How can you tell if an old shoe is wearable? (99 IV's)

[uknowdonti]

If you're planning to rock them I would say buy them used beforehand. I have both black/red and white/cement 99 IV's and they give me no problems.It's always a risky business when you un-ds older or vintage shoes. I've cracked my OG aquas and had the soles separate off my powder 10's andplayoff 13's. I don't regret it because I had the opportunity to wear them at least once. If I am spending this much money on shoes then best believeI'm wearing them.

 

[airjordanjack]

I got a pair of cement IVs with super foggy air, but i rocked em and thier fine.

 

[JayDean03]

idk. it depends on the foam. my friend has a pair of OG VIIs and they are pretty worn, but still cracking @ the heel.

i guess we'll never know.

 

[bklyn style baby]

Originally Posted by Jcool813

Originally Posted by bklyn style baby

I don't think its worth finding out, buy the cheap retroes to wear and keep the 99 iv's DS.

shoes are meant to be worn. i would say look at the midsole and if its yellowed or cracking don't buy them

You sound real dumb! of course shoes are made to be worn, 99 retro iv were made to be worn well in 1999 not 2008. Its been stated that there is no fullproof way to find out if the shoes are wearable, so listening to to some of these stupid nters tell you to check for yellowing or cracking is not tosmart.

A) wear the shoes, they wont fall apart & be happy

B) wear the shoes, they fall apart & be upset

C) don't wear the shoes, keep them ds (retain the value of the shoe), and always wonder if....

from what ive seen in the past the risk isn't worth the reward.

if you ask me, this one is a no brain-er!

 

[neptunesfinest]

^^I think you summed it up pretty well. I just copped these and have not received them quite yet but I'll post pictures when I get them just to get someopinions. Right now I'm leaning towards not wearing them only because I would be devastated if they fell apart on me. I'd rather have them to look atin perfect condition than to wear them once and destroy them.

 

[sherlock foams]

There are too many factors to consider. But from my experience, it depends on how the shoes have been stored.

If the shoes have been kept wrapped up in plastic with silica packs & etc..., then issues such as cracking & midsole separation are more likely tooccur.

But I say wear your shoes! Money comes and goes fast than a pair of shoes will, regardless of condition. You can't live life inside a closed door.

DS IV's: $400+

Piece of Mind: Priceless

 

[randz4937]

dont rely on the air bubble...its all in the midsole. try rocking it on carpet for the first couple of times ti test it out before going out on concrete

 

[dominican92]

Originally Posted by dcortes23

if the soles is soft its wearable if its stiff then put them on and walk around.........and see your sole two steps behind you...

!!

LMAO!!

 

[thatdsukidd5]

i rock my wht/cement IV's and they're in really good shape

 

[micheal623]

if the sole is hard and not rubbery then you can't wear them.

 

[sickickz23]

the midsole test is the best method.

 

[kings castle]

welll....if ur foot can fit into the shoe then its wearable in my mind

 

[poofyo101]

most likely if your pair is ds still today they are unwearable without at least getting minor damage to the midsole/paint chipping

 

[clamchowder21]

my oreos 4's are good i have no problems with them n i wear them alot

 

[23collector1985]

Originally Posted by SHERLOCK FOAMS

There are too many factors to consider. But from my experience, it depends on how the shoes have been stored.

If the shoes have been kept wrapped up in plastic with silica packs & etc..., then issues such as cracking & midsole separation are more likely to occur.

But I say wear your shoes! Money comes and goes fast than a pair of shoes will, regardless of condition. You can't live life inside a closed door.

DS IV's: $400+

Piece of Mind: Priceless

What happens to the person's piece of mind and his $400+ if he wears them and they fall apart???

I'm sorry, I have DS '99 IV's and I don't plan on ever wearing them, even though I bought them for retail back in 1999. I'd rather wonderif they are wearable for the rest of my life than to wear them and find out for sure that they crumble.

Everyone encouraging others to wear their '99 retros, just to find out if they are wearable, should have to give that person the $400 when they fallapart.

