I really quite liked the way the Yu Shuai 14s looked when they were first revealed online. Despite comparisons to the Under Armour Curry 4, Hyperdunk 2012 and claims of being “Jordan knock-offs”, I think the aesthetics hold up in their own right.
Of course, then, I was very excited when Sunlight Station reached out to me and said they wanted to send me a pair. I eagerly accepted their offer, and these bad boys arrived at my door just a couple of days later.
With that being said — yes, this is another review of a product I’ve had sent to me. As always with my reviews, you can take my opinion for what it’s worth (which you should probably do with all reviews, honestly — nothing is gospel). Without further preamble, let’s get into the review.
Traction:
Admittedly, I was skeptical of the traction pattern when I first got the sneaker in-hand.
The traction is made up circular dagger/shuriken style patterns within little circles, which span the length of the outsole. On top of this non-traditional pattern, the outsole is quite flat, with not many peaks/ridges on the outsole to aid with grip/bite.
However, the outsole works really well to deliver outstanding traction.
On top of the flat, non-traditional pattern, this particular colourway of the Yu Shuai 14 uses translucent rubber. I should have known better than to be dubious of a translucent rubber from a Chinese company, however, as they usually knock it out of the park, and these are no exception.
It does take a couple of short wears to “break-in” the traction, but once you’ve erased that slick factory finish, these work like a charm. The advantage to having a flatter pattern is that there is less places for dust and debris to get caught up, and even if it does, it’s a really light wipe and you’re good to go. I barely needed to wipe these at all during my games, as dust is hardly an issue.
It’s a pretty silent traction pattern, only giving out a modest squeak if you really slide them across or jab them into the floor, but you can be assured that they’ll have you stopping, starting, cutting and planting exactly when you need.
Cushion:
Li-Ning implements a “Lightfoam” foam cushion midsole in the Yu Shuai 14, their standard foam blend and the same cushion used in the Sonic VIII Team. This cushion is quickly becoming one of my favourites. It offers a great balance of a plush ride with great impact protection. It’s full-length on top of that, and available at a great price point.
In addition to the foam cushion, Li-Ning complements their midsoles with excellent, thick cushioned insoles that add step-in comfort and just a further level of cushion. Having experienced Lightfoam in two different Li-Ning sneakers now and having amazing experiences with both, I would have to say that Lightfoam is one of my favourite cushions along with Adidas’ Lightstrike & Anta’s A-Flashfoam.
Fit:
I was sent a size 10.5 US men’s in the Yu Shuai 14, where my true size is 11.
I wore an 11 in the Sonic VIII Team, and they were a great fit for me.
While I could make the 10.5 work, I really would have liked to try them TTS. They did break in ok, but I really think I would’ve enjoyed them much more in an 11.
With that being said, it’s worth remembering that I’m a wide-footer, so my recommendation for some people would be that they should consider going a half-down from their normal size for that really snug 1-to-1 fit, or else go with their normal size for a bit more wiggle room. Wide-footers should also be fine going true to size, and I don’t think I would recommend going up half a size because, as I mentioned, the materials do have some give and break in over time.
Support:
The Yu Shuai 14 is an extremely supportive sneaker.
Starting from the ground up, you have a flat forefoot base, albeit one that’s not super wide.
There is a TPU spring-plate for torsional rigidity, that also extends up & wraps the lateral side at the mid-foot and also peeks out on the medial side. You can definitely feel this piece working to keep your foot where it needs to be on the foot-bed.
You then sit quite considerably within the foam midsole, once again acting as a bumper to keep you on the foot-bed. The upper is also reinforced with fuse overlays at the lateral forefoot as added protection.
You have a beefy internal heel counter, and a traditional lacing system with cable lace loops that extend all the way down the inside of the upper and are attached to the midsole/strobel board.
To top it all off, the Yu Shuai 14 comes with a mid-to-high top upper with that additional height at the ankle collar for those that feel more comfortable that restriction of ankle mobility helps in preventing ankle injuries (not that this is true of course, but the perception pervades for many).
Materials:
The materials of the Yu Shuai 14 are pretty straight-forward.
You have a mix of textile mesh (very close to a premium knit on the medial side of the upper), fuse and synthetics.
The synthetics they did use on the tongue and in small amount on the heel actually feel quite nice, and give the sneaker a very slight premium feel, but at the end of the day they are still synthetics trying very hard to act like real leather. As mentioned, Li-Ning also does a great job with some of the mesh feeling like a true knit (although not necessarily behaving like it).
The shoe does lack ventilation, despite it looking well ventilated. The mesh is all backed by a pretty heavy nylon material, and while the tongue has the appearance of the Nike “Torch” system, it too is backed by a heavy nylon/neoprene that offers no ventilation whatsoever.
Overall, the materials offer great support and have a fairly minimal break-in time, so like with most modern sneakers, they do their job performance-wise. Li-Ning has also made genuine effort to make the materials somewhat aesthetically pleasing too.
That takes care of it for my performance review of the Yu Shuai 14 from Li-Ning.
I have now played in two sneakers from Li-Ning, and had favourable experiences in both. Had I reviewed in these in my true size 11, I feel like I would’ve enjoyed them even more. As it stands now, they are an extremely solid option that I can definitely recommend to someone looking to try something different (especially at the price point!)
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 Yu Shuai retails for US$117 (and actually comes in slightly cheaper for Australians with a retail price of AU$115.50).
You can get the Li-Ning Yu Shuai 14 Low on Amazon here and the pair I reviewed is available from Sunlight Station here.
Weight:
The Li-Ning Yu Shuai 14 in a men’s size 10.5 US weighs 465 grams (16.4 ounces)
Score:
I give the Li-Ning Yu Shuai 14 a score of 4.6/5.
Hoops Sneakers 