Price: $225 [Check eBay for Current Prices]

Why Buy?

The Jordan 11 Cherry is exactly what it says it is – a red and white Jordan 11 that is comfortable and iconic in design.

Why Avoid?

The Jordan 11 Cherry is not subtle, and it’s not cheap.

Specs

Model	Jordan 11 Cherry
Height	Mid
Materials	Nylon / Leather / Rubber
Size	13
Weight	563 g / 1 lb 3.9 oz
Construction	Cemented
Country of Origin	China

History

Last year, the hype around the Jordan 11 holiday release was real. The Cool Greys – which had not released in more than 20 years – were finally coming back. This was soon after the Playoffs, and a special edition was stuck in the middle. Add in the Concords and it seemed like pretty much every 11 release was going to land with a bang.

Until 2022. When Jordan brand decided to release this one – the Jordan 11 Cherry. To say the community was disappointed would have been an understatement. A non-OG colorway, without any special story?

At the same time, it’s not hard to see why Jordan brand selected this make up. Sure, it’s not OG, but it might as well be. We’ve seen plenty of make ups such as the black/white cement 3s where the shoe is the same with the white and black swapped – and is this really all that different than a white Playoffs?

Of course, if the shoes are trash none of that matters. Let’s take a look at the Jordan 11 Cherry and see if it’s something you should consider picking up.

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Looks

Upper

The good news about the Jordan 11 Cherry is that it’s about as classic Jordan 11 as you can get. White ballistic mesh upper? Check. Patent leather around the midsole? Check. Soft padded collar? Also check.

There are no surprises, and maybe that is a good thing. Everything looks great out of the box. Even the Jumpman logo is well stitched on this pair.

What makes this different than you might expect is the bright red, cherry-colored accent color on the sneaker. As the name suggests, this is different than the “varsity” and “gym” reds that Jordan brand typically uses on their sneakers. This red is brighter, closer to a candy red.

If you’re the type of guy who wants to match your t-shirt and sneakers that might not work for you. None of what you have for your other Jordans will work. If you’re like me, however, and find that a bit too matchy-matchy, having a slightly different color for the rotation is a nice change of pace.

That being said, this red is loud. Even for a red shoe these stand out.

Mid- and Outsole

For the Jordan 11 Cherry, I could basically copy the upper section and paste it here. It’s all classic Jordan 11, just with the Cherry red hits on the plate and rubber pads. Jordan brand did opt for an icy blue outsole rather than the cream option.

This gives me Reebok Question vibes, and I probably wouldn’t have minded if they went the other way. All that being said, both the outsole options will yellow in a few months anyway, so blue or cream doesn’t really make a difference long term.

Also, like the upper, this pair is really well made. There are no obvious flaws out of the box. Of course, for this price I would hope so, but that isn’t always the case with Nike and Jordan brand products. It’s important to highlight when they get it right.

Summary

Ultimately the Jordan 11 Cherry is exactly what it says on the box. It’s a Jordan 11 with cherry candy-colored accents. Nothing more, nothing less. You are not going to find anything new and innovative in this release, but you’ll also not going to find a bad surprise either.

Normally here I’d say how I styled these, but I have to say that I personally wasn’t able to make these work. This red is really, really bright. Imagine Rudolf’s nose on Christmas night, but on your feet.

To be fair, though, that’s on me as much as the shoe. There are guys out there who will nail these. However, know that if you wear these as your every day pair, people will think of you as “the red shoe guy” in the way a pair of Breds won’t.

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Fit & Comfort

Fit

The Jordan 11 Cherry fits like every other Jordan 11 – which is also like almost every Nike-made sneaker. It’s fairly long and fairly narrow for a given size. If this is your first pair of 11’s, I’d take the same size as you do in a Jordan 1 or Air Max 1 or 90.

One thing you should be aware about, though, is that unlike most sneakers with soft leather or mesh, your foot will be surrounded by hard patent leather. This is going to be much less forgiving and much more likely to create a painful crease. It will get better if you have a mild hot spot, but it’s entirely possible that Jordan 11s might just not work for you.

Another fit item to be aware of is due to the 11’s thick foam midsole, it will compress over time. This will give you a bit of volume if you find the ever-so-slightly too small, but it could take a few months to really kick in.

