Air Jordan Sizing After Ten Days on the Bench: AJ1 vs AJ4 vs AJ11 in Centimetres
Marcus Delgado · Editor in ChiefMarcus Delgado is Editor in Chief, covering Air Jordan silhouette history, retail launch timing, size-run fit mapping, and final score calls. They buy at retail where possible and use buying agents otherwise, filming the unboxing and checking the box label against the size tag. Marcus sets the final hands-on score after each ten-day wear block, with testing including 20 km of city pavement and a flex-cycle stress test they conduct personally. They sign off on the comparison table against two prior-year equivalents, connecting fit judgments, wear records, and comparisons.
Same US 9, three different fits. We calipered, weighed and walked the AJ1 High OG, AJ4 and AJ11 across 20 km, then built a CM-first order table, a wide-foot +0.5 rule and an arrival fit-check.
Editor score 4.5 / 5
We ordered an Air Jordan 1 High OG, an Air Jordan 4 Retro and an Air Jordan 11 Retro in the same size — US 9 — and wore each pair for ten days across 20 km of Chicago pavement. On the bench their internal lengths sat within 4 mm of each other. On the foot they behaved like three different sizes. If you are deciding what to order, the US number is the least useful thing on the box.
Why one US 9 fits like three different shoes
A US size is a length label. It says nothing about width or instep height, and every Jordan retro is built on its own last. The AJ1's upper is slimmer leather that yields a little; the AJ4's thick foam collar and padded tongue eat internal volume before your foot is even in; the AJ11's patent leather band barely moves at all. Nike prints two different centimetre figures for the same shoe — the CM on the box label and the actual heel-to-toe foot length it corresponds to — and says on its own size page that the two are not the same. Order from the number that matches your foot.
Bench numbers for three US 9 pairs
We photographed each parcel, opened it on camera, cross-matched the box label against the shoe's inner size tag, then measured with a 150 mm digital caliper.
| Model (all US 9, box CM 27.0) | Insole length | Outsole length | Outsole width, forefoot | Single-shoe weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Jordan 1 High OG | 27.4 cm | 29.8 cm | 11.1 cm | 462 g |
| Air Jordan 4 Retro | 27.0 cm | 29.9 cm | 10.7 cm | 474 g |
| Air Jordan 11 Retro | 27.2 cm | 29.5 cm | 10.9 cm | 441 g |
Length is not the problem. Instep clearance is. Measured with the caliper's depth rod at the midfoot, the AJ1 left 42 mm of vertical room above the insole, the AJ11 37 mm, the AJ4 34 mm. That 8 mm gap between AJ1 and AJ4 is why one foot feels fine in one pair and pinched in the next.
What 20 km of pavement changed
- Air Jordan 1 High OG: the only pair that broke in. The vamp relaxed about 2 mm by day six and small-toe pressure faded. Day-ten internal measurement was within 3 mm of arrival. It never went baggy.
- Air Jordan 4 Retro: nothing moved. Instep clearance at day ten was identical to day one. Our tester's small toe reddened on day three and was still red at the end of the ten days. Heel lockdown, once laced, was the best of the three.
- Air Jordan 11 Retro: the patent band gave essentially nothing — day-ten numbers matched arrival within 1 mm. It became comfortable by day four, but that was the foot adapting, not the shoe.
Order the CM, then adjust for the last
Our rule: measure barefoot heel-to-toe standing, late in the day, in the sock you actually wear. Order a box-label CM at least 0.5 cm longer than that, then adjust for the silhouette.
| Barefoot length | US equivalent | Minimum box CM | Wide foot or high instep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25.4 cm | US M8 | 26.0 | 26.5 |
| 25.8 cm | US M8.5 | 26.5 | 27.0 |
| 26.2 cm | US M9 | 27.0 | 27.5 |
| 26.7 cm | US M9.5 | 27.5 | 28.0 |
| 27.1 cm | US M10 | 28.0 | 28.5 |
| 27.5 cm | US M10.5 | 28.0 | 28.5 |
| 27.9 cm | US M11 | 28.5 | 29.0 |
- AJ1 High OG: order the minimum CM. The leather buys you a couple of millimetres.
- AJ4 Retro: minimum CM plus 0.5 even on a normal-width foot, because collar foam and a shallow toe box are the whole story of that shoe.
- AJ11 Retro: minimum CM works if you are narrow or normal. If your forefoot measures much over 10 cm wide, move to the wide-foot column — patent does not negotiate.
Sock thickness is worth half a size
| Sock | Stack at the forefoot | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| No-show liner | Under 1 mm | None |
| Everyday cotton crew | About 3 mm | None |
| Cushioned sport crew | About 5 mm | +0.5 |
| Thick wool or boot sock | 7–8 mm | +0.5 to +1.0 |
An AJ1 can absorb a thick sock through break-in. An AJ4 or an AJ11 cannot, so treat that adjustment as mandatory.
The women's-last trap
Men buying WMNS pairs is now routine, and the box CM number is what catches people. A women's pair is built on a different last: narrower forefoot, lower instep. So matching centimetres across a men's and a women's label does not give the same fit. Do it in two steps. Convert men's to women's by adding 1.5 sizes (US M9 becomes US W10.5), then add half a size for the narrower women's last. A standard-width man wearing US M9 should order US W11; wide or high-instepped, US W11.5.
Do not use Air Force 1 sizing as your baseline
The most expensive mistake in Jordan sizing is quoting your Air Force 1 size. The AF1 is the one Nike model the brand itself flags as running big, with half a size down as its published guidance. Build a Jordan order off a barefoot measurement, or off a Dunk — never off an AF1.
Run the numbers and the folklore explains itself. A man who wears US 9 in an AF1 is usually a US 9.5 in an AJ1 High OG and a US 10 in an AJ4. That is not "Jordans run small." That is one roomy last being used as a ruler.
The fit-check to run before you cut the tag
- Measure both feet standing, late afternoon, heel against a wall. Use the longer foot.
- Photograph the box label and the inner size tag in one frame. Style code and size must agree.
- Lace the top two eyelets loose, seat the heel, then check clearance at your longest toe: 0.5–1.0 cm. Under 0.5 cm on an AJ4 means return.
- Press a thumb across the widest part of the forefoot for 60 seconds. Blanching skin or a numb small toe is a sizing fault, not a break-in issue.
- Walk ten minutes indoors. More than about 5 mm of heel slip, or any hot spot at the instep, and you stop there.
If the pair is wrong, photograph this
- Box label and inner size tag together, both legible.
- The shoe on a tape measure heel to toe, with caliper jaws at the forefoot, so your own measurement is on record.
- Order confirmation and the courier label from the parcel.
- Flaws in close-up: midsole paint line, stitch run, glue squeeze, uneven embroidery spacing.
Keep the tags on until you are sure. Nike's published US window is 60 days for Nike.com orders, with unworn items and original packaging; regional Nike sites and third-party retailers set their own, often shorter, terms.