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Apparently, New Balance had a lot to celebrate last year. The Packer New Balance 999 Camel collab celebrates the 999 turning 30!
The shoe is supposedly inspired by camel hair although overall these just have a desert vibe to me. The shoe features the Packer logo on the left insole and on an included suede hangtag, but other than that the store branding is minimal. I’ve seen pictures of a special box on the Packer website but my pair came in a regular New Balance box. One very dope aspect of these are that the center of the “9”s in the 999 embossed on the sides are all different shades of pink.
These things are basically best worn with some neutral tones. I’m going with greys and light blues to keep the focus on the shoes and the overall “light” aesthetic. You can also pull off some sort of outfit with some khaki-colored pants if that is more your flavor.
I was surprised these sold out so quickly as I saw many claiming they were passing on these. A lot of retro runner enthusiasts don’t like the shape of the 999 but I believe the colorway and limited availability added to these getting snapped up quick. In any case I feel like this shoe is a great collaboration, a great celebration of the 30th anniversary of this model and a dope shoe overall. I highly recommend grabbing a pair if you can!
Materials
The materials on these are decent. There’s definitely a mix of textures going on. The rough suede that covers most of the upper isn’t my favorite and it certainly isn’t that buttery. The rest of the materials are a bit better, with pigskin suede on the toe box and side logo, nubuck on the tongue and heel tabs and nice leather above the toebox and near the ankle. Finally, the rear of the shoes feature some 3M hits.
Fit
The Packer New Balance 999 Camel fits slightly large. I got true to size and these are really comfortable really comfortable! While the shoe might be a bit blocky for some (especially the toebox), I still think they look great on foot. Also, the roomier toe area gives these an added level of comfort.
Where To Cop the Packer New Balance 999 Camel
As of the writing of this article, you can find these on eBay
Colorway: Tan / Pink
Style Code: ML999CML
Year of Release: 2016
MSRP: $150