Ending Soonest 001: Low-Tech
Be it running to the shop or battling a spring shower whilst walking the dog, technical footwear can always help you through anything the elements throw at you. With the focus often mostly on high-performance footwear that defy extremes, we decided to do a 180 and turn our focus back to the hidden gems found online today. Unearthing some diamonds in the rough, with this first selection being a focus on the low-tech yet functional pairs of the early noughties that the depths of auction sites have to offer. From modular recovery models to numerous aquatic transitional pairs a lot can be found in our initial offering of Ending Soonest, a series where we show you the most interesting footwear we find on our late night trawls through the secondary markets.
Salomon Techamphibian
Everyone's gorp-core champion, Salomon are known for protecting the wearer from the environment through footwear. The Techamphibian serves a different purpose, one that differs from most pairs by outdoor staples. Through its open mesh upper the shoe certainly lives up to its amphibian namesake, allowing the wearer the ability to transition from water to land effortlessly with its individual drainage systems. Not limited to the mesh of the upper, the draining design of the pair can even be seen in the tooling of the pair when a small notch on the heel allows for even more water to leave the pair when transitioning environments. A fundamental aspect of the design also comes in the form of the quicklace system and adjustable straps, which are paired together here for the wearer especially needed when worn in water. If you’re looking to be active in bodies of water or just for that pair that is a bit techier than the standard XT-6 it’s harder finds like these that will sort you out.
Found here
Patagonia Rimu Skywalk
Patagonia are certainly recognisable for their ethical morals and outdoor clothing, and while this can be seen throughout the brand it isn’t often something noted within their footwear. A standout of their nature inspired design comes in the form of the Rimu Skywalk, a true granola-core pair for the weekend forager. These leather slip-ons incorporate woven elastic fastenings and a cross-stitched detail across on the upper, with a looped stitching line beneath the ankle that encapsulates tri-pointed perforations. Perhaps its most striking feature is its honeycomb sole tooling which both harkens to the naturalistic design yet feels like the most contemporary part of the shoe, definitely not something you see everyday.
Found here
Nike City Knife
Stemming from the 1998 ACG Pocket Knife, the Nike City Knife from 2002 is one pair we had to mention. A real nerdy piece of engineering, the Pocket Knife was designed for the travelling city dweller. The collapsible shoes provide the ease of transitioning as a commuter in the ever-changing environment that is city living. These soft soled sneakers possess an organic design, reminiscent of an armadillo or a pangolin, giving them their unique folding capability, allowing them to be reduced by half in size, fitting easily into travel bags. They have since been developed into the City Knife 2 which forego the midsole in favour of a two-piece construction allowing for an even more malleability. This design also includes geometric folds, differing from the curvature of the folds in the initial version, which provide a more compact mechanism.
Found here
Helly Hansen Lifa Versa
Perhaps not the expected product from a sailing-centric outerwear brand, the Helly Hansen Life Versa stand out for their simple aesthetic and aquatic technical features. Technical wear is perhaps often thought relevant more for outdoor/performance based lifestyle activities, but the Life Versa certainly invokes rightful design considerations about techwear options for aquatic focused activity. Its neoprene upper evokes qualities of Y2K styling of FRUiTS magazine while providing the wearer support in either aquatic or land environments. Such an encounter is also improved due to the shoe’s tooling with the layered sole featuring several embellishments that offer traction on different terrain and a tabi-like taloned toe, something we hadn’t seen before and wouldn’t have without a few nights searching through the auctions.
Found here
Nike Air Rejuven8
Released in 2008, the Nike Air Rejuven8 is a prime example of the possibilities of functional low-tech footwear. With its release at the time of the Beijing Olympics as a recovery shoe, the Rejuven8 is appropriately reminiscent of the famed Olympic Stadium’s “bird’s nest” design, with its single piece moulded cage. Utilising a modular system, they also allow the wearer to remove the inner, complementing the draining of the upper to create a working water shoe or just as an alternative to everyone's current favourite, the injection moulded footwear. This simplistic yet functional feature reminds us of the Nikelab ZVEZDOCHKA and the Niobium Concept 1 from New Balance for its 3-in-1 design. This specific pair are a Nike ID, one of the lesser appreciated perks of buying second hand is that you come across gems like these, customs that you might never have made yourself but now have the chance to own at a fraction of the price that only the real miners manage to get their hands on.
Found here