Nike x Doernbecher Reveal

Every year during the fall, Nike collaborates with the Doernbecher hospital and releases six new colorways on various sneakers designed by patients at the hospital. The series started 9 years ago and still produces sneakers that instantly sell out. In this entry I will be displaying 3 models and what I enjoy about them.

First up, the Jordan 9 DB was designed by patient Oswaldo Jimenez. Oswaldo has a disease called severe pulmonary hypertension. Due to this, Oswaldo cannot exert too much energy. Anyways, the shoe takes inspiration from his nickname, little chicken, or pollito on spanish. The shoe has a white upper with a black and gold feather border. The heel has the number 17 on it which is his favorite number. The outer tongue reads pollito on it and inside the tongue it reads his birthdate.

Next up, the Air Force 1 was revealed in a new colorway. The shoe was designed besides Chad Berg, a 15 year old who recently was in a canoe and flipped over. He was in the icy water for nearly 90 minutes before getting help. He was rescued and treated at the hospital. He now lives a normal life. The shoes feature neon green accents with a white and grey upper. The colors were inspired by the University of Oregon, which wears football jerseys similar to that scheme.

Lastly, the Free Run 2, designed by Grant Olsen sports an all blue upper and red heel tab. Grant was 6 when he found out he had leukemia. The shoes feature inspirational things that have kept him happy such as a guitar on the tongue or a photo of the beach on the inside.

8/20 Release Spotlight and Reminder!

Every Friday and Saturday at 8AM EST or 5AM PST sneakerheads sit in front of the computer anxious to pick up the newest shoes on NikeStore.com. I thought I'd show what is releasing this weekend and even share my history of online releases.

Often, I find myself in front of the computer for important releases, typically Jordan Retro's or limited Nike Basketball products. I have never failed to purchase multiple pairs of a sneaker online, however many collectors never can get one pair. The reason is due to 2 reasons. One being the fact that they are not quick enough and the other being the have little experience. Often I am able to pick the shoes up just because I am able to speedily checkout. Other's often lose time on entering in their personal information.

Now onto this week's releases.

First off however, the Nike Zoom Rookie PRM "Galaxy" release was postponed for a second time. The reason being unknown however. Often times Nike will postpone or even cancel a release if the shoe is too hyped up. I think that this was the case with these. Just like with the Air Yeezy 2, these would've made the NikeStore.com server crash.

source: http://www.nikeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Nike-Zoom-Rookie-Galaxy-22-e1344927253309.jpg

Now onto the release. First up are the Kobe VII (7) "Invisibility Cloak" re-release. The shoes first released on February 19, 2012. However, I guess Nike decided to put more pair's into production. The sneaker sports an upper with a dark purple that changes shades depending on the light that shines on it. It can go from purple-green. I expect these to sell out instantly just like the original release Cloaks. These release 8.20

source: http://images.sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/nike-zoom-kobe-vii-invisibility-cloak-release-date.jpg

Next up, the Jordan Spiz'ike "Toro Bravo". Sporting an all red upper similar to the one on the Jordan 5 DMP "Toro Bravo" which released in 2009, this Spiz'ike keep's it true to the red. I am not a fan of the shoes and neither are most people. The shoes release 8.20 and I expect them to sit on the website.

source: http://sole-u.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/toro-spizike-4-e1341843772576.jpg

Finally, the last shoe releasing is the Air Force 1 in Blue/Orange. The upper is all navy blue and sports an orange check. The upper sits on a white midsole and orange outsole. Just like the Spiz'ike I expect them to not sell out and am not a fan of the sneaker, mainly due to the small swoosh being on a big shoe. The placement to me is awkward. These release 8.20.

source: http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/chapter-ex/cabinet/nike-4/315123-402-2.jpg?_ex=320x320&s=2&r=1

Nike LeBron X iD Spotlight

This week, I am again not going to be doing a week in review segment. However, I will be spotlighting another sneaker and this week I have chosen the LeBron X iD which released on Tuesday the 9th of October. The sneakers are designed for LeBron James of the Miami Heat and are made by Nike Basketball. The colorways I will be showing to you are made by myself via NikeiD.com and are the standard $220 version without Nike+ Basketball.

The LeBron X comes in 3 versions a Non-Nike+ model (retail: $180, iD: $220), a Nike+ Model without the Nike+ Sport Pack (retail: $200, iD: $240), and a Nike+ Model with the Sport Pack (retail:$270, iD: $310). The difference in pricing of iD and retail is due to the fact that iD are custom made colorways designed specifically for the buyer and not sold in stores. A retail pair is sold in stores such as Champs, Niketown, and Footlocker.

The first colorway I designed took inspiration from the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Platinum (pictured below). The Yeezy 2 featured an all grey snakeskin upper, a bright orange sock liner, and a glow in the dark outsole. My iD LeBron X is designed the same way, minus a glow in the dark outsole.