 

[shoefettish]

I got a pair of OG 94 Steel X's and I wore them sh*ts bout 10x. Whenever I feel a pair of my J's are getting a little old
I hit the midsole with a shoe sponge(sold in FTL, FA, etc..) Even when I walk around the house I bust out a pair of J's
I aint wear in a while so the sole can stay soft... if you gonna buy a pair of old kicks get NDS, cuz the DS/never been
worn have been on display sooooooo long, that they are just that - display shoes.

 

[hypent500]

a foggy bubble means there is an air leak which means it is useless to support your weight and the only thing that will hold you up when you walk is themidsole.

i'de rather have a firm midsole rather than a spongy one. a spongy midsole will hold up less weight which means when you walk you will "rip" themidsole apart.

But if the midsole is firm BUT DRY then this will crack and crumble.

storing your kicks in a clean cool air environment is key and putting them on and standing/walking on them will help keep the material flexible.....

before i put them on i push my finger on the heel of the midsole and around the bubble. now it the midsole starts to crack or if it is too soft i wouldn'tput them on. if it seems strong enough for your weight then put them on and stand on them. put little pressure at a time and look for cracks etc. if you popthe bubble i guess its okay as long as the midsole is strong enough to support your weight.

when you have applied all the pressure on both shoes as you have the on wear them around the house. every few hours see for any cracks. if everything looksgood from here wear them outside but plan on just walking.

good luck......

 

[jeanius86]

^Hype,

Love the sig

 

[neptunesfinest]

Here's a picture of what I was talking about. It's a little bit blurry but you can see that the cloudyness is kind of in the center while the edgesare still clear. I pressed on the foam and it feels pretty compliant. I also took a few steps in them and I didn't notice any cracks or anything. Ithink these are pretty much good to go. Wish me luck! (Second picture is just for fun. I love that angle

)

 

[sunshining7]

Dear All,

I've been talkin to some professional shoe maker and here's what's coming out :
1/especially with air bubble, and Vintage pairs, 5 or more years old, if they havent been worn at least couple hours, there is no chance that those willsurvive long,
due to the Air leaking first, then the foam . If the foam is not compressed by your weight when wearing it, then Air will getinside and create little holes, more you wait,
more little holes will appear. then each little hole get to another and so on, then your shoe start cracking.
2/ Humidity creates moisture, and moisture developes within those air bubble as well as in the foam

Like many said, if you want to wear old shoes, dont wear your vintage deadstock ones cause they ll end up dead. Buy cheap used models

 

[william rivera 3]

^Thats just science but
If someone was focused enough 2 store all the og jays in a climate controlled area how long could the life of the shoes be prolonged?

 

[sunshining7]

The question is not really about the climat control, except for the yellowing, and some small plastic parts that could kind of melt with high temperature.
For the soles, the only way to keep it out of cracking is to wear them couple hours even home,
in order to compress the foam and avoid air and moisture to get in the tiny's foam holes.

 

[lilpro316]

goodluck on the bred 4s, im scared to unds mine as well. The air bubble on mine are extremely clear, but dont know if i want to take the risk

about the walking around and trying ito break them in. its not a great indicator either, unless u wear them outside. Took my chances on '94 blk cement 3s ,i wore them around the house probably more than 10x, walking, pushing my weight down on them, and pressing on the midsoles with my fingers, after all thatthere were no signs of cracking or crumbling. But once i wore them out, they were great for a while. Wore them to school, made it to class, then as i waswalking back to my car i could feel the left midsole dragging as i walked.. good thing my class wasnt very far from the parking lot.

long story short, tried to break in '94 3s by wearing the indoors, all went well, finally wore them out, left shoe cracked opened and crumbled, right shoebegan to crumble

and now im left with those '94 black cement 3s sz 8 if anyone is interested in a restoration project

 

[slowzebra]

wear them around the house, then see whats up from there

 

[lilpro316]

Originally Posted by SlowZEbra

wear them around the house, then see whats up from there

as said in my post above yours, it doesnt really help determine anything unless u try it outside. ive worn my 3s indoors more than 10x, even push my weightdown on them. no cracks, no crumbles, no problem, until they hit the cement they got destroyed