Nike Dunk Low Hyper Cobalt: Out of the Box
Highlights:
- Price: $100 MSRP [No Longer Available at Retail]
- Pros: Classic Design, Affordable Retail Pricing
- Cons: Poor Quality Control, Uncomfortable
Contents:
History:
If I told you to picture a Peter Moore-designed shoe that came out to the public in 1985, the Nike Dunk Low is probably not the first one that comes to mind. Of course, the Jordan 1 is likely the top of your list, but the Dunk High and others are more often thought of as the retro sneakers from that year. However, looking at the releases over the past year or so, Nike has sold far more Dunk Lows than just about any other hyped sneaker. And every time they’ve sold out, including this Nike Dunk Low Hyper Cobalt pair.
After a decade on clearance racks, the Dunk Low is having a rebirth. Celebrities are wearing them, resale is through the roof, and Nike seems to be able to throw any two colors on an upper and be able to move them. Even non-OG colorways, such as this pair, are seemingly impossible to get at retail.
Let’s take a look and see what a GR release Dunk actually gets you, and if it’s worth the price or just some hype.
If you’re interested, a couple of weeks ago we compared the Dunk Low and the Jordan 1
Looks:
The Nike Dunk Low, especially in non-SB variety, is actually an extremely plain shoe. Take the swoosh off and it could be mistaken for just about any leather early 80’s basketball shoe.
Upper:
The upper of the shoe is made up entirely of two colors – black and cobalt blue. Starting up front, the mudguard panel, in blue, wraps all the way back to close to mid-foot, cutting up to meet the eyelets. Nike continued the blue on the eyelet panel – featuring a subtle wave – before meeting the third blue panel at the top of the eyelets.
One of the areas where the dunk does separate itself from other shoes is here at the eyelets. Rather than having a single hole like most retros, or even two like a lot of running shoes, the Dunk Low has 4 holes here. This allows you to dial in exactly how the top of the shoe is laced if you’re using these to play basketball in. Even if you almost certainly are not ever going to play in these.
Around back, the blue continues on the ¾ panel – which is designed to mimic the ankle panel on the Highs, the back tab, and (of course) the swoosh.
To contrast this, Nike has used black leather on the perforated toe box, the midfoot panel, and black plastic the ankle area. The theme is continued on the tongue, though here the black is the primary color and blue is used to accent.
The rest of the upper does have a few interesting details that make the shoe feel a little bit special. Maybe the most interesting to me is that the laces feature a small amount of reflective thread. Unlike the Yeezy reflective laces, Nike has enough regular thread in here that they don’t feel like uncooked spaghetti as you try to tie them. There are other nice hits as well – such as the bright orange Nike logo on the black insole.
Rounding out the upper, the shoe uses a retro style liner, both around the ankle and on the inside of the tongue.
Mid and Out Sole:
Moving down to the mid-sole, the shoe introduces the third and final color – White. This is the primary color of the midsole, and is also the color of the thread keeping the midsole to the upper. Unfortunately, Nike did not do a great job sewing this pair. There are multiple times the stitching goes outside the channel which are extremely noticeable.
On the bottom, Nike brings back the blue on the absolutely classic outsole. The design will look familiar to anyone who has been into Nike retros over the last 35 years. Under the forefoot you have the concentric circle design, and under the heel you have textured blocks. In between a classic Nike logo with Swoosh makes sure you don’t forget who made the shoe.
Fit & Comfort:
The Nike Dunk Low Hyper Cobalt, like almost every Nike sneaker, fits long and narrow. Thankfully for those with wider feet, the Dunk has a bit more space in the toe box compared to something like a Jordan 1. Assuming you’re not wearing these to play basketball, the fit is fairly forgiving. However, this does mean they fit a bit sloppy. The laces end lower on your foot than a lot of shoes, and the leather is very stretchy. These combine with a shoe that will never fit like a glove. I take these in a size 13, which is the same as my Jordan 1 size, but could probably get away with a 12.5 if needed.
Click here to see sizing for all the shoes we have reviewed
Comfort for the Dunk Low is just about as bad as you can get in a shoe today. The only thing between you and the ground is a few millimeters of rubber and a cheap insole. Your feet will feel it if you’re wearing these for more than a few hours.
