crooked tongues magazine News Features

A low key release that keeps bringing it, the Nike Challenger retros are still keeping us happy in a time of mediocrity. The black versions the other week, resurrecting this runner that was cutting edge back in '79, are superb. Their partner makeup is this extremely clean variation in grey, white and violet. No gimmicks, no foolishness...and no madcap football focus welded onto what's a defiantly running design. Once the epitome of Bill Bowerman's stripped-away vision, the Challenger is crucial to the lineage that led to most of our favourite mesh, neoprene creations. For that, our respect for Challengers and Bermudas is total.

Bermudas came back well under the VNTG line, looking phenomenal, but they're not as simple a wear as the Challenger. The Elite — another '70s classic — keeps on dropping in good colours, but the Challenger just captures the spirit of Nike, before the Tailwind and Mariah brought Air and changed everything. Writing this during a presentation on Nike's latest Basketball footwear, itself a mesh-centric creation, the same spirit that drove this shoe's genesis, these seem even more relevant. We really take nylon mesh for granted on our shoes. The touch of Nike Grind to the Waffle outsole is cool too — nothing too revolutionary, but a solid makeup of one of the best runners Nike ever developed, available in the Crooked Tongues store right now.