JB 2016 Year in Review

jaylaw15 said:
Top 3s were such a bad shoe in my opinion. Comments about quality don't help either. Quality doesn't make the shoe ant less ugly and repulsive to me. I think those ads the worst release this year over those Olympic 7s
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Agree 100%. Hideous.
 
I pretty much liked every AJ 12 that came out this year. A lot of new classic Colorways like the Masters, Red/White, Deep Royals, University Blue/Grey (underrated IMO), Wools, and Nylons. A lot of good releases for GS as well. Biggest disappointment were the Alternate Olympic 7s and City Pack 10s.
 
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air23xxi said:
I pretty much liked every AJ 12 that came out this year. A lot of new classic Colorways like the Masters, Red/White, Deep Royals, University Blue/Grey (underrated IMO), Wools, and Nylons. A lot of good releases for GS as well. Biggest disappointment were the Alternate Olympic 7s and City Pack 10s.
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OG City series wouldn't have flown off of shelves since they're pretty plain and don't look all that different from each other but it would've been great to get those instead
 
A very good year for Retros but I most of my pickups were just replacing inferior older retros

1. Bred 1 - these replaced my 2013s the quality difference was amazing, I actually hated my 2013s because of the pleather feel so was glad to move them on and upgrade

2. SJ 11 - these came out amazing IMO. The og shape, no glue stains, great packaging actual leather used this time. I cannot be leave some people prefer the 09s, it's not even close.

3. WC4 - pretty much the same as the bred 1, replaced my 2012s which again I hated the quality on those, was super happy to get rid of those. The 2016s had much better materials and the Nike Air, Jordan Brand nailed it again with this release.

4. Black Toe - again I got rid of my 2013s to get these but in all honesty there wasn't much difference in quality (just a slight upgrade unlike the vast difference with the breds) better shape and slightly different hue of red aside.

5 Just Don 2s - didn't manage to grab theses, wasn't lucky enough & couldn't justify the price as I didn't care for the Cap. Still a great release though.


Honourable mentions:
PSNY 12s - yes I know they came out late last year but I picked them up early this year through a Nike EU restock (I'm in the UK). Such a good great looking shoe, one of the best 12s ever og or non og.

TB 3s - such a beautiful Jordan but they didn't seem to remaster the quality in these. My 2011s felt better material wise so chose not to pick up but still a dope shoe especially if they hit the sales/outlets

Black Metalic 5 - these came out nice too.

Reverse shattered - not as good as the first ones but still dope, was gutted to miss out on them

Wings 12 - didn't get a EU release so virtually impossible for me to get as I don't pay more than retail for things.

Snakeskin 4s - loved the look of these, hated the retail price so didn't pick them up.
 
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Pairs I copped ranked:

0. Storm Blue 1 - been waiting far too long for this colorway.
1. WC4 - classic, most comfortable retro
2. Blk/red 1s - I'll just buy them again when they release with brighter smooth red leather
3. French Blue 12 - Second best 12 colorway for me.
4. N7 XXXI - They might be #1 if the huge jumpman wasn't there.
5. XXX Launch colorway - They just do it for me.
5. '95 playoff 11s - Shape/quality is overrated IMO. 'Leather' on back is trash. But craftsmanship was on point and finally getting the colorway right makes these rank.
6. French Blue 12 - Second best 12 colorway for me. decent enough quality.
7. DFA 4 - Best leather on any retro this year. Super slept on. Go BLUE!

Was on the fence for storm blues. Copped. Straight to the top of the list.
 
1. True Blue 3 (i go back and forth with Bred 11 as my favorite shoe ever) My pair was great, hoping my second pair is too. 

2. Cement 4

3. Black/Concord 11

4. Black/Red 12

5. Metallic 5 (VERY WELL Done)

Honorable Mention:

6. French Blue 12.

I actually passed on Black Toe 1s. Won the raffle and all. Same for Yeezy Black/White. Didn't pick up.
 
