crooked tongues magazine News Features

Yes. Yes. Yes. This is the antidote that cuts through the crap out there. The Nike Lava Dome is the kind of shoe that unites the Crooked audience. Who can't appreciate this model? The story and end product are sneaker perfection as a standalone but the daddy of a ton of offroad classics. Harking back to 1981 the Lava Dome was pitched in that nifty ad with John Rosklelley and company larking about at basecamp on the imposing K2 wearing the LD-1000 shoe. Alongside the Magma and Approach, the inaugural trio would go on to shape the Nike Hiking line which became All Conditions Gear. The Magma's been treated with respect since the 2008 retro, but we can't help but think that the Approach has been sold short thus far — after all, it was a GORE-TEX lined sneaker hiker 30 years ago. That's serious.

And it's with that mythology as to how the Lava Dome came into being that explains the shape, sole unit and use of mesh (albeit a more hardwearing version) — all added as a tribute to Nike's lightweight runners. This model even became a mountain biking favourite for a minute. Even the resilient outsole is waffle-inspired. We still can't get over the fact that the shoe still looks relatively young, but bear in mind that it's old enough that it's the father of a 23 year old — 1988's much-loved Son of Lava Dome. It's just a classic and it's a testament to the heads in the design department back in the day that it can proudly sit alongside even the most bizarre looking ACG releases from the decades that followed.

Earlier this year, Steven Alan stores reworked the Lava Dome with the shaggy nap Oscar the Grouch dishevel suede and it worked tremendously. While some supplemental pieces got a little too fancy with the zips, a grey and green Lava Dome was the kind of shoe we wish had come out earlier and it sat alongside the original batch with ease. We assumed it was an apology for the hideous Lava Dome CL that had that Long Ball (word to Larry David) sole. The problem? They were easy to obtain Stateside but difficult for us Euro-heads, never making it to Steven Alan stockists or Tier Zero spots.

These Quickstrike versions are set to be plentiful and while the materials don't feel quite as strong as the Steven Alan variants, who's going to argue with a Georgetown colourway Lava Dome? Nobody with a right mind. Dispute the value of that faux-vintage effect by all means, but that upper is tremendous. The addition of Air to the heel makes them a little more comfortable, but despite the 2.4 in the title they're very much the shoe we know and love. In NYC last week it was refreshing to see some heads bugging out at the prospect of "The Hoyas Lava Dome" — a simple shoe built to last in a colourway that doesn't betray the model's roots. Keep it simple stupid in full fucking effect and these arrive at Quickstrike accounts including our own online store very soon...