WearTesters Weekender: Remastered Jordans

November 2, 2014May 10, 2015

We’re back again with the WearTesters Weekender: Issue 5. We truly appreciate all of our readers and comments each week. So keep it up!

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This week we will focus on the topic of the Remastered Jordans set to come our way beginning in 2015. Specifically, I’m going to talk about what excites me about the change in the product line. Honestly, I cannot wait to get on court in a pair. How about you?

I’m young, and my only memory of watching Jordan play on live television was in his final days on the Wizards. He was electrifying in both personality and play, even then. That being said, I am a student of the game of basketball, a huge fan of the play of Larry Bird and Bill Russell, and I have done my fair share of catching up on what I missed of Jordan’s illustrious career. I remember playing in and cherishing a pair of all black Team Jordans when I was very young….before I totally committed to following Kevin Garnett and playing in his signatures…..but that’s a topic for another day. Since then, I have not chosen to play in a pair of retro Jordan’s.

Now, I see the remastered Jordan series, the supple leather, quality construction, and a closer attention to detail and all I want to do is play in a pair. I haven’t even bought a pair of retro Jordans to date. That’s right, you read that correctly. Casually, I wear a ton of different running shoes from small brands (Skora, Vivobarefoot, Topo), a lot of the Nike Free collection, and certain older basketball models from adidas and Nike that I have a connection to. In terms of basketball, I like to experiment and I have a reputation for destroying my shoes due to my play style. Therefore, I have often opted for relatively inexpensive retros of adidas, Nike, and Reebok products that will take a beating on court. Of course, I will also put up the cash for some recent performance models like Kobes, KD’s and anything from BrandBlack if I know they will perform exceedingly well on court.

In terms of the retro Jordans, I have shied away. They are expensive, of inconsistent quality, and seemingly fragile in terms of construction. I haven’t wanted to put up the money for something I KNOW isn’t up to par. JB can do better, we see it in models like the 28, 29, and the Superfly series (arguably the best performance models in their year of release). But they haven’t been giving us their best on retros so I haven’t been buying. I’m all about the materials, the design, and the story behind footwear models. There are so many options out there from so many different brands, designers and athletes that I have been a patron of many different models and design stories.

The way I see it, what Jordan Brand did to consumers over the last decade or so is wrong, but they’re a business and they maintained he hype and sold the sneakers they wanted to at a price with great margins. Now, they can make it up to us by delivering a great product at what I see as a bearable price increase. Finally , I see the effort is being made to roll out a better product. I see the pictures and the interviews and the hype…..and I’m buying in. The Remastered Jordan’s are coming our way and I cannot wait to play in a pair of 10’s, 12’s, and 16’s. Natural materials, if used correctly and with quality, make a basketball shoe that much more desirable in my eyes as a consumer. I’ll have my eyes on release dates and upcoming colorways and truly hope I’m able to score a pair that I’d love to play in (we all know how difficult that part is).

Some people may thoroughly enjoy their time playing in retro’d Jordan’s. Some people may question my qualifications to make that claim and that decision in regards to staying away from the retros. My response is that I am an individual consumer that decided not to purchase something knowing it was of lesser quality than originally intended. I enjoyed playing basketball in other 90’s shoe models but now I feel it will be worth my money to purchase and play in a pair of remastered editions. I’m excited, the man himself played in them, and now we’ll hopefully get to experience the type of construction and quality that consumers were accustomed to when they first released. This piece is sure to start some discussion and controversy, but please remember that it is just an editorial type piece with my comment on a topic. I love the game of basketball and I’m looking forward to feeling like Mike, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

So, now I will pose two questions for our readers!

1. Are you excited for the release of the remastered Jordans in hopes to take them to the court, as originally intended?

2. How do you feel about natural materials on basketball shoes, are you a big fan of a quality leather upper? If so, what is your favorite classic shoe with predominantly natural materials for the upper?

Let’s hear it!

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Last but not least, take a look at a few of this weeks top posts and performance reviews on the site! Be sure to read and comment if you missed them originally.

Air Jordan XX9 – Performance Review — by Jarron Ramos

You’ve heard all kinds of great things about the XX9, but it never hurts to hear another opinion and perspective on the way they perform on court.

Air Jordan XX9 – Performance Review

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First Look: The Under Armour Speedform Gemini — by Drew Whitecomb

Under Armour continues to grow and innovate as a company, check out this post about their newest upcoming running shoe and potentially new cushioning technology.