Few sneakers make me stop in my tracks nowadays, such is life on the wrong side of 30. That being said, Nike’s new Lunar Roam sneaker, an updated take on the 2008 Lunar sneaker, did exactly that when I laid eyes on them a few weeks back.
In fact, Nike’s Lunar Roam shoes are so much a bit of me that when they eventually dropped online at sneaker stores over the weekend in late December, I felt compelled to buy two pairs of the damn things. So I did.
I’m never too sure exactly what I look for in a great sneaker, nor am I wise to what it is about a certain style that suckers me in so much.
Perhaps, in this case, it’s the pleasingly mismatched colorway that’s enticing me, or is it the chunky yellow midsole that has me gripped?
Put simply, Nike’s Lunar Roam — which lands fifteen years after the initial Lunar shoe's release — is a remastered and amplified iteration of the classic sneaker.
The plush foam midsole continues to provide a dead comfortable ride underfoot, the breezy textiles on the upper make for a breathable on-foot feel.
Then, the Magwire cables that wrap around offer a little more stability than previous iterations of the Lunar sneaker.
What's most interesting here, for me anyway, is that during a year that's been awash with rare sneaker collaborations and hyped footwear drops, it's a mainline style that's caught my attention most.
There's something especially tasty about the combination of the colorway and the sneaker's appreciably normcore design. It's almost accidentally excellent.
Perhaps Emrata had a point about shopping inline?
I don’t want to go over the top here (if I haven’t already) when I say that Nike’s Lunar Roam is probably one of the best looking sneakers I’ve ever seen.
Failing that, it’s at the very least the best sneaker of 2023. That’s for sure.
