KSwiss K-Frame Speed Men's Review

The K-Frame Speeds earned very high marks from our team in the comfort category. The underfoot cushioning was held in particularly high regard as was the feel of the uppers. These K-Frame Speeds fit Chris exceptionally well and provided great comfort without making him feel disconnected from the court. He explained, "I loved playing in the K-Frame Speeds. The shoes fit my feet very well, and I was able to find a supportive fit without having to crank down on the laces too much. The glove-like fit kept my feet from sliding around inside the shoes, which helped eliminate any issues from rubbing or blisters. There was enough cushioning for comfort, but not enough to make me feel disconnected from the court. The uppers breathed well, and my feet didn’t overheat in these shoes. The K-Frame Speeds offer ample rigidity under my arches to keep my feet feeling safe and supported during quick sprints."

Although Munish experienced a snug fit on the sides of his feet, he still appreciated how the K-Frame Speeds felt under his feet and behind his heel. He said, “These K-Frame Speeds felt quite tight on the sides as soon as I put on. The underfoot cushioning is great, and the extra padding on the internal heel is really soft and comfortable. The ventilation was quite impressive considering the amount of TPU on the upper. The comfort is honestly pretty good, but the width being quite tight for me (even after wearing them a few hours) takes a few points away from the comfort aspect."

Oak was blown away by the comfort of these K-Frame Speeds from the first try-on to the end of the playtest. He said, "Can court shoes really be this comfortable? Without a doubt for me, these K-Frame Speeds are the shoes of the year! What an absolute pleasure these shoes are to wear and use on court. I don't know if I've ever tried something with this good of a blend between comfort and functionality. There are unreal levels of plushness around the heel, and I was extremely excited to try these on court. They’re just an unreal pair of court shoes. This is what I imagine people felt like when they tried the Nike GP Turbos for the first time. These K-Frame Speeds have blown every other shoe I’ve tried this year out of the water. I feel confident saying these will be my shoes of choice for quite some time."

Jason found the K-Frame Speeds more comfortable than anticipated, although not quite as comfortable as some other shoes from KSwiss. He said, "For speed-oriented shoes, the K-Frame Speeds had good comfort and cushioning. They aren’t as plush as the Pinnacle, but I was happy with the level of cushioning I received. As for the fit, I thought the toe box felt a bit narrower than other KSwiss models, but it wasn’t an issue for me because the uppers are pretty flexible."

The support and stability of the K-Frame Speeds proved to be their highest scoring feature among the team, which is even more impressive considering their weight. The reliable and secure feel is what sets the K-Frame Speeds apart from the competition for Jason. He described, "This is where I think these shoes really shine. They offer fantastic support and stability. I felt really locked in and secure once my feet were in the K-Frame Speeds and my laces were tied up tightly. When moving side to side, planting and changing directions, the uppers held my feet securely."

Oak was thoroughly impressed by how well the K-Frame Speeds worked for his aggressive style of movement. He explained, "I'm immensely satisfied with how these K-Frame Speeds perform in terms of their stability and support. It felt like the shoes' cushioning was working seamlessly to make me feel more supported and sturdy as opposed to giving way and not being supportive, which some plusher shoes tend to do for me. I loved the amount of stability these K-Frame Speeds had even with their slightly higher profile. I never once felt like I was going to roll over in the K-Frame Speeds, and I loved being able to trust them on court. They were also great for landing when I found myself up in the air, which I often seem to do."

The K-Frame Speeds maximized Chris' mobility on court. He said, "I liked the ride I found in the K-Frame Speeds. I found the stability to be very good as well, and I never felt like I was going to roll an ankle. Thanks to the way the shoes held my feet and felt very secure, I was moving around the court as well as I could. No complaints from me here."

Munish found the support to be right in that Goldilocks realm of neither too flimsy nor too overbuilt. He noted, "I loved the bootie-like fit. It held my feet really well, and the extra padding on the heel made it even more secure. I think the laces of these shoes need to be complimented because they do a very good job of cinching up and holding tension. The K-Frame Speeds are heavy enough to feel stable, but they’re still speedy enough to run down shots without feeling like I'm dragging behind."

The K-Frame Speeds exceeded expectations when it came to durability, and they earned relatively high marks across the board. Jason found good durability when he took the shoes’ weight into consideration, and he noted that he could have easily doubled his time in them. He said, "I think the outsoles held up better than most other lightweight shoe models. That's not to say that these would be considered durable shoes, but for what they are, the durability was really good. I put about 12 hours on my pair and could easily do another 12."

