Ahead of this weekend’s US release, the UK’s Crooked Tongues provides the latest look at the Nike Free Powerlines+ NRG “Olympics”. Look for the kicks to hit select Tier Zero accounts this Saturday, September 8.
We “blog types” added the Olympic bit to this shoe’s name for convenience, so it’s unofficial, but it’s clear that these follow the same thinking as the five rings themed Air Max collections a couple of months back. It’s also nice to finally kick back and take a look at the Nike Free Powerlines+ — this is a shoe that seems to have attracted a small but dedicated following since they just appeared in NikeTowns in some earthy colours that indicated that the shoe was being targeted at fans of classic Terra and ACG pieces. In its original form, the Powerline’s weave of straps over mesh creates the support network to hold it up and makes these look like a blend of Free Run+ 2 and Air Humara (which really is no bad thing), but we haven’t warmed to it like some of our associates have, Maybe it’s because when, say, the Nike Zoom Wildedge dropped, the shelves were barren for solid new Nike shoes. Now when we hit up NikeTown, we’re spoilt for great shoes, from the Free Runs to Flyknit to the new Elites and Eclipses.
This NRG colourway continues the brand’s new (and very welcome habit) of bringing running tech into the trend arena rather than relying on past glories and the Hyperfuse style reinterpretation of those “Powerlines” and Presto-esque toe bumper actually make this shoe look a little less clumsy. There aren’t too many shoes that you could put red, green, yellow and blue embellishment without descending into Ronald McDonald territory, but these succeed, via that fused translucency over the black mesh. We can’t deny the power (pun unintended) of the speckled Nike Free sole either. While these are packaged in the light brown box that signals lifestyle product, you could still take these out for a run too, which is something that would be a little more ill advised in a pair of AM90s, making them an interesting tool in Nike’s quest to let the boundaries between casual and performance blur. Go tap up your nearest Tier Zero spot in the not-too-distant future to grab a pair.
