 The Kobe 8 Halo is a very simple and clean shoe, but honestly these might be the ones that changed the game for his product line forever. So I'm excited to be giving you guys an in-depth review of this sneaker and we'll be unpacking all the hidden differences between these and the previous releases from 2012. Oh yeah, and if you didn't know by now, my name is DJ and this is the DNA Show. Now on this channel you guys know before we get started breaking down the styles cut to materials of the shoe, we always got to talk about the history first. So when it comes to the Kobe 8, this shoe was originally released in 2012 and we all remember these iconic times back when Kobe was playing for the Lakers and he had a really good squad around him. During that season Kobe averaged 27.3 points, 6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and also making his fifth appearance in the NBA All-Star game. And there has always been a huge debate whether who is the greatest player of all time and it's definitely safe to say Kobe Bryant is always in that conversation because of seasons like this year after year after year throughout his entire career. And not only was he one of the greatest players to ever play the game, he had some of the greatest basketball shoes as well. There were a lot of hoopers around the country and even around the world that were raving over his shoes because they said he had some of the lightest and most comfortable and efficient basketball shoes to be played on the basketball court year after year over the past few years before that as well. When the Kobe 8 had came out, a lot of people had loved this sneaker and considered it to be one of the greatest basketball sneakers of all time. And when it comes to that conversation, the two Kobe's that I hear a lot of people talk about, the 6s and the 8s. Now what exactly does that have to do with this shoe right here? These are called the Kobe 8 Protro Halos. Now what does Protro mean? This is considered to be a play on the word of retro giving you a performance retro version. Kobe wasn't really a fan of his shoes being retro and recreated in the same style. He wanted to have his shoes be recreated in the better new performing style of the current technology in current time. So this shoe came out 2012. It's currently 2023. There's been 10 years in between that time and it's safe to say technology has definitely changed over the year. And because of that Nike has made some changes on this shoe in particular compared to the previous ones from the past. Now I'm sure to most people it probably makes sense why they call these the Halo Kobe 8s. But at the same time for those that don't know, this is something that Vanessa Bryant decided to do with Nike. Releasing this version right here on Kobe's birthday, August 23rd. This is the first iteration of the Halo series that is set to come out each year for Kobe's birthday. They haven't clarified whether it's going to be the same model or different models each time. But most are assuming as of right now, we're going to see an all-white version of different models of the collection throughout the years. Each and every year released on Kobe's birthday. So this right here is going to be huge when it comes to sneakerheads and the collector side of things as well. Especially you'd think 5 or 7 years from now. This could play a huge impact on the value of these or even completing sets and just overall fans or collectors going after sneakers like this. And honestly something like this is very common when it comes to collector's editions. Whether it's a car or whiskey or trading cards or record players or you name it. That's kind of what causes the value to drive up as well. So it's not just these in particular, but when it comes to Kobe's in particular. These are definitely going to have a huge impact on his brand later down the line as well. So now that you guys know a little bit more about the sneakers history and how we got to this release right here. Let's go ahead and start breaking down the sneaker and show you guys all the details of the shoe. Okay so for this one as you can see from the box. This is a very dope detail in touch to the shoe. You got the scales all throughout the box right here with your matte black. Then you got that satin finish with the Kobe branding here with the signature just below it. And then reading on the size tag it says Kobe 8 ProTro White White White. Oh man. Oh this is going to be a good one. Alright here we go. Flipping over in the box you got your white paper and then you got the shoe. Oh you got the shoe. So yes I know this is a very simple sneaker. I get it I get it. But at the same time there are so many cool details like I said before. So we got to get into it. Starting from the bottom of the shoe and working our way up like typical fashion. So let's go ahead and get started. Looking at the outsole right here you got your standard Kobe outsole. But they made us switch up when it comes to the traction on the outside of the foot. And they actually switched the thickness on the outsole as well. So you see these triangular patterns right here how they're all facing forward. On the previous release from 2012 you can see that they were facing in. So they've definitely changed some things like that. And then also if you look inside of those there's kind of these little arrow type triangular