The Retro Nike Runner That Birthed ACG Makes a Big, Beautiful Comeback
While everyone else wore leather hiking boots for 1978's K2 expedition, mountaineers Rick Ridgeway and John Roskelley pulled up with slim, yellow Nike LDV sneakers. Afterwards, they gave Nike some notes (and their trashed, taped-up sneakers). And that, boys and girls, is how ACG was born.
Now, Nike's runners-turned-hikers are back.
Nike's LDV, short for Long Distance Vector, looks a little different than it did 40-plus years ago. It now looks even more casual, almost like a Killshot and LD-1000 mashup with chunkier soles and a nice ACG stamp on the side.
It keeps some classic touches like the breathable mesh and the iconic Waffle outsoles, which provided excellent grip on the rocks for Ridgeway and Roskelley.
Now, the Nikes shoes are ready take on the wild and the streets.
Before this moment, sacai sort of brought the model back with its LDV Waffle sneaker collaboration, a hybrid sneaker inspired by the, well, LDV and Waffle Racer. And it was great, if not sacai's best. But this latest effort by Nike looks to be a proper revival made for daily rotations.
It's even expected to return in its iconic yellow colorway, alongside other retro color schemes. According to sneaker leakers, the ACG LDV sneaker will release sometime in April on Nike's website.
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