Nike Air Force 1 Tear Away Sneakers Review

Anthony Furtaw, Staff Writer

Nike recently released the second version of their infamous “tear-away shoes,” this time in a more female-oriented version. With a lot of hype surrounding the release of these shoes, it is no surprise that they sold out very quickly. Of course, the resale market offers different ways to purchase the Air Force 1 “Reveals” if you were unable to get them when they dropped. Resale prices range from $150 to $300 depending on the size, versus the original retail price of $110.

The shoe features a soft white outer material that when torn reveals a variety of colors. They called the shoe “Reveal” based on the fact that the main design is revealed more and more as the outer layer is ripped off, or worn off on its own. The shoe features a “tear here” logo on the side as well as an image of scissors along the edges of the outer white layer. When fully exposed, the main colors consist of red, blue, orange, green, black, and purple hues all scattered together on the outside.

This concept Nike had of creating a shoe that the consumer can customize and alter to their own preference is very unique and encourages creativity from the buyer. Nike is encouraging people to try different methods of removing the outside layer, as on its packaging it states “Let it wear over time. Try a wet sponge. Use your fingernails.” On the inside of the Air Force 1 is a question mark to coincide with the mystery aspect of the shoe.

Overall the shoe has a solid look to it no matter how you decide to make use of the color patterns. It stays true to the original Air Force 1 style with the signature lines seen in other versions of the shoe. If you like the it’s model you will love this shoe as it takes the classic design and makes something special out of it, as most Air Force 1’s feature relatively basic and bland colors. I definitely recommend this shoe and I think Nike did a great job at making the consumer involved in the designing process of the shoes.