Athlethic Propulsion Labs (APL) Shoes Review x Kevin Poux

Recently I was given the chance to evaluate a pair of Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) shoes.
Once I learned that I was going to be receiving the opportunity to try out a pair of $300 basketball shoes, I was eager to see what was so special about them that they came with such a hefty price. Before playing in the APL product, I thought it would be smart to read up on them. I came across several articles that spoke about their breakthrough forefoot technology called “Load N’ Launch”, which supposedly helps increase your vertical leap instantly. I must admit, at first I was skeptical, but that soon changed after using the shoes.

I’ve always been quite athletic, but at the same time, not to the point where I could dunk. It has always been one of my dreams, and I tried everything to be able to jump higher. There are obviously ways to increase your jumping ability, including jumping rope and plyometrics. During my high school days, I went out and spent a ton of money on Strength Shoes and Jumpsoles, which although worked to some extent, were extremely heavy, and more importantly, required tons of effort. I used to go to the park after school on most days, and would find myself there for hours taking part in box jumps, lunges, and backboard touches. Although the shoes put more pressure on your calves and made them work harder, I was still convinced that I could increase my leaping ability without them, and that it was more so the exercises rather than the shoes that were helping me jump higher.

That was the major difference I realized between those products and the APL shoes. There was no training involved, no big bulky shoes, no awkward looks from people wondering what I was wearing. With the APL shoes, you can just throw them on and go enjoy playing the game you love. I must say that when I first put them on, they felt a bit uncomfortable at the top of the forefoot, but after a few minutes the discomfort was gone. They were definitely lighter and less bulky than the Nikes that I had been previously playing in. Unfortunately I didn’t do a before measurement of my vertical leap, but I did notice that after a few uses, I was getting to rebounds over taller guys, but more noticeably, the speed at which I was able to land and jump again had definitely increased.

Overall, I would definitely say that the APL shoes made improvements to my jumping ability, but as I mentioned earlier, the most prominent improvement was the quickness of my second jump. At the same time, people often say that with everything, there is a psychological factor involved. By this I mean that maybe the shoe’s technology was the sole contributing factor to my increased ability, or maybe the fact that I was optimistic about what they could do had some sort of psychological effect on me. Either way, the shoes definitely boosted my jumping capabilities. There are ways to improve your jumping ability without the use of any special shoes, but if you have $300 to shell out, then these are definitely worth a try.