4:02 leather can stretch a lot so sometimes they add a more stiff fabric to the back so it doesn't stretch as much. Not sure if that is the reason that they did it here though.
Rose Anvil, I have a pair of OG Reebok Pumps that I would let you cut up. The soles are disintegrating do I can't wear them. I am an OG Reebok fan from back when I played football in the 90's and would love to contribute the shoes to your video.
I had these as a kid. The pump WORKS. 4-5 pumps make you jump about 10% higher than regular basketball shoes, and running is noticeably MUCH faster when pumped all the way. When you released the air valve, the hiss lets everyone around you know who's boss.
When I was a teenager the coolest thing in sneakers, that was not as out of reach for poor folks as Pumps, were Reebok Blacktops. Supposed to be the toughest sneakers Reebok ever made. Yeah that honeycomb stuff was in them too and there was about as much of it as in those Pumps. I pestered my parents for over a year to get them. I got them as a birthday gift and I was the proudest peacock when I wore them to school. A month later when the honeycomb stuff came loose in one then the other I spent the rest of the time I had them NOT wearing them when it was wet out. The holes would pump water in the shoe which was gross. I can still remember squelching along and feeling so let down. I never bought another pair of Reebok's after that pair, put me off the brand completely.
When my original pair back in the 90s finally died I cut them open to see what was inside. They had the same or similar tongue as seen here, but at the bottom they connected to a second bladder that wrapped around the back of the ankle. You could feel them inflate at the back of the foot. I bought another pair about 12 years ago, but they do not inflate at the back - just the tongue as seen here. Sadly these pair recently died too when the plastic of the basketball on the pump got brittle and snapped off/fell apart when I tried to pump them.
I too was a curious kid, and cut mine apart once they were too small. I had the same basic model shoe which the one in the video was modeled on. The tongue looked identical, and there was not any other air bladders. Other upgrade/follow-on versions did have more involved air bladders.
@@gaojen3365 Cutting our Reeboks open seemed to be a burial ritual for some of us, my friend 🤓👍🏾! I have yet to see the specific Pumps I had be reissued. The model I had was the SXT, which I still think were the best variation of the Reebok Pump. They may have been originally released in 1989/1990.
I used to have a pair with an air bladder that wrapped around your ankle too. I traded my shoes with another kids for a couple of minutes to compare. His shoes just had the tongue air bladder and those really felt like a gimmick. At least the ankle bladders gave your ankle some support. The tongue bladder just made your feel like you had pressure on the top of your foot.
I feel like the first generation had the full bladder system, whereas when they saw how much hype they had they started bringing out the cheaper systems to cash in on the hype for a wider audience. I remember when I examined the tongue-only bladder I was so disappointed (I'd never worn Pumps; I was a kid and they were way too expensive); was this what all the hype was about? Even then, as an easily ad hyped kid, I could tell that just having a tongue that blows up like a balloon was especially lame, useless, and ridiculous.
This shoe has a special place in my heart. I literally just found a pair while riding my bike around downtown almost ten years ago. I was kinda transient and between places and probably wouldn't have spent that amount on shoes at the time. They were in great shape, couldn't believe someone had just thrown them out. Thanks to that person and thank you Weston for your detailed breakdowns.
The 90s were a super cool time for sneakers. I had a pair of L.A. Gear Catapults. They didn't help me jump any higher, but I felt really cool wearing them to school and playing basketball in them. I think the Pumps were more functional than the Catapults. Would love to see a pair of L.A. Gear Catapults dissected!
I really wish they would make those l.a. gear shoes again. Rn they're just making fad shoes that look like everything else out there. I miss those light up l.a. gears!
I would love to see an Asics teardown. Speaking of Hexalite, the amount of gel in an Asics shoe looks absurdly minimal despite that being their "technology."
@@jahmanborneo1343 I fell like what makes them great is just the basic shoe construction and not fancy technology. They are on the cushy side but the basic last and motion control feels far more important than whatever fancy buzz term they might add. That said, I haven't liked the changes to the heal counter over some of the years in the 2000 series.
It's been like 26 years now, but for what it's worth, when I tore apart my first or second pair of Asics, the gel cushions were at least big enough to look like they were functional.
I guess I was a weird kid, but in addition to being a sneaker freak, I would also like to take things apart and see how things worked...and I completely broke down a pair of Reebok Pumps that were somewhat similar to these, not the Blacktop version either, but all three used the same pump system. I unsuccessfully tried to graft them into a pair of Air Huaraches, haha. The failure point was usually the release valve, but the overpumping thing we used to do around our friends at school resulted in multiple busted pairs in my circle of peers. They must've fixed that later as there's no way the vintage ones could withstand what you just did. The later Shaq models had a bladder system that wrapped around the ankle, and the CO2 runners were laceless and wrapped most of the foot. I actually have a pair of modern pumps that are somewhat similar, but the release valve has a leak in one, so they never fixed that particular failure point. The V2 Nike 180 Air Force Command has a vastly superior pump system with a dial for pumping up different sections of the shoe. They did a reissue of the V1 a few years ago, but sadly not the V2...yet.
What was the attraction to sneakers? I could never understand it when I was in grade school. I grew up in the inner city, sneakers were basically the rave. I couldn't afford the top brands, got a lot of making fun of for the Payless stuff, but maybe a lack of it allowed me to escape the fascination? But I always wondered what went through people's heads with the new kicks...
@@s3ntin3l60 it’s just like anything else. Marketing, hype, peer pressure, having the latest and best, wearing cool kicks compared to what adults are wearing and so much more.
On rainy days I did the same stuff when I was a kid/young teenager. When my shoes got old, worn out or I grew out of them I would cut them apart and make Frankenstein shoes with the other shoes I had. I would also find other fabrics and materials around the house to combine them with. Stitch remover, glue gun, hand stitching and some other butchered techniques. But at the end I would always have some hideous looking Island of Dr. Moreau shoes
The Club C and the Reebok Classic have been my go to shoes for over a decade. I have 5 pairs of Classics right now. I'd love to see those cut in half as well.
@@trollerblade1011 Yeah you are right, some more interesting an bizzare shoes like designer shoes/boots, like rick owens stuff, those cool Balenciaga monstrosities, etc would be pretty nice. But he usually doesn't go with very interesting stuff, especially on sneakers, so idk
The Hexalite patch has always been that small. it has never covered the entire sole. I first noticed this back in the early nineties when I took a shoe apart to see the hexalite cushion. The original Hexalite had rounded corners and thinner walls, and I assume that it is different today because the original tooling was disposed of.
Reebok is scamming with the Hexalite. It was an actual cushioning back in the day, but now it's for show. They did this with the Iversons as well. Also the original Pump had air bags all over the shoe. It's a shame. I had the original high tops in the white/blue CW. I would love to get a pair, but these shady tactics of Reebok, I refuse to get anything from that company.
Back in 1989 pumps were a super premium shoe. Adjusted for inflation their retail cost was close to $350-$400 nowadays. It’s a shame, I’m hoping rose anvil gets enough love for us to grab a pair of OGs!
I had some Tennis shoes from reebok with hexalite. I do remember cutting it with and knife up in the toe area and there was hexalite there too. But it was around 94-95.
Man that "hexalite" looked realy disappointing. Reebok does usually use good leather their retros. Would love to see an original pair of these just to see the real hexalite that they use back then. Awesome job as always. Cheers!
Type "reebok pump technology" on RUclips and you'll find my video. I have original hexalite in that video. I've also done a few vids that feature original ultra hexalite. 👍
The "real" hexalite they used Back In The Day was exactly as seen here, just a very small square at the exact point of centre impact. I know this for sure as I dissected all my old shoes back then when they were no longer fit to wear.
@@HarithGaming The Hexalite they use now is still a small square of air sealed hexagonal compartments, but the tooling has changed from the original. It's not 'fake' per se, just different due to the updated tooling.
The spring in the air release is less critical than you think. The air pressure will actually hold the valve closed, the spring is just there for the initial inflation.
the air pressure will only hold the valve closed, without the spring the valve will most likely be open most the time, or have enough gaps to let the air out and not pressure up to seal, that is a tiny little air pump, you would need to bring the pressure up quick to shut the valve before the air escapes, i think you would have a lot of problems if the spring breaks.
I actually knew someone that has these and had the spring fail. he had to pump really fast to get the initial inflation to start and they worked normally after it started.
