NIKE LEBRON SOLDIER 14 BREAKDOWN

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The LeBron Soldier line is the secondary signature line to Lebron’s shoe collection. It’s the Soldiers in which LeBron wore in the famous Game 7 against the GSW for a historic 3-1 comeback. Ever since then the Soldier line has seen a decline in popularity as LeBron has been wearing them less as the years progressed. It looks like Nike wants to reverse the popularity of the Soldier line and put it back to its original status back in 2016-2017 with a huge makeover.

Upper

The straps in which the Soldier line is famous for has been ditched for a traditional lacing system. This is the first time since the LeBron Soldier 2 in which the silhouette doesn’t feature a strap. The single-body upper, reminiscent of the LeBron 15 consists of a performance mesh mixed with elastic mesh around the lacing area for extra lockdown. Fuse overlays are added on the side for lateral containment.

Midsole Cushion Set-up

The rigid and bulky look of the midsole along with the large plastic caging on the side almost looks like a throw-back to the bulky looks of the past LeBron models around 2014-2015. There aren’t any labelling on the side to give us a hint on the cushion set-up. However, given the history of the Soldier line, it is likely to be a full-length Zoom cushion or a separate heel and forefoot Zoom cushioning.

Update: 14/07

The LeBron Soldier 14 officially launched in China and the cushion features separate heel and forefoot Zoom units. The forefoot Zoom unit’s thickness is 10mm and the heel Zoom unit’s thickness is 13mm. The midsole foam that encases the Zoom units is cushlon the same foam used in the Kyrie 4.

Outsole

The outsole pattern is divided into two parts with the navy area in the heel featuring a blocky pattern and the red area featuring a wave like pattern.

Price and Release Dates

The LeBron Soldier 13 being priced at $140 and the Soldier 12, $130, it is expected that the Soldier 14 won’t have a major price change and will stick between the range of $130-140. LeBron Soldier line traditionally released during the playoffs, so they might see a debut during the NBA Playoffs in Orlando if the season resumes as planned.