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Yeezy Boost 350 Triple White Sold Out Yet?

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First off, thanks goes to Adidas and Kanye West for releasing the ever-popular Yeezy line of shoes in mass quantities to the public. Usually a Yeezy drop is plain bananas, but the release of the Triple White colorway seems more equitable due to the mass quantities.

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But one downside of the wide availablility is the notification of this availability. Between Adidas and YeezySupply, I don’t know how many emails I’ve received telling me that the Triple Whites are available, still available, and have been restocked. I mean this is actually a good problem to have for consumers, but compared to previous Yeezy drops that are done in hours, this Triple White release spanning days is just odd.

 

A Lucky Hurricane Lane Strategy

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A lucky strategy when facing Hurricane Lane is to not face Hurricane Lane and be at the Adidas Employee Store instead.

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Hopefully there, you’ll make your own hurricane of purchases of three-stripped items like:

Ultra Boost

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Harden Vol 2

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In all kinds of colorways.

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Or maybe something from the Pharrell Williams line?

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Kicks Analysis 2018 #8: The Champ

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Can you tell I’ve bee preoccupied this March Madness? Instead of watching all the upsets and craziness that is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, I’ve been curating the Pulpconnection store on eBay. So instead of doing the full series of Kicks Analysis for 2018, I begin and end with the championship that belongs to Villanova.

But really with Michigan and Villanova facing off in the Finals, Nike had already claimed the 2017-2018 season. The best shoes of the champion game has to be the iconic Air Jordan 11 worn by Michigan’s Moritz Wagner.

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Sure there was heat on the floor, but #13 busting out the 11 was straight up fire, even in a losing effort. So that’s 17 in 20 – raising Nike’s championship winning percentage to 85% over the past 20 seasons.

Found My Next Court Shoe

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For the badminton court that is. Yeah, tennis shoes are a better match for badminton, but we both know my love for basketball shoes runs deep. Gotta blame Nike and that guy named Jordan for this continued love affair. And besides, some tennis shoes look good but not as good as the variety of basketball shoes out there.

For over a year, I’ve been playing in the Adidas Crazy Light Boost 2016. At the time, this shoe was probably the cheapest entry point for full length Boost, and they’ve served me well. Great cushioning and a comfortable fit. Its only drawback is the number of lace eyelets. With essentially only three eyelets per side, tightening the shoe seemed harder than it should’ve been. But still, a great performer on the badminton court at my level.

Over time I’ve noticed that the Crazy Light Boost cushioning isn’t as good where I feel the wear and tear of playing afterwards. A sign to get new shoes right? Only thing is I couldn’t really find a good replacement. I was thinking of using the Adidas Dame 3 featuring Bounce instead of Boost. However, the Dame’s one piece upper has a small opening for your foot, and since I wear an ankle brace, getting my protected ankle in the Dame 3 is just about impossible.

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While doing a routine #rossfinds, I came across the Under Armour Curry 2.5. Overall, I’ve heard good things about UA’s Curry line so while on the high end of Ross prices at $65, I got the blacked out 2.5. Sadly, these didn’t work for me as a badminton shoe. The design needs for SC30 are different from mine, and this shoe while comfortable doesn’t provide enough impact protection.

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The Charged Cushioning does feel interestingly good (though it took me awhile to get used to that foamy feel), but there’s nothing else to absorb impact. That burrito-style wrap also doesn’t really work for me either. I wear the same Zamst ankle brace that Steph Curry wears, but I couldn’t get the burrito upper to close around my brace. Steph Curry must have super skinny ankles to get the proper fit for his shoes and brace. So the Curry 2.5 has been designated as a casual shoe, but with the recent rainy weather, these high tops with a synthetic upper has been great at repelling water.

So where does that leave me in my search for a replacement badminton shoe? My own collection. A while back during a Nike clearance, I picked up the low version of the Air Jordan 31. While I was spying the black and pink color way, I just couldn’t do it and instead got what I thought was black and white. The colors actually were Navy blue and white but still a good looking shoe. Unfortunately as a casual pair of kicks, they aren’t very comfortable due to a snug toe box. But Jordans are always performance shoes, so I figured why not try these on the badminton court. And perform they did!

Supposedly the lightest Air Jordan ever made, they are ultra comfortable to play in, and I had no issues from the start. The snug toe box problem went away as the Flyweave construction stretched out I guess. I don’t recall every owning a shoe with full length unlocked Zoom Air but whatever the case, these just felt great while moving in them. From a mediocre casual shoe, I found my next badminton shoe going back to my roots with the Air Jordan line.

See more pictures of the Air Jordan 31.

Air Jordan 31 Low

Skipped the Undefeated X Adidas Prophere

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adidas-x-undefeated-prophereWhile I considered the new Adidas Prophere done up in tiger camo in collaboration with Undefeated, I ultimately passed. There was an online release on Saturday after being released at select Undefeated locations. Anyways, there was still stock when I checked but not in my ideal size. Remember, these Prophere run big and the Undefeated site even mentions sizing down.

While my normal size 10 was still in stock, size 9.5 was already gone. I had the 10 in my cart, but the final hurdle when checking out was the $25 shipping charge. The normally priced $120 Prophere already had a $40 premium, retailing for $160. Then on top of that, add $25 for a total of $185?!? Compared to other collaborations, $185 is not bad, but I’m guessing it’ll be available on Adidas at some point, or there are many more colorways to follow.

