Crooked Tongues Latest News

Nike Sportswear Free Run+ 2 EXT: Reinforced running

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:12:06 +0100

The Nike Free Run+ 2 seemed to capture the imaginations of a new generation of runners, cool kids and #menswear douches alike when it first arrived, with that blue and orange colourway being ubiquitous in parts of NYC for a summer. What was unique about this 2011 release was its induction into the Nike Sportswear line quickly (usually a zone dominated by 1980s and 1990s innovation), with some reworkings for a city audience that switched up the fabrics and applied some sole speckles to that 5.0 flex. It was a smart move and it created a cross trainer of ...

Nike LunarGlide+ 4 EXT: Transitional performance

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:02:12 +0100

Nike have cornered a market that includes the new breed of runners who've taken to running solo or in clubs. In fact, they haven't just cornered it — they've kettled it and made sure the opposition knows what hit it. A few years back, Nike had left the conversation when it came to real running shoes (runners seemed to favour brands like Brooks, Saucony, NB, ASICS and Mizuno) over the company's offerings — runners are very specific and very opionated when it comes to the shoes on their feet. Back in the early 1980s, Nike was the brand ...

The 2013 Air Jordan I 'Black Toe' is better than the last retro

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:33:53 +0100

While the Air Jordan I never really revolutionised a great deal in terms of overall shoe design (the Jordan II seems like the oft-overlooked game changer in that respect), the union of Peter Moore's simple design with some revolutionary colour blocking was the key (plus some very, very, very savvy marketing). While now, we see the full scale of the OG rollout, it was the Chicago colours and what was in MJ's feet that really made noise, and the frostbite-sounding 'Black Toe' that debuted in late 1984 in photoshoots of the new phenomenon playing golf, training or just ...

Nike Lebron X Low: Conceptual colourways & a cutdown of a hi-top

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:24:34 +0100

The Nike LeBron X Low is a good shoe. Admittedly, this trim down of the ultra-technical hi-top (and that was our notion of our top tier tech until the sneak peaks at the LeBron XI this week) loses the Zoom and Max Nike Air fusion in favour of the 360-style unit that we first saw in 2009, but it's an easier wear for those who get vertigo when it comes to getting high. The lack of leathers and natural fabrics is a testament to pure performance, but the synthetic feel of basketball's new breed also makes it a ...

Nike Lunar Solstice Mid SP: The Internationalist updated

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:37:24 +0100

When did Nike Sportswear's lifestyle offerings get so damned good?The last few seasons have established the special projects stuff as a force to be reckoned with if you can deal with the price tag. The NSW Lunar Solstice design is a smart blend of the Nike Internationalist (we had a crappy retro in the past and the forthcoming Solstice in a blue and yellow is good, but we really, really want to see a real reissue of them) and contemporary styles like the LunarGlide, with that Lunarlon platform and floating TPU heel counter. Space age tech alongside traditional ...

NSW WMNS Free Advantage SP: Premium tech for the ladies

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:50:01 +0100

The whole NSW line of Nike Sportswear QS footwear releases has been of significant interest to us lately. Usually a lifestyle spin on performance is the kind of thing that has us rolling our eyes — after all, given the strength of Nike's current running and training output, why should we care for a more expensive variation in a light brown box and rather than an orange one? Women have been very, very shortchanged on new shoes in the Quickstrike/NRG realms up to this point too — once upon a time, every shoe dropped with an equally strong ladies' colourway ...

adidas Consortium Boston Super OG Pack: 1984 performance stays winning

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:35:34 +0100

The Boston Super is a shoe that we love in the Crooked Tongues office. This 1984 running design represents adidas at the top of their game and it's a shoe that resonates right now for all the wrong reasons given the recent tragedy in its namesake. But that can be turned into a positive and after an appropriate delay, we're finally getting the adidas Consortium Boston Super OG Pack. This model has been altered in some strange ways over the years - we liked the oki-ni editions of old, but the JD attempts to make it become a favorite ...

Bodega & Saucony's Elite approach to collaborations

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:55:08 +0100

It's a good weekend for fans of Bodega's collaboration work. This weekend sees the release of the latest Saucony and Bodega Elite pieces, plus their new collaboration with adidas for Consortium. While the adi Boston Super they've helped put together is very, very subtle, these Sauconys aren't. What is low key however, is the way these models apply the Grid cushioned sole unit of the Grid 9000 to the Master Control and Shadow 6000 uppers — the Elite collection deals in some well-executed revisionist history and it does it better than bigger brands seem to do it ...

Nike Air Max 90 Strata Grey/Cyber Green: A new colourway informed by an O.G one

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:14:19 +0100

Nike Air Max 90s will never, ever die. They might, but we're so confident that the web's evolution or our own mortality will mean future generations can't find that proclamation and mock us to our faces, that we feel confident about declaring it. There's a lot of variations of that shoe out there — some are from a month ago and we still can't remember what they looked like, but some are decent. These Strata Grey and Cyber Green versions are decent but they take zero risks at all. Looking like a remix of the Hot ...

Nike Air Flight 89: Poison Green & Grey on a classic shoe

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:44:41 +0100

Nike Air Flight 89s might be one of the greatest shoes of all time. We know that's a grand statement to make and it's even wilder in the knowledge that the Mike Aveni and Tinker Hatfield types were putting out some killer designs for basketball use back then, but this one really resonates with us. The use of that Jordan IV tooling and the mid height made them easier to break out with shorts than some of the towering Force and Flight heights that made the wearer look like a golf club. There's plenty of store-specific Flight ...