Nike SB Nyjah 3 and no longer Free
No matter what anyone says, Naija is an iconic skater of today’s generation. He can be ranked with such “yconic” characters of the skateboarding world as: Chris Cole, Tony Hawk, Paul Rodriguez, Mark Johnson, Daveed Gonzalez and so on (only he has never been awarded a SOTY). Therefore, as part of his work with Nike SB, he creates unique sneakers for skateboarding for the 3rd time. But the 3rd version of Nyjah Nike sneakers completely changed its appearance and only one detail remained unchanged. We will talk about this in more detail in the full text of the article.
What’s new in the Nike SB Nyjah 3?
Well, the short answer is EVERYTHING. One unchanged detail remains the material of the top of the sneaker. This is still the same “suede rubber”, which will not catch immediately, but will extend the skate life of the shoe for as long as possible. By the way, I didn’t note this in previous reviews, but if you have to glue your “Niji” with sludge, then in general this can be done so that the adhesive composition practically vulcanizes with the main material and becomes its integral part. Those. Repairing these shoes is as simple and effective as possible.
1. Different sole
You probably immediately noticed that now there is no Free prefix in the model name. Although many continue to google these sneakers as “nike sb nyjah free 3”. But “free” is already superfluous in these requests.
And what kind of sole do you think Nike decided to put in these sneakers? Well, of course, ZOOM AIR (but it’s very strange that this was not indicated in the model name). The air bag is built into the heel area of the sole, as if inside. And the heel cushioning became really noticeable. Those. On the old Free sole, I did not feel any amplitude of vibration of the leg when pressing the heel, but in these ones I felt it. Those. the damping effect itself has improved.
The rigid insert in the middle of the foot has undergone changes, but remains there. This gives the shoe greater torsional rigidity, which means it makes your skateboarding safer.
And of course, the form factor itself and the materials of the “lining” of the sole have changed. Now it is made in the form of chaotic depressions, similar to holes left by a fallen meteorite. How effective this tread option will be in skating needs to be tested. At first glance, it is unclear whether this option will be better or worse.
2. Completely different silhouette
The 3rd version of Nyjah’s skate shoes completely changed the appearance of the sock. It is not indicated anywhere which model this silhouette was taken from. But by all accounts the shoes themselves have become much narrower, i.e. Now for those who have wider feet (like me), it will be very difficult to wear these sneakers comfortably. They immediately began to compress me in width in the toe area.
Also, the shoe itself has become significantly lower. The heel area and toe remained at the same height, but the cutout between them became significantly lower. The comparison may be “significantly” exaggerated, because… The photograph shows only a slight difference in the height of this place. But the difference in how they feel when putting them on is huge. Now these sneakers have become even less safe for side impacts on the legs. I really didn’t like this aspect of the new model.
About the rubber top. Nike seems to have gone back to the all-rubber toe cap of the Nike SB Nyjah Free 1, but increased ventilation by having multiple holes in the layer. I think this will both improve the comfort of the riders’ feet and make the design of the sneaker more flexible and prevent it from bursting at the creases.
It is also worth noting the fact that now the rubber coating on the upper of the sneaker is like a protective overlay. The photo clearly shows the seam that attaches the rubber to the innermost sock. On older models, this was a monolithic design, which, in my opinion, provided greater rigidity for the sneaker and, accordingly, gave greater stability to the foot. In the new sneakers, they decided to replace the monolith with a supporting structure on the heel and these strange upper loops, which in general do not carry any functional load (the side support does not become stiffer if they are laced.
3. Lacing (the wildest flaw)
They left the laces round, but THEY REMOVED THE LACE PROTECTION. Those. on skate shoes, they removed the ability to hide your laces, so after the first couple of flips on the new sandpaper, your laces will already break. How can this be understood? It would be nice if they sold laces like dopas, and did this to increase sales of laces (I’m already laughing at this point). And there is not even an option to somehow cut the lining and lace it inside, as I did on my Nike Blazers (this is implemented perfectly there). Why and why they did this will remain a mystery to everyone. If you don’t believe me, look at the photo. This will not be shown in any advertising brochure.
4. Insole
Everything here is very good and probably even better than in previous versions. The insole is also ZOOM AIR. Made of foam, which absorbs shock very well. And it is thicker than on previous models, which means there will be more shock absorption. As a result, we can conclude from everything that Nike engineers somehow focused heavily on changing the shock-absorbing properties for the new shoe model from Naija. Whether the game is worth the candle can be understood only after skating tests.
5. Colors
Here I am a little surprised, but even at the start they immediately released as many as 5 color solutions, which was not the case at any start of sales. But, unfortunately, these sneakers are not yet available in the Russian Federation, and whether they will be is unknown. But I’m sure that even if they bring it, it will only be completely white and black models. Don’t even expect other colors.
p.s. There is no mention anywhere on the sneaker that it is the 3rd model of the Nyjah promodel series. It’s strange that they made a note on the second one, but decided not to do it on the third one. Inconsistent.
