Initial Impressions, Nike / Jordan, Sneakers

Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue: Don’t Like Red?

April 1, 2024April 1, 2024 by 100wears

Price: $150 [Sold Out in Some Sizes; Check eBay for Prices]

Why Buy?

The Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue offers an original design, great story telling, and a bit more comfort.

Why Avoid?

The Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue isn’t a cheap sneaker, and the retro materials might not be what a modern sneaker buyer is looking for.

Specs

Model	Air Max ’86 (Big Bubble)
Height	Low
Materials	Felt / PU / Rubber
Size	14.5 W / 13 M
Weight	517 g / 1 lb 1.2 Oz
Construction	Cemented
Country of Origin	Vietnam

History

If you’ve been tracking the history of the red Nike Air Max ’86, known primarily as the big bubble, you can skip this section. All you need to know is that this one is a different original color. If you are not, it’s a good story, and worth hearing.

Way back in 1986, Nike released the Air Max. Like any sneaker, especially with new technology such as an exposed air unit, they tested it. People ran on a track, tried junk to pop the bubble, etc.

It worked! Nike proclaimed. And off it went to the market. Unfortunately, all of this testing happened in good weather.

After Nike released the initial run of Air Maxes, people started to wear them in all conditions – including cold and snow. The big exposed bubble couldn’t handle it. They were popping, cracking, and people were angry. Nike had a major public relations disaster on their hands.

In a bit of quick thinking, Nike pulled all remaining models from the shelves and created an entirely new midsole for the sneaker. This time, the bubble and air unit were much, much smaller. This is the Air Max 1 that we all know and love.

Well, last year, the brand went back to the drawing board again. With an extra 40 years of experience making exposed air units, the company took another stab at the original – now big – bubble. The OG red color was joined this year by this one, the Royal Blue.

Is this sneaker worth taking a look at, or should it be pulled like that original version all those years ago? Let’s dive in and find out.

Looks

Box

While we don’t cover the box on every shoe we review on 100wears, the Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue is one of those with special enough presentation that it’s worth mentioning. Part of Nike’s recent remastered line, it follows similar ques – at least initially.

The box mimics the look of an older all black box that’s been beat up. Maybe it sat in a store for decades, maybe it’s been traded by various collectors. Of course, it’s just a printed pattern, but it looks great from more than a few inches out.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Nike included cut outs in the box. A fairly typical swoosh is on top, showing the paper for some reason, but on the side, you actually find 4 holes representing the bigger 4 hole bubble this sneaker features. Well, kind of 4. More on that later.

Upper

Once you open that box and take a look at the Nike Air Max Big Bubble in Royal Blue, you’ll find the upper is exactly what you might expect.

The majority of the upper is made with (fairly cheap looking) felt. This includes the grey panels across the top of the sneaker, along with the royal blue hits wrapping 270 degrees around the sneaker and the swoosh itself.

Connecting these panels are stark white mesh.

Nike Air logo on the back, blue eyelets at the top, and Nike on the tongue cover the embellishments. Inside, a fabric liner comes in white with the size printed like they were in the 80’s. Finishing off the inside, a bright blue insole ties everything together.

Mid- and Outsole

Onto the midsole of the Nike Air Max Big Bubble in Royal Blue. It’s probably the reason why you’re here, after all.

The first thing you notice is the bigger bubble. And, it is big. You really need to go all the way to the Air Max 95 to find something comparable, and I think this one still is bigger than the main bubble there.

Famously this version has an entire extra air chamber – 4 instead of 3. It’s on the box, its in the marketing, etc. However, you might have noticed, this pair has 5. Or maybe 4.5? While I don’t have a definitive answer, it looks like the air unit depends on the size you get. The smaller sizes actually only get 3, and larger sizes like this get a 5^th. Makes sense when you think about it, but it does seem weird to focus so much of the marketing on 4.

Other than the air unit, the midsole of the Big Bubble versions are actually a bit plainer than the regular version. Loosing the horizontal lines along the sides, it’s mostly just a white blob with two small cuts near the pinky toe.

On the bottom, the sneaker has a black, white, and royal blue rubber outsole. As you might expect, it is in a waffle pattern.

Summary

The Nike Air Max Big Bubble in Royal Blue is really summed up by the name. Do you like classic air maxes? Do you prefer blue over red? Want the true OG with a bigger bubble? Well, here’s your sneaker.

But in a more serious sense, you should know a couple things about how this sneaker looks.

First, if you want to send off a premium vibe, there are better sneakers. The materials on the upper look cheap. However, if you want to send off an authentic vibe, they look cheap because they original materials were cheap.

