Official Air Max 97 Thread

[thefasterblade]

Decided to bite the bullet on the 97/1s at current resale prices.

Started unloading shoes in my closet that I haven't worn in over a year to pay it off.

 

[dragicon]

 

[stuntman mike]

yuck

 

[over30andwhat]

Damb those red CR7 looking kind of trash in IRL pics.

Maybe dude just got a B grade?

Officially on the fence

I almost feel like Ronaldo played football(soccer) in the pair I received! I’m on the fence with these, the details are nice but they feel rushed.




Yes it’s boring seeing the same shoe repeatedly but I somehow lucked out and was blessed with these for retail. They really are a modern classic. One thing I can see Nike doing is releasing the sample colour ways because as we all know Nike and sneakerheads love a story!
On fit, I’d agree with the general consensus & say size .5 down.

 

[es409]

Recieved these from JD. The quality is ok but the lace tips had some brown funky/sticky gunk on it, I’m guessing glue but not actually sure. The extra laces have different colour lace tips as too. For those that care these came in a black Nike box(similar to Nikelab releases) but with a lid and not a pull out box

Would you mind doing a laceswap? I'm interested to see how they would look with the green laces

 

[tonytobacco]

man please the 97/1s are hard

i gave up all my shoes with air units minus aj 3s and curry 90s but was gonna make an exception to get these

I only keep shoes that’ll last close to forever but these are clean enough to buy anyway cause I know I’d wear them a lot

my collection is mostly dunk sb’s, af 1’s and aj 1’s and random styles and brands sprinkled in

I like other 97s too but I’m off air units

dude, he designed them to last forever, when the airbag fogs over itll match the salmon color on top. He actually turned a problem into a feature.

 

[josh4523]

is there a certain magic number in years where air max 97's or i suppose any air max in general start to become unwearable? for example, the glue detaching from the bubble, the foam crumbling, etc.

 

[edshoecator]

I don’t care about the story. Stories ruined sneakers for me.


It’s the stories you make on your own.

“Got my first p in “x” shoe.”

“I got that scuff running from an *** beating that day”

 

[hypebeast917]

 

[All Ready]

dude, he designed them to last forever, when the airbag fogs over itll match the salmon color on top. He actually turned a problem into a feature.

cracking midsoles and deflated units is what I’m talking about

 

[beans439]

Any update on the 43 raffle or did I completely miss that discussion somehow?
Or did I just take a silent L again?

 

[infamous]

Any update on the 43 raffle or did I completely miss that discussion somehow?
Or did I just take a silent L again?

Haven't seen a word about it anywhere.

 

[jordanhead718212]

is there a certain magic number in years where air max 97's or i suppose any air max in general start to become unwearable? for example, the glue detaching from the bubble, the foam crumbling, etc.

I'd like to know this as well

 

[dblplay1212]

is there a certain magic number in years where air max 97's or i suppose any air max in general start to become unwearable? for example, the glue detaching from the bubble, the foam crumbling, etc.

In my experience, it's all about how they were stored. If they were kept ds and never broken in, they tend to go bad quicker. If they were worn a few times, put up, then worn once a year or so, they tend ot last a while. But every pair is different. The first 10 years you should always be fine. Years 10-15 are hit and miss. 15+ and it starts getting dicey. 20+ and they are dead.

 

[Leetroy Jenkins]

is there a certain magic number in years where air max 97's or i suppose any air max in general start to become unwearable? for example, the glue detaching from the bubble, the foam crumbling, etc.

No there is no magic number as degradation depends entirely on the conditions that the shoes are stored in.
Major fluctuations in ambient temperature, high ambient temperature, humidity and exposure to UV all factor in.
Your own wear pattern and body weight also affects the likelihood that something breaks down quicker.

Life is actually extended if you wear sneakers intermittently. So in a case study, if you owned two pairs of OG Neon 97s in the exact same conditions except you wore one pair a dozen times over the years while the other pair remained deadstock and untouched, the deadstock pair is more likely to crumble/disintegrate.

