It’s a battle for the ages. David and Goliath. Gatti and Ward. Hobbs and Whammer. The Yeezy 350 Boost and the OVO X.
This is like Celebrity Deathmatch, except we’re comparing sneakers instead of the celebrities themselves. In the red corner, we’ve got Kanye West‘s Adidas Yeezy 350 Boost. In the blue corner, we’ve got Drake‘s Jordan OVO X. They’ll go head to head for four rounds (four important categories: materials, comfort, wearability, and cultural significance), and only after that will a winner emerge. Alright, enough with the boxing analogies, let’s get to the first category in our sneaker showdown.
Note: All categories will be scored on a standard boxing scale, with the winner gaining 10 points and the other shoe 9 or less. In the event of a draw, there will be a sudden-death round in which each shoe will have one hour to get as many likes as possible on the ‘gram.
Materials
The Yeezy 350 Boost brings a Primeknit upper with a standard rubber midsole (full-length Boost foam of course, but we’ll touch on that later) while the OVO X comes with a premium leather upper with stingray detailing, and a classic Jordan X midsole. Although Adidas’s two new technologies make a strong case for the top spot, you can never go wrong with premium leather. Advantage OVO X’s. Quentin Miller didn’t need to lend Drizzy a hand on this one, he eked out a victory on his own.
Winner: OVO X, 10-9
Comfort
We’re going back to the Boost cushioning again on the 350’s here (just like we said we would), as there’s no more comfortable cushioning technology on the market. Sorry Aubrey, but a full-foot Air unit and a Phylon midsole just don’t compare. The Yeezys definitely jumped over the Jumpman in this category.
Winner: Yeezy 350 Boost, 10-8
Wearability
Wearability is extremely important, and both these shoes make a strong case in this round. The Yeezy 350 boosts are the pinnacle of the minimal, running-inspired sneaker, and the OVO X’s prove that you can never go wrong with a clean, white shoe with little pops of detail. Although this is the closest round yet, the 350 Boosts take the cake because the runner silhouette is hot right now….and because you can wear it through every season. All-white leather shoes like the OVO X’s…not so much.
Winner: Yeezy 350 Boost, 10-9
Cultural Impact
For the final round, we’re doing something a little bit different. This is the one category that doesn’t directly deal with the shoe. It’s about the buzz surrounding the shoe, and the overall impact it had on the sneaker world and pop culture as a whole. As with every Kanye sneaker release, the 350 Boosts had both the sneaker world and the pop culture world buzzing. Sneaker blogs (this one included) went crazy, and Kanye’s famous friends like the Kardashian-Jenners (why don’t we just hyphenate all their last names and mold them together into one awful, fame-grubbing blob?) stunted in the shoes well before the release date.
There was excitement surrounding the OVO 10’s, but it paled in comparison. Sure, the sneaker world was whipped into a frenzy, but they didn’t have nearly the same effect in pop culture. Edge goes once again to the Yeezys.
Winner: Yeezy 350 Boost, 10-9
Final Score
The judge’s (technically the judge, I’m the only one scoring this) scorecards are in, and we have a winner. The Yeezy 350 Boost takes the cake with an overall score of 39-36. Aubrey came out swinging in the early rounds, but he just didn’t have the gas to go with the undisputed celebrity sneaker champion, Kanye West. The OVO X’s are a great shoe, but they’re not on the same level as the 350 Boosts.
So there you have it. The 350 Boosts in somewhat of a landslide. What do you think? Agree? Disagree (that you, Quentin Miller)? Drop us a comment or hit us on Twitter to share your thoughts! And be sure to follow us on Instagram for dope sneaker pictures daily.
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