Wildly impressed with the seeming legitimacy of the pump system. You're going to make some sneaker heads upset when this takes off and you dissect a vintage pair, but I'll be here to watch for sure.
I have a pair of Reebok Pumps that are, if they are a day, they they have to be twenty or more years old... I've worn them from time to time, and have always used the pump for that custom fit. I've always marveled at how they feel. I have to dig them out of storage and wear them again, for the sake of nostalgia... Thanks for the great video!!!! Awesome!
@@mCblue79 ... as I remember, the inflation is in the tongue, and on the sides, couching the foot and cradling the foot, so that it sits firmly in the footbed and in the heel cup and counter, so that the foot cannot slop around inside the shoe.
I remember being in 4th grade in 1991 and a couple classmates had these. I wanted a pair so bad, but my parents didn’t have the money. Instead I got a pair of LA Gear Regulators, a knock off of the Reebok Pumps, from an outlet store. I liked them, but in the back of my mind, I had that nagging thought that they just weren’t the real thing. Fast forward to today… I’m a self professed “boot guy.” I love the durability and support of a quality boot, love my Whites boots. I had sworn off “cheap” sneakers. Then I saw that Reebok was making these again. I thought screw it, I wanted these so badly as a kid, I have the money, I’m getting them! I ordered them and they arrived a few weeks ago. I love them! The pump really does nothing for me fit wise, but I love the nostalgia, and the way it takes me back to my childhood. I wish they made them in youth sizes as my son has taken ups love of sneakers and boots the way I did when I was his age and he would love a pair of these. I really hope this video does well for you. I’d love to see a pair of vintage ones dissected.
They do make them in kid sizes, but reebok keeps them in the adult department on their website. They range from 3.5 US to 15 US. And yes, they all cost the same 😡 dang it reebok.
Back in the day I had a few Reeboks with Hexalite and I did cut them open when they wore out. In all of them the Hexalite was just a tiny square, just like these ones; back then it was also just a gimmick. Remember back then all brands had their propietary cusioning system, Reebok had the "ERS" and "Hexalite".
Also, Nike had a few pumps, including the Air Pressure that had an external pumping unit that was disturbing and easily lost. I’d like to see that dissected!
I had the 180 Air Force Command(I think that's the name) they were awesome shoes. I had the second version that had a dial that you could turn and you could pump up different sections of the shoe. Heaviest shoes ever though.
I worked in seat manufacturing for couple of years, and we use similar air bladders for seat/bolster cushioning, and as You've learned, it's a incredibly resilient material
Great review Weston! I'm also a massive fan of the Reebok pump. I own a pair of retros of the original 89 pump and absolutely love them. One thing Reebok is notorious for however is using fake hexalite in their retros. I've seen them use a hard plastic substitute before but we'd never know that they've only used a tiny little hexalite patch on this retro unless you actually cut them open so well done. Would be great to cut open a vintage pair as I think you'll find them a lot more functional and it would just be great to have a proper look at real hexalite and how it performs.
The more you PUMP the higher you JUMP!!! Haha, these were the coolest shoe when I was a kid and so glad to see it's return to Reebok's lineup! The Reebok Pump was hugely popular around the same time the movie 'The Sandlot' was released (1993). Ergo, the movie quote "Shoes guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher" (referencing PF Flyers) made us 90's kids feel like that was The Pump of our day! Looking back at my elementary year book, half the class photos kids were wearing Reebok Pump's!
Those were so cool growing up. I would throw an idea out there. Remember Soaps? They claimed you could grind like you were wearing roller blades because of a hard plastic insert on the arch area of the outsole. I used to want them so bad but never owned a pair. Just interested if they were as cool as I remember they would be.
I had a pair of reebok sneakers back than in the late 90’s and i just would like to reassure you about the hexalite technologic there wasn’t more back then than it is today. I cutted out the unit and i found the same what you have found now. I also had two pairs of z pumps from 2014-2015 and it was a very cool feature altough it didn’t last long cause the faulty release valves didn’t hold the air anymore. Overall reebok shoes were always the most comfortable shoes i ever had. So i still love them and would buy some if i would find some retro from the 90’s again.
I remember a warning back in the day about getting on commercial airliners with Pumps. Evidently the change in air pressure could be problematic if you didn't release the pressure before climb out.
I'm from Colombia, I pay my internet for see you Destroy all my favorite shoes...you have a piece of my heart ;). I broke a lot of this hexalite and I never find a full piece inside.
I’ve always wondered about this! I would appreciate seeing you do the vintage as well. Shoe technology is fascinating. Can you also consider doing the shoes that were banned from the Olympics? Maybe test the material rebound rate and geometry to explain why they give an unfair advantage. Thank you.
I'm a huge Reebok Pump fan and would love to donate a pair of original Pumps from 1989 or a pair of Twilight Zone Pumps from the early 90s. Just be warned that the polyurethane midsoles have started ro crumble though I believe original Omni Zone IIs have held up. Regardless, yes, they did skimp with the original Hexalite but it was also a lot softer than today's rigid stuff. As for whether the airbags wrapped around the foot or went under the arch, it depends on the model. The Omni Zone 2 was limited to the tongue. Retro pumps do not function as well as the originals. You can really feel the airbags swelling after 20-30 pumps in the originals whereas many retro pumps either did not work at all, stiffened over time, or only inflated a little bit. Great video!
I might be wrong but I think it depended on which pair you got back in the day (high or mids) as to whether it in flated in just the tongue or around the ankle as well, loved mine even if some people took it as a challenge to try and pop the bladder usually through jealousy because they didn't have any.
i am 42, i have a pair of REEBOK'S BLACK TOP with the pump, i use them to fidget all day at the office, pump them and then let the air out, it is fun and the shoes are good, i had them for around 5 years now and they still look amazing. as a kid, when i got the first pair in my life, i was one of 2 kids in school with them, i had the white ones and my friend had the black ones, kids were blown away by them, but they were so expensive that only us two had them, life was good back then.
I had the first pump… it was 169.00 which was insane back then. The tallest white high top with the air release on the heel was the only one with the air bag all around your foot. All the others after were tongue only. Great video. Love those shoes.
Your almost correct. The all foot was the Double Pump that was recognisable by it's switch on the ankle. The 🏀 boots were as you say mostly midfoot pump but runners and others had ankle with/or midfoot pump. FYI The OG's price when new back then here in the UK was £120.
Once upon a time in the '90s, there was a shoe brand called L.A. Gear that was all the rage among teens and pre-teens. They had soles that lit up when you walked and, me and everyone and their friends wanted and probably owned a pair at some point. Would be cool to slice 'em up and see how they worked!
The original The Pump used the E.R.S (Energy Return System) Basically several plastic collapsable tubes. Also on the original The Pump, the bladder surrounded most of the foot and the ankle with the release valve at the back of the boot. Very cool!!
I’m willing to bet that if there was a study done on the placebo effect of the pump feature back in the 90’s, we’d find that it genuinely increased the performance in people who wore the shoe via the placebo effect, including myself. I really did believe it made me play better and run faster LOL. I think hexalite has always been a gimmick and simply a response to Nikes air cushioning. Now their DMX cushioning system was the real deal imo. That’s an idea for a future video. The Zig “technology” was another gimmick though lol. Unfortunately Reebok has probably cut corners more than the other major sneaker brands in recent times when it comes to their retros. In some of the Reebok Question retros, they resorted to using honeycomb stickers in the hexalite windows instead of actual hexalite. Unlike some retros from Nike/Jordan/adidas, pretty much all retros from reebok are only fit for casual wear due to how much they cheap out on materials and tech compared to the originals. Which is fine as long as you’re aware. Anyways thanks for the video and walk down memory lane!
Hexalite gave fantastic cushioning. Especially when it was used just under the insole instead of the bottom of the midsole. The ultra hexalite used in the mid 90s models like fury, kamikaze, question, and hexacutor actually felt amazing and was super responsive. It was basically the same as nikes zoom technology (in the heel anyway). That ultra hexalite was legit badass.
I grew up in the 90's. It was such a great time. I never had the pumps growing up, but I do remember having the Reebok Shawn Kemps. I loved those sneakers.
If they are putting this back out with some new tech a full length hexalite would be a nice gimmick. I'm a pumps fan but I wish they just refined them. The ones Rodman used to have in the commercial were amazing. The Nike pumps had a run for their money.
