Throwback Thursday - Air Force 180 Pump
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A few weeks ago we posted one a Charles Barkley PE Air Force 180, but though many consider that shoe a high top sneaker, Nike took that model one step higher. In the early 90’s Nike responded to Reebok’s Pump with their own series of basketball sneakers that featured Air Pump technology that gave the wearer a better fit about the ankle. David Robinson was the signature athlete to represent the high top Nike Pump series that included the Nike Air Pressure, Nike Air Command Force, and the last (and this week’s Throwback) Nike Air Force 180 Pump. Like Chuck’s version, the shoe has cosmetic touches such as speckled and fading midsole, but the sheer high top of the shoe and its hefty pricetag of $175 made the shoe a tough sale in the not so strong economy in 1992. So far, Nike has not brought back any of the Air Pump shoes as retros, but our fingers are crossed that at least one of the three models will return. We have taken several photos for your viewing pleasure and have also posted one of the commercials that Nike broadcast to promote the shoe featuring the Admiral. |
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
Throwback Thursday - Nike Air Force 180 Pump
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The are hot! I’d cop if they’re rereleased
Comment by Ti-boy — April 10, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
If retroed I will get at any cost…now please salute the true Nike hightop “boot”…*moment of silence*
Comment by nikeindabutt — April 10, 2008 @ 10:43 pm
such a hot shoe. bring back TRUE hightops, nike!!
Comment by damnneardeadstock — April 10, 2008 @ 10:44 pm
dang these are fire. kinda high, but i would still wear em. i like the sir charles junts too, but i hate the strap, so i like these better. if the cost 175 then, i wonder how much they would cost now. the technology isn’t as good as now in terms of performance but they should still cost allot.
Comment by bkbigjay — April 10, 2008 @ 11:03 pm
Holy crap…Matt just shut it down! Best Throwback Thursday yet
Comment by Flatsole — April 10, 2008 @ 11:06 pm
can someone please tell me what these are called?
i know its off topic but i have been tryin for a while now
http://www.shoepirates.com/TreasureBig/NikeAgendaFluor.JPG
Comment by bkbigjay — April 10, 2008 @ 11:08 pm
I totally do not remember these sneakers. Nike made 2 more ‘pumps’ other than these? AND they cost 174 even back in the day?
I think any sneaker buff would want these in their collection. It is the true hi-top.
anybody know why sneaker makers stopped making the hi-top sneaker and went with the mids? Was it a fashion thing or a performance reason?
Comment by PhilWil — April 10, 2008 @ 11:11 pm
There were a number of reasons why Nike and other companies ditched the high top cut. High tops were a tougher sell to the average Joe who wanted a pair of kicks, but didn’t care about performance.
In the mid 90s black based kicks was really in style thanks in large part to the Fab Five and Barkley, so shoes were very hot as they were - the high top made them even hotter. High tops also cost Nike much more to produce so then more to the consumer. A raised production cost coupled with a lower selling price (due to not selling as well as lows or mids) did not work out for retailers or Nike.
Personally I love high top kicks. Since Nike hasn’t been bringing many true high tops back (besides the AF1s) I wear my Adidas Metro Attitudes and now my Conductors A LOT. I would really like to see Nike bring these back or any other of the pumps. With or without the tech they were an awesome shoe.
Comment by Nice Kicks — April 10, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
bkbigjay,
Those are the Nike Agendas. I haven’t seen those in YEARS!
Comment by Nice Kicks — April 10, 2008 @ 11:37 pm
THESE ARE THE SHOES THAT NIKE SHOULD BE RE-RETRO-ing. The fusions don’t even come close to these.
Comment by Hobby Rock — April 10, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
They look like handicapped boots or something, 2 hitop 4 me
Comment by Boo — April 10, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
these pumps are bananas…grail status…those Agendas bkbigjay posted the link to are dope too, ive never seen those b4
Comment by flyasthesky — April 10, 2008 @ 11:55 pm
INSTANT CLASSIC among collectors. If you haven’t seen these you probably weren’t born yet. You could twist the dial to pump different chambers then press the button to release the air! Where else could you do that! HOT! I still have my jacked up pair so I am jealous of this clean pair. If you can cop these somewhere, KEEP EM. You probably will never see em retro. I have seen em go for 2k+ on The BAY. AMAZING POST! Thank you NiceKicks!
