Nike Air Max 360 III review

Nike Air comes full circle...

Nine thousand nine hundred rupees. Say that loud, and when the fact gradually dawns on you that the astronomical figure is what it costs to buy a pair of running shoes, you'd probably swallow a few times. I still remember the day in 1996, when Reebok launched the most expensive shoe of that time - the InstaPump Fury with a price tag of a mere INR 5600. It had people talking for days, and it was not uncommon at all to hear comments like - "A shoe for that much? I can buy a second hand scooter and a shoe for that kind of money". Sigh - how things have changed. The five thousand rupee barrier has been broken by many shoes since, and now we have a shoe which is just INR 100 short of touching five figures. But it is by no means the most expensive pair of running shoes ever sold in India; Adidas has sold its flagship running shoe, the Adidas a1 at close to INR 13000, and even Nike did a full leather version of the original Air Max 360 at a price which crossed five figures. But the biggest difference is that while the a1 and the leather 360 were brief flashes in the pan, the Air Max 360 has been in the Nike stores for over two years now with periodic model and color updates, so the shoe seems to be working for them.

The high sticker price brings up a logical question: Is the shoe really worth that much? How different or better is it than a running shoe which costs half that price? I shared the same sentiment, so I decided to seek some answers by doing a full review on the shoe. I laced them on and went on a 5 kilometer test run in these shoes, and as I scribbled comments in my notebook post run, I somehow felt that the review might take quite a different turn today. But before putting the shoe under the scanner, I'd like to go back a few years and walk through the evolution of Nike Air. Though Nike had 'Air' models as early as 1979 in the form of the Nike Tailwind, it was not until 1987 that Nike released its first shoe with a visible cutout area in the midsole which showed the transparent Air bag. The shoes gradually evolved, with greater emphasis on stripping away the foam and showing more of the Air sole unit. Personally, I think the important milestones in the evolution of the visible air Nike shoes were the original Air Max '87, the Air Max '95, the Air Max 2003 and finally the Air Max 360, which made its debut in 2006 and is probably the only foamless running shoe which exists today. Read the Nike Shox Experience review for more on the history of Nike Air.

The first of the 'visible' Air shoes: The Air Max 87. This running shoe was the first to show the air sole through the cutout in the midsole. Needless to say, this simple but brilliant idea was probably life changing for Nike.

The Air Max '95: I believe this shoe was the first Nike shoe to extend the visible air bag units to the forefoot of the shoe. This shoe was in the Nike stores around ten years ago, and I still remember that when I first saw this shoe, I stared at the shoe till my eyes hurt. I so, so badly wanted these shoes that time, but I was a penniless student back then with no credit cards to swipe...

The almost '360' shoe: It would be wrong to say that the Air Max 2003 was the final frontier before the Air Max 360. This shoe was almost foamless, save for the area near the forefoot tip. This shoe, with its clean and uncluttered look, ranks as one of my personal favorites.

The 2006 Air Max 360 - the first of the first: Nike launched this shoe in India with much fanfare in early 2006. I remember hoardings and mobile trucks with huge posters of this shoe back then. I also bought one, but I was lucky enough to buy it from the US, where it cost $160 and not INR 9900 ($ 220). But I never told my dad about my purchase, lest he spilled his cup of tea all over the morning newspaper.

The sequel in 2007: In my review of the Nike Shox experience, I wrote that sequels have a hard time standing up to the glory of the original. Case in point is the Air Max 360 II, the sequel to the beautiful original Air Max 360. While the original had a high quality upper etched with laser cut perforations and detailing, the sequel uses plain Jane mesh all over. I guess I was not wrong at all. And by the way, even the design is not original - it uses a similar upper to what Nike used in the Zoom Spiridon, a shoe which was released many moons ago.

The third installment: The present day Air Max 360 III tries to make some amends and uses a lot of fancy bits on its upper. But is it just all hype and no substance? We'll come to that in a moment.

The Air Max 360 III is a looker - there's no doubt about it. The see thru 360 air sole makes sure that people turn around for a second look whenever you're out there wearing these, and there's also enough action happening on the upper as well. Fancy heel panels (in red) mimics laser etching with 'MAX AIR' engraved all over it, and a molded reflective blue synthetic piece chips in for night time visibility and a rather huge 'MAX AIR' text is printed across it. A big molded and embroidered Nike swoosh logo sits proudly on the lateral (outer) side, with some more detailed bits on the tongue area and the forefoot.

The 360 reloaded: Rich detailing on the heel area adds to the appeal. Apart from the detailed red panels which mimic laser etching, the blue heel piece with molded perforations (holes) serves as a visual relief.

The shoe might look great; but was the beauty only skin deep? I put the shoes through the rigors of a five kilometer test run and by the end of the run, I felt it was bit of a Deja vu. I'm sure, as we grew up, most of us went through our share of youthful infatuation; there would be times when you would be madly infatuated with the hottest looking chick in school and college, and finally when you guys finally made to a date, all your amorous feelings would evaporate instantly the moment she opened her month. I had a similar feeling with the Air Max 360 III today, hence the feeling of Deja vu. And by the way, don't accuse me of being sexist, because it works both ways...

