The Breakdown

The original K1X Chiefglider released in 2002 was already a very good shoe. But the new slightly modified K1X Chiefglider makes what was already a very good shoe, great.

You won't see any changes made to the Chiefglider appearance but you will certainly feel them.

Buy it if you are looking for a sizzling all-around performance in a lightweight, low-cost considering the quality of its materials and construction package.

Excellent comfort and fit right out of the box. Excellent impact protection with good court and cushioning feel; great support under and around the mid-foot; top-notch materials with beautiful build quality, light weight, absolutely amazing traction and last but not least, great value.

It definitely is a Bad-ass- mofo-hoop shoe.

Piece by piece

The leather of the upper has a rich, high-quality feel and the lining of the shoe's inner is soft and smooth.

The terry cloth material that lines the inner side of its tongue, ankle and heel is ever so soft and plush and feels really good against your feet. The terry cloth lining is not just there for comfort, it also has a functional purpose in that it absorbs sweat , which is then drawn away from the skin thanks to the vents that line the outer side of the ankle collar. Another example of K1X's meticulous attention to detail.

Underneath the terry cloth lining, the Chiefglider's ankle is padded with dense memory foam that enhances both support and fit at the ankle. Because the memory foam is so dense it does a great job of cradling and conforming to the shape of your ankle. This allows the Chiefglider to provide better ankle support and also gives the shoe a really nice fit and feel around the ankle.

When laced all the way up to the topmost lace loop the Chiefglider provided excellent heel fit without feeling overly restrictive at the ankle.

The lacing system is very impressive . They're fatter and much more thickly padded than most, which distributes pressure across a broader area of the tongue than thin laces could. Plus they feel really good when you're lacing them up.

The Chiefglider midsole is built on a dual-density compression molded EVA base that's augmented with special inserts at the forefoot and heel. K1X calls the insert at the heel W.L.O.T.C ., which stands for " Way Longer On The Court ." The insert at the forefoot is called W.H.U.I.T.A. , which stands for " Way Higher Up In The Air ." The W.L.O.T.C. insert at the heel is designed for maximum impact protection while the W.H.U.I.T.A. insert at the forefoot is designed for maximum resiliency .

The Chiefglider provides a very stable base that allows cuts and drives to the basketball with confidence. The fact that the shoe keeps your foot closer to the surface of the court is definitely a factor here, as is the Chiefglider's solid TPU shank , which provides excellent torsional rigidity .

The shoe's large internalized heel counter also helps by keeping your heel firmly planted on the footbed . Performing the same function at the forefoot is the patent leather material along the base of the Chiefglider's upper. Because the patent material does not stretch, it does a much better job of keeping the forefoot on the footbed of the shoe during quick lateral movements than real leather could. This is just one more example of the k1x team's attention to detail.