NIKE LUNAR CONTROL REVIEW

[jsherman02]

Best shoes under $150

On average, a golfer walks over 26,000 feet per round. (about five miles) To say the least, choosing the right shoes can make or break your round. I recently picked up a pair of Nike's Lunar control shoes. I was quite excited with the technology in this shoe as well as the incredible looks and detail.

Performance inside and out.



The new Nike Lunar Control, officially launched on January 1, 2011, is engineered with the ingredients of the perfect golf shoe that combines stability and comfort in a lightweight design. In order to achieve these optimal combinations that create the essence of athletic golf, Nike Golf collaborated with Nike athlete Paul Casey in the development of the Lunar Control.

“Paul is extremely savvy about footwear,” said Doug Reed, Global Category Business Director for Apparel, Footwear and Accessories. “He not only knows what he wants in performance golf shoes, but he also has a keen eye for design and color which made him a perfect muse for the Lunar Control. He can pick up a shoe and just by feeling it, have an immediate sense of weight. He worked with us throughout this project and provided his feedback at every stage.”

The Nike Lunar Control features a familiar saddle design fused with innovative materials and construction technologies found in Nike running shoes. Those key technologies are Nike’s Lunarlon Foam and Nike Flywire. Together they bring comfort and stability solutions to golfers.

Developed in Nike’s Innovation Kitchen, Lunarlon cushioning system is another proprietary technology from Nike that offers underfoot comfort, ground feel and stability. The Lunarlon Foam midsole is lightweight, durable and highly responsive resulting in a unique combination of cushioning and support.

Also featured is the lightweight stability layer, achieved through Nike Flywire technology. Flywire is the ideal stability technology, providing targeted support right where golfers need it. The lightweight structure of the saddle panel works the foot naturally. An ultra-strong yet ultra-lightweight construction of high-tensile fibers combine with a TPU overlay to provide a dynamic and supportive fit in the midfoot that won’t stretch out over time.

The Nike Lunar Control has a waterproof, leather upper that is reinforced by an additional waterproof surface treatment. The Nike Lunar Control is built on a next generation of the Nike Power Platform outsole. The new design features a secondary Power Channel in the forefoot to allow more flexibility and greater natural motion.

Key Features:

• Waterproof premium leather upper
• Flywire midfoot saddle
• Lunarlon cushioning in heel
• Nike Power Platform
• 2-year Waterproof Warranty

Colors: White/Black-Metallic Pewter; Black/Metallic Silver-Black; White/Metallic Silver-Volt-Black; White/Black-Varsity Red
After a number of rounds, here are my thoughts on the Lunar Control lineup.


FEEL/COMFORT (5/5)

Nike has made some incredible advancements over the years and this lineup may have the biggest advancements yet. First, they have added Lunarlon Foam for incredible cushioning. If you are not familiar with Lunar foam, Nike has used this is their high end running and basketball shoes for the past couple of years. I personally run in a pair of Nike's Lunar Eclipse which is like running on clouds. Nike took the same concept to this year’s Lunar Control. When I first tried the shoes on they felt like they were custom made for me. The feel was second to none. These are not your father's golf shoes as these do not take half a dozen wears to break them in; They have NO break in period. They also run true to size in both length and width. (My standard athletic shoe size) After playing in them for a few rounds, my opinion has not changed. In fact, I like them even more than I did when I first received them. This last seems like it was made for my foot. After talking with a number of users, they all say the same thing. The Lunar Control's are among the most comfortable shoes in the market at any price point.







LOOKS/STYLE (4.5/5)

Looks and or aesthetics on any shoe are very subjective. I love the look of the Lunar Control lineup and really had a hard time selecting one colorway. Nike has done a great job with regards to quality, and details on these. The attention to detail really stands out on the lineup. The color coordinated flywire and colored spikes makes these look like a much higher priced shoe. I really was impressed with the quality of these. The pebble grain leather is really well done on every pair. Here are some real-life pictures of the pair I am reviewing.












TECHNOLOGY (4.5/5)

Nike has built this shoe off their very popular power platform chassis. They have changed the cushioning system to the incredibly soft Lunarlon foam. The addition of flywire which really helps the stability of the shoe. The Pebble grain leather is produced with a special treatment from Sadesa to increase the waterproof resistance. The Lunar Control lineup has a 2 year waterproof warranty. I have tested out the waterproofness on two occasions and the shoes really performed! The standard cleats/spikes set up are Scorpion's Stinger.




STABILITY (5/5)

I was really impressed the stability of this shoe. I am 5 foot 10 and 170 pounds and this shoe really performed on every swing. The power platform does a great job of keeping you moving through your shot without feeling like you are stuck due to inflexible shoes. I had no slippage at any time while wearing the Lunar Control shoes. Nike did a great job with the power platform in both terms of form and function.