@@TheRetroManRandySavage yes. I remember but these should have gotten it as well. I wonder if it was actually full length in the Iverson's and other sneakers after seeing this tho.
I work for Reebok and had to laugh a bit when I saw you pump it by hand. The commitment!! We have little machines that imitate that (which are hilarious to watch), they are supposed to endure a lot of pumps.
When I was like 6-7 years old, all the way back in 1993, I literally thought I could run faster when I got my first pair of Reebok Pumps. I owned so many pairs/models of Reebok pumps when I was a kid, really nostalgic seeing these shoes. Really makes me want a pair!
My Dee Browns as a kid finally wore out and yes it was jus a small square in the heel of hex. The pump bladder also used to have a tube that pumped up the tongue connected to the pump. They didn't pump the portion around the heel. The original prototype had the bladder extend under the foot as well which was a really cool idea but it was abandoned. These shoes are still awesome though.
As a person who had a pair in the 90s. I swear when they finally fell apart the haxalite was much larger. It coverd the whole heel section. But nostalgia has a way of distorting memories.
nice, looks like the tongue pump model is still pretty much the same as the original tennis pumps I had in high school, (pulled them apart in a similar way when they wore out) and though the hexalite was just in small squares back then too, it was a totally different material to what they're using now. It was a VERY squishy material made of a thinner plastic that bounced back well when you squeezed it between your thumb and forefinger. - I also had the very first pump which had an air bladder which wrapped around your heel too, not just the tongue. But alas, the curse of the crumbing midsole.....
You can also find this pump tech in CCM Ribcor hockey skates, as it was a carry over from when Reebok was branding hockey equipment. CCM had a partnership with Reebok, while the competition, Bauer, was making Nike hockey gear.
Yo, that's awesome to see The Pump being used on another product still for performance. I had a pair of Nike Zoom Inline skates back from the Bauer days (late 90s), Black and Bronze, beautiful skates.
@@AntonyHollingworth Those Nike Zooms were legit. I'm still on the hunt for a white set of the ice skates to put together a full Federov kit. They pop up on sites like Sideline Swap, but they're either beaten to hell, or people want insane prices for them.
,,The greatest feeling you can get in a gym, or the most satisfying feeling you can get in the gym is... The *pump* Let's say you train your biceps. Blood is rushing into your muscles and that's what we call The *pump* You muscles get a really tight feeling, like your skin is going to explode any minute, and it's really tight - it's like somebody blowing air into it, into your muscle. It just blows up, and it feels really different. It feels fantastic. It's as satisfying to me as, uh, c.ming is, you know? As, ah, having s.x with a woman and c.ming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like, uh, getting the feeling of c.ming in a gym, I'm getting the feeling of c.ming at home, I'm getting the feeling of c.ming backstage when I *pump* up, when I pose in front of 5,000 people, I get the same feeling, so I am c.ming day and night. I mean, it's terrific. Right? So you know, I am in heaven." (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pumping Iron)
7:25 the drawing shows the og type inflator. My D Time pumps in 93 had the pump as per the drawing. They functioned way better than the retros. I'm still happy Reebok are doing these retros and still incorporating a pump mechanism even if it has changed somewhat. Just give us the Double Pump @reebok !!
I can second this as well. I was so disappointed when that tiny piece of Hexalite fell out. Even more so as Nike Air was just becoming a thing, and the "rich kids" all had these max bubbles and all I had this tiny thing lol.
I had the Reebok and Nike pumps and thought I was so damn cool at school. Hahaha! EDIT: The "cool" thing with the pumps is that you could tie your shoes to a loose comfort and then pump it up to tighten the fit if you felt like it, so you never had to tie your shoes after the first tie.
Thanks for that been looking at these for ages and being 42 I was a teen when these first came out and my parents would never ever buy them for me , good to know they are still made well and I can finally get a pair of my own.
As someone who only wears reebok shoes, almost all leather variants, they really do hold up very well. Even skating in one of my pairs regularly, its held up so good compared to any other shoes. The leather, whatever it is, is good and in my experience performs better than any other sneakers I've owned.
Would love to see you do Adidas Samba, Samba OGs, or the new Samba ADV (Skate). I love the OGs and I just recently picked up the white ADV which has a leather toecap vs the usual suede and no stripes which makes it kinda dad-ish. Loved Sambas ever since grade school and they seem to be popular again. Love your channel, I always learn something!!
My grandma searched everywhere and finally found and bought me a pair of these in the early 90's when I was a little kid. I just ordered a pair of new pumps and i can't wait to show them to her
First time I saw Reebok Pump was fall of 1991. I just moved to the US from France. I was 11 (almost 12). I was never a sneaker guy while in France but when I first saw those, I fell in love. I became a sneakerhead (more off than on). I loved all of the models and colorway. From Dee Brown's Omni Zone/Omni Lite to Michael Chang's Court Victory. They are my favorite pieces of nostalgia of the early 90s along with the Jordan 6 black infrared. I never got them when they were out in 91 but much later in 2016, I got the Michael Changs and in 2017 I got the Dee Browns. The Pumps don't work and I am not sure if it's malfunction or it just wasn't meant to work but for aesthetics only.
I used to own a pair of Reebok ice-hockey skates, they had the pump Tech in as well. It was great as I never had to pull my laces super tight, I could get them kinda tight enough and do the rest with the pump. Loved them, and they also had the same cool factor when you bent down and pumped them up just before take a penalty shot.
Amazing Video!!!! Loved the commercials and you talking about the pumping for courage 😂 I had a pair in the early 90s! Now I have two pairs as an adult
You have one of the best channels on RUclips imo. The videos are very entertaining and satisfying to watch, they're informative, and I appreciate your sincerity. Just thought I'd mention it, cheers from the southeast
Hi, great job!!!...i had a reebok pump during 1992-93 season and i also had the vertical 2 Penny hardaway, cool hum!? well the point is i did open the hexalite and was the whole heel, made from a silicone or rubber, bouncy material at least 4x4 inches flat and like a quarter inch deep i had it on my key chain for years. The pump bladder did wrap my entire ankle also. so was a different tech back then.
This is my first vid of yours. Its so simple of a premise and I love the way you applied your idea. This is good stuff. Even if I'm not a big sneaker head, I appreciate good ideas and This is dope.
I have two pairs and have been in love with em since the 90's they only get rocked in the summer months as I live in the U.K. but they are a piece of 90's nostalgia for me and I'll always love this sneaker.
Love your videos & trust your reviews! Any chance you would consider reviewing the 5.11® A/T 6" NON-ZIP BOOT? (or any 5.11 boot), looking into the brand, and they have some tacticool 'boots' that i wouldnt mind owning if they are decent quality. Even if its just a light weight casual hiker.
As always, I hate it when shoe companies advertise leather in the shoe and it turns out to be the thinnest, cheapest leather possible!! Back in the “old days” you would get full grain sneakers that were actually leather and you paid for that!! Now you pay over 100 dollars for a shoe that you considered a cheap piece of junk that you would never consider spending hard earned cash for back in the day!! I hate that companies get away with their claims!! I recently bought a reissue of a Bo Jackson trainer that was the worst quality material I had ever seen!! I instantly returned them to Nike!! Huge disappointment!! Because they stated that they were leather and they obviously contained hardly anything resembling leather!!! Thanks for the hard work Wes!!!
I dissected my Omni’s on a trip to Mexico when I was 10 years old. I was lucky and busted mine with about 100 pumps. It was friggin cool. At 40 years old I’m looking for size 14 Michael Chang’s. I remember buying mine on sale at Marshall’s back in the day.
Any time I got double dared on the playground I was okay, I would just give my shoes a few pumps, and then I knew I could take on the world. Thanks for the video, I would love to see you do this to some vintage pumps.
Enjoyed this. I was such a fan of pumps as a kid and I love buying them and rocking them as an adult. I think the leather feels much better than the average Jordan. I’ve had good luck with my pumps functioning well, but I’ve seen a lot of people complain that their mechanisms don’t work. I think the chalk colored pair is my favorite of recent years.
