Wilson Kaos Men's Shoe Review

Overall Comfort - Score: 3.2

There were some mixed feelings from our testers regarding the comfort of the Kaos shoes. Jason shared, "I thought the cushioning was really good for shoes categorized as lightweight. The uppers were quite soft, so the shoes easily molded to my wider feet without a break-in period. I was a little surprised at the lack of breathability considering how much mesh there appeared to be in the uppers, but I did like that the arch support wasn't too high and quickly formed to my low arches."

Quite pleased with the comfort and cushioning of the shoes, Mark said, "From my first step I could feel their lightness and found them to be very comfortable. After a month of testing the uppers still held their shape nicely, and they were even more comfortable after they'd been broken in."

Troy liked the feel of the Kaos shoes for the most part, but he did have some issues. He critiqued, "I found the Kaos to be pretty comfortable, except for in the toe area. The toe guard was very firm and unforgiving whenever I had to come to a quick stop when running forward. The cushioning in the midsoles was average -- not as plush as my Asics Gel Resolution 6s, but not lacking in cushioning like the Babolat Propulses. The upper materials of the Kaos shoes provided good comfort and breathability, and the built-in tongue provided a glove-like fit around the arch area. The forefoot was a bit wide for my slightly narrow feet. The fit of these shoes reminded me of the Prince T22s. In both shoes I felt locked-in around the midfoot and heel, but the forefoot was a bit too wide."

Andy liked the cushioning but had issues with the feel of the uppers. He shared, "These shoes were pretty middle of the road for me when it came to comfort. On the plus side, there's some nice cushioning underfoot and plenty of room within the shoes to keep my feet from feeling cramped. Breathability was good, and there was sufficient arch support to keep my feet happy during play. However, the uppers felt very 'plastic-y' and sometimes a bit too rigid. They didn't flex with my feet comfortably, which gave me a constant reminder that I had beefy shoes on my feet. In addition, I had some minor issues with the dreaded toe jam on quick stops and slides."

Foot Support/Stability - Score: 3.3

Most of our team found the lateral stability in the Kaos shoes to be pretty good, but all four testers found themselves sliding toward the front of the shoes when making stops while moving forward. This resulted in some toe jamming for Mark. He shared, "Laterally, I was very confident in these shoes. The only time I had any issues with the stability of these shoes was when I had to apply the brakes after sprinting to the net. My feet would slide toward the front of the shoes, and I experienced some jamming of my toes."

Having a similar experience was Troy, who added, "The lateral support and stability was better than average given the weight of these shoes. Although I didn't feel as comfortable moving forward on the court, the side-to-side movements felt comfortable. The low to the ground feel in the forefoot allowed me to feel connected to the court when making aggressive lateral stops. The support throughout the midfoot and arch region provided enough stability for me to feel confident in making aggressive lateral changes of direction. The only knock I found when it came to foot support was that the forefoot was a bit wide for my feet, and this led to some unwanted sliding around in the toe box."

Andy thought the lateral stability was good for his aggressive movements, but he didn't like how rigid the shoes felt when he was changing directions. He explained, "Once again, there were some upsides and downsides to the Kaos shoes. Starting with the positives, I thought the TPU cage across the upper did a good job providing lateral stability during aggressive changes of direction. It certainly protects well enough for even the most aggressive movers. However, like I mentioned previously, the shoes didn't flex or move naturally with my feet, so I didn't feel like the support was there all the time. I had one memorable instance during the playtest when my feet moved one way and the shoes didn't, and the result wasn't fun."

Jason had issues with both the support and stability of these shoes. He critiqued, "This is one area where I had issue with these shoes. The lack of support was most noticeable when trying to stop my forward movement, and I jammed my toes into the front of the shoes many times. Perhaps the uppers were a bit too soft, but I also felt like the stability was lacking. It was better than the support, but I was still left with wanting a bit more rigidity in the uppers."

