Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra: Too Early to Call Classic?
Price: $230 Retail [Check Current Resale Prices Here]
Why Buy?
The Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra has a colorway that will be associated with this silhouette forever, and is surprisingly affordable.
Why Avoid?
The Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra is difficult to style, and still isn’t cheap based on the materials in it.
Specs
| Model | 350 V2 |
| Height | Low |
| Materials | Primeknit / Boost / Rubber |
| Size | 13 |
| Weight | 438 g / 15.45 Oz |
| Construction | Cemented |
| Country of Origin | India |
History
There are a few sneakers that have a colorway that seems to define them. This isn’t always the first colorway that came out, but it’s the one that probably pops into your mind first. When you think of a New Balance 990, you think of the Grey colorway. The Jordan 1? The Chicago comes first (don’t even try Bred fans – check the resale). The Yeezy 350 V2 – (probably) the Zebra.
The 350 V2 Zebra wasn’t the first V2 to come out. Or the second. Or even the 6th. However, it’s in-your-face style combined with being the first model that had more than a handful of pairs available means that for a lot of people the Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra was the first time they started to see them out on the street.
Adidas, of course, knows this better than anyone else. The Zebra is the most restocked Yeezy of all time – releasing in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Some of them were Asia exclusives, but still – that’s quite a run for a hyped sneaker.
Despite that, there were plenty of people who didn’t hit on any of them – your author included. At the same time, these restocks have brought the pricing down from the truly astronomical resale they had 5 years ago, to something mere mortals can afford.
With the price range being what it is, is now the time to pick up a pair? Let’s take a look.
By the way, this pair is from the most recent Yeezy Day restock, made 1/2022. There are slight differences between builds – most importantly sizing – so try and figure out which run you’re buying if you can.
Looks
Upper
It’s probably not hard to guess that the Upper of the Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra takes on heavy black and white themes. There are alternating strips of black and pure white primeknit threads across the majority of the upper. That being said, once you get up close, the pattern changes significantly up near the toe. Here, the pattern becomes much more mixed. I’d use the word static if that didn’t already describe a different primeknit pattern on the 350.
Of course, you can’t miss the gigantic white strip running along the exterior side of the sneaker. In bright red, about half way back, you’ll find the backwards “SPLY-350.” Does it stand for Saint Pablo Loves You? SuP pLaYa? The much more likely but also more mundane Yeezy Supply – 350? No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative.
Under that white strip is a slightly more cream stripe. This has got to be my least favorite portion of the sneaker. Why? Why is this the only cream part of the shoe? I mean, the whole thing will get dirty and you won’t notice it the 3rd time you wear it, but… why?
There are also a number of little details on the upper that make this one feel more special than some of the recent models – at least to me. My favorite has probably got to be the pull tap on the back – white with black dashes. These also feature the older style of stitching down the middle with alternating boxes and crosses. You may not know, but these are actually two different styles of stitch, and combine should make this a stronger seam.
Inside, the back of the sneaker has some padding – with a reflective 3-stripes. Up front they are mostly unlined with just a bit of toe structure.
Mid- and Outsole
This is one of the first places where which run of the Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra you get matters. In the originals, the outer edges of the midsole were a creamy white, and the outsole was more of a dark milk color. As time went on, the outsole got lighter and lighter, and with current releases the two are identical in colors. Of course, the outsole will end up brown anyway, so maybe not worth worrying about.
In any case, no matter which run you buy, the mid and outsole are going to have rounded ridges across the entire thing. These are only broken up by a slightly thicker pad of rubber at the back with “boost” written on it, and a window to the boost instead just ahead of that. Of course, as anyone who has owned a pair of 350 V2’s will tell you, the thick rubber isn’t where your heel actually strikes.
Warning, going into some shoe nerd stuff here – feel free to skip ahead. One thing I really appreciate about the midsole on these is that it does a lot more than you think. Most sneakers have absolutely no structural arch support. Maybe you’ll get an insole with more padding there, but that’s it. On these, the hard rubber along the midsole actually curves in and up to give you a (small) amount of structure here.
Summary
The Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra is loud, in your face, and unmistakable. If it weren’t for their history, you’d probably see them being clowned on. The thing is, though, you can’t ignore their history. When Jordan started wearing bright colorways in the 80’s people said they went too far. When visible air units showed up, everyone said the owner was stupid because they would pop. Eventually, these style cues became absolute classics. To me, these are the same.
That isn’t to say they are easy to style. Most of the people who really dig these are probably on the older side of sneakerheads – and I say that as someone who fits both of that description. Hiked up tight joggers don’t hit the same when you’ve got 2 kids and a bit of a gut
For me, I’d suggest trying a looser fit. When I wear mine, I pair them with something like the Marie Layer Saturday Pant, and a heavier t-shirt. Let the shoes do the talking with this pair.