Reebok was originally from Bolton Manchester England 🇬🇧 & I was 1 of the 1st to have every single model of their pump basketball 🏀 boots (this includes the very 1st pump boots) before they were made available for general release why? because I used to know a sales rep who was a family friend even better for me is that I used to get them at discounted price there were a lot of colour variants for each model including USA 🇺🇸 exclusives that weren't available here in the UK but I was only able to get 1 pair of each model........visually pleasing yes durability? good value for money? 💰 no the soles on the first 1's lasted just barely 5 months
Back in the 90ies, Puma had something that was pretty much the same as Hexalite, but I've forgotten the name. And Puma had the Disk System instead of laces. You turned the disk and a thread was wound up which tied the shoe. You get pretty much the same on work safety shoes sold in Europe.
it's called Trinomic. Puma still uses that tech in some of their shoes, and as far as I can tell, they blow Hexalite out of the water. I have both Pumps and Disc shoes, and the Trinomic is miles better.
Even the trinomic used now is fake. The last time they used real trinomic was on the first disc retros in the early 2000s. I still have a pair and the comfort is amazing.
Yeah. The top 3 must have shoes back then were: 1: Reebok Pump 2: Nike Air 3: Puma Disc I knew a few kids who had Nike Air shoes. They just weren't interesting to me unlike the puma or Reeboks.
Hi, just to say I discovered your videos and it completely changed the way I look at footwear. Thanks for all the work you do to educate, we've been fooled a lot in recent years. I would suggest covering hiking boots (Danner, Limmer, Hanwag, etc) and winter boots (fur boots, Lowa, Anfibio). I think we would get some interesting surprises looking at the different insulation used.
I have a pair of these and I love em, so comfy, so retro...soooo cool, my parents could never afford to buy me a pair when I was a kid so these coming back out was great
I was too poor to get the pumps as a child but my dad surprised me with their competition LA Gear Regulators. Orange and purple double laces were awesome.
Great video! I love this kind of ‘engineering’ video for retro shoes I saw in High School and College. Subbed because of the cat! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I"m glad that Reebok really stepped up the quality of the air cushion. When I was a teen in the 90s, the first edition Pumps had serious issues with their cushions leaking. A lot of my classmates who had them said after a year, the tube running from the pump to the cushion might spring a leak. The only solution was to rip the tongue apart and glue the hole shut.
I cut up a pair of og Reebok pumps when I was like 15/16 yrs old. I’m 42 now & the pump looked just look yours. It was tounge only. But I can’t remember what model shoe I had. They was the hype when I was a kid!
I have a recollection of begging my mom for a pair of pumps that I swear were in a glass box at Footlocker. I must have only been about 7. Great video, I hope the oldies had more of the gimmicks to justify the high cost my mom surely paid.
I had the Black dee Brown's and a pair of the AXT trainers, which were actually more comfortable than the Dee Brown's. Based on the shoe you just took apart, I can say that when I took mine apart just after they wore out, many years ago (haha) the original Pump shoes were of MUCH better quality. They were hard to kill and maintained comfort right up to the point where they "gave out". I did notice that after the AXT and Dee Brown editions... there WAS a HUGE drop-off in quality. I remember being in highschool, playing several sports and had to switch to Air Jordan's because the PUMP quality had dropped off so much.
Hey man, my pumps I just got, from Reeebok Australia, they werent pumping, but I got them pumping. So if yours dont work, be persistent. Anvil mentions in the vid there is a "clicking" sound when you press the pump, well holding the toungue in a certain way allows that clicking sound which means its pumping. If youre not hearing the clicking its not pumping. Peace.
I had a pair of pumps back when they were the style and they were great. You could pump them up and feel them get tighter all around your foot. The old ones had the air pocket all around your foot, all inside the shoe, in the high top it went all around. But I have a pair of shoes now from sketchers that are the most comfortable shoes I ever worn. They are extra wide, and some how they have made them, they breath, to the point, when the wind blows, you can actually feel the wind on your feet. They are awesome in the summer. Extremely light, and they have memory foam on the bottoms, It's like walking on/in a cloud. They should call them some gimmick name but it's just a regular pair of black tennis shoes, no special name from sketchers. I know they don't all do that, because I had a pair of sketchers before, that were the heaviest shoes I ever had in my life.
I owned a pair of Reebok Blacktops. They were horrible. Cheap materials throughout. Still, they looked cool. I also remember that Reebok used a different type of heel technology before Hexalite. You would be able to see it underneath the shoe and behind the shoe. They "cushion" looked liked orange capsules. I do not remember the name of this technology. Cool video.
Bro, thanks so much for pulling out the air bag up and showing how it works. I got to pump up my shoe and hear the iconic release of air. Totally thought my pump was broken, turns out I was just blocking the part that lets the air in with my thumb.
I still have 3 pairs of Pumps in my closet. A good majority of newer remakes of this shoe have the tiny Hexalite pads like yours, but the older ones usually encompass a good majority of the heel and was much more pliable and cushioned like the Black Ice Series. I think the most coveted pairs are the Reebok/Adidas collaborations that had Boost soles (Sole Fury X Boost). I have one pair of them and I don't even put them on.
Buy a Rose Anvil leather belt that is not a gimmick here - bit.ly/3yWdqmk
4:02 leather can stretch a lot so sometimes they add a more stiff fabric to the back so it doesn't stretch as much.
Not sure if that is the reason that they did it here though.
Rose Anvil, I have a pair of OG Reebok Pumps that I would let you cut up. The soles are disintegrating do I can't wear them. I am an OG Reebok fan from back when I played football in the 90's and would love to contribute the shoes to your video.
👀👀👀👀👀
Gross.
That’s what’s up
@RoseAnvil, do this!😮
The shoe doctor
I had these as a kid. The pump WORKS. 4-5 pumps make you jump about 10% higher than regular basketball shoes, and running is noticeably MUCH faster when pumped all the way. When you released the air valve, the hiss lets everyone around you know who's boss.
When I was a teenager the coolest thing in sneakers, that was not as out of reach for poor folks as Pumps, were Reebok Blacktops. Supposed to be the toughest sneakers Reebok ever made. Yeah that honeycomb stuff was in them too and there was about as much of it as in those Pumps. I pestered my parents for over a year to get them. I got them as a birthday gift and I was the proudest peacock when I wore them to school. A month later when the honeycomb stuff came loose in one then the other I spent the rest of the time I had them NOT wearing them when it was wet out. The holes would pump water in the shoe which was gross. I can still remember squelching along and feeling so let down. I never bought another pair of Reebok's after that pair, put me off the brand completely.
Exactly the same for me. On a quiet night you could hear the blacktops falling apart. Last reeboks for me too
Hexalite
They also made blacktops with the pump
I had a pair of Reebok Pumps, plus the Blacktop. I'm not sure about your experience, but those Blacktop's were pretty sturdy
@@CoolGuyDoingCoolStuff 🤓👍🏾
When my original pair back in the 90s finally died I cut them open to see what was inside. They had the same or similar tongue as seen here, but at the bottom they connected to a second bladder that wrapped around the back of the ankle. You could feel them inflate at the back of the foot. I bought another pair about 12 years ago, but they do not inflate at the back - just the tongue as seen here. Sadly these pair recently died too when the plastic of the basketball on the pump got brittle and snapped off/fell apart when I tried to pump them.
I remember cutting into mine as well. I can't remember my findings though.
I too was a curious kid, and cut mine apart once they were too small. I had the same basic model shoe which the one in the video was modeled on. The tongue looked identical, and there was not any other air bladders. Other upgrade/follow-on versions did have more involved air bladders.
@@gaojen3365 Cutting our Reeboks open seemed to be a burial ritual for some of us, my friend 🤓👍🏾! I have yet to see the specific Pumps I had be reissued. The model I had was the SXT, which I still think were the best variation of the Reebok Pump. They may have been originally released in 1989/1990.
I used to have a pair with an air bladder that wrapped around your ankle too. I traded my shoes with another kids for a couple of minutes to compare. His shoes just had the tongue air bladder and those really felt like a gimmick. At least the ankle bladders gave your ankle some support. The tongue bladder just made your feel like you had pressure on the top of your foot.
I feel like the first generation had the full bladder system, whereas when they saw how much hype they had they started bringing out the cheaper systems to cash in on the hype for a wider audience. I remember when I examined the tongue-only bladder I was so disappointed (I'd never worn Pumps; I was a kid and they were way too expensive); was this what all the hype was about? Even then, as an easily ad hyped kid, I could tell that just having a tongue that blows up like a balloon was especially lame, useless, and ridiculous.
