UGG Sparkles, All Wins
I LIKE:
These new UGG boots are so much wins that I’m speechless. Gold or ninja-ish black, either for $170 on Zappos.
shoes
Ready to Run
Loving my Zappos-bought Nike Zoom Structure Triax+, the 14th edition of this stability running shoe. I’ve owned and run in a few Triax over the years so my feet were accustomed to the shoes’ shape and feel. Right out of the box, I could comfortably run in them without needing a break in period.
This 14th version adds FlyWire to provide additional stiffness and support without adding weight or bulk to the shoe. And for running shoes, these actually look pretty good, especially with the high contrast white and grey laces.
Rad Rider… in Heels!
I definitely did a double take when I saw this motorcycle rider on the road. The rider is a she who’s wearing high heels!!
What are those red coverings on her toes? Are they to help keep her heels on? Are they to protect her feet? Whatevers but I do like the red and white color coordination going on with the overall look.
But Can You Ball in These?
Check out these new kicks from Adidas. These “shoes” are made to mimic your natural foot (along with some added cushioning) and are supposed to help your overall fitness routine. But can you ball in these? No, since the Adipure Trainers are strictly training shoes. Besides, you’d be laughed off the court if you wore them.
But for fitness training purposes, these are intriguing and have more athletic stylings than the Vibram Five Fingers. For the cost ($90), I think I’d stick with the more traditional kicks like the Nike Free series, but I’m willing to giving these a try.
Zappos Powered by Service
It’s 2011, and only now have I made my first purchase on Zappos.com. Was in the market to replace worn out running shoes and took a look at Nike.com and Footlocker.com. Then I went to Zappos and found the same shoe, the Nike Zoom Structure Triax 14 with no tax and free shipping. So I placed my order on Sunday night.
On Thursday, the off-roading mail carrier came by with a Zappos box in hand. I must say, the Zappos box is enchanting. It’s a regular cardboard box but check out the adornments reiterating the Zappos way.
It’s Gotta Be the Shoes!
Mars Blackmon, paging Mars Blackmon. One Eldrick Woods needs to hear your famous words, “It’s gotta be the shoes!”
It worked for His Airness, Michael Jordan, and will it work again for Tiger Woods? We’re talking kicks, specifically Nike’s new shoes made for Tiger himself. These new golf kicks haven’t yet been named, but Tiger has been a part of its design process. Nike FREE is there, so is Hyperfuse, recycled Air Max, and even Flywire in the lace loops.
If Tiger mounts a successful golf comeback, it’s gotta be the shoes!
Cloudy Kicks
It was a matter of time, and I would have guessed Nike would have adopted the thematic moniker first. The “cloud” is becoming more and more ubiquitous thanks to the likes of Google, Amazon, and Apple, allowing users to store content in the cloud. This latest cloud trend hasn’t been lost on the sneakers scene with upstart, On Running, introducing the On CloudSurfer featuring CloudTec.
With CloudTec:
as the foot hits the ground with forward momentum, the CloudTecâ„¢ element folds back, allowing the foot to glide to a softer halt. After the element is compressed by the weight of the runner, it locks together and becomes firm and ready for the push-off.
Is CloudTec technically sound or just playing to the cloud frenzy? For $150, you can find out.
Nice, FAT-ty Kicks
Pictures of some nice and FAT-ty kicks I spied.
Nike Air More Uptempo (kids sizes only)
AJ3 True Blue at Champs
Darth Maul kicks for kids
Kobe’s kicks in camo
Air Jordan Force Fusion 10 at Ross
Today’s Mandarin Orange Match
My Nike Air Max 95 Mandarin Oranges goes well with Civil Beat’s tee, and it also matches this shirt by solar company, Revolusun!
Thanks for the sun-powered shirt Revolusun!
Styling with Civil Beat
At events, I’d see Civil Beat employees sporting custom branded t-shirts. Simple, yet clean designs that I always craved. Through their hospitality, I managed to get one!
Yay! But really, my hidden agenda for wanting this tee? Besides its cool factor, it’s a good match for these Air Max 95 Bright Mandarin kicks!!
Not quite these Civil Beat-inspired kicks, but they’ll do nicely! Thanks again Civil Beat!
March Madness 2011 Kicks Analysis #9: The Champ
Let’s roll it back to 1999. Who was the NCAA Men’s Basketball champion that year? Yep, the UConn Huskies wearing Nikes. How’s the kicks champions looked since then?
- 1999 Connecticut (Nike)
- 2000 Michigan State (Reebok Answers)
- 2001 Duke (Nike)
- 2002 Maryland (Nike Shox Stunners)
- 2003 Syracuse (Nike Shox)
- 2004 Connecticut (Nike Lebron Zoom Generation and Air Force Operates)
- 2005 North Carolina (Nike Retro Jordan X)
- 2006 Florida (Nike)
- 2007 Florida (Nike)
- 2008 Kansas (Adidas)
- 2009 North Carolina (Nike)
- 2010 Duke (Nike)
- 2011 Connecticut (Nike)
Busting out the old calculator, Nike has 11 of the past 13 victories for a 84% win rate. Michigan State’s Reeboks account for 8% along with Kansas’ Adidas for the remaining 8%. So when picking your brackets, play the odds and pick a Nike team as the last one standing. Just do it.
March Madness 2011 Kicks Analysis #8: The Finals
From the kicks point of view, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was over at the Final Four. Nike was guaranteed another Championship with all FF participants donning the swoosh. Still though, there was one last game to be played between the Bulldogs of Butler and the Huskies of Connecticut. Despite an ugly Finals, the Huskies prevailed wearing their team Nike Air Max Fly By (and an occasional Air Jordan). As a back story, it was great that both teams played tournaments in Hawaii earlier this year.
Congratulations to UConn for the win, Butler for its run, and Nike for its Air Max Fly By.
