Now that we are winding down to the last week of August (what the heck man...really?!), there has been a lot of shopping happening. Well I don't know if it's a lot if you consider 2 shoes "a lot". But to me it's a lot.
Last year (beginning of 2017) I had bought a pair of Adidas Superstar shoes in black and rose gold. It was beautiful and I ended up using them for work. Now, considering I was on my feet a lot at work, I needed really good pairs of shoes. I have never bought Adidas before so decided to try them out. It was kind of funny because they weren't the most comfortable, especially if you have flat feet. They are pretty flat looking and don't have much of an insole, so I had to purchase insoles and switch out their stock ones.
After about a year and a half, they started to crack. The part where the front has the bend, and where the front meets the sides, that area started to really crack on my right foot and then the left. I was told from my friend that hers had cracked like that too over time. So I guess this is a known issue in Superstars.
Now begins the hunt for another pair of shoes. I'm usually a Nike fan, and have bought a lot of running shoes over the years.
A brief history:
I used to run a lot of cross country competitions during my school years, as well as track and field. As a young kid, my parents would not get me Nike shoes because they were super expensive and didn't see the point as my feet kept on growing. They bought me Brooks and still gave me good results in the end.
In my last year of grade school, my parents decided to reward me with my first pair of Nikes. I was so excited and happy because I could run in cross country with my very first pair! Lo and behold, I picked up wicked blue Airs (sorry I can't remember the exact name as it's been almost 20 years already), which at that time I believe the cost was $130...ridiculous if you think about it. However, I was very thankful they agreed to buy it as my feet finally started to stop growing.
I used them for several practices and the final competition. 3 months into wearing them, I noticed the front was tearing. The plastic that was situated at the tip of the shoe had started cutting into the mesh material on the side where the toes sort of bend with the shoe. I was pretty sad, as I felt my parents wasted money on a shoe that wouldn't last. I had no idea what to do.
Until my dad suggested we talk to Nike. The store probably wouldn't take in the shoe for an exchange as it was already past the date. So we decided to contact Nike directly. Nike has this exchange policy that if the shoe breaks within the year due to manufacture issues, then they can replace the shoe. I didn't know about this policy until we wrote to them. I remember we filled out a form and then explained what happened. We did this 5 months after they had bought it (although the shoe was ruined in 3 months, but for some reason we waited until the 5-6 months period...probably because we had no idea what to do).
I thought I could help out by...gluing the sides with my glitter glue. Yes, I actually did that and think I ruined it more to the point that it couldn't be fixed. However my dad still said to send it in and try. Nike contacted us and told us they would try to fix it, otherwise they will send a replacement.
About a week later, I got a pair of brand new Nike Airs in the mail. They were purple this time, the same style. I was super happy and fortunate that they were able to replace in such a short time. Although I was a bit sad they weren't blue, but still blessed that I still got something back.
I managed to get about 2-3 years of wear on the purple ones before they started to rip as well over time. By this time I wasn't doing much running anymore so that probably helped as well.
It's been over 18 years and I still remember that experience. Hence why majority of my running shoes over the years have been Nikes.
Now, back to the current story.
Now that my Adidas Superstars have ripped and is no longer safe to wear in the workplace, I began to search back to my favourite: Nike. I hadn't bought a pair of Nikes for some years now (the last one being from the Nike factory) but I browsed their main website and came across the current trend: the Vapormax.
Nike recently celebrated their 30 years of Air Max by introducing a hybrid into their line up: Vapormax. Apparently it took them 7 years to design and finalize this product, and released it on their 30th anniversary.
I tried to find a nice pair of anything. I was quite disappointed in the women's selection as I find women's get the crappiest colour selections (no offence). I used to hate my feet but maybe I should feel blessed as I have the option of browsing the men's catalogue as well, because there's such a vast selection.
Lo and behold, I land on the Vapormax Plus. Now that's my type of running shoe. Although I won't be running in them anytime soon (maybe except during a code) but otherwise I had to do some reading on them. They are comfortable. Knowing my past Nikes, I can whole heartedly agree that they could be comfortable. I landed on a pair that was (thankfully) on sale at that time in the men's section, and of course I chose a blue and black combination from Foot Locker.
They arrived in the mail about a week later and I was SUPER HAPPY!
Now of course I went to browse more colours and realized Nike has this "Be True" category. I fell in love with a pink and purple one with rainbows on the sole. Unfortunately they sold out everywhere in North America, so my only option at this point was to order from the UK. It took a while to figure out my UK size but I jumped the gun and ordered it. Got butt raped by customs, but can't escape them as it was coming directly from the UK store.
The shoes arrived 1 day apart. And I'm super happy to unveil them both here: The Vapormax Plus and Be True collection.
Voilaaaaaa! My 2 pairs of Vapormax Plus.
The Vapormax Plus soles.
The back of the Be True shoes.
At the bottom of the right sole, it says "BETRUE" at the end.
My verdict?
I have began wearing the blue Vapormax pair and they are super comfortable. I am still breaking them in so my feet are still somewhat sore from the stiffness, but they are slowly starting to loosen up. If you have flat feet, it will benefit you. I can feel the big arch helping, especially when I do a lot of standing and walking around during work hours.
Another advantage is that it will give you a slight boost in height. The sole is basically all air, so you're essentially standing on air. And no, the soles will not pop if you step on a needle. Apparently it will take some force to break the air soles. You can try to search videos on Youtube.
Some disadvantages are that they do squeak a lot on glossy floor. It sounds like when you come into a building from walking in the rain outside, but eventually they clear up. At this point, they're still squeaking so I assume it will take a bit of time to wear them in before they stop squeaking. Everyone knows when I'm coming.
Another disadvantage is the tongue of the shoe. There is no place to weave the laces through to prevent the tongue from sliding around. I find after a while, the tongue has migrated to the right side of my feet, or the left. My prior shoes I was able to weave the laces through and the tongue wouldn't move. So I'm not sure what happened here!
Some people report that their shoes get stuck on the stairs, due to the gap in the middle of the sole. The sole is 2 parts, allowing more flexibility. I haven't had any issues yet of getting stuck or falling down the stairs, but I will report if I do. Hopefully not.
I sprayed down the Vapormax Plus with a protectant that repels fluid spills (definitely need that in my workplace setting). So far it's been working well; the shoes look flawless. I've had many compliments at work and they do stand out quite a bit.
The Vapormax Plus Be True pair will most likely stay on my shelf untouched as it is a limited edition piece. Maybe I'll wear it once or twice but they will most likely end up like my pink breast cancer Uggs: stored away safely, living in my closet.
For more information, you can visit Nike's official website. If you're seeking the Be True version, you may have to order it via a UK site, but fair warning, they don't have many left over and they only come in men's size. And don't expect a discount, as they do cost more than the average Vapormax Plus shoes.
Code for the Vapormax Plus Be True: AR4791-500
Code for the Vapormax Plus in Blue/Black: 4205550
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