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Nike SB Nyjah 2

Edan Qian — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 17:34:33 +0000

There’s no doubt that Nyjah is a game changer in the skate scene, and as a polarizing character with love and hate on both sides of the spectrum, one thing’s for sure: Nyjah fucking sends it. He’s been destroying since the early days on Element, and he’s evolved into one of the best skaters in the world with 10 Games Gold medals under his belt, solidifying his spot as a top contender on the U.S.A Olympic team. There’s been many era’s of the Nyjah we know, and currently, he’s taken on more of a role within social media, engaging his audience through Vlog’s, insane iPhone footage of him destroying handrails in lines, as well as skating over lambos and pretty girls. His newest shoe marks a new era of his Nike SB Nyjah product line, that was planned in conjunction with his appearance at the first ever skateboarding 2020 Olympic Games, which was unfortunately postponed by COVID-19. With that said, have a look at the review.

Sizing

The shoe fits true to size.

Durability

The Nyjah 2’s upper is a 360 construction featuring a sandblasted rubber compound and added mesh panels; the shoe’s durability was extremely surprising. At first glance, the rubber compound that surrounds the shoe seems a bit skeptical for the suede/canvas shoe skater, but Nike and Nyjah chose the rubber compound specifically to enhance the durability of the model and extend the shoe’s lifespan. After ten hours of skating, it was obvious that the upper held up very well with no signs of wear; and seemed that the only element of the shoe that would give out first would be a gradual tear through the lining between the shoe’s outsole and rubber compound. The sandblasted rubber compound extends through all possible flick points of the shoe, and is fused together, instead of stitched together, which leaves almost no critical points of stitching open for the grippe to break through. One great design feature is the first pair of hidden eyelets beneath the rubber compound, that prevents your shoelaces from ripping after doing higher ollies/kickflips that require more dragging on the griptape. The durability of the shoe was one of the biggest highlights of skating the Nyjah 2’s.

Cushioning

The shoe features a cupsole construction and is designed to withstand the huge impacts that Nyjah himself faces when skating big handrails and sets. A lot of skate shoes add impact support in the sockliner, as it’s the most direct-to-foot layer of the sole. However after pulling out the Nyjah 2’s sockliner, we were stunned as to how extremely thin it was. After skating a few sets and medium gaps, the cushioning of the shoe did very well, with no impact to the heels whatsoever. The Nyjah 2’s cushioning support is focused around the midsole of the shoe, which features a similar Nike SB “Tristar” midsole found in the Nyjah 1. The Nyjah 2’s midsole actually has a thick separately wedged out component made from Nike Free technology, which is visible from the medial angle. The Tristar midsole absorbs the majority of impacts, which allows the thin sockliner to provide better boardfeel when skating.

Shape

It’s quite interesting to find a skate shoe that has a technical upper similar to running shoes, but adapted with a flat sole, naturally found with skate shoes. At first glance, the slim silhouette shape of the Nyjah 2 seems narrow, and when you look down at the shoe, it looks like it’s an athletic shoe with a pointed toebox. After putting on the shoes, we found that the shoe was quite spacious, even for those with wider feet.

Board Feel & Grip

As mentioned earlier, the shoe’s sockliner was extremely thin, which served more as an element to enhance the boardfeel of the shoe. The Tristar midsole wedge also ends where the forefoot starts, so the compound used in the forefoot area is more compact and direct, allowing the foot to gauge the concave of the board better. For those used to skating suede shoes, the grip of the Nyjah 2 will take some time getting used to. The rubber compound will seem a bit slick at first, but does break in better when combined with the grip of the outsole for flip tricks. The sole of the shoe also features the signature Tristar tread, and has added traction support in certain critical areas, where other areas are focused more for flex.

Comfort and Stability

The comfort of the Nyjah 2 was above average. The inner construction of the shoe features a padded heel collar and neoprene lining, that helps wick away sweat and almost provides a bit of a cooling effect for the feet. We always complain about the breathability of shoes as well, but the Nyjah 2’s overall design showcased the importance of breathability as an element of comfort when skating. The shoe features elongated mesh panels on the forefoot that allow heat to escape from the tops of your feet. It seemed a bit daunting to leave the top of your feet exposed, but the mesh panels didn’t sacrifice structural stability, and helped immensely to let hot air escape when skating during the summer. The rubber upper of the shoe and heel area of the shoe held up very well during the weartest, providing structure and support when pushing and landing tricks. The design elements of the shoe’s upper also helped reduce the weight of the shoe, which made the Nyah 2 a light, and flexible shoe to skate in.

Summary

Priced at almost a 100 bucks, the Nyjah 2 is absolutely a shoe that gives you what you pay for. The shoe is exceptional in terms of durability, board feel and comfort, but grip, shape and cushioning could use some more tweaks for the perfect model.

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Nike SB Nyjah

Edan Qian — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 19:18:03 +0000

There’s no doubt about it. The news of Nyjah leaving his long time shoe sponsor for a spot on the Nike SB team roster took the skate world by surprise. It was one of those things where you weren’t too aware of it, didn’t care too much of it, but when the move happened, it piqued your interest and suddenly you were watching every video posted on his instagram to see the “New Nyjah”. But regardless of his decision to switch shoe sponsors, one thing remains true: Nyjah is one of the gnarliest rail skaters in the game. He drops personal video parts that make you feel like you’re watching a blockbuster action movie, and with the bangers he films, also come the most painful slams. The blood, sweat, and tears he’s put into skateboarding since he was a kid deserves every ounce of respect from fellow skaters and with the topic at hand, deserves his pro model shoe on Nike SB. Hence, we’ve gotten our hands on a pair of the new Nike SB Nyjah Free signature shoe, and after hearing about the technical designs behind the shoe, we couldn’t wait to shred them up. The shoe boasts a sporty look with a running-inspired silhouette, but features a 360-rubber upper that is made to handle all the griptape abuse you can deliver. If you’re a skate shoe nerd, read on below to discover more of the technical designs behind the Nyjah Free and whether or not these features are “marketing gimmicks” or groundbreaking improvements..

