The fact that the Nike Air Up was never given a proper retro is an embarrassment.

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Nike wild for this one.
 
For me, that air up 14 abomination is the single most disappointing retro Nike has ever done. Somehow even worse than 2004 military 4s.

Still stings almost 10 years later. I would’ve much rather if they just never bothered.
Yep…. I would wedge those true blue Flight ‘89s from 2011 or 2012 in there. But the Air Up is definitely the top f-up by Nike.
 
For me, that air up 14 abomination is the single most disappointing retro Nike has ever done. Somehow even worse than 2004 military 4s.

Still stings almost 10 years later. I would’ve much rather if they just never bothered.
I feel like just about everything they were making 10 years ago was crap lol. I remember I was out on most stuff for several years.

Not that it's perfect now. It's far better though. I'd imagine these wouldn't be great, but definitely better nowadays
 
I feel like just about everything they were making 10 years ago was crap lol. I remember I was out on most stuff for several years.

Not that it's perfect now. It's far better though. I'd imagine these wouldn't be great, but definitely better nowadays
Totally agree about quality in that era. The problem is they didn’t actually even attempt to do an air up retro. They did a reimagined hyperfuse nonsense version. So even if it wouldn’t have been great, a straightforward attempt at an actual retro would’ve been much appreciated.
 
People have a hard time believing me when I tell them this.. but from 94-95, Jordans were a 2nd tier shoe. Pennys, Barkleys and Pippens were the Nikes everyone wanted.
Athletes knew ajs were more lifestyle wear. Team jordan kinda changed the game
 
For me, that air up 14 abomination is the single most disappointing retro Nike has ever done. Somehow even worse than 2004 military 4s.

Still stings almost 10 years later. I would’ve much rather if they just never bothered.

Yep…. I would wedge those true blue Flight ‘89s from 2011 or 2012 in there. But the Air Up is definitely the top f-up by Nike.

Totally agree about quality in that era. The problem is they didn’t actually even attempt to do an air up retro. They did a reimagined hyperfuse nonsense version. So even if it wouldn’t have been great, a straightforward attempt at an actual retro would’ve been much appreciated.

Agree completely, but just want to say the absurd vac-tech or whatever retro of the OG black “Fab Five” colorway of the Air Force Max was at least just as bad. I’m still upset about that one.
 
People have a hard time believing me when I tell them this.. but from 94-95, Jordans were a 2nd tier shoe. Pennys, Barkleys and Pippens were the Nikes everyone wanted. But even other brands were making their mark. The first Grant Hill Fila was one of the hottest shoes in that era. Kemp Kamikazes Reeboks, Shaqs Reeboks.

It wasn't until MJ came out of retirement in March 1995 that people started getting back into Jordans again.
Facts... I remember the CB 34 "Godzilla's " being the most sought after at one point.. Jordans were always top tier but other shoes definitely held its own. Fila and Reebok had dope kicks too... I didn't get a pair of Jordan until 99. The ginger xiv's then the last shots... Between 95-99 I had all type of Nikes, Reebok's and Fila....

Those days were good for consumer's
 
In 2014, nearly a decade ago, Nike gave us a joke of a retro and called it the Air Up 2014. While it looked like the original, the outer materials and fit were completely off.

Let's talk about why this shoe was so significant:

This was the first shoe that was released with a "1" on the back to the general public. In 1994 MJ had retired and Nike was finally branching off to make signatures for other athletes. They've had Nike models that other players wore (like David Robinson and the Air Command Force) but this shoe, along with the Air Force Max CB the year before, were two of the first pairs they made available to the general public with another players number. Players wore PE versions with their numbers on them, like Barkley and the Air Force Max 180 with the "34" on the side, but those were never available to the public. The Air Up was the first of it's kind to feature Penny's number on the Orlando colors and Pippen on the Chicago colors.

I can't think of many shoes that haven't been retroed. We've seen multiple versions of the Air Penny 1, 2, 3 etc. over the years. Same with the Pippen models. But here we are approaching 30 years since the original Air Up came out and we got nothing.

It's time to give us the Air Up.
Pippen had a Dynamic Flight PE with his number released to the public in 92
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I had the OG pair of Dynamic Flights in the non-Pip PE white/black/red colorway. Not gonna lie, I quickly came to not like them much even back in the day. The big plastic piece on the side and the rubber piece on the back just made them feel like a cheap downgrade compared to the true Flight Huaraches. I'd have no interest in a retro, and I'm a huge Pip and Huarache fan.
 
I had the OG pair of Dynamic Flights in the non-Pip PE white/black/red colorway. Not gonna lie, I quickly came to not like them much even back in the day. The big plastic piece on the side and the rubber piece on the back just made them feel like a cheap downgrade compared to the true Flight Huaraches. I'd have no interest in a retro, and I'm a huge Pip and Huarache fan.
To each his own. We all have different tastes.
 
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