Street Superior 2019 Takes Over *SCAPE on Nov 2 & 3
Street Superior, the evolution of Singapore’s beloved Sole Superior festival, returns this November 2 & 3, bringing together the best of sneaker fandom and street culture for a fun-filled weekend at *SCAPE.
The Sole Superior marketplace, the heart and soul of Street Superior, makes an expected return with familiar and new experiences in place.
The heated trading pit will be available for grail hunters and sellers alike, so if you’ve been looking for that most wanted pairs, be sure to check it out.
With old things becoming new again, the Sole Superior marketplace will also hold its first ever vintage market, bringing together some of the best archived pieces of yesteryear.
It wouldn’t be a street festival without music, which makes the Music Market a welcomed addition to this year’s festival.
Most importantly, it wouldn’t be a Superior festival without its notable giveaways, and the lucky draw this year is massive with over $50,000 worth of prizes.
There’s a lot to look forward to and for more info, check out
First Impressions: Running with the Nike Joyride Run Flyknit
Nike may be synonymous with all things sports, spanning across disciplines from football, golf to fencing, but running has been core to its offerings from its very beginning and their latest innovation, the cheerfully named Joyride, is a testament to that commitment.
Joyride isn’t the only proprietary technology in Nike’s arsenal of running soles, but it might just be their most important.
Nike’s Zoom line was crafted for elite runners, the very best of human existence, and was used in the shoe that attempted to break the world record of the fastest marathon.
The React, on the other hand, is made for serious – but recreational – runners in need for a bit of bounce and energy return in their step, while looking good on the streets.
Enter Joyride, the cushioning tech that has the potential to capture the biggest possible running market in the world: non-runners.
Let’s be real, as common as running is as a form of workout, there are more non-runners than runners in existence. And it’s easy to understand why. Running is tough.
While I’ve recently become somewhat of a running enthusiast – I’ve unwisely set a goal to finish a marathon at the end of the year in spite of my lack of fitness – running is a difficult activity to pick up. There are weird pains that show up on your joints, muscles, and everywhere in between. And running can be quite harsh on your feet, especially against solid pavement.
I’ll be honest, the marketing did oversell the comfort levels of the shoe by a little bit, but with that said, on my 5km test runs, I had no complaints. The shoe absorbed the impact of every step and it actually made running feel good.
The Joyride, then, is engineered and marketed towards people who hate running, with the goal of making running easy, as painless as possible and hopefully, a little bit fun. Its most unique quality comes in the form of thousands of multi-coloured beads making up for a solid chunk of foam.
When you first place your feet in them, it’ll feel like unfamiliar territory due to the elevated pods that house the beads under the feet, but something you’ll get used to within a couple of hundred metres in. In fact, after a while, it almost feels like reflexology.
For serious runners, the shoes are also particularly good for recovery runs, particularly when it feels more natural to lie in bed as every part of the body hurts.
Style-wise, the Joyride Run Flyknit looks great, borrowing certain aesthetics from the Presto series, which in my opinion has a very well-balanced design.
The shoe is slightly heavier than the Epic React Flyknit, but the difference is negligible. What’s more, Nike did away with an insole altogether, so your feet feel as close to the beads as possible, which is a good thing.
All in all, they are easily in my top choices for runners, and although I wouldn’t take them on my long runs – I’ve got the Epic React for those – the Nike Joyride Run Flyknit as easily my first pick for any run under 5km.
The Nike Joyride Run Flyknit launches worldwide on August 15, 2019 and will be available in Singapore at Nike Jewel and Paragon.
Nice Kicks and adidas Consortium Team Up Once Again on the UltraBOOST
Sneaker retailer Nice Kicks and adidas Consortium are back with a brand new collaboration, this team commemorating the 50th anniversary of popular “hippie” music festival Woodstock.
As such, the design is reminiscent of a popular hippie design from the 70s, taking on a spiral tie-dye aesthetic on the upper.
Both Woodstock and Nice Kicks branding can be found on the tongue of the shoe, as well as custom inserts.
A full white BOOST midsole is accompanied by an orange Continental outsole.
The pair will be released on August 17 from the Nice Kicks online store as well as selected retailers.
For a closer look at the pair, check them out below.
YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Cloud White” Gets Reflective For Sept Drop
Following the recent first-looks at the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Cloud White”, it appears that a “Reflective” colourway will also get a drop, thanks to images from @hanyuzing.
