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Air Max 1 Essential Cave Purple Review

By Anthony Levine, longtime sneaker collector. Updated: 11-09-2016

I’m not the hugest AM1 fan, but I do pick up the occasional pair. The Air Max 1 Essential Cave Purple are just so quirky of a colorway that I got them as soon as they went on sale.

Click/tap image to shop for these on eBay!

I’m glad most people slept on them; I have a feeling that in the future, this will be a sought after colorway.

The essentials line of Nike sportswear products is always keeping us guessing with random standout colorways and interesting material combinations. I always keep an eye out as they are often overlooked. Some AM1 essentials wind up going on sale but are actually great shoes with surprisingly decent materials.

How Are The Materials?

We definitely have different levels of materials on this shoe. The lavender parts and the swoosh are both a smooth synthetic leather of mediocre quality. The suede used on the back of the shoe seems lush and buttery, while the rest of the suedes are a sandpaper texture. The mesh on the tongue seems extra dense compared to that used on the toebox and around the ankle. Overall, I’d say the materials are good considering the mixture used.

How Do They Fit?

The Air Max 1 Essential Cave Purple fit true to size and are quite comfortable. These fit about as nice as any other Air Max 1. We get nice solid support from the Air Unit in the midsole, and the breathable mesh upper for air flow. The leather around the toebox might make the front a bit stiffer than pairs that have suede here, but it’s actually not that bad overall. I did have to do a little bit of toebox reshaping to get these looking acceptable.

Where To Cop the Air Max 1 Essential Cave Purple

As of the writing of this article, you can find these on eBay

Colorway: Cave Purple / Force Green – Purple Steel
Style Code: 537383-500
Year of Release: 2014