Adidas Stan Smith Recon: 100 Wears on the Daddy

June 4, 2023June 3, 2023 by 100wears

Price: $150 [Sold Out; Check Out the Stan Smith Lux Here]

Why Buy?

The Adidas Stan Smith Recon is a well made, good looking white sneaker that will last as long as it should.

Why Avoid?

The Adidas Stan Smith Recon can be harder to clean, and some smaller brands will offer better materials for the price.

Specs

Model	Stan Smith Recon
Height	Low
Materials	Leather / Rubber
Size	12.5
Weight	456 g / 1 lb
Construction	Cemented / Sewn
Country of Origin	Vietnam

History

If you’re looking for a history of the Adidas Stan Smith, we go over that in the original review of this sneaker: Adidas Stan Smith Recon: Out of the Box. It’s one of the first reviews ever posted on 100wears, and still regularly ranks in the top 5 most viewed pages. I’m glad that people out there still enjoy it.

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that this sneaker is at least partly responsible for the growth of this website.

However, since then I’ve managed to take a look at more than 100 different pairs or shoes or boots. I’ve seen $400 sneakers, veg-tanned sneakers. Heck, I’ve even seen Adidas’ best efforts at giving us an original Stan Smith.

That raises a question – is the sneaker still as good as I thought it was back in 2020? Let’s dive in and find out.

Looks

Upper

The upper of this Stan Smith Recon has held up surprisingly well. The white leather upper has started to separate slightly from its PU coating – though you need to stick your face into the shoe to see it. This is a bit more noticeable along the edge of the mid sole, but again nothing too bad.

Other than that, there is really nothing to complain about. The leather has gotten dirty – inevitable with white sneakers – but there is no cracking, separating, deep ugly creasing, etc.

The paint on the back, the one area you would expect to start to flake off over time, looks the same as it did on day one. Even the laces have stayed surprisingly white.

You should know, a few months before this article was written, Adidas introduced a new Recon. This specific model is much more similar to the new Stan Smith Lux. However, from how well they hold up, I imagine both of them will be very similar in how they age.

Mid and Outsole

From a durability perspective, again, there is very little to complain about. While this pair of sneakers has been worn just over 100 times, it has seen way more than the 100 miles follow ups typically get here. They have seen the side walks of a number of different cities for hours at a time, and have held up great.

The only complaint I would have on these Stan Smith Recon sneakers is this more durable version of the Stan Smith outsole is much harder to clean. As you see around the toes there are black spots that simply won’t come off. Soft bristle, hard bristle, different types of soap – nothing can do it.

This sort of thing comes with white sneakers, but these are much harder to clean than other Adidas options with white outsoles.

Still, overall, for the price that these sneakers regularly sell for, I’m overall very impressed.

Summary

From a looks standpoint, the Adidas Stan Smith Recon really is an all-star. Not only are they incredibly versatile, but don’t deteriorate with wear. Though, I’d hesitate to say they look better over time.

I’ve worn these with everything from business casual when traveling, shorts and a T shirt during the summer, and smart casual evenings. For me personally, the slightly more elevated Common Projects Achilles has taken over that role more recently. However, they cost three times as much and it’s hard to argue they are offering three times the value.

Fit & Comfort

Fit

The Adidas Stan Smith Recon (and, now, the Adidas Stan Smith Lux) use the common Stan Smith last. This is different and wider than the recent Stan Smith 80’s last. Most people will find it incredibly accommodating. It also runs a bit big compared to other sneakers.

I’m a 13 in 95% of sneakers, but take these in a 12.5. I could probably get away with a 13, however I would need to wear thicker socks.

The last itself – or the shape of the shoe – is very much a sausage shape. While this might not fit anyone especially well, it will fit a whole lot of people alright. I believe that almost everyone will be able to find a Stan Smith that fits them.

Comfort

In a world of Boost and ZoomX, the number of sneakers that blow these out of the water from a comfort perspective is hard to count. Heck, even contemporary Adidas sneakers like the Superstars have some foam in them.

In these, the only padding you get is from the insole and the waffle pattern inside the outsole cavity. While the insole in the Recons is nice a thick, it’s not much.

I wouldn’t say that these are actively uncomfortable – I happily have walked 15+ mile days in them. At the same time, unless you need to elevate your outfit a bit, these would not have been my first choice on those days.

On my completely subjective scale I’d say the comfort of the Stan Smith Recon is: “Alright.”

Materials

If we are being honest with ourselves, materials are the main reason any of us pony up the extra dollars for the Stan Smith Recon. At least out of the box, they don’t look all that different from the base model.

The good news is that is money well spent.

To be clear – these are not using the best leather in the world. However, they are using a fairly good sneaker leather. Unlike most Adidas sneakers – which are plastic – or Nike sneakers – which have leather, but are still basically plastic – the coating on these is really just for color.

Real leather will be more breathable, will age better, and will last a longer amount of time. It is worth paying for the upgrade if you plan on actually wearing your shoes. Adidas also added leather around the heel, and a fabric lining up front to help durability even more.

The outsole of the Stan Smith Recon is a hard rubber outsole. As I mentioned above, there is still plenty of life left in these. I’d say they are maybe 1/3^rd to 1/4^th of the way to being trashed. Getting hundreds of miles out of a pair of sneakers you can find on sale for well under $100 is hard to complain about.

Inside, the insole is a fairly thick Ortholite insole. This is a big difference to the thin insole you’ll find in the base Stan Smith, and one of the reasons these are so wearable.

Ease of Care

Like most white sneakers, the Stan Smith Recon does require a bit of maintenance to keep them looking fresh. Well, fresh-ish.

For these, I washed them once every few months. There are plenty of different shoe cleaning kits out there, but I personally found the best option was to mix up a bit of water and dish soap, then use different bristle stiffnesses to adjust for how aggressive they needed to be cleaned. I found this kit from Amazon to work really well. It has a stiff brush, a soft brush, and a horsehair brush to use at the end for a bit of a soft polish.

I personally did not use shoe trees in these; however, they probably would look a bit better if I had. There is a noticeable spring to the toe that wasn’t there new. However, even more noticeable, since the laces go down past the ball of the foot, the interior lining gets slightly exposed.

If you want to avoid these, a cheap pair of shoe trees from Amazon will do the trick.

Pricing

The Stan Smith Recon originally came in at $150 MSRP, however this exact make up has long since sold out. The new sneaker that carries this name is now priced at $165. However, the spiritual successor to this design – the Stan Smith Lux – actually costs $5 less.

Considering that between 2020 and 2023, if this pair kept up with inflation they would have cost $177 dollars, being able to find them for less than they originally cost is pretty amazing.

If you do want this exact colorway, they are a bit hard to find, though they generally go for around $100 on the aftermarket. At time of writing, none were available on my suggested resale platform of eBay, but StockX had three pairs.

Are the Adidas Stan Smith Recon Worth it?

Or, to put it another way, are the Adidas Stan Smith Lux worth it? Short answer, yes. Absolutely. Especially since it’s incredibly easy to find them on sale.

However, if you want a long answer, still probably yes. The only caveat I would give is that if you’re looking at the recon exclusively because of materials – and you don’t care about the Stan Smith design – there are better materials out there. Helm’s Xander is in the same price range, and Grant Stone’s excellent sneaker is only slightly more.