DURABLITY (5/5)

Durability has been tremendous for me. Outside of subbing my toe on a cart path, they are flawless. The leather uppers show very few creases and the rest of the shoes look perfect. I have used Lexol leather cleaner after every round and they look great. I am one of "those" people who clean their shoes after every wearing. I also use shoe trees to keep them in good shape.


OVERALL (4.75/5)

I have been fortunate to try and use a number of golf shoes. The Lunar Control is by far one of my favorites. I love the low to ground feel, the soft cushion Lunar foam set up, and the very modern yet retro looks. NIKE says this shoe has performance inside and out, I do not disagree with them. My only request from Nike would be is to add this shoe to their ever growing and popular NIKE ID site; (where you could customize your own pair) For $150, I think you will be hard pressed to find a better looking and performing shoe. I liked them so much that I have ordered a second pair!

[Minarets]

Nice review. Thanks. I too fell in love with these shoes. I wanted some echo street premiers or some puma harpia but after trying on the lunar controls, I think that is what I will be getting. Good prices on eBay for $100 and

I'm still gaming the all white adidas adipures, but these will be the next for me.

[Minarets]

I will also add the heel cushioning is awesome. That is a big thing for me in my golf shoes and it's the best I have felt yet. All this years high end nikes have it though.

[jsherman02]

Great shoes. I also ordered the white/gray/black.

[Sakman]

Bumpty bump...

[drck1000]

I have one in black and as the OP said, no break in period for these. These were super comfortable right out of the box. I've played a few rounds with these and they are just great. Nike seems to fit me well and I have all Nike athletic shoes (running, cross trainers, basketball and golf), but these are more comfortable that my previous pairs of Nike golf shoes. The footbed is very comfortable and is the aspect that I was most impressed with.

For me, the part of the shoe that normally takes time for me to break in is near the toe-break line is. When new, some of my previous golf shoes tended to slip a little in the heel until the toe-break area broke in after about 9 holes. I didn't notice that with this pair. Seems like there were broken in right away. I plan on walking more as I start to squeeze in 9 holes after work and I am sure these will be great for that.

I've even had a chance to test how waterproof these are. Went through a downpour in a recent round and had to walk through soggy turf/dirt for the majority of the round and my feet were dry as long as I didn't get any water in over the laces.

[ZBigStick]

Do you live in Beaverton?

Very complete review on a very nice shoe. Really a shoe Nike should have produced years ago, but they are going in the right direction.

I like your idea of Nike iD.

I was a Nike ONLY guy from high school through College and would fit in their demographic, yet this is one of only a few shoes they have made in the last while that really has my attention. If they could get Tinker to try his hand at goof shoes, you could have people lining up outside of Golf Galaxys to cop a fresh pair.

[TAG617]

[quote name='Minarets' timestamp='1297619827' post='2973193']
Nice review. Thanks. I too fell in love with these shoes. I wanted some echo street premiers or some puma harpia but after trying on the lunar controls, I think that is what I will be getting. Good prices on eBay for $100 and

I'm still gaming the all white adidas adipures, but these will be the next for me.
[/quote]

I'm between the Adipure and the Lunar Controls. Which do you feel are better? I walk most of the time and just looking for a comfortable shoe.

[UnderPar18]

Lunar Controls are VERRYYY comfortable. I picked up the same ones pictures in this topic and will be buying the black ones too! Awesome shoe by Nike and looks like the pros were using them in the special edition master colors last week

[yoshiod9]

I agree the Lunar Controls are [b]very [/b]comfortable shoes.

If I was going to spend $9 more, though, I'd buy another pair of the TrueLinkswear Tours. I've been a Nike guy for a long time and the Trues are amazing. They're like wearing a lower-profile, golf-specific pair of Nike Free. I love them.

[emperor91108]

I had my mind set on buying a pair of ecco shoes and tried these on just to see. I could not believe how good these felt compare to others. I love my pair. Amazing shoe.

[jkim23]

Does anyone know which spike type these shoes utilize? Because on the info sheet from Nike it states that it uses the Tri-Lok system, but I've had a bunch of Nike golf shoes and they were all Q-Lok.

[aveb4life]

They use the stinger tri-lok. Here's my review of them on NGN

[url="http://ngnation.com/2011/06/23/product-review-nike-2011-lunar-control-golf-shoes-2/"]http://ngnation.com/...l-golf-shoes-2/[/url]

[JohnnyV]

Not true. Just replaced my spikes and they use the tri-lok system.

Most of Nike's shoes changed for the 2011 year...tour premiums and lunars both use the tri-loks.

[miamigolfman]

i wish they would put these on the Nike ID site...

[b][i][u]customs would sell like hot cakes!!![/u][/i][/b]

[scratchswinger]

How breathable are these shoes on hot days? My feet always get hot in golf shoes. Thx