A good running shoe should do what's intended to do, which is trying to help you run faster, longer and as effortlessly as possible. All the fancy bits on the upper and the 360 airsole are of no consequence if it does not perform the way it should, and sadly I found out today, much to my chagrin, that being the most expensive does not mean the best. I warned you earlier that this review will take a different turn today, and it would be unfair without a detailed explanation on why the shoe is a failure on most fronts as far as running in them is concerned. Here goes:

1) The Air Max 360 sole unit: You would think that a midsole filled completely with air and nothing else should give you an unparalleled sensation, similar to well, running on air. Unfortunately the Air Max 360 does no such thing; instead I felt that the shoe felt no better than wearing a pair of Adidas Megabounce or the Reebok Smoothfit Hexride. And this is not based off a short walk across my drawing room, but a proper 5k wear test at a respectable speed of 12k/hour. The reason why I do a five kilometer test and nothing less is that it gives me enough time to rethink the pro and cons of the shoe.

To start with, the flexibility of the shoe (in the forefoot) takes a hit because of the 360 air bag unit. The reason is, that the air bag has to be filled with air at a certain (high) pressure, lest it becomes unstable and that is the biggest reason why the forefoot part is so rigid. If you have a pair of 360's at home, try this: take a normal shoe and try to bend it at the forefoot, and then do the same with the Air Max 360 III. I'm sure you'd notice that to bend the Air Max 360 III, you'd have to put in enough strength to make Arnold Schwarznegger proud. Another chink in the armour is the soft air bag window in the heel. In a place like India, where the average roads are rougher than the surface of high duty sandpaper, there's a word for running or walking around in one of these - suicide. You might well be running on a pair of balloons strapped to your feet. Do you want to know what happened to my pair of Air Max 360 which I bought a few years ago? I don't have them any more, because the Air Bag punctured within a few months of plodding in them. I promptly went and got them replaced, but not with a pair of 360's but another running shoe. I waited patiently after that, hoping Nike would do something about that soft part in the heel, but no sir, the latest incarnation of the Air Max 360 still has the same window. I bet these shoes were designed for smooth roads of the US, so I guess getting a pair of these punctured here is the same thing as taking out a Lamborghini out for a ride in India and see the underside get scraped by a titanic speed breaker in your neighborhood.

Sole story: The Air Max 360 was the perhaps the only foamless running shoe when it was launched in 2006. It is not really as cushioned as you would think it would be, and the soft Air bag window in the heel is a complete no-no for India.

2) The fit, and the lack of Nike Plus cavity: The Air Max 360 has quite a narrow forefoot fit; narrow enough for me to buy a one size bigger than what I normally wear. I usually wear a UK 9.5/ US 10.5 for a pair of running shoes, but I had to go out and settle on a size UK 10.5 / US 11.5 when buying the Air Max 360 III. And my foot is by no means broad, I have a model foot when it comes to width. I haven't come across a 'wide' version of this shoe, and Nike should seriously consider a wide option if they have to score any brownie points with us runners. Another part which is lacking is the heel fit - the padding in the collar is less than desirable, and it does not do anything to securely hug your foot in place. If you remember, I had the same grouse with the Adidas Megabounce 2008 in one of my earlier reviews, and it is certainly an unfortunate coincidence that the same experience repeats itself today.

Nike and Apple computers jointly launched the 'Nike+ technology' which meant that you could use your iPod Nano and the Nike+ kit to measure your distance, pace, calorie and all the other useful stuff you always wanted to know. For the whole deal to work, you must have an Apple iPod Nano, and the Nike+ kit which is sold separately. The kit has two parts - a receiver and a transmitter. The transmitter unit goes into a cavity which is located beneath the sockliner/insole of the shoe, and the receiver plugs in to the charging jack of your iPod. When you start running, the chip located in the shoe silently transmits all the information to the iPod and you can hear visual feedback through your headphones, on how many kilometers you have run and how much is left to go. I would love to do a full review on the Nike+ system, and hopefully I can do it sometime next month. And here's the downside - the Air Max 360 III does NOT have a cavity for putting the Nike+ transmitter in. That's a big letdown for a shoe which will probably wreck your bank balance, and what also hurts is that there are scores of other lower priced models in Nike which allows you to use the Apple + Nike hardware without much fuss. I do hope Nike comes up with an updated Air Max 360 sole unit soon which covers the soft window AND puts in a Nike+ plus cavity.

'Fit' issue: The forefoot fit is narrow and there's no room to fit in the Nike+ transmitter.

The saving grace: If your motto is 'beauty over brains', then the Air Max 360 might be the shoe for you. It is certainly a lovely looking shoe, make no mistake.

I wish I could write anything positive about the Air Max 360 III, apart from the way it looks. I've racked my brains hard, but I've come up with nada. And to answer the question which we asked ourselves earlier today: is this running shoe any better than a shoe which might cost half the price? The answer is a big NO. As far as running shoes goes, models like the Puma Complete Phasis might end up a better buy and much more value for your money. I believe that is my first negative review of a shoe - I hate to do that, but the reason why solereview exists is to provide unbiased shoe reviews in India, so we'll stick to that, however hard it might be for me...

The Lowdown:

Shoe name: Nike Air Max 360 III

Color reviewed: White/Dark obsidian/Sport red/Metallic Silver

Retail price (India): INR 9900

Estimated US retail: $ 145

Available at: Major Nike stores in India.

Recommended for: Recreational runners with normal arch types; casual street wear. The big air sole might come in handy for very heavy runners.

Not recommended for: Runners with flat foot / low arch. Not for racing or tempo runs.

Weight: 403 grams for a half pair of UK 10.5/US 11.5

Verdict: Beautiful looking shoe, but is an absolute waste of money if you are looking for a good running shoe. There are scores of shoes in the market which perform equally well or better for less than INR 9900. Buy this only if you have the extra cash, and want to flash your latest purchase around.