Comment by IHEARTNIKE — April 11, 2008 @ 12:01 am
Really nice!!!
Comment by AIR DANIEL — April 11, 2008 @ 1:52 am
After today, no more Throwback Thursday’s are needed! THEEEEEEEEEEESE ARE STRAIGHT FIRE!!!!!
Comment by Jerome — April 11, 2008 @ 3:09 am
Those are high, high tops. But I didn’t like them then and dont like them now. Way too much highness for me. Sorry to say but I’m straying from the pack.
Comment by TechNutt — April 11, 2008 @ 3:13 am
awesome
Comment by callum — April 11, 2008 @ 4:15 am
I own a pair of these, I bought them because I had ankle problems at the time and they were very supportive. I liked playing ball with them but, they were HEAVY!!!!
Comment by FelonyRuckus — April 11, 2008 @ 5:44 am
these are my favorite sneakers of all time. salutes to the admiral…
Comment by crushgruve — April 11, 2008 @ 7:27 am
these kicks are whack son. i mean maybe back in the day, but honestly , whith everything that has come out since then, you would seriously pay for these? come on.
Comment by killahdef — April 11, 2008 @ 7:37 am
You can’t get much higher of a high top than these. These remind me of the McFly’s from the Back To the Future movie. GREATEST THROWBACK THURSDAY YET!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by TASJ7045 — April 11, 2008 @ 7:53 am
They high lol classic thou I would have to pass but as collector they cool and nice
Comment by 90snikehead — April 11, 2008 @ 8:12 am
I would most def get these if they came back out. What are you waiting on Nike!
Comment by Anthony — April 11, 2008 @ 8:22 am
Maybe we should get a petition going to get Nike to bring them back out?
Comment by Anthony — April 11, 2008 @ 8:23 am
thanks for the pics matt. as always, your photography is on point. after seeing these in the clash of the kicks I remembered back in 7th grade when someone copped these. they looked even higher back then!
Comment by jibby — April 11, 2008 @ 9:55 am
Jibby,
Big thanks on the compliments. I never was into photography until I found how much fun it could be with sneakers
The pair that was shot was a size 8 or 8.5 so one can only imagine how high a size 17 went! I know a few PE collectors out there probably have a pair or two of Robinson’s pairs.
Comment by Nice Kicks — April 11, 2008 @ 10:28 am
they look as tho they would reach my knee
Comment by Boogie — April 11, 2008 @ 10:53 am
The pump on these remind me of the pump on the Answer X (I think, I’m not a big Answer shoe fan). I think they should retro these and do an update with a mid top shoe with this pump or a running shoe. Reebok’s pump running shoes have been a flop in my opinion. I had the running shoes that inflated themselves from about 3 years ago and they broke and were uncomfortable. One foot pumped and the other was loose. Their pump running shoes now are stiff as a brick. But if Nike did them with possibly Zoom Air, that would be sweet. Why didn’t Nike get sued over using the pump? It seems the shoe companies get pretty sue happy over things. Like Nike suing Adidas over A3 being like Shox. I’m surprised Nike didn’t get sued by Reebok over their new new air/shox running shoe it looks exact like an old Reebok running shoe called the Avator (i think that was the name).
Comment by TASJ7045 — April 11, 2008 @ 11:07 am
^ I agree that in this day and age most companies are pretty lawsuit happy, but as long as Nike’s Air Pump technology didn’t use the same patented method as Reebok’s then Reebok’s position would be hard to argue. You can’t patent a concept or the “what”, just a proprietary technology or the “how”.
I have not heard an update on the Nike vs. Adidas suit over A3. I don’t think Nike has much of an argument since A3 used midsole foam rather than rubber in the Shox. Frankly, I thought the lawsuit was more of a PR move to call out Adidas publicly and formally as copying Nike.
Back to the 180 Pumps, I would LOVE to see these come back whether the pump technology worked as well as the originals or not. This was such an awesome shoe and best of all, Nike already has the molds for the midsole/outsole
Comment by Nice Kicks — April 11, 2008 @ 11:24 am
Matt, my man, those are INCREDIBLE! I never see those on eBay and when I do they always have busted up midsoles and trashed soles.
Big props.
Comment by sneakFREAK — April 11, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
im mad as hell that I threw my pair of these away after they got abused when i was in 7th grade. I didnt even realize how good of a deal i got back in the day. I got my pair back then for $100.00!! cuz they didn’t sell well. I would do ANYTHING for a a pair of these now! Im hoping Nike retros these as a christmas present for me.