This shoe has a special place in my heart. I literally just found a pair while riding my bike around downtown almost ten years ago. I was kinda transient and between places and probably wouldn't have spent that amount on shoes at the time. They were in great shape, couldn't believe someone had just thrown them out.
Thanks to that person and thank you Weston for your detailed breakdowns.
I'm curious. Did it fit you, by any chance?
If so, then damn -- that must've been quite the find!
@@Yoyie4 It sure did, wore them for years during spring and fall.
Eeewwwww. Just. Ew.
@@michaelmccoy1794 🤡
are you sure they didn’t have any famous baseball players signatures on them
The 90s were a super cool time for sneakers. I had a pair of L.A. Gear Catapults. They didn't help me jump any higher, but I felt really cool wearing them to school and playing basketball in them. I think the Pumps were more functional than the Catapults. Would love to see a pair of L.A. Gear Catapults dissected!
Damn... Remember British Knights?!
I really wish they would make those l.a. gear shoes again. Rn they're just making fad shoes that look like everything else out there. I miss those light up l.a. gears!
I would love to see an Asics teardown. Speaking of Hexalite, the amount of gel in an Asics shoe looks absurdly minimal despite that being their "technology."
@@jahmanborneo1343 I fell like what makes them great is just the basic shoe construction and not fancy technology. They are on the cushy side but the basic last and motion control feels far more important than whatever fancy buzz term they might add. That said, I haven't liked the changes to the heal counter over some of the years in the 2000 series.
Asics are definitely function over form and built to last. More of a runners shoe with running specific technology.
But I've always been a big fan.
@@jahmanborneo1343 Novablast 2 is pretty great
It's been like 26 years now, but for what it's worth, when I tore apart my first or second pair of Asics, the gel cushions were at least big enough to look like they were functional.
@@Shithappenswhenu lol Asics are absolute shit now. Both broow and Saucony are far superior.
I guess I was a weird kid, but in addition to being a sneaker freak, I would also like to take things apart and see how things worked...and I completely broke down a pair of Reebok Pumps that were somewhat similar to these, not the Blacktop version either, but all three used the same pump system. I unsuccessfully tried to graft them into a pair of Air Huaraches, haha. The failure point was usually the release valve, but the overpumping thing we used to do around our friends at school resulted in multiple busted pairs in my circle of peers. They must've fixed that later as there's no way the vintage ones could withstand what you just did. The later Shaq models had a bladder system that wrapped around the ankle, and the CO2 runners were laceless and wrapped most of the foot. I actually have a pair of modern pumps that are somewhat similar, but the release valve has a leak in one, so they never fixed that particular failure point. The V2 Nike 180 Air Force Command has a vastly superior pump system with a dial for pumping up different sections of the shoe. They did a reissue of the V1 a few years ago, but sadly not the V2...yet.
What was the attraction to sneakers? I could never understand it when I was in grade school. I grew up in the inner city, sneakers were basically the rave. I couldn't afford the top brands, got a lot of making fun of for the Payless stuff, but maybe a lack of it allowed me to escape the fascination? But I always wondered what went through people's heads with the new kicks...
@@s3ntin3l60 it’s just like anything else. Marketing, hype, peer pressure, having the latest and best, wearing cool kicks compared to what adults are wearing and so much more.
On rainy days I did the same stuff when I was a kid/young teenager. When my shoes got old, worn out or I grew out of them I would cut them apart and make Frankenstein shoes with the other shoes I had. I would also find other fabrics and materials around the house to combine them with. Stitch remover, glue gun, hand stitching and some other butchered techniques. But at the end I would always have some hideous looking Island of Dr. Moreau shoes
Reebok, finally. I would like to see dissecting Reebok Club C if possible.
This
Maybe asking for too much, but a regular club c 85 vs club c vintage would be perfect
👍
The Club C and the Reebok Classic have been my go to shoes for over a decade. I have 5 pairs of Classics right now. I'd love to see those cut in half as well.
@@trollerblade1011 Yeah you are right, some more interesting an bizzare shoes like designer shoes/boots, like rick owens stuff, those cool Balenciaga monstrosities, etc would be pretty nice. But he usually doesn't go with very interesting stuff, especially on sneakers, so idk
The Hexalite patch has always been that small. it has never covered the entire sole. I first noticed this back in the early nineties when I took a shoe apart to see the hexalite cushion. The original Hexalite had rounded corners and thinner walls, and I assume that it is different today because the original tooling was disposed of.
Reebok is scamming with the Hexalite. It was an actual cushioning back in the day, but now it's for show. They did this with the Iversons as well. Also the original Pump had air bags all over the shoe. It's a shame. I had the original high tops in the white/blue CW. I would love to get a pair, but these shady tactics of Reebok, I refuse to get anything from that company.
True. It’s really dumb too. If they didn’t cheap out word would have got around and they would have made more.
unfortunately thats what tends to happen when a company gets bought by a conglomerate, it really sucks
Back in 1989 pumps were a super premium shoe. Adjusted for inflation their retail cost was close to $350-$400 nowadays. It’s a shame, I’m hoping rose anvil gets enough love for us to grab a pair of OGs!
I had some Tennis shoes from reebok with hexalite. I do remember cutting it with and knife up in the toe area and there was hexalite there too. But it was around 94-95.
True I'm a salesman at reebok store you're right.. Even Floatride energy 4 and 5 has always in complain.. About pasting😢
Man that "hexalite" looked realy disappointing. Reebok does usually use good leather their retros. Would love to see an original pair of these just to see the real hexalite that they use back then. Awesome job as always. Cheers!
yeah reebok dont use real hexalite anymore, this is just a cover for the little window
Type "reebok pump technology" on RUclips and you'll find my video. I have original hexalite in that video. I've also done a few vids that feature original ultra hexalite. 👍
Wear testers been saying that for years as i do too lol on my QUESTIONs
The "real" hexalite they used Back In The Day was exactly as seen here, just a very small square at the exact point of centre impact. I know this for sure as I dissected all my old shoes back then when they were no longer fit to wear.
@@HarithGaming The Hexalite they use now is still a small square of air sealed hexagonal compartments, but the tooling has changed from the original. It's not 'fake' per se, just different due to the updated tooling.
The spring in the air release is less critical than you think. The air pressure will actually hold the valve closed, the spring is just there for the initial inflation.
Nice
the air pressure will only hold the valve closed, without the spring the valve will most likely be open most the time, or have enough gaps to let the air out and not pressure up to seal, that is a tiny little air pump, you would need to bring the pressure up quick to shut the valve before the air escapes, i think you would have a lot of problems if the spring breaks.
@@shroomiestshroom3655 did you miss the last part of my comment, "the spring is just there for the initial inflation"
???
I actually knew someone that has these and had the spring fail. he had to pump really fast to get the initial inflation to start and they worked normally after it started.
@@forrest225 Wouldn't that make it very critical?
Wildly impressed with the seeming legitimacy of the pump system.
You're going to make some sneaker heads upset when this takes off and you dissect a vintage pair, but I'll be here to watch for sure.
just ups the prices on their collections with less in circulation.
I have a pair of Reebok Pumps that are, if they are a day, they they have to be twenty or more years old... I've worn them from time to time, and have always used the pump for that custom fit. I've always marveled at how they feel. I have to dig them out of storage and wear them again, for the sake of nostalgia...
Thanks for the great video!!!! Awesome!
My mum had a pair back in the early '90's and I'm sure the pump airbag thing went around the ankle, not just in the tongue right?
@@mCblue79 ... as I remember, the inflation is in the tongue, and on the sides, couching the foot and cradling the foot, so that it sits firmly in the footbed and in the heel cup and counter, so that the foot cannot slop around inside the shoe.
@@seanbryant2848 that's what I thought thanks. These remakes only have the bladder in the tongue.
@@mCblue79 The high top basket ball original ones had the pump all around including the ankle. Squeezes the achillies tendon
@SPNKr16 WHAT MODEL ?
Give this guy an award.
He is the History Channel for shoes!
I remember being in 4th grade in 1991 and a couple classmates had these. I wanted a pair so bad, but my parents didn’t have the money. Instead I got a pair of LA Gear Regulators, a knock off of the Reebok Pumps, from an outlet store. I liked them, but in the back of my mind, I had that nagging thought that they just weren’t the real thing.
