Adidas Harden Vol. 9 review

Let the Harden Vol. 9 join your dream team if:

• You want something bouncy and supportive underfoot that shields your feet with its shock absorption after risking it all for a rebound in traffic.
• You're looking for a dependable performer that offers fantastic durability, breathability and traction.
• You're a fan of hoopers that offer great containment that doesn't jeopardise comfort.
• You love James Harden (and his beard).

Even though this model has a solid design that, in our opinion, should fit most guards' playstyle like a glove, its heavier weight might be a total drawback for hoopers that rely on quick dribbles and footwork. So, just in case you're nodding whilst reading this, here you have the lightweight basketball shoes we've reviewed so far.

Even though the Harden Vol. 9 offers a wonderful traction on most courts, we found it lacked grip on dusty ones. If you don't play on the cleanest gyms, these are our recommendations. And don't worry if you want to play streetball, we've also analysed multiple hoopers that withstand outdoor courts' harshness!

We really liked the cushioning set-up this Adidas hooper. Even though our calliper returned 27.7 mm when we measured its heel stack, which is lower than average, during our wear tests we enjoyed its wonderful shock absorption and overall comfort.

History repeats itself in the forefoot. At 20.3 mm, despite being lower than average, neither did we feel a lack of cushioning nor did we wish for some more shock absorbing properties. In fact, we're really happy with the Harden Vol. 9's underfoot protection!

After doing the math and measuring both stack heights, we noticed this hooper's drop is just average. At 7.4 mm, the heel doesn't feel crazy high, even though there's some extra cushioning on the rearfoot.

That red piece you see right on top of the outsole is the shank. It contributes to the underfoot support and adds that extra snap to a hooper with an already bouncy foam! As you might guess, we were very pleased with it, as it improved our general experience on the court.

During our wear tests, the Adidas Harden Vol. 9 felt really nice underfoot. It features a full-length Lightboost foam which we found not only comfortable, but also quite snappy! And the best part is that this bouncy compound comes in a carrier Lightstrike foam.

When we took the shoe to our lab and pressed our durometer against its cushioning, it returned 21.0 HA. As this result is lower than average, it means the foam used is on the softer side.

Recently, we've seen Adidas using very standard insoles for its hoopers. It's not like we find it an issue or anything, though: you can always change these orthotics. In this case, it's 4.7 mm thick, which is just average, and it doesn't have any specific features to point out.

Just by looking at its design, you can probably guess this is not the roomiest hooper ever. To know more about this, we poured our gel into its toebox and obtained a wonderful 1:1 mould.

When we measured its widest part, our calliper returned 90.9 mm. This result is lower than average, and even though our standard feet (and ourselves, to be honest) didn't mind this snug fit, we can see big toed hoopers wishing there was some extra space.

This shoe tapers quite a lot, too. At only 65.3 mm, our toes didn't have any room to play or wiggle! That being said, we didn't feel our feet were too cramped to the point of discomfort during our wear tests.

Fortunately, the vertical height of the toebox is not that bad. At 24.3 mm, it's slightly higher than average. The thing is that the Harden Vol. 9 features a solid upper that needs some break-in, so don't worry if it's not the friendliest shoe at the beginning... it took us more than a couple of games to get used to it!

Playing with this shoe on felt awesome: the amount of cushioning and support it features make its playability just fantastic! During our lateral stability test, we never felt unstable or uncomfortable. It's true that the top of the upper kind of dug a little bit on our ankles, yet its solid structure plus the bootie construction kept our feet right where they should be.

The tall lateral walls didn't let our fingers bend the Harden Vol. 9. The structure gave in just a little bit, but enough for us to give it a 4/5 on our torsional rigidity test. That being said, the fact that this Adidas pair didn't get the highest score this one time doesn't mean that you'll get rid of its break-in period!

The good thing here is that its lockdown feel and foot containment are both fantastic. We felt safe and sound during our playtests, and this bear hug-like fit is a constant that we've loved among all the Harden hoopers we've reviewed so far.

The bootie construction of this shoe, which imitates the Vol. 7's and Vol. 8's, made us completely forget about any kind of heel slippage. The Vol.9 features an extra padded and double counter that offered us wonderful support yet no heel rub! We checked this wonderful structure in our lab, and as it wasn't impossible hard for us to bend it, we decided to give it a 3/5 on stiffness.

Even though we didn't feel unstable when we went for a rebound in traffic or landing after a rough 2+1 jump shot, the Harden Vol. 9 has a narrower midsole. To our surprise, the callipers marked only 110.2 mm, which is lower than average. Nevertheless, in our experience, this didn't jeopardise stability.

The midsole follows the same line at the heel, as it's also narrower than average. Our calliper marked 87.6 mm, and even though we don't see it as an important drawback, wider midsoles always improve stability.

The overall structure of this hooper is pretty stiff. Torsionally and longitudinally, the Harden Vol. 9 wasn't the one to agreeably bend alongside our feet from the very first moment we put it on.

