An Analysis of

My Top Four Favorite Kicks

of All Time

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It all started in 4th grade. It was this year that I discovered my love for basketball, became a die-hard fan of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Chicago Bulls, and became somewhat of a sneaker geek. Back then the shoes to get were Nike Airs, especially if they had a visible air bubble, and I was fortunate enough that Nike could be my brand of choice back then. As a grown up, I still mainly purchase Nike’s, but I now favor a few other brands such as Asics and New Balance as well.

About a week ago, I picked up the book Driven from Within: Michael Jordan at a used book store, and I began to feel nostalgic about a few specific pairs of shoes that I have owned over the years. In the book, Tinker Hatfield, who designed a majority of the Air Jordan’s, wrote about the Air Jordan’s design process, which I found to be fascinating. In conjunction with this nostalgia, I would like to present to you my top four favorite kicks of all time. These are all shoes that I either own or have owned, but please keep in mind that these are simply my humble thoughts, derived from my own personal experience.

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New Balance 574

Originally worn by marathon runners in the 1980’s, the New Balance 574 was a popular running shoe due to its minimal, yet comfortable design and superb durability. Today, most people wear the 574 for more casual activities, and they look good for any occasion with both jeans and shorts. (My best friend growing up, as a groomsmen’s present, gave my current pair of 574’s to me. We all wore them as groomsmen in his wedding.) The 574 may not look like they would be up to the task, but I actually play basketball in them on a regular basis.

Air Jordan IV

The Jordan IV is one of my top two favorite Jordan’s ever. It was the second Air Jordan designed by Tinker Hatfield, and it was basically an evolution of the Jordan 3. This is the shoe that got me into shoes. After coveting these shoes for the majority of 4th grade, I finally got a pair toward the end of that school year. The specific color scheme I had was black and gray. I loved the suede material that the upper was made of, and they were extremely comfortable. I have never been a fan of high tops, and as such, these three-quarter height shoes were perfect for basketball. I wore those Jordan’s until they basically fell apart, and then I gave them to a friend.

Jordan 11 Low

The low top version of the much beloved Jordan 11, these are the most comfortable Jordan’s I have ever owned. I got them in the summer after 10th grade and played in them in my summer league basketball games and in 11th grade. I loved these things. The mesh on the sides made them very breathable, and they felt like an extension of my feet. They were so comfortable that you could easily forget you had them on. They were also very light. Sadly, my foot grew between 11th and 12th grade and they no longer fit. I wish that I had kept them just so I could say I still have them, but I tossed them when I got married and moved into my new house. If they ever retro release these again, I’ll probably pick up a pair.

Nike Lunar Glide+ 2

As of the time of this writing (November 2010), this is my newest pair of shoes. Out of every pair of running shoes that I have ever owned, these are by far the most comfortable and light-weight. The Asics that my Lunar Glide’s have replaced feel very inadequate in terms of cushioning, especially after wearing them right after I have worn the Lunar Glide’s. However, this may be the result of comparing a basically brand new pair of shoes with a pair that is a year old.

The Lunar Glide+ 2 is made up of several technologies…

The DYNAMIC SUPPORT system sits in the shoe’s midsole and offers on-demand support in response to a runner’s changing needs. It features more soft foam on the lateral side for cushioning on impact and more firm foam on the medial side for support.

Flywire helps provide ultra-lightweight support and comfort for your foot. It gets its strength from thin Nylon fibers strategically placed on the upper of the shoe to hold the foot in place, helping to reduce slippage during activity. This allows for a massive reduction in weight because material is used only where it’s needed for structure.

LunarLite foam is 30 percent lighter than standard Phylon and provides ultra-lightweight and springy cushioning for your foot. Encased in a Phylon or Phylite midsole, this new foam compound, invented at Nike, delivers cushioning that’s soft and not too mushy. It allows impact force to be more evenly distributed and helps reduce painful pressure points on your foot. *

* The technologies listed above, along with their definitions, were taken from Nike.com.