Fast forward to today… I’m a self professed “boot guy.” I love the durability and support of a quality boot, love my Whites boots. I had sworn off “cheap” sneakers. Then I saw that Reebok was making these again. I thought screw it, I wanted these so badly as a kid, I have the money, I’m getting them! I ordered them and they arrived a few weeks ago. I love them! The pump really does nothing for me fit wise, but I love the nostalgia, and the way it takes me back to my childhood. I wish they made them in youth sizes as my son has taken ups love of sneakers and boots the way I did when I was his age and he would love a pair of these.
I really hope this video does well for you. I’d love to see a pair of vintage ones dissected.
I always had the knockoffs too we would go to Payless and get the imitation jordans
@@dustinread6407 yup, I remember those. I think LA Gear even had a pair of sneakers that were a direct rip off of air Jordan’s.
They do make them in kid sizes, but reebok keeps them in the adult department on their website. They range from 3.5 US to 15 US. And yes, they all cost the same 😡 dang it reebok.
@@aaronfoulk9849 yep they were the L.A. Gear Catapults, a silly gimmick with a rubber ball under the heel
I feel ya, my parents bought me pro wings.
Back in the day I had a few Reeboks with Hexalite and I did cut them open when they wore out. In all of them the Hexalite was just a tiny square, just like these ones; back then it was also just a gimmick. Remember back then all brands had their propietary cusioning system, Reebok had the "ERS" and "Hexalite".
Also, Nike had a few pumps, including the Air Pressure that had an external pumping unit that was disturbing and easily lost. I’d like to see that dissected!
They also came with HUGE blow-molded cases/ backpacks. Super interesting!
I wouldn’t mind having the case.
Those things were insanely ugly and the pump never worked very well. They were not very comfortable. Mine tore up within 2 months.
I had the 180 Air Force Command(I think that's the name) they were awesome shoes. I had the second version that had a dial that you could turn and you could pump up different sections of the shoe. Heaviest shoes ever though.
😂 I definitely found a few of those pumping units around town.
I worked in seat manufacturing for couple of years, and we use similar air bladders for seat/bolster cushioning, and as You've learned, it's a incredibly resilient material
Great review Weston! I'm also a massive fan of the Reebok pump. I own a pair of retros of the original 89 pump and absolutely love them. One thing Reebok is notorious for however is using fake hexalite in their retros. I've seen them use a hard plastic substitute before but we'd never know that they've only used a tiny little hexalite patch on this retro unless you actually cut them open so well done. Would be great to cut open a vintage pair as I think you'll find them a lot more functional and it would just be great to have a proper look at real hexalite and how it performs.
The more you PUMP the higher you JUMP!!! Haha, these were the coolest shoe when I was a kid and so glad to see it's return to Reebok's lineup! The Reebok Pump was hugely popular around the same time the movie 'The Sandlot' was released (1993). Ergo, the movie quote "Shoes guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher" (referencing PF Flyers) made us 90's kids feel like that was The Pump of our day! Looking back at my elementary year book, half the class photos kids were wearing Reebok Pump's!
Those were so cool growing up. I would throw an idea out there. Remember Soaps? They claimed you could grind like you were wearing roller blades because of a hard plastic insert on the arch area of the outsole. I used to want them so bad but never owned a pair. Just interested if they were as cool as I remember they would be.
I had a pair of reebok sneakers back than in the late 90’s and i just would like to reassure you about the hexalite technologic there wasn’t more back then than it is today. I cutted out the unit and i found the same what you have found now. I also had two pairs of z pumps from 2014-2015 and it was a very cool feature altough it didn’t last long cause the faulty release valves didn’t hold the air anymore. Overall reebok shoes were always the most comfortable shoes i ever had. So i still love them and would buy some if i would find some retro from the 90’s again.
I remember a warning back in the day about getting on commercial airliners with Pumps. Evidently the change in air pressure could be problematic if you didn't release the pressure before climb out.
Hilarious 🤣
Bunny Boots are the same way
I remember hearing stories about these on planes---the bladders popping and wrecking the shoes.
I'm from Colombia, I pay my internet for see you Destroy all my favorite shoes...you have a piece of my heart ;). I broke a lot of this hexalite and I never find a full piece inside.
I’ve always wondered about this! I would appreciate seeing you do the vintage as well.
Shoe technology is fascinating. Can you also consider doing the shoes that were banned from the Olympics? Maybe test the material rebound rate and geometry to explain why they give an unfair advantage. Thank you.
No one should ever desecrate an OG Pump by tearing it down. Let them RIP
@@paulbaxter9715 it's not that big of a deal
I'm a huge Reebok Pump fan and would love to donate a pair of original Pumps from 1989 or a pair of Twilight Zone Pumps from the early 90s. Just be warned that the polyurethane midsoles have started ro crumble though I believe original Omni Zone IIs have held up. Regardless, yes, they did skimp with the original Hexalite but it was also a lot softer than today's rigid stuff. As for whether the airbags wrapped around the foot or went under the arch, it depends on the model. The Omni Zone 2 was limited to the tongue. Retro pumps do not function as well as the originals. You can really feel the airbags swelling after 20-30 pumps in the originals whereas many retro pumps either did not work at all, stiffened over time, or only inflated a little bit. Great video!
love your videos man, when are you gonna make more?
@@hipster_flannel Not sure. They take a lot of time. You can also follow me on Instagram under this same name.
I might be wrong but I think it depended on which pair you got back in the day (high or mids) as to whether it in flated in just the tongue or around the ankle as well, loved mine even if some people took it as a challenge to try and pop the bladder usually through jealousy because they didn't have any.
i am 42, i have a pair of REEBOK'S BLACK TOP with the pump, i use them to fidget all day at the office, pump them and then let the air out, it is fun and the shoes are good, i had them for around 5 years now and they still look amazing.
as a kid, when i got the first pair in my life, i was one of 2 kids in school with them, i had the white ones and my friend had the black ones, kids were blown away by them, but they were so expensive that only us two had them, life was good back then.
I had the first pump… it was 169.00 which was insane back then. The tallest white high top with the air release on the heel was the only one with the air bag all around your foot. All the others after were tongue only. Great video. Love those shoes.
Your almost correct. The all foot was the Double Pump that was recognisable by it's switch on the ankle. The 🏀 boots were as you say mostly midfoot pump but runners and others had ankle with/or midfoot pump. FYI The OG's price when new back then here in the UK was £120.
Once upon a time in the '90s, there was a shoe brand called L.A. Gear that was all the rage among teens and pre-teens. They had soles that lit up when you walked and, me and everyone and their friends wanted and probably owned a pair at some point. Would be cool to slice 'em up and see how they worked!
Yes please.
LA Lights was the shoe & now that very same tech is now in every cheap shoe store brands toddler/5-10yr old range of shoes.
@@omerta2002 I kind of doubt it for the really small kids sizes. Maybe size 1-6 kids
The original The Pump used the E.R.S (Energy Return System) Basically several plastic collapsable tubes. Also on the original The Pump, the bladder surrounded most of the foot and the ankle with the release valve at the back of the boot. Very cool!!
True
I’m willing to bet that if there was a study done on the placebo effect of the pump feature back in the 90’s, we’d find that it genuinely increased the performance in people who wore the shoe via the placebo effect, including myself. I really did believe it made me play better and run faster LOL. I think hexalite has always been a gimmick and simply a response to Nikes air cushioning. Now their DMX cushioning system was the real deal imo. That’s an idea for a future video. The Zig “technology” was another gimmick though lol. Unfortunately Reebok has probably cut corners more than the other major sneaker brands in recent times when it comes to their retros. In some of the Reebok Question retros, they resorted to using honeycomb stickers in the hexalite windows instead of actual hexalite. Unlike some retros from Nike/Jordan/adidas, pretty much all retros from reebok are only fit for casual wear due to how much they cheap out on materials and tech compared to the originals. Which is fine as long as you’re aware. Anyways thanks for the video and walk down memory lane!
Hexalite gave fantastic cushioning. Especially when it was used just under the insole instead of the bottom of the midsole. The ultra hexalite used in the mid 90s models like fury, kamikaze, question, and hexacutor actually felt amazing and was super responsive. It was basically the same as nikes zoom technology (in the heel anyway).
That ultra hexalite was legit badass.
I grew up in the 90's. It was such a great time. I never had the pumps growing up, but I do remember having the Reebok Shawn Kemps. I loved those sneakers.