As you can see in the video, this hooper needed 41.1N to go for a 90-degree handstand. This is higher than average, which is totally understandable if we take into account it features an X-plate at the bottom. This piece doesn't just offer some extra snappiness, it also makes the shoe harder to bend overall! But don't worry, it'll become more and more friendly with use. We didn't really need more than a couple of games for it to break-in.

The solid structure of this hooper is heavier than average. Its wonderful support and lockdown come with a price, which our scale marked at 14.60 oz/414g. We can't say it dragged our feet down during our wear tests, but it definitely doesn't feel like a fast shoe either.

The Vol. 7 struggled a lot with ventilation, but luckily the Vol. 8 managed to fix it. Consequently, even though the Vol. 9 doesn't look like a breathing technique yoga teacher, we didn't lose hope!

Well... the light test didn't really go well. But our smoke machine is here to solve our doubts, as it's where we really see if this hooper lets the hot air out or if it keeps it all inside!

As you can see in the video, the 7th iteration looks just as warm as it felt. The smoke couldn't get out, so this pair earned a 2/5 in breathability. On the other hand, we're really happy to say that this 9th model kept the high score on ventilation, as it got a solid 4/5 on this test. Despite its looks and the results of our light test, it proved it's more than willing to let your feet breathe.

Our microscope showed us these key ventilation holes, as most of the smoke comes rushing through them from the inside. Sometimes shoes have them just as mere decoration, so we were really happy to see these were actually functional.

At 5K RPM and with 2N of force, our Dremel went all in trying to destroy this Adidas' toebox. Contrary to what happens with most shoes, its fantastic score on breathability didn't take any durability points from it. It faced the tool bravely, so we've decided to give it a solid 4/5.

Despite its bootie-like construction, the Harden Vol. 9 has a quite durable heel. Once again, with the same 2N of force and at 5K RPM, the Dremel didn't manage to ruin its reputation on durability. In fact, we were so happy with the heel padding's performance that we decided to give it another 4/5.

We grabbed our durometer to check this Adidas' outsole hardness. Once we put it upside down, we pressed it against the rubber and waited patiently. At 83.5 HC, it's pretty much average, which means this hooper should offer a healthy mix of durability and traction.

With the same 2N of force but this time at 10K RPM, our Dremel drilled this shoe's outsole for a good 18 seconds. When we measured the damage left, our tread gauge returned 0.8 mm, which is lower than average.

We're pretty happy with this score, as it means the Harden Vol. 9's outsole is made to last. Even though, personally, we wouldn't wear this hooper to play streetball, as its tread pattern is way too smooth, the durability of its rubber would let you easily play a game or two.

At 4.3 mm, this hooper's outsole is just as thick as the average of its category. Nevertheless, if we take into account how durable its rubber is, it's easy to understand why the brand didn't need to go for a bigger piece. That would've just made the whole shoe heavier... and that's a no!

During our wear tests, we never had to stop ourselves from trying more daring moves. Backdoor cuts, quick pick-and-rolls, offensive cross steps... these are just 3 of the many moves we unafraidly performed whilst wearing Harden's newest signature shoe. Thanks to its traction levels, we always felt safe, so we never thought we would slip and fall. Unless... we were on a dusty court.

We noticed this hooper picks up dust pretty fast, and even though you can solve that by just wiping its outsole, it can be a bit annoying.

Regarding structure, it features a circular traction pattern and a double pivot point at the toe area and at the ball of the foot. What we liked the most about this design is that it follows the moves of basketball players with its round design and the perfect placement of the pivot points!

The Harden Vol. 8 and Vol. 9 have the same PVP: £160. We were already head over heels in love with the 8, but we feel the 9 has doubled Cupido's arrow! It's as breathable but slightly more durable, yet the overall weight is lower. After our lab and wear tests, we can tell you that, in our opinion, we're talking about a solid performer that's absolutely worth its price.

The previous iterations didn't have any reflective elements, and the Vol. 9 hasn't changed that either.

And speaking of change, we like how Adidas kept a very similar design for all the versions of this Harden hooper. Personally, we believe it brings this kind of "I know what I'm getting" and "it doesn't disappoint" feel that many hoopers might appreciate.

When we measured the tongue area of the bootie-like design of this Adidas, our calliper returned 5.0 mm. We didn't experience any kind of lace bite or uncomfortable rubbing even if we played for hours, so we're pretty happy with this result!

As you can see in the picture below, the Harden Vol. 9 has a sock-like design. Even though putting it on is not as easy as it might be for other hoopers that feature a wider mouth, the containment and lockdown feel it offers is just fantastic.

It's not just the double thick heel counter or the wrap-around fit, but as a knight in shiny armour (quite literally in this colorway, too), this shoe features a solid structure that hugs your feet comfortably and doesn't really give in.

To help us put this Adidas pair on and off, there's a functional and convenient finger loop at the heel.

If you don't like the Harden Vol. 9's insole, you can always change it and use your own orthotics!