I take these in a size 13, which is the same as my Jordan 1 and Ultraboost size. For a full list of sizing for all shoes reviewed on 100wears, chick here.

Comfort

The Jordan 11 was one of the first sneakers where Jordan brand really went crazy with the tech, and it shows. This is still a sneaker you would be comfortable wearing all day today (assuming it fits well).

Underneath your foot you have a full-length air unit, a thick midsole, and soft rubber outsole. It’s a tried-and-true set up that is still used in a lot of Nike’s modern basketball sneakers.

I’m also a huge fan of the cut out around the back of your ankle (filled in with soft padding). This allows for complete freedom of movement, while still getting support for the mid-top height.

There is a bit of break in on Jordan 11s, including the Cherry. The thick midsole needs to be worked in, and the plate is incredibly stiff out of the box. With time both of these will form to how you walk, though, and are big benefit comfort-wise.

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Materials & Construction

Materials

As you can probably guess from the Looks section, there is nothing out of the ordinary for the Jordan 11 Cherry.

On the upper, there is a whole lot of synthetic materials. The fabric on the upper – known as “ballistic nylon” – is a thick weave of, well, nylon. It breaths well enough and is very durable. Just be aware this bright white will yellow if dirt even looks at it. The tie down straps are made of the same material, but woven in a finder way to get a bit of separation.

The red patent leather does technically have a bit of leather in there, but I’m not sure why Nike even bothered. The red part is actually a heavy coat of plastics built up on top of a really cheap piece of leather. A felt pad would have done just as well, and would have eased the concerns of those who look for vegan footwear. You’re not getting any of the benefits of leather.

Underneath, the midsole is made of EVA foam, and has a full-length air unit inside. The outsole is made up of a fairly soft rubber that attaches to the midsole along with harder rubber pads with a herringbone pattern.

Keeping everything stable is the Jordan 11 party trick – the carbon plate. While not actually carbon fiber, it still does a good enough job of providing stability.

From a durability perspective, there isn’t anything to really complain about other than the inevitable yellowing of the white upper and blue outsole.

Construction

The Jordan 11 Cherry is made with what is known as cemented construction. If you want a more in-depth explanation, click here, but in short cemented construction is when the upper of the sneaker and the midsole are attached with a very strong glue.

While cemented construction gets a lot of hate, for a performance oriented sneaker it makes a lot of sense. This type of construction is the lightest, most flexible, and most weather resistant. It is also the most affordable to put together, though I’m not sure Nike is passing that savings on to you.

There are some drawbacks. The biggest is that this type of construction is extremely difficult to resole. If you wear out the outsole, or don’t wear them enough and get a crumbling midsole, replacing it is going to cost a lot more than it would on a different style of construction.

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Pricing & Value

Price

Priced at $225, the Jordan 11 Cherry comes in at the unfortunately now standard price for Jordan 11s. This puts them in the high-priced sneaker category, outpacing most other Jordan brand sneakers. This also this pair higher priced compared to things like the U.S.-made New Balance 990.

Really, the only comparably priced sneakers come from the Adidas Yeezy line and… well let’s just say we probably won’t see any sneaker with that branding for a long, long time.

As this review goes live, the sneaker is about one week from dropping, and resale prices are hovering around $300. While I doubt you’ll find these in the outlets, getting a pair for retail price after release likely won’t be too hard.

As always, I suggest eBay over StockX or Goat.

Value

From a value perspective, it’s hard to say the Jordan 11 Cherry takes the cake. There is no doubt they are comfortable, but at $225 (or more), you really need an emotional connection to the sneaker to justify the cost.

OG colorways definitely have this. Everyone either remembers watching Jordan play, or at least understands the hype. Colorways like this require you to really like the makeup, since you can’t lean on nostalgia.

These are not a bad deal, though. If you’ve wanted a red and white Jordan 11 since the Cherry lows came out 6 years ago, this is everything you’ve been waiting for.

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Wrap Up

The Jordan 11 Cherry has no real surprises – good or bad. It’s a White and Red Jordan 11 that is as well made as it is expensive. It certainly isn’t going to be for everyone. The shiny, bright red patent leather makes a statement. However, if that is what you want, you won’t find it anywhere else.