shapes inside of those as well. Small details I really like that hit and you kind of got that diamond print right here all throughout the small detailed areas around the liner of the outsole wrapping up to the side of that. And on the back end around the heel you got your Kobe branding right here in the center of the foot. And then you got another little ball right here around that. And then you got a black carbon fiber shank right here going around the center of the foot wrapping up to the side. Now looking at the midsole this is the detail that I think is extremely dope because they added the Kobe branding all throughout it as well with a faint little hit right here. Originally I thought it was like palm trees or something. And then I started looking closely and I was like that's dope. They incorporated the logo in an all over print all throughout that as well. So it's the same color with that white right there. But if you look really really close you can see the logo and branding. Now on the front end on the side you have your same logo right here. And then on the back end you have your Kobe signature on the back end around the heel counter area. Now looking at the upper and the materials you have a woven mesh all throughout the upper. And then you have a faint line right here around the side wrapping around the toe and on the inside of the foot. And this is more of a plasticky like material to help protect the foot as you play basketball you need that. But at the same time it could kind of be you know a little uncomfortable when you're running and jumping and cutting because you don't have as much flexion in the front end of the foot. So some people love it. Some people hate it. Let me know what you guys think about that little detail on the shoe. And speaking of details another hit that I saw on the shoe right here which is super dope. It has KB24 and I can't tell honestly I might be wrong. Is it 24 or is it 2 and 8? I don't know. I feel like it might be 2 and 8. And it's dope how they did that because along with that you see the diamonds kind of on the side of the foot right here and you got those diamond patterns on the side right there. But if you look at the front it's actually two hearts. So they have a heart here and a heart here. But I think that's a super dope touch how they added that as you're looking down at the foot from the toe down you can see that right there. And those are kind of the subtle details that we always like at sneakerheads. So to me I thought it was pretty cool. Now going to the rest of the foot right here you have an embroidered Nike switch all throughout the side of the foot and a big check and then you have the same thing on the back end around the heel on the inside of the foot. And continuing on with that embroidery you also have that same thing around the eye stay areas where the lace holes are at and then that's reinforced right here connecting the sections. That way you don't have any ripping or tearing when you're wearing the shoe for performance. From the past you can see there were different materials used for those little things like that when we talk about how they changed things from a pro troll to a regular version. So that's always something to pay attention to as well. And I'm interested to see if this is what they continue to do on future models moving forward and if they decide to keep that little you know small branding right there with the Kobe and the numbers and the two hearts on the front end or if that's only because it's a part of the Halo series. So I'm excited to see what they do in the future when it comes to other Kobe 8s as well. Now another thing that they changed up right here as you can see you got that white leather tongue with the logo stitched just in the center of that but this tongue is actually a completely different shape and it's a lot thicker and it's rolled back right here with the mesh behind it and it's going to be a lot softer, more comfortable. You got a white sock liner matching that same material but if you look at previous tongues from the past you can see they were a lot thinner and they were a lot sharp. I remember wearing shoes from the past and they definitely would scrape on the front end of kind of the ankle not your shin area but you know the front end of your ankle right there that would always get scraped up because of wearing the shoe. So that's something that you can see that they definitely made an improvement on and that's another thing I'm interested to see if they stay consistent with on Kobe Pro Trials in the future. Now I showed you guys a little detail on the back end with the Kobe signature right here on the smooth plastic area. They have a rougher plastic just behind that and going all the way around to the other side of the foot and then you have a basketball like material right here and the white leather and then that wraps around the side as well so I think that's a really dope touch and then you have that same Kobe logo right here and that flat matte white right here. Super clean. I like how they added it to it and made it look you know really flow with the shoe but at the same time still add that branding element to it so I always like how they do those little touches as well. Now un-lacing the shoe and taking the insoles out this is something I've been hearing a lot of people talking about just