Whenever an industry grows, everything in it grows proportionally… including fakes. And we all know how extensive the Air Jordan line is. Whether you’re a collector, serial wearer, or reseller, Js must have a special place in your heart. But as we said, fakes will also slither their way into the industry. So today, we’re gonna check out how to legit check and spot a fake Air Jordan 1. And speaking of that, Nike is adding fake kicks to their lawsuit against StockX!
How to Spot a Fake Air Jordan 1?
Before you get started with the whole analysis of pairs, you’ll need to have a reference before you do comparisons. In other words, if it’s your first pair of Jordan 1s, we advise you to use legit check apps. An even better idea would be if you have a sneakerhead with experience that you can trust with this.
The Price Is a Dead Giveaway
We’re gonna get into legit checking actual pairs, but we also wanna state that. It might sound obvious, but it’s easy to scam a person who doesn’t have deep market knowledge. In other words, if someone offers to sell you a pair of Travis Scott AJ1s, you bet your a$$ it’s a fake. This is easily solvable by a little search to check out the value of the kicks you’re buying.
Shoe Shape
So a legit pair of Jordan 1s has an hourglass heel shape. If you’re looking at the kicks from the back, you’ll notice that they have an hourglass shape. Although a well-made fake Air Jordan 1 could pass, there definitely will be other giveaways.
Air Jordan Wings Logo
This one needs a sharper eye because you need to get deep into the details. So a low-quality replica will feature a poor quality embossing. The black paint won’t be on the actual embossing in some bad cases. However, some better reps can have an almost identical logo that you can only crack with a sharp eye. For example, the edges on the wings will be cleaner in the real logo. Meanwhile, the letters in the word Jordan will be thinner and spaces between letters will be obvious and clean. But always remember, the R and D are always connected.
Fonts
Tongue tags and size labels should always be on your mind. You see, tongue tags could feature the same text, but the font will be unclear and you’ll struggle to read it. Of course, the real deal will have legible and clean letters. Meanwhile, the fake Air Jordan 1s could have thinner or thicker fonts that would render it harder to read. And if you wanna take it a step further, you can analyze each letter along! But then again, in this case, you obviously need a reference pair.
The Mighty Swoosh
Fakes could try, but some deets will always slip, sometimes in the most obvious places. And in the fake Air Jordan 1 case, it would be the Swoosh. The real kicks will have a pointy Swoosh end, while the fakes are rounder. And let’s be real, the overall quality would be different, even the placement.
Perforations
These are usually obvious, especially since they should always have a symmetrical distribution and equal depth. Moreover, the position of the perforations should be at the exact same spot for the pair. So if you get a pair that have a difference in perforations between left and right, it’s probably a fake. Mind you, two legit pairs could have different perforations, but each pair is a match between left and right feet.
Outsole
Believe it or not, the outsoles can tell you a lot about a pair of sneakers. For example, the Nike logo there has the registered trademark logo on it. If the logo has a big loop around the R, it could be a fake.
The Box… Always the Box
Although the pair could be enough to catch a fake Air Jordan 1, the box could also be a tell. You see, before you decide what to do with the shoe box, you should inspect it. An obvious sign is if you’re getting the matching shoe box since Jordan Brand went through many box changes. On the other hand, you can always check the size and description tag. If the print is clear and the letters are close yet easy to read, it’s probably a legit pair.
Why Go Through the Pain If You Can Cop for Retail?
All the legit checks and spotting the fake Air Jordan 1 business is tiresome for real. So why go through all that pain when you can buy from the source? However, copping kicks from Nike SNKRS and retailers is pretty hard today. That’s why you’re gonna need a good all-in-one bot with you just like NSB. And with all the updates coming your way in 2023, you don’t wanna miss out on that! So make sure you get your copy today here to make sure you get yourself the OG kicks you deserve! Godspeed