Welp. I changed my tune rather quickly.
After wearing my pair through multiple hour long shopping sessions for christmas, I realized, these aren't so bad. I have put my feet through worse, so why am I going to miss the chance to own these when they are new and clean. Enough with my theatrics. It's my year of the chlorophyll. I bought one pair in 2012, and now appear to be done with 2013 just 3 days in.
I bit the bullet and bought a few more pairs. I guess I'll never learn. It's weird that they popped up on 6pm/zappos, and right after my purchase, totally gone.. Maybe someone here returned two pairs of sz 12s...
There is just something about looking down at a clean pair of chlorophylls.. For years, I had to tread lightly with my 2000/2002s in fear of any number of issues. Now that they have their own vintage color treatment, I can combine wears with the bright white 2012s. My first pair was a used 2000 pair that I took in as my own. So I guess I never realized what it was like to wear a new pair, and have it look new on foot, and be comfortable.. I remember I bought a 2002 pair 1 size too small just to be able to wear a 'new' pair. That was painful. It took years before finding my true size, and by then, I didnt want to dirty them lol. Now that I can wear my sz range, and have them look new, I am all in. I have come full circle a bit with my thoughts.
Post-25 wear review:
-Midsole paint is still intact and lovely. The 2000/2002s had some serious paint issues.
-Toebox is now just barely showing signs of creasing, if you want to call it that... It may be in large part due to the stiff pleather quality.. It does seem to wrinkle upon touching. So there is some play involved. The 'crease' is one big one extended through the middle of the white pleather, across into the velcro strap area, into the black pleather forefoot.. I gotta say, This may be the only crease mark that becomes apparent for the rest of the shoes life. SO the pleather won't exactly mold to your foot, as it wrinkles and softens up. Not gonna happen here.
-The 2000s had some ugly crease marks on the outer grey suede where your pinky toes reside. The crease would basically follow the line of your toes in a diagonal manner. So far the 2012s aren't giving any play to any crease marks in that area. Minor creasing on the outer forefoot side by the velcro strap.
After waiting most of 2012 for my first purchase of the year (2012 chlorophylls were #1), I will likely complete my shoe purchases for 2013 just three days in.
vig09, I would place the 2012s just a step lower than the legacy pair. I love the shiny nylon stuffed tongue of the 2002-2009s. The black pleather was more of a shiny patent like pleather material, which yielded a softer ride on the 2009. The grey fake suede is about the same. As far as materials, I would say they are neck and neck. It does become a bit of an issue if you have pinky toe pain on the 2012s. Once you can get past that, they remain very close.