I personally keep to the rule of thumb that anything over 10 years is going to crumble 9 times out of 10.

 

[stuntman mike]

unless you live in hawaii and anything over 6-7 years starts to get iffy. especially if you forget your shoes in the trunk of the car sometimes like i do.

 

[Smithbeentrill]

All in for these

 

[dblplay1212]

No there is no magic number as degradation depends entirely on the conditions that the shoes are stored in.
Major fluctuations in ambient temperature, high ambient temperature, humidity and exposure to UV all factor in.
Your own wear pattern and body weight also affects the likelihood that something breaks down quicker.

Life is actually extended if you wear sneakers intermittently. So in a case study, if you owned two pairs of OG Neon 97s in the exact same conditions except you wore one pair a dozen times over the years while the other pair remained deadstock and untouched, the deadstock pair is more likely to crumble/disintegrate.

I personally keep to the rule of thumb that anything over 10 years is going to crumble 9 times out of 10.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I don't agree with that last line. I've probably bought 20 pairs that are >10 years old in the last couple of years and only one crumbled. And it was a 1999 og red lol. I had ds Currys come separated from the midsole so they needed to be re-glued but everything else has held up great.

 

[frankwh1te]

I can’t decide if I should shrink wrap these 30 some odd pairs I’m about to store at the pizza shop since I’m completely out of space in my home.

My main concern is smells from the pizza shop getting imbedded in the shoes ...garlic, dough, etc all predominant in the air

I’ve never wrapped shoes like you see at FC/Rif but I’m about to give it a go I guess

 

[KingCloudIX]

I can’t decide if I should shrink wrap these 30 some odd pairs I’m about to store at the pizza shop since I’m completely out of space in my home.

My main concern is smells from the pizza shop getting imbedded in the shoes ...garlic, dough, etc all predominant in the air

I’ve never wrapped shoes like you see at FC/Rif but I’m about to give it a go I guess

30 pairs of SW's?

 

[frankwh1te]

LOL I WISH

nah just random doubles and stuff I’m not wearing currently

 

[josh4523]

dblplay1212 Leetroy Jenkins truly appreciate the responses! if you dont mind helping me out with my next question, or anyone for that matter. I was wondering about the longevity because as many others in here, i would love to get my hands on a pair of silver bullets and golds, so i wanted to find out what years/versions were closest to the OG release model or if all releases have been the same since the original release

 

[Noto]

Just wanted to add to the discussion about the shoes longevity - the reason foams crack more easily over time is because the foam is basically like a bees nest structure full of tiny air bubbles. It's just too dense for the naked eye to see. If you wear a shoe with a foam midsole you press the air out of the structure, which is why it feels "bouncy" before it bottoms out eventually after a lot of wears.

Now imagine my bees nest analogy - if you don't push the air out of the foam enough you have a lot of holes in the midsole surrounded by older, deteriorating foam which collapses in on itself - which is why shoes crumble. If you've worn them a couple of times you pressed the foam to a denser brick-like structure without many porous regions. That's a much more stable construction and will last longer.

The short version of all of that is - wear your shoes for longevity. You can at least wear them around a little bit in the house but don't just let them sit around.

 

[dblplay1212]

dblplay1212 Leetroy Jenkins truly appreciate the responses! if you dont mind helping me out with my next question, or anyone for that matter. I was wondering about the longevity because as many others in here, i would love to get my hands on a pair of silver bullets and golds, so i wanted to find out what years/versions were closest to the OG release model or if all releases have been the same since the original release

I'm the wrong guy to ask there. I don't know much history on the 97's. I'm sure someone else can help out. I liked the 17 model a lot but not sure how it stakcs up with the others.

 

[tonytobacco]

cracking midsoles and deflated units is what I’m talking about

Midsoles are damn near jordan 1 hardness, I cant see them cracking. I could be wrong.