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Better in Person

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Gotta file these kicks under “Better in Person.” I’m talking about the Under Armour Micro G Volt Low. When I saw these shoes, I had to pick them up since I couldn’t quickly identify them. And that camo-like colorway on that organic upper is super intriguing. After handling the Volt, you feel the old school, solid construction, not like the woven stuff we see today. The Volt Low just feels solidly built.

Under Armour Micro G Volt Low

I’d never have considered these shoes if I only saw pictures online. These are definitely better in person.

But… I don’t need them (or so I keep telling myself), so they’re available on eBay.

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Turning Passion to Profit?

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Is it possible to monetize a passion and still keep the sanctity of this love intact? I’m going to find out as I take my first steps as an eBay (re)seller. You see, more often than not, when I visit a Ross Dress for Less store, I come across a pair of shoes that’s intriguing. The kicks may rekindle nostalgia, remembering them from back in the day. Or I could have missed out on them when they originally launched or there’s an interesting backstory to the shoe, or they just look cool. But historically, that’s where the story ended when I put the shoe back on the sales rack.

But now things are different. I’m actually buying these gems and then (hopefully) reselling them on eBay after learning about the shoe and possibly getting a new appreciation for them. Take these Air Max 90 from the Campfire Pack. Nope, I never heard of this series nor saw one before. But when I spied the colors at Ross, I knew I couldn’t leave them there. Yeah, they crazy, but they crazy good. Then you learn the Campfire Pack pays tribute to the creation of Nike’s All Conditions Gear (ACG) when legendary designers including Tinker Hatfield met for a true life camping trip.

Sure there’s not much difference in that I’m not actually collecting the shoe for personal reasons, but yet, having the shoe for longer than a moment feels like an elevated experience of satisfaction. After selling some of my older shoes as they fell out of my rotation, I realized that I don’t need them all, and I don’t have to let them sit deteriorating in the Hawaiian humidity.

Maybe my kicks perspective has changed with the rapid-fire nature of the modern day shoe game where new color ways and collaborations are released on seemingly a weekly basis. So a love for a shoe is probably more of an infatuation that will be soon replaced by another crush. But in all of this, getting a few bucks here and there can’t hurt right? I guess I also view this reselling as a curation of kicks for other shoe heads. I’m doing the finding so that they don’t have to. All they need to do is go to eBay and search for a wanted shoe, and hopefully I’m offering that match. I think that ease for the eBay seeker is worth the price differential aka my profit.

So we’ll see how this plays out. It’s surely not a stable affair since there’s no promise of any sort that Ross will have anything worthwhile. But the hunt has been fun, especially when you find something interesting like this Copper Flightposite. I originally thought Foamposite when seeing the silhouette and had forgotten that the Foamposite evolved to the Flightposite.

Nike Copper Flightposite

Stick with me as I explore this new fad, love, interest, adventure, and learning experience!

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.

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My Greatest Pickup Ever!

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Truthfully, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. On Instagram, I was seeing a lot of images of resdesigned, classic Nike silhouettes with that telltale red zip tie. These images were tagged #offwhite and #theten. Then I learned “The Ten” was a collaboration with designer Virgil Abloh. But as soon as Nike announced the launch of The Ten on the SNKRS app, the hype went into overdrive. Every few hours Nike would release a few models of the Off White collaboration starting with the Presto and ending with the Jordan 1.

off-white-presto-confirmationHad to try, right? But also had to expect disappointment when taking the loss. But then I didn’t. Instead of “taking the L,” I got a confirmation from Nike for my Presto order. Despite online ordering delays caused by invalid payment types (yes, my credit card is not a debit card, Nike), my order went through quickly. Too easy so must be a wide spread release I guessed. Then I checked the demand at Stockx and was amazed.

After getting the Prestos, I knew why. It’s the details and the amazing number of details in this collaboration remix.

PB244313 The laces, the stitching, the folds, every aspect of the shoe appears to be tailored to be different yet the same as the classic Presto. I can understand why there’s banter that this model could be one of the top releases of 2017 and easily my greatest pickup. Alas, I didn’t luck out with any other members of The Ten. But these Prestos… PB244324

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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.

Under Armour Curry 2.5 and Ankle Braces?!?!

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Just how does Steph Curry wear his signature Under Armour Curry 2.5 shoes while protected by his preferred Zamst A2-DX ankle braces?

PORTLAND, OR – MAY 9: The shoes of Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors are seen during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs on May 9, 2016 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Even with the adjustable, wrap around fit of the “burrito lacing system,” I just don’t see how SC30 achieves a good fit as seen in the image above. It seems nearly impossible to close the tongue around the added thickness of the brace. Is that why he writes “I can do all things” on his shoes?

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.

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