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I haven’t reviewed some 70s runners in a few months! Now, I’m finally back to the old school Nike kicks with this model.

Click/tap image to shop for these on eBay!

The Waffle Trainer 2 originally dropped in 1977. The design is moccasin-inspired and utilizes a waffle outsole, Nike’s first “tech” so to speak. These are truly a classic looking shoe that stands the test of time!

This sneaker is very similar visually to other pairs I’ve picked up such as the Daybreak and Tailwind 79. One difference that separates the Tailwind is of course the use of Air in the midsole.

While these have been releasing as SP releases for the most part, they seem to be getting slept on. The Velvet Brown colorway sold out on the Nike website when it launched, but I was able to grab it a week later from Feature for retail with free shipping.

My Thoughts

When the first two pairs of these dropped I was not paying attention to them. The Velvet Brown colorway caught my attention because the yellow swoosh really stands out against the brown on the shoe. Not only that, this color combo is very 70s, which gives that colorway a more classic look than some of the others.

Now that I have these in hand though, I must say these are my favorite looking 70s retro runner I’ve picked up from Nike. I like the Daybreak, but found the shape to be a little off aesthetically for my taste. Almost like the toebox looked too flat from the side and the swoosh seemed a bit big. As for the Tailwind, I found the tongue to be a bit high on the retro. So while these are just nitpicks, I can’t find anything that I can nitpick on the Nike Waffle Trainer 2. The shape seems very low to the ground and the tounge seems to be a more appropriate height.

The vintage effect is definitely here on these and adds to the look of the sneaker. I also enjoy the pointy-toe silhouette. Of course, I could see myself going down the rabbit hole of copping all the colorways as they go on sale. I will try to show restraint, but it’s tough when the shoes are that good.

I really like simple shoes like this. While I do enjoy 90s runners, sometimes I want something with even less going on. There’s not a lot to get in the way as far as looks and comfort when a sneaker has a very simple build.

Details/Materials

Starting off we have the Nike logo on a nylon tongue tag. This is sitting on a nylon tongue with exposed padding and a yellowed vintage effect. I like that the tongue here seems a bit more padded than other 70s Nike runner retros.

We have suede eyelets here coming down to a nylon toebox. There’s a suede mudguard that wraps around. Moving to the side we get a smooth leather swoosh on top of more nylon. Towards the back we have another suede panel. There’s a smooth leather backtab with Nike printed on it.

The inner area of the ankle has a thin leather liner and shows the size and style code printed along the side in a throwback to the old school labeling method. Meanwhile, the insole is plain with no decoration and the outsole features that famous Nike waffle pattern with the patent number info on it.

These ship with flat laces. The laces have that softer more vintage look to them that Nike likes to include with shoes like these, I dig them! The box is the basic Nike Sportswear box.

So, you just get the shoes and the box basically. These are marked as an SP release which generally indicates a little bit better quality, but otherwise at the price point of $100, I’m not surprised at the lack of included extras with these.

How is the Quality on the Nike Waffle Trainer 2?

The materials here are very simple; nylon, suede and smooth leather.

This shoe is the first old school 70s trainer where I’m actually feeling the nylon. Normally I’d prefer mesh, and I found the nylon on the Daybreak to ultimately not be my favorite. Here though, the way the sneaker is shaped the nylon actually works for me. If the nylon parts were mesh here, the shoe would look weird since it’s basically one continuous panel from the toebox to the back of the shoe.

The leather here is nothing special, just a thin smooth leather. Still, it’s relatively soft and decent for just a small bit of material.

The star here is the suede. While it has that purposefully rough vintage appearance, the texture is actually fairly soft and I do get a backstroke on these. Overall I think the “SP” treatment mostly goes to the suede here.

This shoe is so simply built that as long as Nike doesn’t use the bottom of the barrel materials, it’s gonna look and feel quality and these definitely do that. While you aren’t getting New Balance made quality on $100 Nikes, I think people are going to be feeling the quality here overall.

How Do They Fit?

I went true to size. These fit very comfortably for me at that size.

Since the uppers are simple with no painful seam by the pinky toe, the shoe winds up being very comfortable for an almost 45 year old model. The simplistic feel and lack of padding makes these a great choice as a casual shoe. The suede around the toebox makes the sneaker form to the foot a bit better with almost no break in time needed. Also, my toes feel like they have room to breathe here which is a welcome feeling.

The modern editions of the Nike Waffle Trainer 2 are updated with a memory foam insole and dual-density foam midsole. This sounds fancy, but the feel underfoot is fairly basic still. In a good way, though, as that’s really all I need for the shoe to be comfy. Just a bit of solid resistance with a little bit of give in the insole.

I can wear a simple retro runner like this all day without getting foot fatigue. That’s something I can’t say for a lot of other more modern Nike shoes. While I still favor the Air Max 90 recraft for the all day long walk kick, I could wear these in a similar fashion with no problems. I think these make a great low cost retro Nike runner for anyone that wants something stylish and comfortable to rock and doesn’t need all the bells and whistles of a more modern shoe.

Final Thoughts

While runners from the 90s are usually my favorite types of kicks, these simplistic 70s joints definitely hold their own in the collection. I like them more than other 70s retros I’ve seen from the brand in the last couple years.

The exposed padding, throwback sizing text on the inside ankle and overall vintage color scheme really puts these in the right time frame as far as a 70s runner. The details on these are simple, but the materials used are a step above your average GR level retro. I think at this price point, Nike is giving us just a little more on the quality than they normally would. I really enjoy the suede on these!

The comfort is of course there with this model. This falls under the “simple but great” category of sneaker design, where the shoes fit simply and don’t add anything that makes the shoe fit awkward or uncomfortable.

I like the way the yellow pops off the brown on the Velvet Brown colorway and I think the color scheme evokes 1977 in particular out of all the colorways of these that have dropped to date. Best of all, they look great on feet!

Where To Cop the Nike Waffle Trainer 2

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