Shoe Review Series: Adidas NMD
As part of an on-going series, I am going to be reviewing sneakers that strike me as glorious, hideous, or some puzzling spot in between. To kick it off, let’s start with one of the most eclectic shoes Adidas has released in the past couple years: the NMD.
Taking inspiration from three different shoes designed in the 80s — the “micro pacer”, the “rising star”, and the “boston super” — the NMD exists to serve the wandering traveler. Short for ‘nomad’, the shoe is built to provide comfort, stability, and style in a very Occam’s razor manner. There isn’t an aspect of the shoe that is in excess. It is very simple while being somewhat unconventional, but that was the point. They wanted to make a shoe that focused on the future, and in doing so broke some traditional molds. So let’s break it down.
To start, they used their primeknit technology as the upper to provide both comfort and style. It is soft, form-fitting, and most notably all one piece. In between that and the sole are two rubber inserts that provide stability and a unique style element that paves the way for color blocking. Then, we’ve got the styrofoam-looking “boost” sole that is the metaphorical equivalent of walking on clouds. Seriously, it is comfy. Then we’ve got a perforated rubber outsole and a heel tab, and that’s it. Nice and simple. To give you a better idea, below is a picture of the shoe deconstructed.
Credit: http://www.limitedget.com
Now personally, this may be the most comfortable shoe I’ve ever worn. I throw them on for just about any casual occasion. They look good with jeans, shorts, suit pants, onesies, whatever. Great job, Adidas. Two laces up.
P.s. Unfortunately I’m not throwing on those blacked out beauties at the top. A “friends and family” iteration nicknamed the NMD “Pitch Black”, there were only 500 made. 400 of those went to people close to Adidas originals. The other 100 went to a lucky few winners of a Snapchat contest held by Adidas. Believe me, I tried. And lost. And now they’re worth no less than $4,000 on the resale market. Maybe one day…