Question about AF1'S....

[younggunna28]

I know there isn't goin to be a definite answer, but I was just wondering if anyone has a real reason why Nike is using that cheap plastic leather onAF1's? My first thought is that it must be alot cheaper so they use it to save money, but some Nike products still use quality materials so why cut cornerson one of your most popular sneakers ever? I would think AF1's would be more of a priority as far as quality due to their popularity. I did not start thisthread to simply complain, I am honestly looking for an answer, so please don't tell me to just not buy them if I don't like them. I have gone thatroute already, not to boycott or anything, just because I can't bring myself to pay for such garbage when I know what they could be. I have wanted to buyso many pairs but have stopped myself because they quality looked so bad. The two most recent being these....

and

If these had quality leather I would be all over them... But when I tried them on I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't even really wearAF1's at all anymore but these simple colorways reminded me of the good ol' days and I would have loved to scoop them up.

Also, is there a reason for the change in shape with the 07's? I was never clear on the whole 07 thing...if anyone can shed some light i'd appreciateit!

 

[jthagreat]

I would think AF1's would be more of a priority as far as quality due to their popularity.
exact opposite. so popular they can put out BS and folks will buy.

As far as complaints. The all white AF1's wit ice bottoms are my favorite shoes period. I liked them so much that in 06, i bought 4 pairs of the womensrelease in a 12(which is a 10.5 in mens) i wear and 11-11.5. AKA my feet hurt, but i was happy i was wearin my favorite AF1's

come 2009, Nike decides to finally release a men's version, i cop without even lookin. Get home open that box to see that

but what did i see?

boo boo leather.

 

[rockenjayz247]

Originally Posted by jthagreat

I would think AF1's would be more of a priority as far as quality due to their popularity.

exact opposite. so popular they can put out BS and folks will buy.

As far as complaints. The all white AF1's wit ice bottoms are my favorite shoes period. I liked them so much that in 06, i bought 4 pairs of the womens release in a 12(which is a 10.5 in mens) i wear and 11-11.5. AKA my feet hurt, but i was happy i was wearin my favorite AF1's

come 2009, Nike decides to finally release a men's version, i cop without even lookin. Get home open that box to see that

but what did i see?

boo boo.
exactly what he said, regardless of quailty people will still buy....just like JB most retro now are horrible quailty but people still buy thembecause they like it alot.

 

[255forlife]

couple years ago, for the 25th anniversary, nike decided to kill the AF1.


they put a four tier system into place.


GR = $80. = cheap plasticky leather
Supreme = $150 = the better material that used to go on normal releases
Tier Zero = $300 = the hyped releases, collabos, artificial limitedness.
Super Premium (i forgot the official term) = $2k releases like the crocs, anacondas and such.. not really aimed towards the average consumer.


but yeah, as was mentioned a couple posts up, AF1s are still so popular that most releases eventually sell through at a faster rate than the average shoe.

 

[penny4president]

^Straight knowledge...Thank you!

 

[denverairforce]

^the "GR" is actually called "core" I believe, and the $2000 ones are called "Lux". Lux used to be only about $300 I think(remember the ones with the italy hangtag?). with '07, they went up to $2000. also, I think one of the things they are doing is using the better materialsonly on the premium and supreme releases so they have an excuse to charge ridiculous prices for those ($150 and up). it sucks.

 

[geegee]

i think most people by AF1s for wearing daily as beaters, not necessarily to floss in. thats no excuse for the plasticy leather and bad quality. even with thedifferent levels of quality we are still paying more for less

 

[rapido27]

Tier Zero doesn't have an exact price. Some are cheap, some are expensive. Not all are $300+. And I disagree with the person above me with wearing AF1s as'beaters'.

 

[sylvestermcgrizzly]

Originally Posted by geegee

i think most people by AF1s for wearing daily as beaters, not necessarily to floss in.

nope not at all...i buy af1's that i think are

and you dont treat

as beaters...

...i don't think dudes(including me) who bought the bobbitohigh set were copping to turn those into beaters...

 

[denverairforce]

just looked at dude's breakdown again, and I think this is probably slightly more accurate (based on my buying experiences):


Core - general releases $85 and up or so (usually found at FTL, NT, Champs, etc.)

Premium - still usually a pretty general release, maybe urban accounts only, usually more in the $100+ range, slightly fancier materials (but still nothingcrazy)

Supreme - usually urban accounts, priced a little higher than Premium and with fancier options (special materials, lasering, leather lined inside, etc.)

Supreme Max Air - similar to supreme in pricing and availability, but with a visible air unit in the heel.

Lux - extremely overpriced and limited to very select retailers, usually. materials are supposed to be the best. I've never seen a pair of Lux AF1's Iwould cop, even if they were $100.

Tier 0 - Tier 0 could still be a Premium or Supreme I believe. I don't think it's going to say Tier 0 on the box, but they are far more limited andonly released at select urban accounts and top tier Nike retailers. prices range from expensive to way too expensive to ridiculous. retailers may be given aMSRP but they can choose the prices at will, I believe.


hopefully a real AF1 head can come in here and correct anything I have wrong or anything I missed. also, it should be mentioned that in the '07 af1campaign, Nike's goal was to "update" the af1's design to perform better, but you know how that goes..........

 

[younggunna28]

^^^ so the reason for the "07" change was performance? I wouldnt mind paying a bit extra for quality materials but to me its seems like most of thepremium and supreme stuff tends to be too flashy, or has some sort of gimick or something. All im looking for is simple colorways with good materials, but itseems these days that combination is not possible. You get either a simple colorway with crappy leather, or decent leather but with some lasering/visible airunit/rolled edges/anything else you can think of haha The last AF1's i can think of that were "limited" but looked good were the bobbitohighs...That type of AF1 is exactly what im looking for.

 

[redrum sb]

I would cop those white/maize low's in a heartbeat if they had decent leather on them. That's why I rarely buy new releases.

Nike, go back to the good ol days, when gr's had tumbled and full grain leather

please, I'll cop every simple cw you put out. No joke.

 

[younggunna28]

Also, anyone else hate the new laces they use on premiums? They're like thick and stiff, i'm not too fond of them...

 

[denverairforce]

Originally Posted by younggunna28

All im looking for is simple colorways with good materials, but it seems these days that combination is not possible. You get either a simple colorway with crappy leather, or decent leather but with some lasering/visible air unit/rolled edges/anything else you can think of haha The last AF1's i can think of that were "limited" but looked good were the bobbito highs...That type of AF1 is exactly what im looking for.

yup, pretty much man. it sucks. that's why I just peep the b/s forum and ebay for forces. bobbitos were the last pair I paid close to retail for that Iwas happy about. those were premiums, by the way (decent quality leather, gum sole, things you don't find on Core releases). i've copped some of thesuperemes and whatnot, like the mowabb influenced and air max 95 ones, but they were $50 or less so I bought on impulse. still haven't rocked any of them,lol. the leather on the older releases was choice. plush and pliable, long lasting, etc. too bad... I am hoping that eventually they come around and startdoing simple 2 color blocking with quality leather.

by the way, the leather on the mowabb af1 is really nice, so you know they still have access to the materials!

 

[damnneardeadstock]

cuz AF1s sell themselves regardless of quality

 

[june0kang]

yea ive noticed there leather gets nasty and nasty creases.

 

[penny4president]

Nike over the years have been accused of many things such as children in the workplace, etc, etc...So using cheaper material and still getting the demand is ano brainer for them and unfortunate for the customer.