361° Zen 3 Performance Review

I’ve always thought the Zen 3 from 361° was an outstanding-looking basketball sneaker. They also received an extremely favourable review from Chris at Weartesters.com.

So, when I was contacted by Morty from 361° Australia to see whether I would be open to being sent a pair for review, I jumped at the opportunity. Not only did I already know I liked them aesthetically, this was a chance to get a pair in hand to try out on the hardwood.

Keep reading for my thoughts on how they performed on court below.

Traction:

The outsole of the Zen 3 incorporates elements of many different traction patterns to offer an overall multi-directional traction. While it’s a pretty flat traction pattern, the rubber compound used is tacky, yet firm, and offers a fantastic bite and squeak on an indoor hardwood floor.

The rubber outsole on the Zen 3, like many sneakers from Chinese shoe companies, is durable enough to hold up for extended outdoor play as well.

Cushion:

Quikfoam Lite is featured on the Zen 3, exposed on the medial side from heel-to-midfoot, while a small portion is exposed at the heel on the lateral side to act as a sort of “crash-pad”, with an additional exposed at the forefoot toe-box.

To the touch, Quikfoam Lite feels like a very plush foam, kind of similar to the “Anti-Flash” that was used for the Anta KT6.

Underfoot, the Quikfoam Lite feels even bouncier and more springy than the cushion of the KT6, to me it feels like my favourite iteration of Lightstrike, the midsole found in the Adidas Dame 6, or another Anta foam, the A-Flashedge midsole from the Anta Sweep 3.

Basically, all this to say it’s one of the best midsole foam cushions I’ve experienced. It’s comfortable, offers great impact protection and has a nice responsive component as well. I was very pleased & impressed with the cushion.

Fit:

Something that was a huge positive for me is that I feel like these fit slightly wide. They run a little long, too, so normal-to-narrow footers may want to consider going down half a size.

As a wide-footer, though, I loved the fit of the Zen 3. I found they fit me wonderfully.

If you wanted a comparison, I think they fit similarly to a Li-Ning sneaker or the Dame line from Adidas.

Support:

The Zen 3 was a very supportive sneaker for me, in my experience with them.

They have all the typical support features one should have come to expect from a modern performance basketball sneaker — a wide, flat forefoot base; an extension of the rubber outsole at the lateral forefoot to act as a ‘bumper’ (I found this piece to be extremely effective on hard stops); a mid-foot TPU shank piece for torsional rigidity, that extends through the rear of the outsole and up onto the heel of the shoe; an internal heel counter; and a padded & sculpted heel area to keep the heel locked into place.

On top of all that, you have a traditional lacing system that locks everything down just as you would expect, and works in concert with all the aforementioned features to keep the heel locked-down and the foot on the footbed.

The materials, while flexible and comfortable, aren’t too stretchy to the point where you feel they lack containment (quite the contrary, actually), and 361° implemented some TPU/Fuse overlays at the high-wear areas for support, as well as durability.

Materials:

Speaking of the materials, they’re nothing special, but they’re also exactly what you have come to expect of a sneaker in this price range.

You mainly find textile mesh and synthetics making up the upper of the Zen 3.

I must admit, the material used at the forefoot/toebox are pretty nice. It resembles Flyknit, it is soft and flexible, but not overly stretchy like some Flyknit was prone to being (such as with the KD11).

I do quite like the tongue of the Zen 3 as well, with the implementation of a Nike Torch-like material for the tongue of the Zen 3. It is well padded but also well ventilated, and soft to the touch.

Overall, the 361° Zen 3 is a really good performance sneaker that, in my opinion, looks great as well.

I’ve had a handful of people over the duration I’ve been posting this sneaker on Instagram compare them to the Adidas Dame 7, as a visual/aesthetic comparison. What I would say is that this sneaker is exactly what I wanted the Dame 7s to be.

It’s funny, the Zen 3 feels like a follow-on from the Adidas Dame 6, to me — they fit me great as a wide-footer, good traction and excellent cushion. I said in my Adidas Dame 7 review that I was disappointed that the Lightstrike cushion didn’t feel the way it did in the 6s. Well, the Quikfoam Lite in the Zen 3 feels like an improvement on the Lightstrike of the Dame 6s — and I love it.

The other thing that makes these sneakers extremely appealing is the price.

They retail for AU$175 at 361australia.com, but you can use my discount code HOOPS30 at checkout for 30% off. This makes them a AU$122.50 sneaker, which is just terrific value for money, in my opinion.

Consider the other sneakers you can get for around that price at full retail in Australia:

• Nike Giannis Immortality, AU$120
• Nike Renew Elevate, AU$120
• Nike Kyrie Flytrap, AU$140

And these are some of the sneakers you can get on discount right now around that price in Australia:

• Puma TRC Blaze Court, AU$120
• Puma Fusion Nitro, AU$140

Even without my voucher, at full retail, these are some of the sneakers that are around that price point at full retail:

• Nike LeBron Witness 7, AU$150
• Adidas Harden Stepback 3, AU$150

• Nike PG 5, AU$160
• Nike Kyrie Low 5, AU$160
• Puma Court Rider 2.0, AU$160
• Under Armour Flow Futr X, AU$170

And here are some sneakers you can get around that price on discount:

• Converse BB Jet, AU$150
• Converse All-Star BB Shift, AU$150
• New Balance TWO WXY V2, AU$150

By all means, people are welcome to stick with the brands they know, and purchase a Nike or Adidas sneaker.

But if you’re wanting to try out something new, which offers exceptional value for money, then I highly recommend giving 361° a try, particularly the Zen 3. It just offers you so much more than other sneakers in the price range would, and do.

~ Dan, aka Hoops Sneakers.

Price:

The 361° Zen 3 retails for AU$175 (AU$122.50 with discount code HOOPS30)

Weight:

The 361° Zen 3 in a men’s size US 11 weighs 453 grams (16 ounces)

Score:

I give the 361° Zen 3 a score of 4.9/5.