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Highlight is seeing Jordans sit. They've been gimmicky for a minute, but they're just overdoing it now
 
Favorite: Space Jam. Quality release of one of my favorite shoe/color combos made it a no doubter.
Most Surprising: Black toes, did not expect to love them as much as I do. Has gone into heavy rotation.
Most disappointing: True Blue 3's. It was a shoe I've wanted since 2001 but the quality just put me off to them completely.
 
In my opinion 2016 was a year for true fans. JB may have taken some hits in the hype department but when you're an established brand with roots that JB has, hype isn't needed to move pairs and the numbers prove that. Love my adidas and love boost but I've got a feeling JB will be making waves again in 2017, especially considering the previews we've seen thus far.
 
Hard to narrow a list down to numeric but the shoes I enjoyed the most were

Black Metallic 5
Black/Red 1
RSBB 1
Spacejam 11
French blue 12
Flu Game 12
Fine Print 31

also, not in terms of quality but my appreciation for the clean aesthetics..

Honorable mention

Wing It 2
 
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Two other shoes I like this year that I forgot to mention earlier were the AJ 11 lows Navy/Gum and Cherry.
 
my '16 favorites

WC4 (the grail period)

Black Toe 1 (the original jump man shoe.  these are stupid slept on)

Bred 1  (i was on vacation during raffles & missed this one)

BM V  (glad these are getting love on this list,.. they were hated on shortly after release for no reason)

SpaceJams

I put a couple of the 12s on honorable mention, but it seems like everybody is wearing them.

Royal 1s and Motorsport 4s on my '17 list, but I need a WC or BC3 and a BC4.  '16 has me spoiled
 
Top 5 that I was able to cop:
1. WC4 (Top 3 AJ of all time imo)
2. TB3 (sentimental value, first AJ I ever had back in 2001)
3. Spacejam 11
4. Bred 1
5. Black Metallic 5

Runner up: Chicago 9

All 6 of these must be special because 4 of them are still DS (wore Chicago 9's once and WC4 three times) lol they're so dope I can't even bring myself to wear them.

Top 5 I didn't cop
1. Flu Game 12 (still have my 03's)
2. White/Red XI low
3. Copper 17 def a sleeper
4. Just Don AJ2 Beach
5. AJ1 Black Toe (copped as trade bait/sold)

Runners up: Indiglo 14, French Blue 12 (still got my 04's), Closing Ceremony XI
 
I'll sum up my ONLY 2016 JB purchases in 2 pictures (not in particular ranking.........YET)

Like it's been argued countlessly in this thread, YES I'M AWARE THE MAROON 6s ARE A 2015 RELEASE.............but I copped these in early January of this year when I discovered they were sitting (and it wouldn't be the first NA Jordan retro that would be sitting past the release date either).

Now if I were to rank these, here'd be my ranking

Top 5 Jordan purchases this year
1.  White Cement 4s
2.  Black Metallic 5s

3.  Storm Blue/Kentucky 1s

4.  Maroon 6s

5.  True Blue 3s
 

Although I'm satisfied with my pair of TB3s unlike others that had quality defects/flaws that required many exchanges and returns, I will agree with one thing about the TB3s in terms of quality...................the leather is utter garbage.  

Just in comparison with my Infrared 3s from 2014, the leather quality on my Infrared 3s are a hell of a lot better than the leather of the TB3s.......and the TB3s are the NA branded ones.  When an older pair of 3s like the 2014 Infrareds have a "less stiffer" leather than the hyped up OG colorway in the TBs, then I can understand the huge disappointment in these shoes. 
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I put the Maroons lower merely for my own personal reason alone........no quality or flaw reasons, I just didn't find it better than the Top 3 in my list. 

I have yet to UNDS my Kentucky 1s, but when I wore and felt them in-store.....I couldn't pass them up.  I was originally gonna pass on the Kentuckys original release and wait to grab them in January when the price is lower..........BUT in the atmosphere of holiday shopping going on plus the fact my size was available at the time I was in my local House of Hoops, I literally bought these on impulse AND do not regret it one bit
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It was a toss up between the Cement 4s and Metallic 5s for me since I loved them equally.  Both were great in terms of versatility when it comes to pairing them with any outfit.  But I ultimately gave the Cement 4s the top slot out of my purchases simply because of the looks I got from people in public whenever I rocked these shoes.  The Metallic 5s were great from both style AND comfort considering it was one of the few Retro Jordans out of my collection that had decent foot support for my flat feet (even though I use Total Support Spenco Insoles on all my shoes for my flat feet), but it still wasn't enough to get the Cement 4s out of my #1 spot.

