Nike Air Zoom Huarache 64 Review

The Nike Air Zoom Huarache 64 made its debut 2 NBA seasons ago just in time for the playoffs. A number of players wore the shoe, including Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes, Boris Diaw, and Smush Parker. Some of the players definitely took to these shoes well seeing as how they are still wearing them today. Even though the Huarache 64 was released about 2 years ago, I only recently had the opportunity to take them out for a “spin” on the court.

The 64 definitely requires some initial “breaking-in” time. I wore the shoe around casually about 4 or 5 times before I decided to test it out on the court. During my first few casual wearings, I felt that the shoe didn’t offer very good cushioning and was very stiff. The more I wore the shoe, the better I started to feel about wearing it on the court. One bad thing about the shoe that did not get better with time is the rear heel tab. I’m not sure if I just got a bad pair with rough stitching on the edges, but the tab can scratch up the back of your ankle pretty badly if you wear the shoe for a long period of time. I recommend a high cut sock when wearing these. The floor of the shoe felt very hard when I first wore them. It was the first time I wore a shoe with Zoom Air in it and couldn’t feel it right away. After the shoe was broken into, the cushioning felt great. There’s not really much to complain about when you have Zoom Air to cushion your feet.

Nike’s Zoom Huarache 64 provides great support even though it is cut a little bit lower than a lot basketball shoes on the market today. The shoe is not cut low enough to make it a low top, but is lower cut in comparison to the Zoom Huarache 2k4, 2k5, and Lebron IV. The huarache technology provides a great fit. I’ve always been a fan of having an “inner bootie” on any basketball shoe. It does a great job of minimizing sliding within the shoe and provides a really good fit. One element I think the Huarache 64 lacks is arch support. Personally, I do require a shoe good arch support or I can’t play for very long periods of time. The 64 is very flat and doesn’t provide much of a place for your arches to rest on.

The shoe provides great traction especially in quick start/stop situations. There is some sliding within the shoe at the forefoot area, but not enough to bother you while playing. I tested the shoe both outdoors and indoors and I definitely felt the shoe performs better on the hardwood. Although the overall performance of the shoe is still great outdoors. The tread pattern and depth of the Huarache 64 would definitely not last you very long if you plan to wear the shoe for outdoor play. The depth in the grooves of the tread pattern is not very deep and the shoe would wear down very quickly. The shoe breathes very well and huarache technology provides great ventilation through out the shoe.

Overall the Nike Air Zoom Huarache 64 is a very well put together shoe, but there are a few things to consider before buying it. Do you require a lot of arch support? Do you feel comfortable buying a shoe that requires a good amount of breaking in time? Are you planning to use them for indoor or outdoor use? These are all good questions to consider before committing to buying the 64. The Nike Zoom Huarache 64 was available at almost every major sporting good store a few years ago. Due to poor sales, most stores shipped them back to Nike and they ended up at factory outlet stores across the nation. Check your local Nike Factory store to see if you can find a pair. At most locations they are marked down to $30.00. There were far too many colorways released of this shoe for us to list. They were also available on Nike iD for a short period of time. Unlike almost any other shoe these days, I do not recall hearing or seeing any fakes produced of this particular style so you can try hunting for a pair on e bay. Good Luck!!!

Colorway Tested: White/Black/Royal/Purple

Tested on: Hardwood & Asphalt

Final Analysis:
Comfort & Cushioning: B+
Support: A
Traction: B-
Breathability: A+
Overall: B+