The Adidas Prophere Is Heavy

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Adidas’ latest silhouette, the Prophere, debuted today, and I did a quick try on at Champs Sports. First thing you’ll notice is its weight. Very heavy compared to the Ultra Boost and AlphaBounce lines. Then I noticed the nubs on the midsole. They really are pronounced and the entire midsole has a sheen to it. Think a matte finish would be better.

Lastly, there’s that odd Adidas sizing. My true-to-size fit felt way too big, and I had thicker socks on as well. Space in the toebox and wiggle room in the width. Probaby could have gone down half a size. So pass on the Prophere for now…maybe that camo version though…

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A Waste of Paper?

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Why do I have the feeling that these raffle tickets for the upcoming Yeezy Boost 350 “Blue Tint” are a waste of paper?

Do I trust that Foot Locker and Foot Action will hold legitimate raffles for these shoes or will “associates” of employees coincidentally be rocking them Blue Tints?

Update: Yup, waste of time. Got no call back and sadly, the Foot Action reservation system via its mobile app was invalidated, changing to a first come, first served system. I kinda liked the mobile app reservation system since it felt less prone to human tampering.

Scored Yeezys with the Foot Locker App

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The second lucky pickup of the week was thanks to the Foot Locker mobile app. For the launch of the Yeezy Boost 350 Beluga v2.0, Foot Locker was promoting their Launch Locator and reservation system in the mobile app. Being a super duper old school member of the Foot Locker VIP club, I signed up for the Yeezy launch and was given a 6-minute headstart.

Then I forgot all about this. On the afternoon of Black Friday, I got this notification.

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Checking the FL app, I stopped as I saw this.

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But wait, pickup was set for Friday by 3pm?!? It was already 1pm, and I still had time but in my mind, I thought I was misinterrepting this message. Only one way to find out!

Surprisingly getting to Waikiki in the middle of the day on Black Friday was super easy. No traffic or slowdowns whatsoever. At Foot Locker, there was a line for the Yeezy reservation, but guess what? It seemingly meant nothing since you couldn’t actually pickup the Yeezys that were officially launching on Saturday, November 25. The FL employee had a (long) list of reservation winners, and he simply made sure your name was on the list. He didn’t cross off or mark your name indicating you showed up by 3pm as the app instructed. Why I had to go down there I still don’t know and neither did a lot of other irate Yeezy fans who wanted their shoes then and there.

Anyways, being on the list meant my pair was reserved, right? I didn’t want to take a chance of pairs running out, so I came back early-ish on the 25th. Others had the same idea with a queue about 10 deep.

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The line moved along as pedestrians asked what the line was for. After about half an hour, I had my first pair of Yeezys.

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Thanks Foot Locker!

The Adidas Outlet at Waikele Is an Outlet

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Okay, let’s keep expectations in check. The Adidas store at Waikele Premium Outlets has recently been renovated with its grand re-opening today through November 12, 2017.

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But just remember that this is not an Adidas store but rather an Adidias outlet, located in Waikele Premium Outlets. You get where I’m going with this? Don’t expect the high demand merchandise. Don’t expect to see Ultra Boosts (discounted or even at regular price). Don’t go looking for NMDs. A PureBoost may make an appearance, but for now, the AlphaBounce line reigns at this renovated outlet. There are rows of different AlphaBounce colorways. They’re cool, but at $80+, I’m happy with my $45 pair of “worn and refinished” AlphaBounce from Nordstrom Rack.

Other than that, I didn’t see anything worthwhile. In fact, the shoppers wore better shoes than what’s avaiable in-store. There were Harden Vol. 1 in red and white and some EQT. Otherwise, there were CloudForm variations of higher end lines. Probably the most catchy shoe I saw was the Tango indoor soccer shoe in a sky blue to black fade colorway.

Compared to the old layout, the men’s section is flip flopped, now on the right side of the store with the womens and kids on the left. Gone is the section with oddball finds, but I’m hoping this potential trove finds its way back.

Go ahead and check out the grand re-opening deals but just keep your expectations grounded.

Customizing the Dame 4

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Although I’m not willing to pay a premium for customize designed kicks, this doesn’t stop me from playing around with the design process. Here are some miAdidas Dame 4 customizations.

Black, white, and pink
Onix and tech gold

Think I’ll just wait for Adidas to release yet another one of their many expected color ways for Damian Lillard’s signature sneaker.

Adidas AlphaBounce “Worn and Refinished”

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In the bottom row of men’s shoes at Nordstrom Rack was this nondescript box.

What’s in here?

Peaking over the edge of the box, I noticed something out of place, the Adidas AlphaBounce running shoes.

Adidas AlphaBounce HPC

 

Amazingly this relatively new runner found its way to the discounted shelves. Must be flawed I thought while pulling them from the box. Then I spied its price and label of “Worn and Refinished.” But at $45 (down from $110), I had to take a closer look.

59% savings?!?!

I couldn’t see any major issues or any flaws. There was this dirt spot, but it easily cleaned up with water.

A dirt spot that cleaned up easily

Talking to a Nordstrom Rack employee, the “worn and refinished” label is often given to shoes that are bought and returned to the upscale Nordstrom. But when returned, the shoe is out of season so instead of trying to sell the shoe there, it’s transferred to a discounted Rack location. It doesn’t necessarily mean the shoe was actually worn and refinished. So now, I’m an owner of a slightly large Adidas AlphaBounce HPC (reflective model) in black/utility black/white.

This definitely works for the price!

A few more pics.

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