As more and more people get into the sneaker game, one question that we always get asked is, “Are Dunks and Jordans 1s the same?” While this may be obvious to sneakerheads, when you really think about it, there are loads of reasons why the untrained eye might think this way. instead of just answering “No” and brushing them off, we’re going to be taking an in-depth look into both silhouettes, the main differences between Dunks vs Jordan 1s, and a little bit of history behind the models too.
The Air Jordan 1 and dunk are two of the most popular sneakers in history. If you ask any sneakerhead to name the most iconic models ever made, we can guarantee that almost everyone will have these Nike silhouettes in mind. since The Sole supplier began, we’ve always been here to educate everyone about everything sneaker-related, so if you want to find out more about these trainers then make sure you read on!
Image via yankeekicks
Historie
Unbeknownst to many, the Jordan 1 was actually introduced in 1984 but was made exclusively for Michael Jordan for a few months. After being tried and tested by his Airness himself, it was eventually released to the public in April 1985. If you’re new to trainers you’d probably assume that the dunk is a pretty new shoe since it’s so hyped at the moment, but the dunk actually launched just four months after the AJ1 in August 1985.
You might be wondering to yourself, “Why would Nike introduce the dunk just moments after the Jordan?” While we may never know the exact reasoning behind this, it became clear early on that the Beaverton brand knew exactly what they were doing, as both lines became extremely popular in their own right. While MJ was showing off his new signature shoe in every colourway under the sun as long as it was black, red, and white, the legendary “Be true To Your School” dunk collection was also announced.
This was an absolutely genius marketing strategy from the Swoosh. They offered division I college basketball teams and their fans to get a shoe that was painted in their team’s colours. Striking deals with the university of Iowa, university of Kentucky, university of Michigan, Georgetown, St. John’s, UNLV and Syracuse, the dunk High became the official shoe of these teams. Doing this meant that Nike didn’t have to spend too much money in advertising their new silhouette as news of the collection spread around organically. soon after, fans were rocking their teams’ pair, and those who didn’t even like basketball had a bunch of cool colourways to purchase.
For b-ballers who wanted something a little more versatile, the Air Jordan 1 low and dunk low were introduced. rather than just cut the ankle off and call it a day, both silhouettes were fully redesigned from the ground up. This is also a huge reason why so many people ask are Nike Dunks Jordans. An easy way that you can easily tell the difference between the dunk High vs Jordan 1 is there’s a winged basketball logo stamped onto the lateral ankle of the latter. as for dunk low vs Jordan 1 Low, that same insignia is finely stitched around the heel. If you can’t find this then chances are you’re looking at a Dunk.
Image via hanzuying
Are Dunks part of Jordan Brand?
We already touched on this a little in the last section, but a question that we get asked a lot is “Are Dunks part of Jordan Brand?” The short answer is no, but we’ll dive deep into this very soon. just like the Air force 1, Air Max 90, blazer and so on and so on, the dunk falls in Nike’s core line of products. It doesn’t belong to any sub-category, unless we’re talking about the SB Dunk, of course.
In 2002, the Oregon footwear company’s skateboarding division made history with the Nike SB Dunk. After a period of trailing and testing, Nike SB general manager Sandy Bodecker gave the basketball shoe a half-pip ready makeover. There wasn’t any need for him to create a brand new silhouette from the ground up, since the community were already in love with the classic Dunk: “skaters wanted it so it would have been very difficult for Nike Skateboarding to launch with a different shoe in 2002.”
Unlike conventional Dunks, SB pairs featured ultra comfortable fat tongues, elastics straps, a new sockliner, a Poron foam bed, and a Zoom Air unit in the heel. The result was a sneaker that you could skate all day, everyday.
While Air Jordan 1s are part of Nike’s ever-growing product portfolio, they’re actually listed as a Jordan brand sneaker. designed for Nike by Peter Moore, Tinker Hatfield, and Bruce Kilgore. the AJ1 would be followed by the Air Jordan 2 the following year, and then the Air Jordan 3 two years later. even today, Air Jordan are still launching brand new models on a pretty much annual basis, with the Air Jordan 36 making its grand debut in 2021.
Image via bored of Southsea
Nike dunk vs Air Jordan 1: What Are the key Differences?
So let’s get down to it. What are the key differeNCES mellom Jordan 1 og Dunk? Noe av det første du trenger å følge med på er eyelets. Mens begge silhuetter har totalt ni, er sistnevnte niende eyelets plassert over ankelstroppen, mens førstnevnte har den åttende og niende eyelet begge på stroppen.
Når vi snakker om det, er det bevingede basketballmerket en massiv gi bort her. Som vi nevnte før, enten det er Jordan 1 High, Mid eller Low, har de alle disse signalene et sted rundt kragen og hælen. Hvis du nettopp har kjøpt et par og de ikke har dette, gratulerer, har du nettopp sikret den første dunk.
Generelt sett er dunker og jordaner begge laget hovedsakelig fra skinn, men det er noen veldig subtile forskjeller med panelutformingen. Først av alt har dunk en romsligere toebox, mens J1 kan skryte av en mer tapet. Rundt ryggen møtes begge swooshes rundt ryggen, men dunk høye har sin verdensberømte hælfane som måler omtrent 1 cm med 2 cm. Dette er fraværende på JS.
Når du snur skoene rundt, tar dunk faktisk sitt yttersåle slitebanemønster fra Air Jordan 1, men det har blitt finjustert noen gang så litt for å være litt smalere. Det er også verdt å merke seg at i motsetning til Jordan, har ikke dunk luftteknologi under føttene, det er derfor de ikke kalles Air Dunk. Når det er sagt, er de fremdeles sprø komfortable for slitasje hele dagen, og du vil ikke høre noen klager fra oss.
Bilde via Stean.ro
Konklusjon
Så er dunker og Jordan 1s like? Absolutt ikke, men de er absolutt ganske like. Mens de begge er høye toppballsko, er det noen subtile forskjeller mellom begge modellene, inkludert den litt omarbeidede panelsituasjonen og mangelen på luftteknologi i dunker. Forskjellene kan være spesielt vanskelige å oppdage når det gjelder den lave varianten, da du ikke kan se hele skoen, men mellomdunkene er den eneste som har en midtfotstropp rundt ankelen.
Med alt det som er sagt, har både Air Jordan 1s og Dunks krysset stier mange ganger i fortiden. Colourways som Nike SB X Air Jordan 1 Low “Midnight Navy” og Nike SB X Air Jordan 1 High Defiant “NYC til Paris” fra 2019 henter begge inspirasjon fra SB Dunk, mens Virgil Ablohs off-white x Nike Air Rubber Dunk Samlingen fra 2020 er utstyrt med Air Tech, selv om det ikke er en del av SB- eller Air Jordan -linjen.
Så uansett om du søker etter din første Nike Air Jordan 1 eller du planlegger å legge til en annen Nike -dunk i samlingen din, må du sjekke ut disse Telltale -skiltene, slik at du vet nøyaktig hva du copper! For flere artikler knyttet til disse to silhuettene, sjekk dem ut nedenfor:
Air Jordan 1 Size Guide
Nike Dunk Size Guide
De 25 beste Air Jordan 1 -fargene gjennom tidene
De 25 beste Nike SB Dunk Colourways gjennom tidene
Hvorfor sitter så mange Jordans med høy varme bare i hyllene i Kina?