A skateable Air Max: Nike SB Air Max Ishod Wear Test

My initial surprise was how much bulkier the shoe looks compared to how it feels on the feet. I was worried they would have a Jordan 4 level of thickness but it’s quite the opposite. When looking at the shoe the first thing that comes to mind is the styling. Most will call the shoe the Ishod 2 not giving it the justice it deserves with its attention to detail. I noticed the text on the lace bar. The shoe has the lettering Ishod WAIR in the place of the iconic Air as the model is the Ishod Air Max model hinting at the nickname the “Ishod Wair Max”.

There are a lot of features to this shoe that give it a very unique style but I would say the most noticeable is the lack of a midsole and unorthodox insole design. The shoe is designed like an external shell which looks bulky but is actually very flexible and thin. The tech of the insole is suppose to make up for the fact that the sole itself is quite thin. When the insole is removed the sole is only about 5mm-7mm in thickness in the toes and heels. The insole is doing most if not all the of the impact protection. The most unique part of the shoe is the design of the air pocket. The air pocket cushion is a part of the insole, whereas what is visible on the shoe is actually a small widow in the sole over the heel. The air pocket is not a part of the shoe but the insole and the shoe has a window type feature to show the detached air pocket in the sole. The feel of the shoe is greatly determined by this specialised insole. The insole is about 7mm in the front and gradually slopes up to about 15mm over the air pocket.

The advantaged lacing technology definitely make the shoe feel quite form fitted to the foot once I had laced up the shoe. It makes the fit feel quite personalised. The sole is a cupsole with extended fox tape style rubber on the side that is attached to a very complex and thought out upper of suede, full grain leather and well placed mesh. The collar and tongue are similar to the Ishod 1. Although this shoe is a bit taller, they both provide a similar protection and breathability as the previous model.

The sizing is true to size if not a bit oversized in length. For those of you coming from the Ishod 1, the toe box is pointier and does not feel as flat. In the Nike roster, I would say the shape is more so of a worn in Blazer, but it feels slightly wider than at the balls of the feet. The sole does not feel particularly thick.

The shoe also keeps a wider profile leading to the back of the shoe and doesn’t narrow as the arch of the foot like a lot of Nikes SB models. The lacing is so well developed and the material is so thin that I feel the shoe is a bit more forgiving for a wider foot than most Nike models. I find Blazers too narrow and felt very comfortable in these without sacrificing a nice pointed flick and truly superb board feel in the toes and balls of the feet.

I would say because of the design, fliptricks felt particularly enjoyable. I did significantly more than I usually do thanks to the board feel. The grip was perfect as the flick was either the ideal grip of the foxing tape style material or the perfect flick feeling of the thick suede. The ollie protection of the foxing tape style material was very helpful. This bumper like curve where the Swoosh is located took most of the friction during ollies. This was perfectly located and provided a nice rounded edge to make the shoe feel more broken in from the first ollie.

The shoe is beginning to show some wear in the flick. I have a flick that breaks stitches. My kickflip, particularly on boards that have a steep nose like the one I was riding, starts at the top the toe box but finishes more on the side of the shoe. This made the stitching break. It isn’t an issue as the suede material is double layered but I fell and slid on the top of the shoe against the ground at one point. This made the full grain leather layer pop out from underneath. I had to use RipCare to fix this and glue the layers back correctly. I would say the shoe is designed well for these types of repairs but I didn’t think this would be a problem so soon.

At this point I noticed that shoe doesn’t provide as much impact protection as I would like. I didn’t do any high impact skating or jump down any stairs but I did feel that my heel wasn’t getting the support it needed. Because of the unique insole design, I feel you have to really have your replacement insole game on lock before you can make any adjustments to the impact protection. I think that if you are someone that uses their own insoles in your shoes, this shoe will be very hard to alter for your specification. I don’t recommend this shoe for people that feel they will be switching out the insole unless you have the exact dimension of the shoe insole first. I feel this is the biggest design flaw as the quality of the insole will determine the quality of the shoe for a lot of people.

I skated this shoe about 75% goofy and 25% switch/nollie and would say that the ollie damage was significant by this point. The supportive foxing tape style side of the shoe, particularly in the ollie protection area, isn’t doing as well as it was in the beginning. Most importantly, the ollie damage, for me, was located exactly at the point where the full grain leather and two separate layers of suede were sewn together. The damage I experienced may be because of my specific ollie form or the steepness of my pop but I found this to be a particular design flaw once the rounded edge of the supportive foxing tape style protection had worn down a bit.

The shoe itself at this point had become extremely flexible. I feel the thin material or lack of material is a bit of a disadvantage here as the shoe aged. This is common with a shoe that doesn’t have a very thick midsole as often this is the spine that keeps the form of the sole and shoe stiff. Since the shoe lacks this I feel many will say the shoe lacks structure as it ages.

The form fitted quality of the shoe was absolutely top notch throughout and I feel anyone that skates a thinner shoe will keep skating the shoes with the help of some minor repairs. At this point the sole is perfectly intact and has a lot of life left.

I would definitely say that Ishod intended to make a high performance skate shoe first and foremost. The technology is geared towards skateboarding with a flare for the Nike Air Max history. I would say that for some the shoe will be perfect at first at the expense that it doesn’t last as long as desired. This I would say is more telling of our times of fast fashion, but also that the shoe performs well above average at the expensive of longevity. You get exactly what you want right out of box.

I think the main question in buying skateboarding shoes is: Do you want a perfect shoe from the start or do you want a thicker shoe at the expense of performance spending time breaking it in? The design and performance offer an ideal shoe with a unique style all its own, perfect for precision, at the cost of durability in certain areas like structural support and ollie protection.