If they are putting this back out with some new tech a full length hexalite would be a nice gimmick. I'm a pumps fan but I wish they just refined them. The ones Rodman used to have in the commercial were amazing. The Nike pumps had a run for their money.
There was a few pair's of Reeboks in the mid 90s that had full length ultra hexalite.
@@TheRetroManRandySavage yes. I remember but these should have gotten it as well. I wonder if it was actually full length in the Iverson's and other sneakers after seeing this tho.
I work for Reebok and had to laugh a bit when I saw you pump it by hand. The commitment!! We have little machines that imitate that (which are hilarious to watch), they are supposed to endure a lot of pumps.
When I was like 6-7 years old, all the way back in 1993, I literally thought I could run faster when I got my first pair of Reebok Pumps. I owned so many pairs/models of Reebok pumps when I was a kid, really nostalgic seeing these shoes. Really makes me want a pair!
My Dee Browns as a kid finally wore out and yes it was jus a small square in the heel of hex. The pump bladder also used to have a tube that pumped up the tongue connected to the pump. They didn't pump the portion around the heel. The original prototype had the bladder extend under the foot as well which was a really cool idea but it was abandoned. These shoes are still awesome though.
As a person who had a pair in the 90s. I swear when they finally fell apart the haxalite was much larger. It coverd the whole heel section. But nostalgia has a way of distorting memories.
It was brother. The hexalite in the retros is fake.
@@mentazmic Disagree. It was possibly different shoe to shoe though.
Weird. I do own a pair of 1992's OGs and they don't come with hexalite at all. Not advertised anywhere in the box or the shoe either.
@@elchotocorazonWhich model are they?
@@omerta2002 they're the classic high-top white and blue I don't think they have a model name. The retro version of them are called the bringback
do a breakdown of the maison margiela replicas! are they worth the 700 price tag or should they be more like 2-3-4 hundred
nice, looks like the tongue pump model is still pretty much the same as the original tennis pumps I had in high school, (pulled them apart in a similar way when they wore out) and though the hexalite was just in small squares back then too, it was a totally different material to what they're using now. It was a VERY squishy material made of a thinner plastic that bounced back well when you squeezed it between your thumb and forefinger. - I also had the very first pump which had an air bladder which wrapped around your heel too, not just the tongue. But alas, the curse of the crumbing midsole.....
As a 90s kid I opted for the Catapults instead of the Pumps and regretted it. Great video.
You can also find this pump tech in CCM Ribcor hockey skates, as it was a carry over from when Reebok was branding hockey equipment. CCM had a partnership with Reebok, while the competition, Bauer, was making Nike hockey gear.
Yo, that's awesome to see The Pump being used on another product still for performance.
I had a pair of Nike Zoom Inline skates back from the Bauer days (late 90s), Black and Bronze, beautiful skates.
@@AntonyHollingworth Those Nike Zooms were legit. I'm still on the hunt for a white set of the ice skates to put together a full Federov kit. They pop up on sites like Sideline Swap, but they're either beaten to hell, or people want insane prices for them.
I had a pair of Rebook Pump as a kid. Loved them.
I liked the Puma Disk back then as well but never had a pair.
I remember getting a pair of these from the thrift store as a kid.
The pump didn't work😥
,,The greatest feeling you can get in a gym, or the most satisfying feeling you can get in the gym is... The *pump* Let's say you train your biceps. Blood is rushing into your muscles and that's what we call The *pump* You muscles get a really tight feeling, like your skin is going to explode any minute, and it's really tight - it's like somebody blowing air into it, into your muscle. It just blows up, and it feels really different. It feels fantastic.
It's as satisfying to me as, uh, c.ming is, you know? As, ah, having s.x with a woman and c.ming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like, uh, getting the feeling of c.ming in a gym, I'm getting the feeling of c.ming at home, I'm getting the feeling of c.ming backstage when I *pump* up, when I pose in front of 5,000 people, I get the same feeling, so I am c.ming day and night. I mean, it's terrific. Right? So you know, I am in heaven."
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pumping Iron)
7:25 the drawing shows the og type inflator. My D Time pumps in 93 had the pump as per the drawing. They functioned way better than the retros. I'm still happy Reebok are doing these retros and still incorporating a pump mechanism even if it has changed somewhat. Just give us the Double Pump @reebok !!
I ripped my pumps apart in 1992 and I can confirm that the technology is identical.
I can second this as well.
I was so disappointed when that tiny piece of Hexalite fell out.
Even more so as Nike Air was just becoming a thing, and the "rich kids" all had these max bubbles and all I had this tiny thing lol.
I've wanted pumps since they were first out but could never afford them. Finally got a pair of these a month ago
I had the Reebok and Nike pumps and thought I was so damn cool at school. Hahaha! EDIT: The "cool" thing with the pumps is that you could tie your shoes to a loose comfort and then pump it up to tighten the fit if you felt like it, so you never had to tie your shoes after the first tie.
Thanks for that been looking at these for ages and being 42 I was a teen when these first came out and my parents would never ever buy them for me , good to know they are still made well and I can finally get a pair of my own.
I'm 39. I was so upset that my parents would never but them for me. I was stuck with shoes from Payless 😂 how embarrassing I thought it was
As someone who only wears reebok shoes, almost all leather variants, they really do hold up very well. Even skating in one of my pairs regularly, its held up so good compared to any other shoes. The leather, whatever it is, is good and in my experience performs better than any other sneakers I've owned.
Reeboks are so comfortable.
I skated in those for a few years because of nerve pain, I would get with most other shoes.
Would love to see you do Adidas Samba, Samba OGs, or the new Samba ADV (Skate). I love the OGs and I just recently picked up the white ADV which has a leather toecap vs the usual suede and no stripes which makes it kinda dad-ish. Loved Sambas ever since grade school and they seem to be popular again.
Love your channel, I always learn something!!
My grandma searched everywhere and finally found and bought me a pair of these in the early 90's when I was a little kid. I just ordered a pair of new pumps and i can't wait to show them to her
Love your videos, it’s cool to know a channel that keeps these sneaker companies accountable
First time I saw Reebok Pump was fall of 1991. I just moved to the US from France. I was 11 (almost 12). I was never a sneaker guy while in France but when I first saw those, I fell in love. I became a sneakerhead (more off than on). I loved all of the models and colorway. From Dee Brown's Omni Zone/Omni Lite to Michael Chang's Court Victory. They are my favorite pieces of nostalgia of the early 90s along with the Jordan 6 black infrared. I never got them when they were out in 91 but much later in 2016, I got the Michael Changs and in 2017 I got the Dee Browns. The Pumps don't work and I am not sure if it's malfunction or it just wasn't meant to work but for aesthetics only.
We same age and i had öne suette black at year 92 .time goes so fast ..that was a prestige in our friends that ages..greets from turkey
I was super excited for this drop...the memories of this shoe from the 90s were strong. I love mine.
I used to own a pair of Reebok ice-hockey skates, they had the pump Tech in as well. It was great as I never had to pull my laces super tight, I could get them kinda tight enough and do the rest with the pump. Loved them, and they also had the same cool factor when you bent down and pumped them up just before take a penalty shot.
Mine arrived today, I will not be tearing them apart, but so glad you did!!
Amazing Video!!!! Loved the commercials and you talking about the pumping for courage 😂 I had a pair in the early 90s! Now I have two pairs as an adult
You have one of the best channels on RUclips imo. The videos are very entertaining and satisfying to watch, they're informative, and I appreciate your sincerity. Just thought I'd mention it, cheers from the southeast
Hi, great job!!!...i had a reebok pump during 1992-93 season and i also had the vertical 2 Penny hardaway, cool hum!? well the point is i did open the hexalite and was the whole heel, made from a silicone or rubber, bouncy material at least 4x4 inches flat and like a quarter inch deep i had it on my key chain for years. The pump bladder did wrap my entire ankle also. so was a different tech back then.
This is my first vid of yours. Its so simple of a premise and I love the way you applied your idea. This is good stuff. Even if I'm not a big sneaker head, I appreciate good ideas and This is dope.
I have two pairs and have been in love with em since the 90's they only get rocked in the summer months as I live in the U.K. but they are a piece of 90's nostalgia for me and I'll always love this sneaker.
The pump and bl have Always Been Just like that! As soon as you opened it up, I had flash backs.