Second, the bigger bubble makes these sneakers look a lot chunkier on feet. That isn’t a bad thing – or a good thing – but I found that they work a bit less well than a standard pair of Air Max 1s with joggers, and a bit better with heavier fabrics.

Fit & Comfort

Fit

The first thing you should be aware of with the Nike Air Max Big Bubble, specifically in this Royal Blue colorway, is that they are tagged in women’s sizing. If you’re a man, and according to 100wears’ google reports statistically you almost certainly are, you want to go up 1.5 sizes. For me, who typically takes my Nikes in a size 13, I got these in a 14.5

Once you get that down, all the typical Air Max rules apply. The are true to size in length, though quite narrow compared to modern sneakers. If you have really wide feet, you might want to go up a half size, but most people will probably be OK going with your typical sneaker size.

The soft materials of the upper on this particular make up are more forgiving than standard Air Max 1s. If you typically size up on leather or suede Air Max 1s, and can only find your standard size, you might be able to get away with these.

Comfort

The Nike Air Max Big Bubble, including this Royal Blue colorway, is a noticeable step up in comfort.

To start off, of course there is the obvious. A bigger bubble is more air, more air is more squish. That bubble is also in a softer PU foam. It might crumble faster, but from a comfort perspective it is noticeable. I wouldn’t say these are as comfortable as a modern sneaker, but they are definitely better than the standard Air Max 1 or the Air Max 90.

Beyond that, the bigger air unit also means a larger drop. Drop, or the difference in height between your heel and forefoot, isn’t inherently good or bad. In general, though, a larger drop will mean more support for your foot throughout the day. While some people find that their feet tire with too much support, others are the opposite.

My preference is for more support rather than less, so I prefer this one. Just flagging that if you typically prefer less support these might hurt your arches.

Materials & Construction

Materials

As mentioned above, when you’re evaluating the materials of the Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue, there are two ways to think about it.

If we are being fair, the materials are authentic to the original. These are not meant to be the latest and greatest, they are meant to resemble shoes from the 1980s that were light weight. If we are being objective though, the materials – at least on the upper – are really cheap.

The majority of the upper is felt, with polyester lining. This should be breathable, but I wouldn’t expect durability or being able to clean them easily.

Down on the midsole, the majority of it is polyurethane. If you want more information on each type of sneaker midsole, you can find that here. The short version is that polyurethane tends to be like a memory foam mattress. Lots of plush, but not very springy. I’ll say, polyurethane is my favorite main-line material for a sneaker midsole, though there is no right or wrong with that.

Inside the midsole are two air units. The small one in the forefoot is very small, and doesn’t play too much of a role. The rear, however, is the opposite. Nike created a thicker sidewall with seems in different places to allow for this large bubble, and it works great.

Finishing everything off, a rubber outsole should provide enough durability that the upper will be trashed enough by the time these wear through you’ll feel you got your money’s worth.

Construction

The Air Max Big Bubble – Royal Blue or otherwise – is made with cemented construction. If you want the long version, there is an entire article here. The short version is that the upper and midsole are made separately, and then glued together.

This is, by far, the most common way to make a pair of sneakers. On the plus side, it is lightweight and the flexibility can’t be beat. As for drawbacks, once it’s cemented in place it is nearly impossible to replace the outsole. If these crumble, it’s pretty much goodbye. Or is if you don’t want to pay 3x the price of the shoe to replace it.

Pricing

The Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue launched with an MSRP of $150. This is $10 more than other base material Air Max 1 models, but actually $10-$20 less than special edition models. It is worth nothing, though, that all of those models are easily found with 20% off, unlike these.

At time of writing, about a week after release, most sizes are still sitting. However, larger sizes did sell out and are currently going for around $180-$190 on the resale market.

This pricing puts the Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue just below the premium tier of sneakers. Somewhat hard to justify based on materials, though let’s be honest – anyone who buys these is buying them for the story and style.

Are the Nike Air Max Big Bubble Royal Blue Worth It?

OK, the core of the review – are the Nike Air Max Big Bubble in Royal Blue worth it?

For the non-sneaker heads out there, nah. If your girlfriend just wants something comfortable to wear to work, it’s easy to say she should just go out and buy a pair of something or other from the outlets.

However, for anyone who is out there reading sneaker reviews on the internet, I’d say the probably are. Especially since many sizes are available at, or even under, retail This is exactly what we’ve been asking from Nike for years. We want OG sneakers, which these are. Also, we want unique variants that still have provenance, which these do. We want great story telling, which these have. And we want them to be made in enough numbers that people who want them can get them.

Are you paying a tax for having that swoosh on the side? Absolutely. However, I’d much rather pay $150 for what I actually want, than $100 for something that’s kind-of-sort-of the colorway I was hoping for but I bought because I was able to save a few dollars.