Nike Air Force Men > Reviews (1)

Brand

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Nike is the leading sports apparel and equipment company in the world. Created in the 1970s in The United States, it started long after other main players such as Adidas, Reebok and others, however with sports endorsements (an early example being with Michael Jordan) they were quickly able to suddenly grow in popularity massively to the point where they’re currently at – with their updated signature swoosh found everywhere in the sports world.

Air Force One

Named after the plane for the US president, the Air Force 1 is a signature shoe in Nike’s range. It debuted in 1982 and was a landmark release as the first to use ‘Nike Air Technology’ specifically to boost their prominence in the basketball world. They are found most commonly in low-top and mid-top forms, however a high-top variation on the design is also available (but is much harder to find). They have received very minor alternations over the years to fit in with what the contemporary footwear developments, however the major shift came in 1986 when the ‘Swoosh’ became the official logo for the brand.

Box

The box for these shoes is far from impressive. You get the Air Force One’s in Nike’s generic orange boxing. For someone who’s into sneaker-collecting culture, the boxes are something you come across all the time with nearly every pair of Nikes purchased and so really not something I’d expect such collectors to want keep. The ones I bought came with an extra pair of laces, but you shouldn’t expect this every time.

Opinion

In my time I’ve bought Air Force 1s in both mid-top and low-top forms and so known what the main two pairs are about and what exactly they offer. My first pair were a pair of black/black mid-tops and are still a pair I keep as pair of my collection today. The second pair were some white/white ones and just as the first, they aren’t a pair I’ve had to get rid of yet, in spite of owning them for a good three years or so.

The low-tops (cut just below the ankle) are very straight-forward shoes. The design is a classic one and so something that you really can’t mess with, however I’d say that the shoes themselves are a little overrated as they don’t seem to offer all that much (or anything particularly special that you couldn’t see done better in other competitors). They aren’t especially comfortable and the low-top versions don’t seem to offer anywhere near enough protection if they were to be used when playing basketball. The white versions of them get mildly dirty very easily and so you’d be better of going for others if you were wanting to go out and get some flashy white basketball shoes. The laces especially lose their cleanness very early on and so you’ll have to swap these and wipe the shoes down before you go out in them.

As I’ve only worn these on the odd occasion, they seem not to have gathered much in the way of creasing, however they are known to get this both in the top cap and then this runs through down the foot to the bottom panels – taking away from their freshness soon when you opt for the brightest colours.

As far as my mids go, it’s a bit of a different story as I chose to go for dark colours to make them more of a durable shoe that I wouldn’t wear when out and about and is more about when I’ve got dirty jobs to get done. The ones I have are leather and I found that they creased very early on and seem to take on a bit of an old boot kind of feel, but it seems to fit the purpose of why I’d wear them now so it’s fine. However people wanting them for other purposes are bound to be disappointed – which I would have been if I didn’t have so any alternatives to choose from in my collection. One thing to bear in mind is that they have air holes at the front, but of course this means that they will let through water.

I found that these mid-top ones were a little more comfortable than the others and I felt that this as done to the fact tha I consider mid or high-tops much easier on the foot than low-tops and just sit nicely, hugging the ankle to make things feel secure and safe. Due to this, I felt that if you were to go for some Air Force 1s, then mids are a better choice than the lows as those don’t seem to have the same durability, and aren’t as comfortable.

Where To Buy

The Air Force 1 can be found on many places online; however you’re not likely to get the same variety in all the places you look on. As it’s a common choice in a shoe to have counterfeits made, you should stay away from eBay if you chose to go down that direction. On Amazon you can find them for between £53 and £80, depending on whether you opt for low or mid-tops. Both of the ones I own came directly from that site for a similar price at the time.