Due to release in September, both the “Cloud White” and “Cloud White Reflective” are the latest colourway pairings set to drop in a busy 2019 for the YEEZY label.
We’ve already seen a resurgence in popularity for the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 silhouette, most recently with the launch of the “Synth”, which caused a frenzy at Wisma Atria during its release.
Other silhouettes such as the the “YEEZY BOOST 700” has also been gaining in popularity over the years.
No official word yet from adidas or Kanye regarding the launch of the “Cloud White” and its “Reflective” edition, so stay tune for more details in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, for a closer look at the pairs, check out the images below.
A Week With The X-Mini Liberty S
Made popular by its super portable speakers back in 2007, the Singapore-born X-mini brand has been making quite the comeback lately, expanding into Bluetooth earphones, soundbars and the like – which leads us to the Liberty S.
A follow-up to last year’s Liberty, the brand is marketing the earbuds as True Wireless Xoundpods, boasting an increased playback time of 4.5 hours on their own and 18 hours with the charging dock.
Upon unboxing the pack, the most immediate reaction to the earbuds is that it certainly looks and feels more premium than its $79 retail price.
The earbuds each light up at its logo, doubling up as an indicator on battery life. The charging dock is also sturdy, with a satisfying pull and push mechanic.
But of course, the most important aspect of the review would be its sound quality.
Having dabbled with the BeatsX – originally priced around $198 – and a pair of ZNE Firefits, which cost me no more than $30, I was expecting the X-mini Liberty S to sound closer to the ZNEs.
To my surprise, however, the Liberty S held its own in the audio department and sounded closer to the BeatsX than I was expecting.
The mids, particularly on vocals, were crisp and clear. Instruments such as guitars and synths also shine. When listening to tracks such as John Mayer’s Gravity, the overall sound was very well balanced. Highs were equally crisp.
And while the lows didn’t quite match up to the BeatsX, it was still very decent considering that these were a pair of truly wireless earbuds. What I found that really helped in the bass department was to position the main body of the earbuds so that it touches the outer part of your ear. Trust me, the difference is night and day.
What’s more, while the pair isn’t marketed as a noise-cancelling earbud, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective the in-ear buds were at drowning out ambient noises, particularly with music playing at an optimal level.
In terms of comfort, the set comes with four different sizes of silicone ear tips. I found the default ones to be a little too big for me, but the smallest ones were just nice.
Connectivity-wise, there were instances in which one side would momentarily lose audio for a second or two, but these were far and few between.
Thanks to its sweat resistance, I mostly used the earbuds on runs and found them to be reliable regardless of running speed.
For review, I paired the Liberty S to my Apple Watch and they worked great together. There were also comfortable for all-day use when I would get plugged in at the office and would sometimes forget that I had them on.
All in all, the Liberty S is well worth its price tag and its audio quality triumphs, even pulling its weight against pricier competition.
YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Synth” To Drop At 7 Stores In Singapore
adidas and Kanye West are set to release regional-specific colourways of the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2, with the “Synth” set to drop in Asia, Africa and Australia on June 22, 2019.
The release is expected to be a wider one than usual, with a total of seven stores stocking the pair in Singapore alone.
According to the adidas Singapore microsite for YEEZY, the “Synth” is expected to drop at:
- JD Sports (ION)
- Limited Edt (MBS)
- Pedder on Scotts
- Footlocker (Jewel)
- AW Lab (Wisma Atria)
- adidas Originals Pacific Plaza
- adidas Originals Vivo City.
In addition to physical outlets, adidas Singapore will also be releasing the pair online via adidas.com.sg at 10am.
For more information, check out adidas.com.sg/yeezy.
The Nike x Stranger Things Collection Will Be Released in Singapore This Month
Easily one of the biggest hits produced under the Netflix Originals umbrella, Stranger Things is teaming up with Nike on a range of footwear and apparel, inspired by the 80s – incidentally the setting of the show and arguably Nike’s most formative decade.
While the show’s third season sees its protagonists tackle high school, love and impending danger in the summer of 1985, it was also the same year that the visible Air was taking shape, two years prior to the debut of the Air Max 1 in 1987.
The collection will include the nostalgic silhouettes from Nike’s repertoire of greatest hits such as the Cortez, Blazer and Tailwind.