Comment by Rich — April 11, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
adidas number1 world
Comment by Aki — April 11, 2008 @ 3:03 pm
nike needs to release some good hightops like these again
Comment by mike DOS — April 11, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
they cool, not a fan of swampers, but that commercial was funny, david stern gives crappy birthday presents. lol
Comment by YouKnow — April 11, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
lol and think of how much NBAers like Stern now…
Comment by sneakFREAK — April 11, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
ill have 2 pass on dis one.
Comment by JC — April 11, 2008 @ 5:10 pm
yo these were like the first public released version of the 2015 marty mcfly’s….lol…..so hot, david robinson needs to push these bad boys back into circulation at the original retail price…..and NIKE NEEDS TO QUIT PLAYIN” GAMES AND RELEASE THE NIKE MCFLYS WITH OR WITHOUT LIGHTS AND POWER LACES already…..let’s go people…..I NEED THAT SHOE MORE THAN ANY JORDAN OR SB>>>>>>lol
Comment by infamousdeadstock — April 11, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
yo these were like the first public released version of the 2015 marty mcfly’s….lol…..so hot, david robinson needs to push these bad boys back into circulation at the original retail price…..and NIKE NEEDS TO QUIT PLAYIN” GAMES AND RELEASE THE NIKE MCFLYS WITH OR WITHOUT LIGHTS AND POWER LACES already…..let’s go people…..I NEED THAT SHOE MORE THAN ANY JORDAN OR SB>>>>>>lol…yo remember the air release valve you had to carry in your pocket with these kicks….man they need to retro these and not for like 800 bucks at only 3 stores in the world either….lmao
Comment by infamousdeadstock — April 11, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
one of my favorite nike’s
Comment by snkradkt — April 11, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
They still kickin up dust Now as the did by then! They gotta bring these back! I don’t know if Mr. Robinson still has any pull with Nike but if do please talk to em i really don’t think any of the Pumps RBK OR NIKE fit that great it least i know the rbk didn’t you could pump that ball in the tongue all day and sit not get a better fit than just pulling ya laces extra tight it was all about marketing what we call hype these days but if got a pair back then ya rep went up about 100% these are major to any collection and if you got the OG’s don’t let em go.
Comment by solesaved — April 11, 2008 @ 6:01 pm
These R WACK
Comment by FRESH_n_FL5 — April 11, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
mad freash yo they should retro these on sum sneaky sh!t
Comment by monsterfresh — April 11, 2008 @ 7:21 pm
Gundam boots…..jk!
Sick. If they retro them, I’ll get ‘em.
Comment by Donovan B. — April 11, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
woow these are crazzyy .. i hope they retro them .. ill cop def.
Comment by kicks_aholic — April 11, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
yea i knew bout these id die 2 have a pair
Comment by greenmaker24 — April 11, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
Does anyone remember Nike’s law suit against Dada for the Solesonic Force?
This Shoe is my favorite Nike of all time right in front of the Air Force Lite. If you were born after 1984 or didn’t see David Robinson play without Tim Duncan, I would not expect you to understand the impact of this shoe. I wish high top sneakers had a chance in this new aged market. Man this shoe is on my retro wish list along with the Next Sport Ewing.
Comment by J.King — April 11, 2008 @ 9:47 pm
man im a young cat so i wasnt here for these but can anyone explain to me y these r so hot. the entire bottom of the shoe hot but it looks liek it goes so high the could cover up tube socks plus they look real heavy.
where they that hot back in the day/ now or dudes just wanna get for the memories
Comment by sbkicks — April 12, 2008 @ 4:32 am
How about a Nike Air Force 360 Pump?
Comment by Anthony — April 12, 2008 @ 11:39 am
So sick…best throwback thursday yet!
Comment by mic check 212 — April 12, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
LOL I guarantee all the youngbucks in the post are those who dislike these. Or they’re either a clown who rocks and sells fakes AND/or wears wack GR’s and think they’ve got a “sick collection.”
HAHAHA!
But damn, think about if they’re EVER re-released, people like me @ 5′8″ will have half their legs swallowed up in these. LOL
I’d still most definitely purchase and rock these. Any shoe (or item) that takes me back to my childhood, is a keeper in my books.
