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The last SB I copped were the Classic Green. These Nike SB Dunk High Reverse Goldenrod are a general release colorway that appears to be an inversion of the classic Goldenrod dunk colorway.
To be honest, these do remind me of Goldenrods, but due to the materials used, they remind me even more of the Iowa SB highs from the BTTYS pack. Those are from the pink box era and add suede into the mix whereas the traditional Goldenrod dunks are entirely leather.
Like many post-pandemic releases, these dropped overseas first and are still slated for a drop in the US as of the recording of this video. I was able to grab my pair after release. Like usual with the dunks, it’s toss-up between how much I like the shoe vs how much I’m willing to pay. That said, the aftermarket price here doesn’t seem to be too bad compared to some other recent SB releases. I say that in order to point out that while people do seem excited about these, they hype/demand isn’t as strong as other pairs.
Why I Copped these Reverse Goldenrod SBs
Personally I think these are a very solid pair of SBs as far as colorways. I love black and yellow colorways for two reasons. First, my high school colors were black and yellow, so these types of colorways have built-in nostalgia for me. Secondly, being a long standing Wu-Tang Clan fan, the black and yellow color scheme definitely gives off that same Killer Bee vibe.
As great as the colorway looks, I wasn’t really expecting too much out of the materials for a general release dunk SB. While I’ll get into the materials in just a bit, I’m definitely pleasantly surprised by what I got here. I think Nike can really do a better job on dunks when they want to, even on GRs or general releases.
Sometimes you get a low key banger from Nike SB. While it is unusual for dunks to fly completely under the radar, those that undervalue this pair will likely regret it. I can say without a doubt that these are way nicer in hand than one would think based on what they’re going for and the shoe not being marked as a premium pair or collab.
Details / Materials
Starting off we have the Nike SB logo and Dunk High Pro in black on a yellow nylon tongue tag. This all sits on a mesh tongue.
Moving Down we have suede eyelets that lead to a suede toebox and basically the whole upper is suede besides the tongue. We can see that as we move to the side and see the black suede swoosh sitting on top of more suede panels.
The insole is black with Zoom Air and the Nike SB logo in yellow. The outsole is black with a yellow hit in the middle sporting the Nike SB logo.
These ship with sets of black and yellow SB laces. It would have been cool if the yellow was a bit duller to match the yellow panels on the shoe. These come in the purple Nike SB box.
Not a lot included here besides the spare laces, but these are at the $120 retail general release level. Typically spare laces is about all one would get at this stage. What tends to be the wildcard with Nike SB these days at this price point is whether or not the quality will be better than expected.
How is the Quality on the Nike SB Dunk High Reverse Goldenrod?
These sport an entirely suede upper. The suede used is very soft compared to other similarly priced SB Dunk releases. This gives the shoe a quality feel.
I was expecting a basic level of materials here. I figured at the worst these would be like sandpaper suede. However, this suede is actually nice in my opinion! I was actually kind of shocked as I pulled these out the box.
Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t coming close to New Balance Made quality, however for a GR SB dunk at $120 the suede feels very soft, especially on the yellow parts. The black parts are soft for the most part although they are ever so lightly ashy in parts. I think that’s likely to happen on black suede most times. I do get slight backstrokes on the black suede.
With yellow suede we do have the yellow looking less vibrant than if it were leather. However, that’s typical of light colored suede vs it’s leather counterpart. I do think there’s a higher risk of the suede getting dingy from being in close proximity to that black suede. That is something to keep an eye on as you rock these.
The craftsmanship seems ok. Overall the QC seems around the same as we always get for Nike. Nothing to get too upset about on my pair.
Overall I’m feeling the materials. These aren’t amazing, but they are better than I thought they would be, which is always a pleasant surprise!
How Do The Nike SB Dunk High Reverse Goldenrod Fit?
The soft suede materials combined with the generally roomier fit of Dunk Highs means the Reverse Goldenrod SBs fit true to size. Modern SB dunks tend to have a narrow and more padded fit, but this pair is still not as snug as other concurrent SB Dunk releases.
The shoe is built for skating so the padding is engineered for that. Because of this I like to go up a half size generally. As stated above however, these proved to have a roomier fit than expected, thanks to the extra give of the materials.
Comfort
The softer suede and roomier fit helps a lot with the comfort on the upper. I can recommend these for casual wear for sure. There’s an internal seam which contacts my pinky toe slightly on here but the toebox seems less unforgiving than normal and I’m not noticing it that much here. Could these be more comfy? Sure, but they’re actually not bad as far as the first few wears goes.
Underfoot we have the zoom air in the insole and a regular dunk midsole. Just walking around I usually don’t feel the zoom air that much, and these feel close to a regular dunk. The comfort here is average to good. If you’ve ever worn a dunk you will get a very similar experience here.
I find older dunks to be a bit more forgiving than modern SBs, and this translates to a comfier upper. I can wear an older dunk all day in a lot of cases. With these, I can probably get away with wearing them for a few hours without much of a break in time. Of course, I would opt for a retro runner for walking around or all day wear. But these are more comfy than I was expecting for a dunk high SB in the modern age.
At the end of the day, I got these because I thought they looked good, and I kind of expected the fit to have to grow on me over the course of a few wears. Again, these surprised me with an unusually comfy fit right out the box.
Final Thoughts
Just like many other dunks, these look terrific. The colorway here is so nice in hand and I’m always a fan of a black and yellow shoe. As the SB dunk was the first shoe I ever bought to wear and collect, I’m always looking out for SBs and other dunks to add to the collection.
I wish it were easier to get shoes like these, but good pairs get slept on luckily and so you don’t need to break the bank for these. For me, a good colorway at a price I’m ok with is about all I need to expand the collection another pair. For me, these were worth it to add to the stacks.
I do like the materials they used on these, and this proves Nike can give us nice suede on a general release when they want to. If only soft materials were the norm for the brand.
I expected these to be a bit on the uncomfortable side at first as I was trying to save a few bucks on the size choice. That said, the materials and fit on these seem more forgiving than recent pairs I’ve picked up. While I won’t be going on long walks with these, they are way more tolerable as far as fit goes, at least for my foot shape.
At the end of the day, even if I’m only wearing these a couple hours to break them in, they are gonna look great on feet!
Where To Buy the Nike SB Dunk High Reverse Goldenrod
You can find them on eBay
Colorway: Black / Black – Varsity Maize
Style Code: DB1640 001
Year of Release: 2021
MSRP: $120