Performance Review: Under Armour Curry 3

With the Curry 4 already in the market for some time now and have received both good and not so good feedbacks, is it a good choice to check out the Curry 3 since it is already hitting the shelf racks as months go by? Here is my performance review for the Under Armour Curry 3. In case you forgot the tech specs, I have placed them at the Best Foot Forward post of the shoe <HERE>. Now let's check out the shoe.

Materials: 4.25/5

Anafoam in the medial side of the shoe.

Threadborne upper placed on the lateral side of the shoe.

The Under Armour Curry features a Threadborne upper in the lateral aspect of the shoe with Anafoam in the medial side. The Threadborne upper is lightweight and quite durable. For good measure, fuse areas were placed on the toe guard up to the sides for more protection. The Anafoam provides a form-fitting feel as especially once you used it for some time. What it does is it minimizes dead space which would benefit those who love a snug fit. Being placed on the medial and the Threadborne only, it isn't really lightweight all throughout because of the midsole foam which is kinda bulky. However, you still get a durable upper so, there's nothing too much to complain about.

Cushion: 4.25/5

As I said earlier, the foam is kinda thick that makes it look bulky and it was even used as a heel counter which you can see in the image above. Charged cushion was used and can be felt in the heel area with a firmer Micro-G foam used throughout the rest of the midsole. It's not as low-to-the ground as quick guards would want it to be, but the rest of the foam is kinda stiff so responsiveness is somewhat attained. However, my feet aren't and joints aren't that painful after long game sessions so the cushion still gets the job done. Also, the insole that they provided were a bit plush as well so step-in comfort is nice especially during lull moments. Here is the thing, I have tried the the Curry 4 in store and it is lightweight but I think it doesn't provide too much impact protection that I would want. I believe that I would benefit from the cushioning of the Curry 3 than the Curry 4. Sure, I wasn't able to test them properly in court in a real performance review setting. But there are times that I just have to trust in your gut feel that I won't enjoy the cushioning in terms of impact protection as it is somewhat minimalist. The foam used in the Curry 4 is light which is a big plus and those who rely on speed and quickness will really love it. But if you are like me that need some impact protection, this might be a better option. Not to mention, this is much cheaper now since the shoe is not the latest model so to speak. I even got the shoe on sale when I purchased it.

Traction: 4.5/5

I think this is the highlight of the shoe. Herringbone traction matter for the most part and in the forefoot area, it is done in a multi-directional fashion. If I'm not mistaken there are colorways that features translucent rubber as well. But for this specific colorway, this one is a solid rubber. I played mostly indoors when I'm testing this shoe so I wasn't able to check out the sole's durability when I played on rough outdoor surfaces. In terms of court grip, this one made me play with no hesitation. Whether it's curling from a screen, chasing someone from numerous screens when I'm playing D, it didn't failed me. Even when the court is dusty, it still plays great with some minimal wipings. When the court is clean, man, court grip is attained very easily. I would have given this area a higher rating if I had the chance to use this outdoors, assuming that the solid rubber is durable. But still, I think that this is the shoe's best attribute.

Fit: 4.5/5

Fit is true to size so I suggest you get your usual size. You can see 2 different lacing systems in the medial and lateral aspects of the shoe. What it does is it makes adjusting your laces pretty easily. Also, it is somewhat asymmetrical so the material hugs your feet more and combined with the Anafoam in the medial that extends to the heel area, a more snug fit can be obtained. For support, the Meta Wings which is located in the sides provide structural support when moving side to side. Underneath is also a TPU plate for torsional support. As mentioned in the cushioning, the foam extends up to the heel and acts as a heel counter. Although it makes the shoe feel bulkier, I personally felt more secured so I'm not worried about instability and in fact felt more confident since the base is flat and forefoot is quite wide so you can set up a shot more quickly because it is stable.

Price: 4.5/5

Let me get this straight, the reason why this is the first time that I reviewed an Under Armour shoe is because the price is really throwing me off. The price here in the Philippines is somewhat high even the team models. The fact that Curry's popularity is off the charts, also doesn't help so copping an Under Armour isn't on top of my list. Trying this shoe, I could say that it somewhat justifies the pricing (just speaking for myself). However, this is relatively an old model now that the Curry 4 is already available so what I would suggest is that when you come across sales like the one that I saw at Titan where they have this on sale for just Php 3,997 this is an easy auto-cop in my opinion. For less than Php 4,000 you get a solid shoe which is quite durable and provides good impact protection and great traction.

Conclusion: 

The Under Armour Curry 3 is a solid shoe. With different opinions being thrown at the Curry 4 especially in the cushioning department, I think this shoe will cater to more player types since it has more impact protection. The weight could be put to question as it feels bulky, however support isn't compromised so it is a good trade off if you ask me. But I would really suggest that you try to look for this shoe during sale since you get all these good things for a cheaper price. I am really surprised when Titan tagged this with a big discount because the Curry 4 isn't around yet that time and between this and the Curry 3Zero, there really isn't too much of a difference, just in the tooling that keeps it more lighter but the change isn't very drastic when you compare the Curry 3 and 4. Am I happy with how the shoe performed? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes, and I hope you get them at a cheaper price as well.

Analykix Rating: 4.4/5 GOOD BUY