The second colorway I designed was a simple black upper, with touches of orange and purple. It was inspired by a Phoenix Sun's Jersey (pictured below). I really enjoy this colorway because while being black the bright tones of orange and purple really "pop".

source: http://www.oufaner.com/images/Phoenix%20Suns%20Barkley%20Retro%20Jersey%2034%20Black.jpg

The next colorway of Lebron X iD's were inspired by the Paranorman Foamposite's. Although I could not replicate the electric green flames, I added as much bright neon accents as I could. I also could not replicate the green to the exact shade of green used on the Paranormans. This personally could have been better with a more customizable shoe.

Year in Review Nike Zoom KD IV (4) - Top 10 Countdown

This year, Nike Basketball released the Zoom KD IV. This was one of my favorite shoes ever released and in this entry I will be showing you some colorways of the 30 plus that were made and my thoughts.

The KD was designed for Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The shoes feature a hyperfuse upper. The strap is "adaptive fit" and is said to make the shoes mold to your foot. It features words throughout the shoes outsole made in honor of people who helped him as a child such as him Mom or Friend, Chucky. The tongue sports a 3(4)5 on it. The 35 representing his number and the 4 representing his shoe's number in his series

10. Christmas "Cookie Cutters"

Durant wore these on the Thunder's christmas game versus Orlando.

My thoughts on this shoe were while I enjoy the shine of them and the "cookie cutter" theme, they just weren't worth the price. They could have made these better by going with a lighter bronze and possibly adding a more "christmas" feel.

9. N7 Away

Inspired by Nike N7, a charity by Nike which help's Native Americans. The shoes featured turquoise because it is a sign of friendship.

The N7 "Away" was a very nice colorway, however in my opinion the diamond pattern was too childish for the shoes.

8. KD IV Scoring Title

The KD IV scoring title was created in honor of Durant winning the NBA Scoring title. It's an award Durant wins every year because of how efficient he is on offense.

The shoes are just above average to me. They are a bit dull and don't really have any association to the scoring title in the color and the pattern. The shoe would have been executed better if it referenced to his points scored this season on the yellow overlay on the blue.

7. KD IV Black/Yellow iD

Made by SoleCollector.com user Drastic, these KD IV's were customized on NikeiD. No story behind them.

In my opinion the shoes is very popping but if branded with a livestrong logo somehow these would be even nicer.

6. KD IV Volt iD

These were made by my friend and SoleCollector.com user Jmoore 93 or Jonathan.

In my opinion the all volt look is great and could've been better if Nike kept the color consistent throughout the shoe rather then a different green on the strap and tongue. No story behind these shoes either but he told me he was inspired by Sample photo's of an all volt KD that leaked earlier in the year.

5. KD IV Fresh Mint/Easter

The KD IV Easter or fresh mint's were worn during his Easter game this past NBA season. The shoe was inspired by the bright pastel color that Easter has.

In my opinion I wish the shoes would have featured the dark mint on the strap more and the lighter mint on the upper less.

4. KD IV UNDFTD

The KD UNDFTD was inspired by California based brand and store, UNDFTD. It features the main colors of the brand which are green, orange, and black. The shoes are great but if a different material for the green was used the would've been better as the one used creases.

3. KD IV BHM

The KD IV BHM, or Black History Month's, were inspired by the wild prints and patterns of african tribes. I loved the shoes but a little more of the pattern would've made the better.

2. KD IV Nerf

The KD IV Nerf was inspired by a childhood toy Durant often played with. A nerf basketball was his favorite toy and Nike created 320 pairs of this shoe to honor them. Honestly, Nike couldn't have executed these better, I just am more of a fan of the next shoe.

1. KD IV Weatherman

Inspired by Kevin Durant's back-up job if he didn't make the NBA, a weatherman. The shoes feature an all green upper and a wild weather pattern on the strap, heel, and outsole. These were my favorite shoe and have no room to be made better as they're already great.

[photo sources]

http://solecollector.com/news/the-24-best-kd-iv-colorways-for-kevin-durant-s-24th-birthday/

http://solecollector.com/news/spotlight-nike-zoom-kd-iv-id-july-2012/

http://solecollector.com/Sneakers/Marketplace/267288/ds-kd-4s-n7-away-black-size-11-durant-pearl-gold-medal/

http://global-kicks.com/files/f43a4_IMG_0833-440x328.jpg

http://theshoegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nike-Zoom-KDIV-Rouge-Green-Total-Orange-01.jpg

http://www.millenniumshoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Nike-Zoom-KD-IV-BHM_4.jpg

http://theshoegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/nerf-nike-kd-4-kevin-durant1.jpg

http://theshoegame.com/articles/weatherman-nike-zoom-kd-4-iv-release-date.html