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IN STOCK: Click here to buy the adidas Phantom (Ice Grey, White) in the Crooked Tongues store now.

It's a tough life for anybody wanting to develop and otaku-like adidas knowledge. Different regions, licensees and rogue factories, plus the brand's determination to keep upgrading core styles in line with developments on the production line can make life tough. Then there's name similarities between categories, like this, the original Phantom and a well-regarded adidas basketball shoe of the same name that dropped a few years later. We've been waiting on a retro of this runner since that fine remake of the legendary Fire in 2005, which we've always accepted as the sibling of the Phantom. This model belongs to a family of shoes that are a running golden age of premium innovation for adidas. Don't believe us? bear in mind that the Phantom shared shelf space with the Boston Super, New York, Waterproof and aforementioned Fire. The latter's inserts for a tailored ride were a breakthrough, but the tunnelled technical midsole on this model weren't exclusive to this shoe but seemed to be the percieved solution to overpronation and oversupination.

Does it work? We have no idea, but it looked great. Where its partner was an all-rounder for road running, this fell into the strange category of "ambitious" running training. The big heel counter, flat and more clinical 3-Stripes, real suede and mesh, slanted midsole and neutral colourway with piped reflectivity (though there's a brace of other colours coming soon) makes these a welcome resurrection for a serious training piece (and for some of our American buddies baffled by the use of "trainer", this silhouette proves that the term was applicable long before Bo ever knew). After the ZX 380 last year, this is another unexpected addition to the Originals line. adidas had some outstanding tech pieces during the jogging boom and these are a shoe for those that know. If you missed those Fires all those years ago, we feel sad for you (though the pre-sale procetag was vicious), but thankfully these are set to drop at a far more reasonable sum in the Crooked Tongues store next month, and we're looking forward to stashing them together in the cupboard to recreate those magnificant UK catalogue shots that turned us into footwear fanatics in the first place. The adidas Phantom is the ghost of performance footwear past and it's a work of art.

IN STOCK: Click here to buy the adidas Phantom (Ice Grey, White) in the Crooked Tongues store now.