Love your videos & trust your reviews! Any chance you would consider reviewing the 5.11® A/T 6" NON-ZIP BOOT? (or any 5.11 boot), looking into the brand, and they have some tacticool 'boots' that i wouldnt mind owning if they are decent quality. Even if its just a light weight casual hiker.
I had a pair of Reebok pumps from 1992 or 93. After about 5 years, the white foam soles turned to powder. I loved them back in the day.
These and my reebok Preseasons were my favourite from reebok. The good old days when trainers used to last 👌
As always, I hate it when shoe companies advertise leather in the shoe and it turns out to be the thinnest, cheapest leather possible!! Back in the “old days” you would get full grain sneakers that were actually leather and you paid for that!! Now you pay over 100 dollars for a shoe that you considered a cheap piece of junk that you would never consider spending hard earned cash for back in the day!! I hate that companies get away with their claims!! I recently bought a reissue of a Bo Jackson trainer that was the worst quality material I had ever seen!! I instantly returned them to Nike!! Huge disappointment!! Because they stated that they were leather and they obviously contained hardly anything resembling leather!!! Thanks for the hard work Wes!!!
I dissected my Omni’s on a trip to Mexico when I was 10 years old. I was lucky and busted mine with about 100 pumps. It was friggin cool. At 40 years old I’m looking for size 14 Michael Chang’s. I remember buying mine on sale at Marshall’s back in the day.
Any time I got double dared on the playground I was okay, I would just give my shoes a few pumps, and then I knew I could take on the world. Thanks for the video, I would love to see you do this to some vintage pumps.
Enjoyed this. I was such a fan of pumps as a kid and I love buying them and rocking them as an adult. I think the leather feels much better than the average Jordan. I’ve had good luck with my pumps functioning well, but I’ve seen a lot of people complain that their mechanisms don’t work. I think the chalk colored pair is my favorite of recent years.
Reebok was originally from Bolton Manchester England 🇬🇧 & I was 1 of the 1st to have every single model of their pump basketball 🏀 boots (this includes the very 1st pump boots) before they were made available for general release why? because I used to know a sales rep who was a family friend even better for me is that I used to get them at discounted price there were a lot of colour variants for each model including USA 🇺🇸 exclusives that weren't available here in the UK but I was only able to get 1 pair of each model........visually pleasing yes durability? good value for money? 💰 no the soles on the first 1's lasted just barely 5 months
Back in the 90ies, Puma had something that was pretty much the same as Hexalite, but I've forgotten the name.
And Puma had the Disk System instead of laces. You turned the disk and a thread was wound up which tied the shoe. You get pretty much the same on work safety shoes sold in Europe.
it's called Trinomic. Puma still uses that tech in some of their shoes, and as far as I can tell, they blow Hexalite out of the water. I have both Pumps and Disc shoes, and the Trinomic is miles better.
Even the trinomic used now is fake. The last time they used real trinomic was on the first disc retros in the early 2000s. I still have a pair and the comfort is amazing.
@@TheRetroManRandySavage that's sad to hear, didn't know that puma cheaped out too. 😞
Yeah. The top 3 must have shoes back then were:
1: Reebok Pump
2: Nike Air
3: Puma Disc
I knew a few kids who had Nike Air shoes. They just weren't interesting to me unlike the puma or Reeboks.
@@Kit_Bear I love Jordan shoes, but Reebok pump will always reign supreme for me.
U ain’t lying it took me to my childhood I remember these shoes lik yesterday love ‘em
Hi, just to say I discovered your videos and it completely changed the way I look at footwear. Thanks for all the work you do to educate, we've been fooled a lot in recent years. I would suggest covering hiking boots (Danner, Limmer, Hanwag, etc) and winter boots (fur boots, Lowa, Anfibio). I think we would get some interesting surprises looking at the different insulation used.
I had the Reebok Black tops growing up loved them so much. Love to see Reebok do a remake of that shoe :)
I have a pair of these and I love em, so comfy, so retro...soooo cool, my parents could never afford to buy me a pair when I was a kid so these coming back out was great
Had a pair when I was a kid and loved them have about 5 pairs now as an adult and still love them
One of my favorite pair of kicks when they first came out in the early 90s🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
Mindblowing video! So glad youtube recommended this to me!
“Reebok pumps that didn’t do sh** for the sneaker” - Immortal Technique
Really cool video, would love to see a comparison to the OGs
I was too poor to get the pumps as a child but my dad surprised me with their competition LA Gear Regulators. Orange and purple double laces were awesome.
Great video! I love this kind of ‘engineering’ video for retro shoes I saw in High School and College. Subbed because of the cat! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I"m glad that Reebok really stepped up the quality of the air cushion. When I was a teen in the 90s, the first edition Pumps had serious issues with their cushions leaking. A lot of my classmates who had them said after a year, the tube running from the pump to the cushion might spring a leak. The only solution was to rip the tongue apart and glue the hole shut.
I died a little bit every time “little teeny” was put on the screen 😂😂😂
I cut up a pair of og Reebok pumps when I was like 15/16 yrs old. I’m 42 now & the pump looked just look yours. It was tounge only. But I can’t remember what model shoe I had. They was the hype when I was a kid!
What a neat gadgety little 90s gimmicky thingy!! Secrets revealed 😳😳😳😳😳😎
I have a recollection of begging my mom for a pair of pumps that I swear were in a glass box at Footlocker. I must have only been about 7. Great video, I hope the oldies had more of the gimmicks to justify the high cost my mom surely paid.
I had the Black dee Brown's and a pair of the AXT trainers, which were actually more comfortable than the Dee Brown's. Based on the shoe you just took apart, I can say that when I took mine apart just after they wore out, many years ago (haha) the original Pump shoes were of MUCH better quality. They were hard to kill and maintained comfort right up to the point where they "gave out". I did notice that after the AXT and Dee Brown editions... there WAS a HUGE drop-off in quality. I remember being in highschool, playing several sports and had to switch to Air Jordan's because the PUMP quality had dropped off so much.
Hey man, my pumps I just got, from Reeebok Australia, they werent pumping, but I got them pumping. So if yours dont work, be persistent. Anvil mentions in the vid there is a "clicking" sound when you press the pump, well holding the toungue in a certain way allows that clicking sound which means its pumping. If youre not hearing the clicking its not pumping. Peace.
I had a pair of pumps back when they were the style and they were great. You could pump them up and feel them get tighter all around your foot. The old ones had the air pocket all around your foot, all inside the shoe, in the high top it went all around.
But I have a pair of shoes now from sketchers that are the most comfortable shoes I ever worn. They are extra wide, and some how they have made them, they breath, to the point, when the wind blows, you can actually feel the wind on your feet. They are awesome in the summer. Extremely light, and they have memory foam on the bottoms, It's like walking on/in a cloud. They should call them some gimmick name but it's just a regular pair of black tennis shoes, no special name from sketchers. I know they don't all do that, because I had a pair of sketchers before, that were the heaviest shoes I ever had in my life.
I owned a pair of Reebok Blacktops. They were horrible. Cheap materials throughout. Still, they looked cool. I also remember that Reebok used a different type of heel technology before Hexalite. You would be able to see it underneath the shoe and behind the shoe. They "cushion" looked liked orange capsules. I do not remember the name of this technology. Cool video.
ERS
Very cool! Always wanted these as a kid, but never did get. Not my style as an adult. Definitely does bring back memories from the 90’s.
I love these shoe videos and the vintage/nostalgia shoes especially!
Interesting video as always, hoping you're able to get that vintage pair!
Bro, thanks so much for pulling out the air bag up and showing how it works. I got to pump up my shoe and hear the iconic release of air. Totally thought my pump was broken, turns out I was just blocking the part that lets the air in with my thumb.
@skylary83 Are the Reebok pump Omni 2 or the Reebok pump tz better ?
I still have 3 pairs of Pumps in my closet. A good majority of newer remakes of this shoe have the tiny Hexalite pads like yours, but the older ones usually encompass a good majority of the heel and was much more pliable and cushioned like the Black Ice Series. I think the most coveted pairs are the Reebok/Adidas collaborations that had Boost soles (Sole Fury X Boost). I have one pair of them and I don't even put them on.
I miss the cutting up name brand boots days. You're the reason I bought nicks
still have those, buyed 15y ago and still looking good with blue orange colors ❤️