There were some shoes I did want to get from this year's releases, but I ultimately wasn't able to for various reasons.

Top 5 Jordan releases from this year that I couldn't get

1.  2016 Bred/Banned 1s

2.  Space Jam 11s

3.  Master 12s

4.  French Blue 12s

5.  Flu Game 12s

Lot of 12s on this list as you can see.

I'll start off with this statement, I started off this year proclaiming that I would never pay resale for any shoe/JB purchase this year........I just wouldn't.  So to think I really wanted these to the point I'd pay resale, yeah......I wasn't going to do it EVEN for these 5.

That being said, I missed out my chances at all the 12 releases this year PRIMARILY those three 12 releases just because of timing alone.  The Master 12 release just came and went for me, and I didn't even released they released on its particular day UNTIL I saw the long *** line in the mall that particular morning, and I wasn't even trying to get the shoes back then.  As for the French Blues and Flu Games, those two released around the time I just paid my bills for the month.........so I was dead broke at that point AND I didn't have the funds to go after them anyway even if I put in raffle tickets for them.

The Space Jam 11 release also suffered from timing as well.........I just purchased the TB3s from the week before at around $220, and I needed to pay bills soon as well on my next paycheck.  Granted I will say this, I didn't actually try my hardest to go after these shoes SINCE I knew it was going to be "Camp Out Mania" for these shoes like any other Retro 11.  Yes I'm well aware they made a chunk load of these Space Jams, but they also made a chunk load of the Concord 11 lows a couple years back........and I still have post-traumatic stress over that damn release with that damn early morning campout that I took an L on (I still ended up getting the Concord 11 lows online at the FTL website, but had to do A LOT OF CLICKING to get them).

The 2016 Bred 1 release hurt me the most, and I did actually try a lot harder to go after these in comparison to the Space Jams and those 12s.  Granted I did have my 2013 Bred 1s as my consolation prize, the feeling of having a pair of Bred 1s "to stock" and another pair of Bred 1s "to rock" was just an exciting possibility for me.........ESPECIALLY after I saw the official release photos of the shoe.  When Shiekh gave me the L on the raffles after I saw everyone else got the raffle confirmation e-mail AND all my other raffles took an L..........
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That being said, here is my Top 5 list of releases I didn't really bother with

Top 5 Jordan releases I didn't bother with

1.  "Top 3" (What The) 1s

2.  "Reverse" Shattered Backboard 1s

3.  "Wing It" 2s

4.  "Chicago/Playoff" 2 Lows

5.  2016 Black Toe 1s

I was interested in the Black Toe 1s primarily on the leather quality alone, which I learned later that they were closer in quality to the UNCs, Chicagos, and now the Kentucky 1s.  I ultimately didn't get them considering I was still suffering from "the L" from the 2016 Bred release, even though I DID win a Foot Locker app reservation for the shoes.........which I ultimately declined in order for someone else to grab a pair.  I had my 2013 pair of Black Toes, so I was good.....I didn't care for a "stock" pair of these.

The "Wing It" 2s had so much potential to be a great shoe, but the stiff leather AND that insulting "Wing It" gimmick logo on the heel tabs was an ultimate turn-off for me.  The Playoff 2 lows was such a god damn tease from JB that I felt offended that they have yet to do another Retro of the actual "Playoff" 2s with that white/red/black colorway INSTEAD of giving us the "low top" version of it.

TBH I'm one of the minority few in here that wasn't a fan of the Shattered Backboard colorways in general, most orange colorways are not my preference............except the Knicks colorway from 2013 (still trying to find a pair of these).  So no-brainer why I would pass on the "Reverse" or Away version of the Shattered Backboards.

And "What The" colorways are garbage to me, the Top 3s are no exception..........it is still a hideous shoe to me.
 
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