Overall Sole Durability - Score: 4.1

Our team was pretty impressed with the durability of the Kaos shoes. "The standout feature of these shoes for me was the durability," Andy praised. "After about 20-30 hours of hard wear there is still virtually no sign of balding on the outsole. Normally after this amount of time I will get some wear to show under my big toes, but not in the Kaos shoes! In addition, the TPU cage around the uppers protected the shoes well, and it didn't wear down from my sliding on the hard courts. My pair have lots of life left in them after this test."

"After 30 hours on the tennis court (all hard court time), the outsoles still have quite a bit of life left in them," Mark added.

Jason could do little damage to his pair as well. He raved, "For being categorized as lightweight, speed-oriented shoes, I thought the outsoles held up extremely well. I put about 12 hours on these shoes and they show little to no wear and tear. The Duralast rubber compound is aptly named."

Troy thought the shoes held up nicely in the toe area, but not quite as well on the outsoles. He explained, "The durability was average compared to other shoes in this weight class. I found the Duralast rubber outsoles to hold up well against the gritty surface of our TW indoor court. The herringbone tread pattern provided good traction initially but wore out within a couple weeks underneath the balls of my feet. The toe guards held up well throughout the playtest, though."

Traction - Score: 3.9

Our team liked the level of traction that the Kaos shoes offered on the hard courts. Troy was pleased from start to finish. He explained, "The traction allowed me to take an aggressive first step when chasing down balls. The zonal herringbone tread on the outsoles allowed for a nice grip when making aggressive changes of direction. After a couple weeks of testing the herringbone tread underneath the balls of my feet started to wear down, and the outsoles became less sticky. With this broken-in feel, I found that it was easier for me to gradually come to a stop when moving laterally, which improved my side-to-side court coverage."

"Overall, these shoes provided great traction for every scenario that I could get myself into on the tennis court," Mark commented. "The tread compound is soft, yet firm enough to allow me to predictably slide a little during direction changes."

Jason was very pleased with the balance of grip and give, saying, "Perhaps it was due to the fact that I didn't feel 100 percent comfortable going all out, but I thought the traction of these shoes was excellent. They gripped the court very well during starts and stops, but they weren't overly sticky to where I felt like there was zero give. Since the outsoles lasted the duration of the playtest, so did the traction."

Andy was pleased with the traction for the most part, but he had a couple instances of slippage. He shared, "The traction was pretty good throughout the test, but not outstanding. For the most part, the Kaos shoes offered a predictable blend of give and grip, allowing me to slide on the hard courts confidently and also grip the court when I needed to make a cut back to the middle. However, I had a few instances of 'spinning my wheels' when the shoes didn't grip the court during a quick acceleration. This was a minor issue, though, and never really affected my confidence in the shoes."

Weight - Score: 3.8

Although the Kaos shoes came in at an impressively low 13.5 ounce weight (size 10.5), our testers felt that they played heavier. "The shoes didn't feel as light to me as the static weight would indicate," Jason commented. "I felt like I was sitting on top of the shoes, rather than in them, so I didn't feel as low to the ground as I do in other speed-oriented shoes. These felt lighter than traditionally durable shoes like the adidas Barricades, but I wouldn't put them in the same category as the Nike Zoom Vapor 9.5 Tours, the adidas adizero Ubersonics or the Asics Gel Solution Speeds."

Sharing a similar opinion was Andy, who said, "Though these shoes come in at a relatively low weight, they feel and play much heavier. The design is a bit bulky and clunky, and I was always aware that I had beefy shoes on my feet. I know these shoes are supposed to be built for speed, but I certainly didn't feel like they made me any faster on court."

Troy found the Kaos shoes to feel a bit bulky at first, but this improved the more he wore them. He explained, "The first couple of times I wore the Kaos shoes I found them to be a bit clunky, which I attributed to the outsole and toe guard feeling so rigid. After about a week of testing, though, they began to flex much easier for heel-to-toe transitioning, which made them feel faster."

"At around 13.5 ounces, I have to say they definitely qualify as being light, high performance tennis shoes," Mark added.

Overall - Score: 3.2