Let’s wind the clocks back 3 years – the year where we saw Adidas on an unbelievable roll, putting out fire after fire shoes for us to play, and for a surprisingly kick-ass price. This is why today I’m bringing you my Adidas Crazy Explosive Primeknit review.
I think a lot of us, myself included, particularly remember this one as being arguably the best hoop sneaker in the last few years.
THE CRAZY EXPLOSIVE PRIMEKNIT 2017 IS SOMETHING ELSE…
I’ve brought out this beast which I bought three years ago and actually kept playing ever since, despite constantly keeping up with the new releases.
The CE 2017 PK is just something that I never let go of, which is why I’d like to put you guys on the map and break it down, in case someone has missed the opportunity to check these out.
Since they’re still available on several places to get, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t – 2017 or not, the review will speak the rest.
Let’s go!
SPEC SHEET
Model: Adidas Crazy Explosive 2017 Primeknit
Build: Mid-Top (w/ high ankle sleeve)
Weight: 15.4 oz / 437 g. (size 10 US)
Retail Price: $150
Cushion: Full-length Boost
I. COMFORT & FIT
Even though the shoe is a fantastic option due to it being solid in all aspects, the fit and the comfort experience is one of the highlights. Adidas is known for their weird and inconsistent sizing throughout their releases, that stuff still happens to this day.
Not the case for 2017’s Crazy Explosive PK though – the fit is god-like, exactly as I remember during my first shootarounds. These should fit your regular true size, even for wide footers. I’m a wide footer myself and went true to size – no problems pretty much from day one.
The soft Primeknit upper, sock-like ankle collar that actually enhances the experience without being a gimmick, plus the super accurate and pleasant internal padding truly makes wearing these a joy. Virtually zero break-in time, very high breathability, and the sheer light feeling you get while moving in these are special.
They rarely make ’em like that today (I know, there are great releases still, I just miss Yeezy 350 uppers), and putting these on speaks for itself.
You can be rest assured about the comfort and fit accuracy on these – the shoe got you covered here.
II. TRACTION
The traction on these is fantastic and consistent – that would pretty much tell you most of what you need to know about it.
The outsole can seem fishy and unreliable while taking a look if you’ve seen plenty of rubber and patterns used on shoes, but the shoe grips the floor great, indoors, or outdoors.
Dust definitely is a factor though – the pattern is spaced out enough to where dust quickly makes an entrance, however, it is also spaced enough to where a quick wipe or two once in a while takes care of the issue, and you’re good to go.
Not that I slipped many times – in fact, I don’t remember any major slip that would be caused by the shoe’s bite.
They’re not the most durable shoe in the world for hooping outdoors, but I have two pairs for 3 years and the traction still holds up outside. It’s probably not at a hundred percent but it’s enough to where I still feel fully confident at all times.
It will also depend on the court – I tend to play on softer synthetic rubber court outside, which likely had to do with the rubber holding up for that long. It will last you shorter on concrete but I wouldn’t be afraid to regularly take these to the park.
III. CUSHION
This is the time where Boost was at its finest on Adidas’s basketball shoes. Full-length Boost was used on the Crazy Explosive 2017 PK and it’s still one of the most efficient and versatile setups to this day.
It’s not the softest or bounciest Boost ever but this is for a reason – the Boost foam is caged in a TPU carrier which makes it conform to a certain point where it’s extremely stable, responsive, quick, and still a lot of fun to play in (you can totally feel the bounce).
You can straight away tell that it’s a quality setup that is safe to play in for pretty much all players and playstyles. I don’t see a reason why a quick guard won’t like these or an explosive guard, or a center, or a shooter…
You get the idea.
It’s as versatile as it can get, giving you the best of all worlds, which is all a basketball player needs.
By the way, if you’re wondering, despite me playing in them for three years, with breaks here and there, Boost never blew out or deteriorated. The experience is still great.
I’m not sure if I’m lucky, as some people have reported this issue is apparent, for some as quickly as a few months after purchasing. I would say that the majority don’t have this issue so it’s a good chance you’ll be fine.
IV. SUPPORT
The awesome thing about the CE 2017 PK is it’s extremely versatile and no aspect is lacking. The same is for the shoe’s support.
You could think a soft sock-like upper like this would do a poor job holding your foot in place but thanks to Adidas’s smart implementations to boost the support and lockdown utilizing smart construction makes it all work nicely together.
Your foot sits deeper into the carrier than lots of shoe’s standard, the base of the whole shoe is wide and stable, plus it’s got a torsional shank implemented for torsional structure and proper use of Boost.
And that’s still not it – the TPU cage that holds Boost together also adds to the shoe’s lateral rigidity and support. Yeah, it limits the foam’s capabilities but still makes it an enjoyable experience while playing safely.
The package is a nice blend of everything that works well with one another – awesome!
V. BUILD & MATERIALS
The upper is Adidas’s Primeknit material in all its glory. It’s just a very soft and premium knit material with synthetic reinforcements in certain areas to add structure and improve durability.
It feels great. Just straight-up a basic concept done right and feels premium. I don’t see a reason to complain – sure, this isn’t as durable as the regular mesh version of the shoe or most shoes with more rigid uppers like leather but for a sock, basically – it’s as good as it is.
Three years of play and the upper is still very much intact, with a few chippings and marks here and there. I say that’s more than enough from a knit.
One thing that would be a nitpick but still something I should mention, my laces loosen up pretty quickly despite tightening them up real tight. This was especially apparent for the shoe’s low top version for some reason.
It’s not much of a performance or durability issue but something that’s a bit annoying as you have to constantly stop your tracks and tighten ’em up.
VI. OVERALL
As you can see, I barely have to say anything bad about the CE 2017 PK – in 2022, it’s still among my favorite performance basketball shoes ever.
Everything about it works, there are no gimmicks or fancy tech names to blow something out of proportion. It’s durable for a knit, it’s mad comfortable, feels mobile, and secure to play in, and classic Boost can never feel bad.
Anyone who’s in need of another pair of hoop shoes, no need to worry about it being old – check ’em out and you’ll see that the latest are not always the greatest! It’s a steal at Amazon after a few years, as you can grab them well under retail.
NOTE ON THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS
There are actually four versions of the shoe: there’s the regular CE 2017, the CE 2017 Low, the CE 2017 Primeknit, and the CE 2017 Low Primeknit.
My personal favorite is the mid-top Primeknit. The regular mesh upper versions are great as well but I do prefer the softer and more premium feeling PK upper any day of the week.
You can click the link below to Amazon, and see which versions are available there at the moment!