While Munish had some initial concerns about the lacing system of the K-Frame Speeds, the shoes held up very well over the course of the test. He said, "I don't see any form of wear on my pair of K-Frame Speeds. I don't drag much, so I already doubted that I would see any wear anyway. I would like to mention that the eyelets that hold the last few laces are prone to tearing. I like really cinching up my laces, and when I initially put on the K-Frame Speeds I heard a little bit of tearing on the cloth part of the eyelet when I pulled on one of the laces. I never did tear through them after the dozens of times I put these shoes on throughout the playtest, but it's something that concerned me initially."

Although Oak experienced some issues with toe durability, he found the outsole and upper durability to be excellent. He said, "While the upper and the sole have held up exceptionally well, the toe section just under the raised TPU bit in the forefoot has burned through a little more than I would've liked to see. I will be so disappointed if I can't keep wearing my K-Frame Speeds due to that area of wear. Other than that, the shoes have held up surprisingly well for their lightweight construction."

Chris found good durability from the soles of his K-Frame Speeds, but he noted some slight toe wear. He explained, "The K-Frame Speeds held up well for me. I found the outsoles to last better than the KSwiss Pinnacles we recently tested. Even my high-wear areas were only showing slight wear. The uppers held up decently too. I had some scuffing at the toe tips of my shoes at the end of the test, but there was still plenty of material left."

Traction-wise, the K-Frame Speeds could handle whatever our playtesters asked of them. They were slick enough for sliding, grippy enough for quick stops and versatile enough to seamlessly transition between offense and defense. Chris was able to slide occasionally in the K-Frame Speeds, even though it's not one of his go-to moves. He also found enough grip to feel sure-footed. He said, "The amount of grip I found from the K-Frame Speeds was mostly good. There was enough give to allow me to pivot and take small adjustment steps without feeling like there was so much traction that I was stuck to the court. I did slide a little bit in these shoes. I'm not a huge slider on hard courts, but I found myself sliding more than usual in these K-Frame Speeds. I think if you like to slide into shots, you'll enjoy the blend of grip and give these K-Frame Speeds offer."

Despite not being much of a slider on hard courts, Munish found himself going for slides regularly in the K-Frame Speeds. He said, "I liked the traction on these shoes. It's not slick or anything, but I was able to slide once in a while, and I am not a slider. I liked the combination of it all, honestly. The little bit of sliding when needed is pretty great, but also being able to plant, turn and really take off for a ball without any worry of my feet sliding out beneath me.”

Oak had no complaints when it came to traction, and he loved the versatility of the K-Frame Speeds. He explained, "The K-Frame Speeds are supplying great traction thus far. I really like their connection to the court, and letting myself run freely in these shoes has been a blast. These K-Frame Speeds have that perfect blend of grip and give to make pivoting, sliding, jumping and split-stepping all feel seamless."

The traction left Jason feeling sure-footed, but able to slide if need be. He described, "The Dragguard 7.0 rubber compound offered really good traction on our indoor hard court, but it wasn't so sticky that I felt like my feet were getting stuck when trying to pivot. There was enough give that I could still slide out of my shots a bit when needed."

Although the K-Frame Speeds weighed in at about 14.4 ounces in a size 10.5 US men's, most of the team found them to feel quite light on court. Jason thought the K-Frame Speeds provided good mobility and responsiveness despite their medium-weight construction. He said, "I felt quick on my feet in these K-Frame Speeds. They aren't the lightest shoes I've tested, or even the lightest in KSwiss' lineup, but they feel quick thanks to their low-to-the-ground ride and smooth heel-to-toe transition."

Munish also found the K-Frame Speeds to feel lighter than their actual weight. He said, "These K-Frame Speeds don't really feel that heavy. I didn't feel slow at any point nor did it feel like they were weighing me down. In my opinion, KSwiss does a great job making its shoes feel a lot lighter than their actual weight, especially with the K-Frames and the Ultrashot 4s.”

The weight of the K-Frame Speeds was very impressive to Oak considering the amount of support they delivered. He described, "I love how these K-Frame Speeds are under the 15-ounce mark in a size 10.5, with my size 9.5 coming in at about 13.7 ounces. For how light these K-Frame Speeds feel relative to some of the more substantial court shoes out there, I'm downright amazed at the stability-to-weight ratio."

Chris had no issues with the weight of the K-Frame Speeds. He said, "I was able to play in the K-Frame Speeds without giving them a second thought, which meant the shoes were doing their job and allowing me to focus on my game. Considering all of the comfort, support and stability these shoes offered, I'd say what weight there is in the K-Frame Speeds has been put to good use."