Let's see the final picture!

We used our tread gauge to see how deep the damage was, and it turns out it's just average. At 0.9 mm, we can't say this is the most durable outsole out there! Nevertheless, it would withstand a game or two of streetball. Here you have some other models on our catalog that are ready to resist outdoor courts' abrasive surfaces.

When our caliper returned 4.4 mm, we nodded in agreement.

The rubber used in the Nike Precision 7's outsole is hard enough for this part not to be super thick. This also helps reducing the shoe's overall weight, which is always great!

The outsole of a basketball shoe is like its fingerprint. Most of them are unique, even though there are some patterns that we can see in more than one model.

The Precision 7 has a modified herringbone pattern with spiky waves. We were pretty happy with its traction outdoors and indoors. In other words, when we played streetball this shoe bit the floor quite consistently, and its outsole material and thickness might make it suitable to withstand the abrasion of outdoor courts. When we played indoors, we found these Nikes' grip solid and constant. We can't say it's got the best traction, but it wasn't slippery at all.

It does pick up some dust, though! But once we used our hands to clean the outsole, it was sticky again. Even though it doesn't have a pivot disc, it was easy for us to move in different directions thanks to its multidirectional pattern.

We didn't expect a budget shoe to have any reflective elements, and we were totally right!

The Precision 7's thickly padded tongue is the crowning touch to its surefooted feel.

At 10.5 mm, our caliper confirmed what our feet felt: even more comfort! We could forget about lace bite or any other kind of uncomfortable rub when we played with this shoe.

The best part? That these Nikes' lightweight nature wasn't affected by its extra padded structure!

When we were reviewing this model in the lab, we had to remind ourselves multiple times that it's supposed to be a budget shoe!

With a fully gusseted tongue, the Nike Precision 7 stands its ground as a hooper with wonderful value. This reinforcement and the 4/5 it scored in our heel counter stiffness and torsional rigidity tests made sure we felt supported during our games.

We felt surefooted with its snug fit, and we felt its spacious nature complimented it perfectly to make the whole shoe even more comfortable. 

Nike, you've surpassed yourself yet again!

This model doesn't include a finger loop or a pull-tab, but its heel still offered us some help to put it on!

As you can see in the picture, the Precision 7 includes an extended heel collar. It looks like a pointy elf ear, and we could easily grab it to put the shoe on. We really liked this detail, as it doesn't just fit the shoe's whole vibe, it also makes it easier for us to be ready to hoop in the blink of an eye!

The Precision 7 closing system gets its final touch with a slightly asymmetrical loop structure and its textured laces. This more traditional piece with an unconventional style doesn't just look good, it also works wonders for the shoe's snug feel!

Removable insoles are almost a must, and these Nikes know it well!

We don't actually have any specific complaints about it, but the Precision 7's insole is just simple. Nothing special, you see. It does its job and that's it.

So if you want to change it, it'll be easy peasy!