I love the Nike Hyperdunk. It’s my favorite Nike Basketball shoe of all time. You may remember that I wrote a whole piece on my love for the Hyperdunk a little while back. So obviously when I found out that the original Hyperdunks would be re-releasing, I was extremely excited. I headed on down to the mall earlier this week to grab a pair of the all-black colorway (my favorite), but when I got to the mall, I was sorely disappointed. It wasn’t like the original (which I still have, mind you) at all.
Gone was the nubuck-like material on the toe and collar, replaced by some cheap leather. Gone was the patterned carbon fiber on the bottom. Gone was the bold silver Flywire. Even the black wasn’t the same shade as the original. I was so bummed that I didn’t even cop.
I wasn’t expecting them to be an exact replica, but it honestly wasn’t even close … and that got me to thinking: are re-releases ever quite the same? The answer, at least in my eyes, is a resounding “no”. If you have a shoe that you remember and love from the past, be it a Jordan from the 80’s or a Reebok from the 90’s, the re-release is never quite the same as the original. Of course there are going to be cosmetic differences, but sometimes, like with these Hyperdunks, those differences are so grand you can’t even deal with the disappointment.
So it’s up to you to decide when your favorite shoe re-releases if you can handle them not being a carbon copy of the original. I suppose the very best thing you can do is just cross your fingers and hope that the remake of your beloved shoe is similar enough to the original. The sneaker game is a cruel one sometimes.
What do you think of re-releases? Are they close enough to your favorite OG pair for your liking, or do they not quite do it for you? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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