Comment by Darneezy — April 13, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
Nike, please don’t bring this back. What’ll they cost in today’s market? 2008’s economy’s in tough shape like it was back in ‘92 when these hideous creations were introduced. Bring back something people would want like the 11s…
Comment by willywill — April 14, 2008 @ 12:38 am
Geil 1A Schuhe will haben
Wo gibet diese ?
diese hatte ich damals schon anfang der 90er gekauft für 360,- DM
Comment by Volkan — April 14, 2008 @ 6:35 am
I’m not gonna lie, these r way fresher than the reeboks. I’d def cop if these came out
Comment by mooch — April 14, 2008 @ 7:59 am
i like men
Comment by marco hernendez — April 14, 2008 @ 2:57 pm
these shoes are fajalicious
Comment by marco hernendez — April 14, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
i ate chelsea
Comment by marco hernendez — April 14, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
I’m crying!!! THE BEST
Comment by SappDogg — April 14, 2008 @ 8:47 pm
WOW!
I’m totally in awe!Great shoes and you did your thing with the photos.
Let us pray…
Our sneaker gods, thou art in Oregon, NIKE be thy name…
I WANT THESE!
Certified1
Comment by CertifiedSnkrHead_ATL — April 14, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
man, i gots 2 tellya, Im 19, first time Ive ever seen these…
But Go DAAAAAMN they good looking, I dig, did those come out in any different color wave, they sick, I dont mind high tops, my pops made me fall in love with the classic shoe with his Converse Battles, vere since then I automatically drool for a pair like this. Plus Im 6′3″ so they wouldnt be a problem for me, haha
Comment by cheyo — April 16, 2008 @ 9:53 am
i have all the old 180s except these i would do anything for them they are classic i mailed nike and asked last year they did not even reply they would sell out straight away i dont understand maybe somethin could be set up to give to nike to show the demand for these they wont loose out they would make a fortune
Comment by jim — April 17, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
they are cold……..you sould really bring those out
Comment by Charles Payne — April 17, 2008 @ 6:01 pm
man y wuld nike file a lawsuit against reebok when reebok clearly came up wif the pump 1st the reebok pumps came out in the 80s these however came out in the 90s
Comment by dan — April 26, 2008 @ 12:15 am
Those are SOOOOO futuristic. I love those.
Comment by Hayden — May 3, 2008 @ 4:41 pm
HEATTT!!!!!!
these are odeee ….i remember these from the fresh prince days
PLSZZ RELEASE ILL COP AT ANY COSTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by ruben — May 13, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
nike need to consider bring these back out
Comment by Anthony — May 16, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
MUST HAVE!!! if retroed…
‘McGyver’ who was my hero in childhood, also had weared this in one episode.
Comment by icerain — May 17, 2008 @ 1:13 pm
Please Nike for all our sake do not retro these shoes! Nike has an unfortunate habit of ruining once classic shoes. More than likely they will be retroed in some horrible purple colour and in a mid top without a pump! Nike should take a page from Reebok’s book and retro them as they were back in the day e.g. Reebok Pump bringback. They were exactly as they were in 1989 which is why they did so well. Dont save your breath guys honestly, you will be highly disappointed if they ever did retro these shoes because you know what to expect from Nike. Also, nicekicks if you are listening, Ive checked out ebay and they are selling used Command forces. If I wear them, will they be destroyed? Or should i just admire them?
Comment by Mikey — May 23, 2008 @ 6:03 am
yo these pumps are freshhhh.. bring them back!! we need the original hightops back (i saw these kicks in white men cant jump haha)
Comment by joseph channell — May 28, 2008 @ 10:46 am
I actually have two pairs of the Nike pump hightops. One has the air release valve on the rear; one has the air release valve on the side of each shoe. They were the most comfortable, most supportive shoes of their time. Unfortunately, when I took them out of their boxes last year to give them another wear, the bottoms literally fell apart from dryrot, I guess.
I’d buy the new ones in a minute if they were offered. The first pair cost me about $100, and the updated pair (air release valve on the side) cost about $140.
Comment by Don — May 28, 2008 @ 11:34 pm
do you have a pair of these for sale? I lost an auction for a deadstock pair on ebay a couple of months ago and i am dying to get my hands on a pair. help me out Matt…
Comment by chevyboy — June 3, 2008 @ 11:05 am