Sizing

Due to its slim construction, the Nike SB Nyjah fits slightly smaller than other Nike SB models. We recommend going a half size up. Also, the shoe features a power stretch bootie construction, which makes it a bit harder to step into, but once you are in, the shoes secure your feet in place.

Durability

Once the shoes are in your hands and you can feel the rubber upper, you know that immediately that one of the strengths of the Nike SB Nyjah is its durability. The shoes in the pictures posted have been skated intensively for 10 hours. The synthetic upper is vey durably as well as offers a very good flick. To provide additional durability in the high wear areas, another layer of the rubber upper material has been fused around and under the toe box, not visible to the eye. The one piece upper is a highlight, it also reduces the amount of stitching required to hold different layers of the shoe in place; this proactively reduces the points of attack and eliminates the possibility of the threads coming apart. After numerous flip tricks, the sole surrounding the toe box area ripped a bit fast but the synthetic upper served as a second wall of defense and prolonged the lifespan of the shoe immensely. The depth of the sole pattern is fair, judging from the 10 hours weartest, it probably won’t outlast the upper material and will eventually become flat in certain areas. Although the sole being worn out fast will reduce the grip, this is still negligible due to the overall durability. All in all, the Nyjah Free’s 360 rubber upper proved to have very good durability.

Shape

The shape of Nyjah Free is a slim fitting shoe. The toebox of the Nyjah is long and symmetrical. The construction of the long toe box is quite similar to a Janoski but tapers into a more flat surface than pointy. The padding in the sidewalls of the shoe is minimal and when worn, the Nyjah Free feels very close and secure to the feet.

Cushioning

As expected, flex is one of the most characteristic strengths of the Nike Nyjah sole construction. They’ve used the small triangular pattern often found in certain models of the Nike Free sole, and applied it all throughout the Nyjah Free’s sole to create a multi-directional flex pattern. Not to mention, the sides of the sole all feature vertical grooves to enhance this flex. This is quite important when it comes to skateboarding, especially in the forefoot area. Overall, the cushioning of this model is slightly above average and takes medium abuse quite well. Gaps and sets up to 10 stairs were no problem and the impact was well absorbed. The thickest part of the sole is located in the midfoot, which helps to protect you from primo landings. The midsole pans out to be thinner towards the forefoot, to provide better boardfeel, and as expected, turns much thicker in the heel area, with a larger emphasis on cushioning protection. This design benefits the rider without losing any of the board feel of a flat-bedded shoe and helps protect your heels way beyond the lifespan of the shoe. A small detail that was also quite noticeable was the support in the arch of the foot, which helped reduced the foot’s soreness after a long session.

Boardfeel and Grip

The Nike SB Nyjah clearly puts its focus on boardfeel and grip. The geometry of the sole pattern increases the flexibility of the shoe and good flexibility results in good grip. As a result, the grip of the sole is greatly effective due to the flex maximizing the surface area of the sole. This, in combination with its thin sole construction in the toe area, creates a responsive contact between board and shoe. The grip is balanced pretty well; in the beginning it was almost too grippy especially with a new sheet of griptape, but after a few sessions, the grip evened out and was well adapted. A lot of skaters are used to choosing a shoe with traditional suede upper due to its responsive grip and flick, which leaves this rubber upper material of the Nike SB Nyjah quite controversial. But after our personal weartest, we’re backing this the grip of this all around rubber upper: the flick was exceptional.

Comfort and Stability

The most important features for a comfortable skate shoe include weight, ventilation and a well-crafted inner shoe area. The Nike SB Nyjah Free is lightweight and the inner area is crafted quite well, although some slight pressure marks were noticeable during the first few sessions. Those pressure marks are a direct result of the shoe’s shape and the stability of the synthetic upper. The only disappointment of the Nike SB Nyjah Free is it’s below average breathability. Beside the breathable tongue area and a few holes in the synthetic material, the upper doesn’t offer any other breathable elements. This means warm air and moisture can’t escape the shoe, which already causes warm feet even before being skated in. As far as stability goes, the Nyjah Free features a heel reinforcement, which you can feel by squeezing the sides of the collar together. It keeps the foot in place and prevents horizontal movement within the shoe. The synthetic upper did not stretch out at all during the test. This means the sidewalls won’t get too flexible and lose their shape, and the stability of the shoe should maintain it’s full potential over the whole lifespan of the shoe, which rarely the case with most suede or leather models. Moreover, Nike implemented their patented Flywire technology (also known as Vectran Fibers) into the shoe, which are essentially thin string-like filaments (similar to a bridge’s suspension cables) applied to the shoe’s upper that connect to the shoe’s outsole with the purpose of reducing weight and holding the feet securely in place. Instead of having pieces of different material stitched together to create a stable shoe, these high tensile strength fibers wires act as targeted lines of reinforcement where the shoe really needs it. The designers at Nike know the force loads at certain points of the shoe when it faces strong impacts from jumping down big sets, and strategically placed these fibers to stabilize the feet in a certain methodology to prevent injury. Although the shoe is extremely lightweight and the inner bootie construction allows for a wide range of ankle movement, the shoe still feels very supportive and stable.

Summary

Despite a lack of breathability, the Nike SB Nyjah Free impressed us with it’s long-lasting durability, outstanding flick, exceptional comfort, and is currently the most innovative skate shoe on the market.

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