VaporMAX
I could cop and rock 90’s for days, 95’s not quite so.
The evolution of air technology amazed me right from seeing the blue ones on a pedestal in the sports shop window in 1987. In some of those years since, the latest releases didn't even raise a subtle 'meh'. As the visual aesthetic changed beyond ‘95, so did my fancy. Even though I love tech, this tech just wasn't my fancy
Even with the current resurgence of the 97’s and 98’s, I’m looking at them and there is still something not quite aligning with my taste. A couple of colourways really have piqued my interest, but not enough to chase and cop. Mostly it's the uppers that are putting me off, rather the sole. A shoe is package of upper, sole, box, history and hype isn’t it? Wearing something solely for the sole, now that’s a bit weird, but conceivable if the sole really was AMAZING. Bringing my attention directly to the instaPump Fury, at least they did the right thing and made the upper as out there and tech as possible.
I’ve never owned any 360’s or ‘09’s. I do have one pair of 14’s in the rotation, all be it a rotation of one or two wears a year. I really did think that the Air dept. Of Nike was failing my design cravings and desires. That damned Boost just got me all over the place. So much so that the stacks are no longer truly dominated with swoosh adorned boxes. Times are indeed a changing.
According to the Internets, the Nike Vapour Max was given its first ever press release January 2017. When I first saw them, my jaw kinda dropped, then it reeled back in again, then my mind went a funny kind of fuzzy. It was the upper. For some reason it just didn’t seem to match the sole. Please also add the fact that I live in a dust ridden climate and they just didn't seem like they were going to work for me.
Months passed and various takes of them started to appear and with each and every release my heart sped a little only to drop back down again. On a recent trip I noticed that in the UK especially the Vapour Max had been embraced in almost the same way as the Huarache was a few years back. They are everywhere. It’s almost like people that crave something slightly different are attracted to them and the price tag they hold gives them an element of a luxury sneaker to the non-sneakerhead.
All of this exposure didn’t do anything to increase my thirst at all, not one iota.
But then. This grey and red colourway popped onto shelves and it got my head turning. A tentative try on a few weeks later lead me to experience what it was to feel my heel crush down on a VaporMAX sole.
It's really odd to be honest, but it's my kind of odd. The ride is extremely cushioned, until the last minute when it seems to find hold. I don't run, so I'm not vouching for any real performance here. The grip of the outsole feels little like the '95 Ultra, which is insanely good in my opinion. As for the uppers, they feel as though almost aren't even there.