If there is one saving grace, I’ve found that Nike loves to use incredibly thin leather on their Dunks. There are problems with this, of course, but the upside is that it is incredibly stretchy. Unlike almost any other mass-produced leather sneaker, these will conform to the shape of your foot over time. It’s no prime-knit, but at least it stops both the top and bottom of your feet becoming sore.
Materials & Construction:
As mentioned above, one nice thing about this pair is that Nike used real leather on most of the panels. It’s thin, but is real. Of course, just like almost every other Nike or Jordan retro, the leather is coated with a plastic that allows them to get the bright colors they are looking for. Or, in the case of this pair, the deep black. That being said, the upper isn’t all leather. The black panel on the back is a pretty cheap feeling plastic.
Up against your foot is the old school wide-knit lining. This knitting is almost certainly going to be the first failure point on the shoe. Of course, that’s what Nike used in the 1980’s. I’ll leave it up to you if the trade off is worth it. Behind the lining is fairly minimal padding – a big change compared to the High. Under your foot, the insole is made of whatever cheap foam Nike could get their hands on, though thankfully the nylon tongue is comfortable and should take whatever you can throw at it.
The mid- and outsole are both made of a hard rubber compound. True, this is going to be extremely uncomfortable, but it should last a long time. This is true both in durability and in age. Unlike from the Jordan 3 onwards, there are Dunks from the original run that are still wearable today without crumbling.
The construction of the shoe is a stitched-on cup sole. This is about the best type of construction you’ll find on a mass-produced sneaker. It means the sole should stay attached to the upper throughout the life of the sneaker.
Unfortunately, the QC of this particular pair is pretty bad, even for Nike. There are at least a dozen areas where there are glue overruns, missed or doubled stitches on the upper, etc. For a premium brand, it’s pretty unacceptable.
Ease of Care:
One of the big benefits of the plastic coating they put on the leather is that these shoes should be extremely easy to keep clean. For almost everything, you’ll probably only need water. If you want to be extra sure, even the cheapest shoe cleaning kits should be more than enough.
In fact, the only area of the shoe you might need to keep an eye out for is the white midsole. Over time this is likely to yellow, even with regular cleaning, but that is true of any white rubber midsole.
Really, this pair is about as easy as it gets when it comes to keeping them looking fresh.
Pricing:
The Nike Dunk Low Hyper Cobalt originally release with a $100 MSRP, but sold out immediately. At time of writing, they sell for anywhere from around $160 to a little over $200 depending on size. This is actually a bit cheaper than what most Dunk Lows are going for. Your guess as to why is as good as mine, but it could be because these are still fairly new and the resellers are trying to unload what they have, or Nike might just be releasing a lot of Dunks and are driving the price down.
Value:
While it’s entirely true that there is basically no Nike sneaker that is an objectively good value at retail, I think the Dunk Low in general does a better job than most. It’s made with pretty much the same materials as a Jordan 1 High, which retails at nearly double the cost. The shoe should also last a reasonable amount of time, so the cost per wear should be pretty reasonable.
Even at resale, this colorway isn’t that bad. For most sizes it will still cost less than a Jordan 1 at retail.
Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel that the GR dunks are a cash grab by Nike at this point. The quality control on this pair is awful. I have no problem with a sneaker costing some money if the consumer gets something in return, the Jordan 14 Clot collab are extremely well built and worth the cost at resale, but other than the name and design I’m not really sure what the customer is getting here.
Ultimately, if the value is worth it to you will depend on how much you value classic design.
Wrap Up:
It’s a shame that Nike doesn’t seem to really care about getting QC down on the Dunks any more. Sure, it is great to break out something in your face once in a while, the reality is that if you’re just running to the store most people want something simple and easy to wear. The Dunk Low, and the Hyper Cobalt in particular, do a great job of that.
They are a pair of shoes that you don’t have to think about what else you’re wearing to get an outfit together. They can stand up to wind, rain, snow, and everything in between. And, at retail at least, are not so expensive that you need to worry about getting them messed up.
If manufacturing defects don’t bother you all that much, the Nike Dunk Low Hyper Cobalt really are great pair of sneakers.