The end of Route 500 near Koishiwara highland park.
It was a cold day and very windy. The road was frozen and hard to walk in a pair of Ultraboost 5.0 Clear Grey wool.
I think I changed my shoes to boots near this intersection.
As this is almost end of the year, I have to think about my shoes of the year 2023.
I think my shoe of the year 2021 was the NB 2002R Dark Green or the Raincloud Carnival colorway.
My shoes of the year 2022 were:
1 Nike airmax 95 suede pack fog pink wolf grey.
2 Nike Vomero 5 light bone.
3 NB 1906R Raincloud White
4 NB 990 V3 Elephant Grey Indigo
5 NB 90/60 Burgundy Pink
And I think this year, I think I have to choose 13 shoes.
1 NB 990 v4 Teddy Santis Beige
2 Nike airmax 1 PRM Corduroy pack Baltic Blue
3 NB 990 v4 Teddy Santis Purple
4 Nike Vomero 5 Worn Blue
5 NB 1906R Saffire Blue indigo
6 Nike P6000 Silver Team Royal
7 Nike Motiva Red with blue heel and yellow swoosh
8 Puma Pure Tek sneaker boots v3
9 NB 90/60 Spring pack Cherry blossom
10 Adidas Response CL Olive Khaki
11 Nike P6000 Hangul Day
12 Nike airmax 1 PRM Corduroy Pack Coral Burgundy
13 NB 860 V2 Silver Royal blue red
I love more shoes, but I think these 13 pairs are my most favorite shoes of this year.
I think Nike Motiva is the most practical shoe of the year and now I have 3 pairs of these, I never thought I would get that for myself, but once I tried them in the BF week, there was no way I could resist them. I just keep buying them when they get marked down a bit. My first pair of these was the blue colorway. Then, I ordered Pink and black one (women's shoes) and after that pair, I ordered the Red colorway in this week. I love them all. These shoes look odd online, but in person they look really good and super comfy, just there are no other shoes as comfy as these. Ultraboost ? No comparison. NB 990 V6? No comparison. Vomero 5? No comparison. NB 1080 v13? close, but I think the Nike Motiva is a bit better shoe for just casual or walking. The React X Infinity Run 4? Close, but the Motiva is still a bit better.
Honestly, there are no comparable shoes to the incredibly comfy Motiva for walking and casual everyday use.
So, for me if I have to choose only 5 shoes for this year, that list would be like below:
1 Nike Motiva Red
2 Nike airmax 1 PRM Baltic Blue
3 NB 990 v4 Beige
4 Nike P6000 Silver Team Royal
5 NB 1906R Forest Green or Cherry Blossom colorway
It is really hard for me to narrow the list down to just 5 shoes, as I have many favorite shoes this year and last year.
I have bought so many pairs of shoes and I think I love most of them, just really hard for me to choose just one. But one thing I must say now is after trying out the Nike Motiva, it is hard for me to not wearing them, I always reach for one of my 3 pairs of Nike Motiva or NB 860 v2, or P6000 Triple Black.
Honestly, if you get used to the ride of the Motiva, you will never go back to the shoes like Dunk Low, AF1 Low, AJ1 Hi, Superstar, Stan Smith, Campus, Samba, etc. Now, I have sold most of my classic 80's shoes except some pairs of AF1 Low and NB 550's. I think these 80's shoes are never worth the money. They are super uncomfortable. Try a pair of Nike Motiva or NB 860 v2 or P6000 if you walk a lot every day like me. You will love these shoes. I can't wait to see Nike Motiva v2 in 2024. Hope it will be even better than the OG, but the Motiva OG is hard to beat. It is simply incredible shoe!
UPDATE: I almost forgot about the Adidas Adister CS and CS 2.0, these were also incredibly comfy shoes for walking. If you haven't tried them yet, try them too, they are really good shoes and extremely durable.
Once thing I learned this year about shoes is that I should never get any Reebok pair except their Insta Pump Fury series shoes as I always sell most of my Reebok shoes and lose some money. I think Instapump Fury and 95 are incredible shoes and well worth the money, but their other shoes are just boring or not very comfy, and I will avoid their shoes.
I just uninstalled their app and Saucony app. I think I will stick with NB, Nike, Puma and Adidas for different kinds of needs.
Adidas for pure performance and some old ZX line shoes.
Puma for Boots, Suede, RSX and their incredible Velocity Nitro 2.
Nike for many things, but for Lifting, walking, collection, etc. I love many shoes they produce, and I like their fleece pants too.
NB for running, walking and casual (and collection).
My all-time favorite shoe brands are definitely NB and Nike, but I also love Puma, now I really realize that. I like Adidas for pure performance, and I love their fleece pants, nylon shorts and windbreakers. Now, I like Asics Gel Lyte 5 too, but their app here is really odd and keep rejecting my order, so I will shun them from now on.
I will sell all my Reebok (except the Insta Pump Fury 95), Saucony and Asics shoes. They are not worth my money and time anymore.