The collaborative capsule will also include apparel such as t-shirts, caps and hoodies.
The collection will arrive in Singapore via Dover Street Market and Nike.com in two drops.
The first will take place on July 27 featuring footwear and apparel in the Hawkins High’s green and orange colour scheme.
Following that, a second drop on July 1, dubbed the “OG Pack”, will come in classic red, white and blue colours, celebrating the 1985 Independence Day.
Season 3 of Stranger Things will arrive on Netflix on July 4.
For a full look, check out the collection below.
New Image of the YEEZY BOOST 451 Surfaces Online
With the resurgence in the interest of the YEEZY sneaker line, it doesn’t look like Kanye West nor adidas are resting on their laurels.
New images of a lesser-known YEEZY BOOST 451 have emerged online, showcasing a fairly experimental and “out there” look that may take some time to get used to.
With that said, many early impressions on previous YEEZY silhouettes were also met some scepticism before they became the popular household sneakers we know today.
Instagram account @earlycop have provided us a better look at the new 451 silhouette, showcasing an interesting sawtooth midsole that extends onto its mesh uppers.
Despite its outlandish look, there are glimpses of the YEEZY 700, particularly in the oval eyelets.
Many sneakerheads online are dismissing the shoe already, time will tell if it becomes a hit like its predecessors.
For a closer look, check out the image below.
Nike Took Its Epic React Sneaker And Made It Even Better
Following the successful launch of the Epic React in 2018, Nike introduced updated editions of the silhouette earlier this year, improving on support and design, and ensuring that runners get the most of every step while looking good at the same time.
Alongside the Epic React Flyknit 2, Nike also debuted a laceless edition called the Epic Phantom React Flyknit. Intrigued, I decided to try out a pair of the latter myself.
Admittingly, I don’t own many laceless runners, so I didn’t know what to expect when the shoes arrived. While I was initially skeptical, my first impressions of the shoes were great. In fact, despite the absence of laces, the shoes had a great fit and their sock-like quality made it feel less bulky and almost like a second skin.
The “laceless-ness” of the shoes was most apparent when I took them for a run. Often times during my usual 2km route, I would find myself having to do up my laces at some point. Double-knots aside, the laceless Epic Phantom React solves that part of my run without compromising on snugness and fit.
That’s not even the best part. As with most marketing material you’d find on the Epic React series, the emphasis is on Nike’s React foam technology and it’s easy to see why.
In designing the React foam, Nike’s chemists spent three years perfecting a sole that could provide the best cushion and energy return while ensuring durability. They looked at heat maps to determine which areas of a sole was used the most during a run and allocated the right amount of foam in the necessary areas. They spoke to runners and learnt that they needed to make a sole that reconciled contradictions – soft but firm, lightweight but durable; essentially, the world.
The result is an astonishingly comfortable run.
The “bounciness” which Nike boasts was a huge plus but what was more interesting was how the shoes seamlessly disappeared from my awareness soon after.
That’s a huge compliment in my book as I am someone who is fairly susceptible to noticing discomforts on my feet. Usually on my runs with other shoes, something somewhere won’t feel quite right, whether it’s a sole that’s slightly too hard, a width that’s a little too narrow or the lack of heel support. The Epic Phantom React Flyknit, however, had no issues whatsoever.
And with a shoe that looks as good as it does, it has blurred the lines of what I wear to work and on my runs.
So if you’re looking for a new pair of kicks that look good from the gym to the streets, while ensuring maximum comfort and durability, you know what to do.
The Nike Epic Phantom React Flyknit and Epic React Flyknit 2 are available on Nike.com at a retail price of S$229.
There’s A YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 Coming In A Beige Colourway
Several images of a new colourway for the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 have been surfacing online over the last 24 hours, appearing to take on a similar aesthetics to the recently launched “Static” colourway.
The Beige tones on this version give the shoe a “yellower” shade but the overall look is similar to the updated uppers seen on the “Static”, with its translucent streak and Primeknit pattern.
However, there is one exception to previous editions – an absent heel tab.
According to insider group Yeezy Mafia, the new colourway will be called “Lundmark”.
No word yet on its release date but given the plethora of releases in recent months, it will be unsurprising if it’s slated for a 2019 drop.
For a closer look, check out Yeezy Mafia’s and HanYuZing’s Instagram posts below.