because they had lunar insoles in the past and then right here you can see they have react insoles. Now it's a lot thicker than the previous ones that they had in the past. I have react sneakers that I've worn before and they're really really comfortable and I know a lot of people like the react. So this might be something that might be the game changer for performance as well when it comes to rockin' this shoe but again we'll see what happens in the future if people like this, how people react to it, react to it and then what they decide to do on future retros or protros when it comes to this shoe so let me know what you guys think about these insoles and how they did with this. Should they have done something else? Do you guys like other products? Do you take the insoles out and replace them with your own products that you have? Let me know what you guys think about that down below in the comment section but again, cool details on it and then they got the logo right here in the center of the heel as well so I think this is a cool touch and you can definitely see they made some changes when it comes to these. I forgot to take the paper out. When it comes to these, compared to the previous pair 10, 12 years ago how long is that? 11 years ago? It's been a while bro, that's crazy. Seems like them shoes just came out too. So as you can see now there are definitely a lot of details when it comes to this shoe. Like I said earlier in the video but either way I think this is a really really clean shoe and I think it's a cop and I think it's gonna be a huge impactful sneaker for the game later down the line which I'll explain in a second but first I want to see what you guys think about the shoe. So I post a poll on my Instagram story like I do all the time and I ask the people a simple question. Is the shoe fire or is the shoe trash? And this is what the people said. 81% of the people chose fire and 19% of the people chose trash. I completely understand both sides. Some people might say it's too simple. I want to see more. They should have done more but I understand the story element behind it and by why they made it an all-white shoe to represent Kobe and those different things. So I think both parts are really really dope and not only that how his wife decided to do this how Vanessa decided to go hey we're gonna drop a halo series for his birthday from here on out. So does that mean every year it's gonna be a different model and it's gonna be an all-white shoe? I don't know. As of right now that's kind of what it sounds like. So when it sounds like that what does that mean? This is almost like a really big collector's piece at the same time. Some of those shoes it's like low key I need to double up on this because later down the line especially three, four years from now as they release a different model imagine they do an all-white Kobe 6 and they do an all-white Kobe 7 and they do the 3 and the 5 and the da da da and the next thing you know you got the whole set together and it's 10 years later and you got the different models and now it's gonna be a pretty penny and you're gonna be like damn I remember when those was four or five hundred bucks and that was too much and now it's a $2,000 shoe. This is something that could potentially happen with a sneaker like this and I think this shoe could actually change the game when it comes to Kobies. I know it sounds crazy and I know it might sound like I'm hyping it up and all the other stuff but we look back and you know we say hey oh what was the shoe that did this and did that? These are the type of moments in the shoe game that things happen like this so I think this is a great shoe I think it's a trophy piece type of sneaker and I think this I don't know it's just a dope ass shoe at the end of the day like I think it's dope to hoop in I think it's dope to collect I think it's dope to rock in the streets whatever you want to do I think it's a dope shoe overall I think they did a great job I'm excited for the Protro line and the other Retros that are supposed to come out the Protros that are supposed to come out I'm so used to saying Retros but when it comes to other models as well different colorways you name it collecting the stuff again so for me I enjoy it all let me know what you guys think I hope you guys enjoyed this I hope this gave you a good look at the shoe and help you determine if you wanted to get it or not for your collection and if you did or if you didn't let me know how you feel about it when it comes to the release date did you get lucky did you not are you waiting for them to come in the mail are you planning on flipping them do you want to do this do you want to do that I would love to hear it all let me know down below in the comment section I'll see you guys in another one don't forget to subscribe alright I'm out yo before you go I just launched my sneaker head academy where we got everything on the inside I teach you all the stuff that I learned over the past 15 years when it comes to sneakers scaling, real estate you name it we talk about all of it in there and there's an 8 week program plus a bunch of monthly giveaways I give away shoes literally way too much honestly but either way I'll see you guys on the inside hit the link down below in my description or pinned in the comment section for DJ sneaker head academy and I'll see you guys over there