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We knew the Nike Hyperdunk 2010 would be a worthy sequel, but the launch of the Hyperfuse seemed to eclipse this design at last week's NYC launch. While LunarLite is the runner's choice, for basketball, it doesn't seem to fare so well, seemingly unable to take the bumps, and losing responsiveness over time. For the second Hyperdunk, it's gone. Looking a lot like a towering version of the Kobe V, it's a lot better than the debut Dunk redux. The midsole is a lot less futuristic too from a visual standpoint—whereas the first version was worthy of comparisons to Marty's Air Mags, this one's more subtle. Well, as subtle as a performance Nike basketball shoe can be.

Released in Summer 2008, the Hyperdunk was a real ambassador for the new wave of innovations—overt Flywire and that newly developed foam were part of the new artillery. For 2010, it's all a lot more self-assured. Flywire is concealed, and despite the look, that sole unit is tweaked to a new level. Good old Phylon is some if-it-ain't-broke business, but rear and front Zoom Air units take the blows (pause) with a certain finesse. We won't lie. We thought we got the short straw when we got these for the Rucker Park wear test rather than the Hyperfuse rocked by the blog masses. After a spot of half-arsed activity, the comfort shone through, and that sleeve-style fit was true, rather than necessitating half a size here or there.

Lightweight and supportive, thanks to additions and alterations that look excellent too—the oversized heel counter offers extra colour options, and that sloped capital letter font still proves effective, but this time it's a little more grounded. The cutaways on the collar still kill it, and those perforations on the medial side, and on both sides of the tongue keep things cool. Most shoes featured on these pages are never put through their paces in any way. Unless you count wandering around a supermarket dazed on Saturday morning as performance.

In fact, seeing as no shoe here has seen any sort of momentum since the LeBron VII, this is a rare occasion where we can testify that these could work on the court as well as day-to-day wear. The fact that Crooked's attendee spent 85% of test time standing on a bench eating bananas and drinking Gatorade is irrelevant. The first version was too sci-fi to rock with denim, but the Hyperdunk 2010 corrects plenty of prior elements that stifled the original. That tongue branding is slick, and while we were introduced to some wacky colours in line with the crazier Hyperfuse makeups, this clean Nike Air Revolution style palette is none-too-shabby, and the finish is subtly pre-creased too. A serious shoe.