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Anytime I tried to talk my way into staying out late in high school, my dad had his rejoinder ready: "Remember, nothing good happens after midnight." Being a dad, he was often correct—except on the rare occasions he wasn't. [Sorry, Pops.] Plenty of good things, it turns out, happen after dark, especially if you're among the nocturnal and club-going and urban spelunking. One of those good things: the Nite Jogger, a new silhouette from Adidas designed, in the brand's telling, for the "night time creator"—the kind of person who needs a shoe that can hold up to the dark.
Okay, so it's not all new: The Nite Jogger borrows a few cues from a 1980 design of the same name. But almost everything else about this sucker feels like 2019. The full-length Boost sole makes use of Adidas's super-bouncy, company-fortune-revitalizing tech. [If you're gonna be running around and, uh, creating at night, you're going to want to make sure you're extra comfortable.] A mesh-and-ripstop upper finds the balance point between sturdy and featherlight. And reflective detailing on the laces, stripes, and a few other hot spots means you'll light up the night—or just your buddy's high-flash photography.
But the Nite Jogger isn't just about, y'know, looking cool at night. Because no matter what time of day you prefer to create, you're going to need a shoe that looks good in, say, natural light or under the awful glow of overhead fluorescents. Conveniently, the shoe delivers on that count, too. This isn't quite the ultra-thick "chunky shoe" that's dominated fashion in recent years, but it's not a paper-thin, verging-on-translucent performance piece, either. Instead, it sits right in the middle: That high-cushion sole keeps things comfortable and adds some nice heft, while the upper's design takes some of the weight out. To do all that, the Nite Jogger pulls references from a bunch of Adidas's most popular shoes of recent vintage: the sexy-clunky Yung 1's width, the perma-popular Ultra Boost's chassis, maybe even a bit of Yeezy roundness. And—please don't forget—it shines in the dark. Dad is probably still right. But expect to have some fun after midnight in these.
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The newly rebuilt version of the adidas Nite Jogger caught the attention of many heads in the sneaker community when they first leaked late in 2018. While the original iteration was purpose-built for nighttime running, the modern Nite Jogger was designed purely as a lifestyle shoe, geared towards creatives who needed a sturdy shoe to support them all day and deep into the night. This prompted the addition of adidas’ Boost technology, the same bouncy foam beads that made the Ultra Boost and NMD the most pivotal shoes of the past 6 years. But, adidas has come a long way since 2013 and the early days of slapping the PureBoost midsole on any silhouette for a new twist. Additionally, Boost technology has itself evolved greatly since then, growing more complicated in structure and use.
The secret to the success of the Nite Jogger is all in the midsole. Beginning with the obvious, the Nite Jogger features full-length Boost cushioning, reinforced by a thick rubber outsole to add rigidity, and a reinforcing EVA clip that wraps around the heel. However, materials are not the only factors involved. The Nite Jogger’s new midsole is also noticeably wider than almost anything adidas has used before, providing a more stable platform for your foot, which means more forgiveness around the edges when you land awkwardly. It feels a bit like your foot is nestled into the sole, with the edges slightly rising around the perimeter of the foot to lock you in.
Of course, the Nite Jogger is not complete without the multi-layered, mixed-material upper. The new construction begins with a loose-knit mesh for the toebox, while more rigid nylon makes up the quarter panels. The boundaries between these two are joined by thick suede overlays to help keep your foot in place, which is echoed by similar overlays towards the heels. An exposed foam tongue adapts to the shape of your foot with ease, while an assortment of 3M accents completes the new adidas Nite Jogger 2019.
Over the past three months, I’ve been wearing my pair of Nite Joggers across a wide variety of activities, mostly due to the fact that they’re so comfortable. I’ve worked 8+ hour days on my feet in them, been to the club, done sculpture work, and took them to the mall. Across the board, they’ve performed beautifully. Not to mention, they look great with just about anything. The sleek and minimal shape draws obvious comparisons to some of adidas’ classic sneakers, while the layering of different materials makes them stand out in a crowd.
I’ve said it before, and I will most certainly say it again: the adidas Nite Jogger is what Boost shoes should have been all those years ago. It’s a bit of an unfair statement, considering all the trial and error that the Three Stripes went through to get to where they are now. However, I can’t help but think that the sneaker world, and footwear as a whole, would be in an entirely different place had this version of the Nite Jogger released in 2013. In the six months since its release, the bulk of reviews I’ve seen have been startlingly good, heralding the Nite Jogger as one of adidas’ most comfortable shoes to date, and I wholeheartedly agree.