Adidas Harden Vol 4 Review: OUTDOOR Performance Breakdown

First off, don’t get disturbed that these look HUGE on feet. Literally. The tooling is unusually very wide and I dig that a lot for a couple of reasons.

The first one being that this saves hassle for wide footers – I have very wide feet myself and the forefoot & midfoot areas are wide enough for me, especially after about a week of adjusting.

The second one being unprecedented stability – that wide of a platform + sitting so low to the ground makes up for an extremely stable & agile combo, and for a low top – I think this is perfect.

So, regular/narrow footers – going true to size is the #1 option without a doubt. Wide footers like myself – it would be best to order two pairs (one TTS and the other up 1/2 a size) to be safe and return the unneeded one.

But I actually went true to size and I believe I’ve got a pretty extreme case of wide feet, so this should tell you going TTS shouldn’t be so scary if you’re not up for ordering multiple pairs.

Unless your feet are even wider than mine, which would mean you should have the feet of a clown at that point. Going true to size resulted in me feeling super secure, there’s zero slippage in the heel or anywhere else.

If you are experiencing some heel slippage though – there might be a few things you can do. Check out my heel slippage guide for basketball shoes to find out more!

Going up half a size could’ve messed with the overall lockdown as I feel like they’re now perfect length-wise, so any extra space could’ve compromised the sense of security and that one-to-one fit feel.

THE BAND SITUATION

One thing I want to touch on is that midfoot elastic band thing that pulls into the midfoot and ankle areas when lacing ’em up for enhanced lockdown. While it does help lock down the fit, that strap took the longest to get it out of the way in terms of break-in.

It was pretty terrible for me during the first week (partially because of my huge feet I presume) since that area was pressing into my feet to the point where it was painful at times when the shoe flexed, especially torsionally.

Don’t worry though – through multiple reviews and user feedback I’ve heard people having the same thing but it goes away for most. And it should go away quicker for you than for me as well.

COMFORT: FAST, LIGHT, AND SMOOTH

Even though I feel like adidas hasn’t been on such a perfect roll these past couple of years when compared to the air jordan/D Rose 6-7 days, I still think the Harden line has been super consistent in providing a comfy, secure, and fast shoe to play in.

The Harden Vol. 4 feels light as hell, to begin with. Even though it’s not among the lightest shoes in terms of pure numbers, the most important thing is how they actually feel in action.

And the Harden Vol 4 feels as fast & light as ever.

Also, looking for comfy, fluffy internal padding in your shoe? You got it. It’s everywhere and there’s a lot of it. While that might take away some space and condense your foot, man it’s comfy in there provided you get the size right!

Soft and buttery smooth is the best way to describe it. If you feel like these fit you properly but your foot’s really cradled in there, give ’em some time to fully break in, or go up half a size if you prefer a roomier fit.

In most cases though – you shouldn’t need to.

IV. TRACTION

Does it grip different surfaces well & consistently? Is dust/debris a factor? How long will these last outside?

TRACTION PERFORMANCE

adidas loves to switch things up almost every year when it comes to the outsole and even though I’d prefer all brands to just stick with solid/XDR rubber & good ol’ herringbone, I wasn’t disappointed with the Harden Vol 4’s traction.

As you can see, the heel and forefoot portions are separated pretty distinctively – the heel portion uses a more spaced out pattern while the forefoot area is denser to cover more ground for stops, cuts, changes of direction, etc.

I’m not sure how these would’ve performed if a consistent pattern was used all throughout the outsole but the traction on these was great regardless.

The rubber used is almost ridiculously sticky, so that also helped with how quick and effective each stop or shift was. And sticky also means A TON of squeak. Get your ears ready if you’re playing on hardwood/rubber.

However, tacky rubber also means dust sticking to it very easily. Even though the pattern is properly spaced out and there’s room for dust to escape, the glue-like rubber catches all of it, so frequent wiping will be needed to keep the traction consistent.

Not the worst scenario there was at all though – the traction never dropped to a point where I’d feel a huge decrease, even when I’d skip a wipe where I’d normally do it, such as during longer, more intense stretches of a game.

And I was playing in my local park that’s pretty weary now – it’s good to know these outsoles will get the job done no matter the nasty debris all over the court.

OUTDOOR DURABILITY

Speaking of which, how’s the durability for outdoors you ask? While the shoe is clearly not an “outdoor” model so to speak, the rubber does hold up well.

I’ve got back to playing in these from time to time after putting out the initial review, so here’s a 1-year update.

It’s something about adidas’s basketball footwear. It delivers in durability – that’s for sure. Things are looking very similar to when they were just 3 months after getting the shoe.

There are more frayings along the medial and lateral areas of the pattern (mainly in the forefoot portion) and some of the rubber is looking weary.

HOWEVER, the core of the pattern is still there, with almost each and every knob resembling its original shape.

And I’d be lying if I said I’m feeling a clear decrease in performance. That’s simply not true. I haven’t taken these indoors for a long time now so things might be slightly different. On concrete/rubber though – just like the Dame line, these refuse to break down.