After going two months between performance reviews last time, here I am back with another review less than two weeks since the last one!
Yeah, I don’t know either!
And not only that, this time we have something other than an Anta sneaker, where today we’ll be taking a look at the Sonic VIII Team from Li-Ning Sports.
As with the other pairs I’ve reviewed thus far, these were sent to me by Li-Ning authorised resale website Sunlight Station. Sunlight Station is based here in Australia, but are able to offer international shipping of Li-Ning and Way of Wade customers in places such as North America and Europe. So, a big thank-you goes out to the team at Sunlight Station, and once again, you can take this review with a grain of salt.
Let’s go.
Traction:
The Sonic VIII Team offers a solid rubber outsole that Li-Ning calls “Tuff RB”; it is a hard, durable rubber with decently deep and fairly widely-spaced grooves. The pattern itself is a bladed traction pattern with a radial pivot point at the ball of the foot. This pattern gives you coverage in all directions.
The outsole is perfect for outdoor use. It is durable and performs well, biting multiple surfaces regardless of any debris. It also works equally well on an indoor court. Barely picks up any dust, has a nice squeak, and maintains a nice stopping power through a whole game.
More companies should offer an outsole like this that can stand up to harsh, abrasive outdoor surfaces and yet offer an excellent experience indoors.
Cushion:
The foam cushion offered by Li-Ning on the Sonic VIII Team is called “Light Foam”, and is most likely a straight-forward EVA blend from Li-Ning.
I really like it. It’s smooth, has a nice little spring to it, you get good compression at the heel and a nice plush feeling on those hard heel-strikes, and it’s firm enough up front to be supportive and stable. It’s a really excellent all-around set-up.
The insole is also very thick and made out of foam, sort of similar to what Nike did with the Air Zoom BB NXT, although obviously not with React, but it’s like another layer of cushion.
Overall, if you want a comparison to how the cushion feels, it’s something of a cross between Adidas’ Lightstrike mixed with Nike’s Cushlon or Adidas’ Bounce foam. Now, I know these are generally pretty well regarded cushions, so that should let you know how much I like the cushion on these!
Fit:
True-to-size.
I’m usually a men’s size 11 US, I was sent an 11, they fit me perfectly.
Even width-wise, as a wide-footer, they are a great fit. That’s another reason why I like these so much, as it can be tough for wide-footers to find accommodating sneakers in their true size. I would definitely recommend these for wide-footers.
I would recommend normal-footers also stay TTS, while narrow-footers might want to consider going down half-a-size for a snug fit.
Support:
The support on the Sonic VIII Team is basic but effective.
You have a forefoot base that’s not overly wide nor overly flat, but it does extend out ever-so-slightly for a small lateral outrigger; some might refer to it as a “kickstand”. However, this small outrigger does its job very effectively, I noticed it working hard to keep my foot stable on a hard change of direction on a dribble move.
As far as the rest of the sneaker, you do sit quite a bit within the midsole foam cushion, giving you a bumper to avoid going over the edge, In the places where the midsole dips lower, there are overlay materials reinforcing the upper in those specific places offering further support to the upper, and the sneaker in general.
You have a small TPU torsional bar at the mid-foot, it is positioned ever so slightly further back than usual towards the heel, but nothing dramatic. Then you have a beefy internal TPU heel counter, along with sturdy TPU and synthetic overlays at the rear of the sneaker as well.
The lacing system is traditional, with a tongue along with laces attached via nylon “cables”. On the lateral side, these cables run straight down to the midsole, while on the medial side, these cable attach into Jordan Brand-style nylon strands that are stitched to the midsole.
Altogether, you feel well supported and well contained in this sneaker.
Materials:
The materials on the Sonic VIII Team are pretty basic.
Nothing special, but they get the job done from a performance standpoint,
The upper is primarily made up of a basic textile mesh, with some fuse overlays that Li-Ning refers to as the “Ultra Shell”. These are not excessive, and they are purposeful in that they offer durability and additional support (as discussed earlier). The rest of the upper does offer some okay synthetic leather material on the medial side (hey, it’s nicer than anything we got on the Anta KT6), along with a touch of synthetic nubuck leather at the heel and for the pull-tab.
The tongue is made of an open-cell mesh similar to the Nike “Torch” system, material they used for the tongue of sneakers such as the Kobe 5. It’s really breathable and offers the sneaker a lot of ventilation.
Although the materials are not super premium, what they do allow is for Li-Ning to keep the cost of the sneaker lower, and moreover they offer durability without sacrificing breathability, and offer support without needing huge break-in time. My break-in time was almost non-existent for these, they were pretty much good to go right out of the box.
That’s it for my thoughts on the Li-Ning Sonic VIII Team.
I’ll be honest, when I saw what Sunlight Station were sending me and I went to the website to check them out, they retail for just AU$85, and I honestly wasn’t expecting much for that price.
But oh my goodness, did these far exceed my expectations. Not only are they good, they might be one of the best performers of 2020. And not only are one of the best performers of 2020, they might be one of my favourite sneakers ever. Legit.
So thank-you so much once again to the team over at Sunlight Station for sending me these. They are an awesome shoe and I appreciate that I got to try them out.
As I said, you can head to Sunlight Station right now and pick up a pair for just AU$85 plus tax (so for us here in Australia, that is the 10% GST giving them a final retail of AU$93.50 + shipping). Even after tax, that’s a heck of a deal.
The reason I like them so much is because I could just put them on, and go out and play. I didn’t have to worry about them, and I would forget I was even wearing them. Other sneakers like that for me are the Nike Kyrie 4 & the Adidas Pro Bounce 2018 Low, and I hold those in extremely high regard. The Li-Ning Sonic VIII Team are right up there with them, and I’m deadly serious about that. These and the Dame 6s — which they also remind me of a little bit — are my favourite sneakers of the past year and a half.
Don’t sleep on these. Consider a pair of Li-Nings. You won’t regret it.
Keep an eye out for the video review coming, I will link it here in the written review when it’s ready.
Thanks for reading!
~ Dan aka Hoops Sneakers.
Price:
The Li-Ning Sonic VIII Team retails for US$65 + tax + shipping
Get them at Sunlight Station
Weight:
The Li-Ning Sonic VIII Team in a men’s size US 11 weighs 429 grams (15.1 ounces)
Score:
5/5. The Sonic VIII Teams are awesome.
Hoops Sneakers 