Fit & Comfort
Fit – the Problem
If you read nothing else in this review – please read this. The Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra has different sizes depending on the run. When the 350 V2 first came out, they were incredibly small. Not sure if this was to play a joke on the guys who bought the V1s which ran large, but most people needed to size up an entire full size from most of their Adidas sneakers. If you’re buying a pair from the 2017 or 2018 run, you’ll likely want to size up a full size.
In 2019, around when Adidas was adding the plastic stripes to the side, the brand tried to bring a bit more sanity to the 350 V2 sizing. While still running smaller than most Adidas sneakers, it was more like a half size – or even true to size if you like a 1-to-1 fit. From 2019/2020, the Zebras began to use this sizing. If you get a run from 2019 you’ll likely want to size up a half size.
What makes this particularly dangerous is that Adidas and most resell sites treat each run as the same model. Without contacting the seller directly, you have no idea which run you’re getting – and if it’ll fit you. For that reason alone, I wouldn’t buy these anywhere but from Adidas directly or from eBay where you can message the seller.
Fit – the Advice
With that out of the way, all of them will have a fairly narrow toe box. If you have a wider fore front, I’d suggest going up a half size on top of the advice above. While there isn’t much structure in the shoe, the one place that does have it is just around the toe box, so don’t expect much in the way of stretch.
If you find that the pair you picked up is ever so slightly small, you can take out the insole to make them work. I’d try to avoid that if you can, though. It impacts the comfort, and also puts wear on the stitching that holds the sneaker together and can cause them to wear out quicker.
I take these in either a size 13.5 (original run), or a size 13 (2019 or later). For comparison, I take a size 13 in the Jordan 1, a size 13 in the Ultraboost, and a size 12.5 in the Stan Smith. For a full list of sizing for every sneaker reviewed on this website, click here.
Comfort
While not quite up there with the Ultraboost or some of the most recent foam technology from other brands, the Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra is still one of the most comfortable sneakers you can buy today. A lot of people don’t know this, but there isn’t just one kind of boost. Adidas can mess with the blend to change the balance between responsiveness and softness. On the 350’s they turned it all the way to soft.
These are an incredibly plush sneaker.
The primeknit upper isn’t that bad either, easily stretching to the shape of your foot in most places, it’s sock-like fit is nailed down.
That being said, I would still put the 350 V2 below its Ultraboost brother, mostly due to the shape. The higher heel stack, narrow toe, and structure on the toebox all combine to push your foot slightly forward. Typically, when this happens you can tighten the laces to give you some lock down, but the laces here are pretty much only for show.
Still, that’s a fairly minor gripe, and one most people won’t notice unless you’re really getting some steps in.
Materials & Construction
Materials
The Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra is made just like all the other early 350 V2s – a fairly simple design overall. Starting with the upper, Adidas’ used their primeknit throughout. No plastic panels here. It is worth noting, while every other adidas line has started to include Parley plastic – pulled from the sea – Yeezys still do not use any recycled plastic. I’m not sure why, there is still plastic in there, but I did confirm it with an Adidas rep before posting this review.
This prime knit upper – sewn together along the middle – is strobel stitched to a soft felt-like board. Between your foot and the board, an open celled insole sits nicely. This isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s good enough with the boost doing the heavy lift.
Underneath, a thick chunk of the aforementioned Adidas Boost material makes up the majority of the midsole. Adidas boost, also know as e-TPU, is basically foam pellets heated up to fill in the void. It’s incredibly responsive and long lasting, though recently has been surpassed by new super materials.
The outsole and midsole cage are a fairly hard rubber. The rubber itself should be fairly durable, though it’s thin so don’t expect too long a lifespan.
Pricing
Originally launching with a retail price of $220, the most recent release of the 350 V2 Zebra saw that increase to $230. That being said, for most people, the retail price is irrelevant because you’re probably never going to pay it.
Instead, let’s take a look at the resale price. Hitting a high of more than $1,500 (!), and living around $500 for most of its life, the large stock in the restocks of 2021 and 2022 have driven these prices substantially lower. At time of writing, a pair is only a hair over retail. In fact, I picked this exact pair up from eBay for $269.
Again, because of the sizing issues, I’d strongly recommend going with eBay where you can message the seller and get the actual run date. Check current eBay pricing here.
That isn’t the cheapest 350 V2 out there, but it is surprisingly close. There are plenty of also-ran colorways that are around the same price as this classic, such as the Israfil, the Ash Pearl, or the Citrin. ($10 to whoever was able to remember those colorways before I said them)
It should be noted that the prices do tend to creep up in between each restock. If Adidas did ever decide to let this colorway sit for a while, I could see prices climbing.
Wrap Up
The Yeezy 350 V2 Zebra wasn’t the first colorway for this model, but it feels like the one to have. Sure, prices have fallen down and Kayne isn’t as popular as he once was, but I can’t help but feel like we’re in a similar situation to the Jordan 1 in 1994.
People are asking why this is re-releasing. They say they want something new (well, maybe not after the 380s). But, given some time, what we all really want has been there all along.
I’m not sure how often I will be able to break these out, but I look forward to every single time.