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After picking up the Air Jordan 3 Cool Grey, I was wondering what other non-OG lifestyle edition Jordan retros were going to drop next. The original Air Jordan 7 Flint released back in 2006.
Fifteen years later we get this version! They made the grey darker than the 2006 colorway they are based on, made them plentiful…. and nobody wanted them. Such is the hype-driven world we live in now. Which is a shame because this is a great shoe in my opinion!
I was able to easily get these on Sneaker Politics’ website for retail. The Air Jordan 7 model itself is a Tinker Hatfield design and first released in 1992.
I’ll get into the materials in a bit, but I really like the overall look and feel of the shoe. The Air Jordan 7 is actually a Jordan that I really like overall come to think of it. I had sold off a lot of my Jordans back in the day so I’m really excited to get a pair of 7s back in the collection.
One thing I love about this colorway is how the purple and grey play off each other. I think the lighter shade of grey worked well for this back then, and I think this dark shade works just as well today. The darker shade actually helps the white parts of the shoe stick out more to some degree. Some Jordans I buy in the heat of the moment, but then wind up selling like a month later, but I can see myself hanging onto these for a while!
Features/Materials
Starting off we have a purple Air Jordan stitched into the neoprene tongue. The colors on the tongue vary from left to right and if I recall correctly, from pair to pair as well. The tongue here is the neoprene bootie style tongue which makes sense since the Air Jordan 7 debuted around the same time as the Air Huarache. We have leather eyelets leading down to a nubuck toebox. Moving to the side we have more nubuck panels with leather overlays. Near the ankle we get an embroidered purple Jumpman. On the back we have a white pulltab and the rubbery plastic 7/23 graphic. The insole is black with a white Jumpman and the outsole is grey, black, white and purple with a purple jumpman towards the back.
These ship with white flat laces with silver aglets and come in the black old school Jordan box. Overall, no extras really, but this shoe is really all about the retro of this specific colorway so this is not surprising. $190 retail is about on par for most Jordans these days.
How is the Quality?
Normally I’m not a big fan of GR or General Release Jordan quality. Here though I was very pleasantly surprised. The white leather has a decent tumble to it, perhaps a little overtumbled on the finish as Nike tends to do sometimes. It isn’t particularly soft but the cuts seem thick. Visually it looks nice though particularly when taken as a whole with the rest of the sneaker. The grey nubuck is really the star here, and it is pretty soft and even has a decent backstroke to it!
The “Jordans have janky materials” mentality is to some degree a stigma that’s stuck with me since the early-mid 2010s. Back then, a lot of Jordan releases were guaranteed to have poor materials. Now I’m not going to say these have some New Balance made quality even though the price point is similar. But for an Air Jordan, these are pretty on point!
I never owned the 2006 Jordan 7 Flint so I can only assume based on how Jordan brand does things that these aren’t going to live up to those. Taken on its own though, this shoe is definitely better materials-wise than I thought it would be. Craftsmanshp-wise these are pretty good. I do see some of the typical Nike QC stuff like slight glue and paint issues around the midsole, but nothing so blatant that its going to change my opinion on these.
How Do They Fit?
I enjoy the slightly roomier fit at true to size on these. I think for most people, whatever you normally get in Nikes, sticking with true to size is your safest bet. However if you really like that snug fit, you may be able to pull off a half size down.
The Jordan 7 is one of the more comfortable retro Jordan models out there in my opinion. The uppers are somewhat pliable although at true size its the slightly roomy fit that helps these feel like my pinky toes have a sliver of breathing room. Underfoot we get some nice solid support with a little bit of give, typical of that early 90s encapsulated Air Unit midsole. Being that these are not a low top, I probably wouldn’t choose these for all day wear as I prefer low top retro runners for that for the most part. However, I still find these very comfy and if I absolutely had to rock these all day, I could with no problems.
Final Thoughts
Here’s a chance to finally get this colorway. Any real fan of the Jordan 7 would not pass this retro up. I obviously made sure I got my pair and I’m glad I did! The colorway is spot on to the OG as far as I can tell. The details here are minimal, but it does the trick since that’s how the 2006 version is, except for the shade of grey. If you’re into hype kicks, these might not be for you because Jordan brand apparently made a ton of these, which is like poison to a hypebeast. Regardless, down the line I can still see these becoming harder and harder to find. Just give it a few years!
The materials on here seem good; at least good enough to suit this type of release, and better than many Jordan retros of the past. Comfort is definitely there on these, I enjoy rocking them for a few hours at a time! Most importantly though, these look great on feet!
Where To Cop the Air Jordan 7 Flint
As of the writing of this article, you can find them on eBay
Colorway: White / Varsity Purple
Style Code: CU9307 100
Year of Release: 2021
MSRP: $190