The Converse Blog's Not So Weapon Wednesday. Megan Whitmarsh Pro Leather.

I know what you're thinking, it's Weapon Wednesday, where are the Weapons? Well once I found some pictures of these Project (Red) Pro Leathers I had to get them on the blog. This shoe happens to be number 14 of the 1Hund(RED) artist series. Megan Whitmarsh from Los Angeles designed these. You can learn more about these at Converse.com. All of these pics come from TaoBao.com. Enjoy these simple yet compelling Pro Leathers, nothing like a change of pace for the middle of the week.

When these drop they will be in limited numbers, so be on the look out. Thanks for coming to the Converse blog, enjoy the rest of your Wednesdays.

The Converse Blog: Converse in the NBA Playoffs and REM eyewear.

Through the first week of the NBA Playoffs there have been some amazing upset wins and some boring blowouts. However, today I am going to focus on Converse in the NBA Playoffs. Two of the Converse Players with the best PE edition sneakers this season have been the two rookies that Converse signed. Acie Law from Atlanta and Alando Tucker from Phoenix. Acie is the only one of the two that has logged minutes in the playoffs. Below he is seen wearing a PE edition of the Converse 099.

No Converse player has had a bigger impact on his team this year than Andre Miller, who is without question the MVP of the 76ers. For most of the season Andre has been wearing the Converse Game Time seen in two colorways below.



I wasn't exactly thrilled when Maurice Evans got traded from the Lakers to Magic. For one he was going to a team with another Converse player and we wouldn't be seeing any more Laker PE's of the Converse Hops. However, since joining the Magic, Maurice has earned the starting SG position which would have been hard with the Lakers. Here he is wearing the Converse Hops.

I was thrilled when Kyle Korver got traded to the Jazz. There would be another team in the NBA with a Converse player and they would be some interesting PE's to match the Jazz jerseys. Korver nor Converse has disappointed since the trade. Korver is wearing PE Converse Hops.


Finally, Jameer Nelson has returned to the Converse 099 after a few weeks of wearing the Converse Hops and even the Wade 3.0 which was nice to see someone wearing them on the NBA courts. Jameer is enjoying a productive first round with the Magic and it looks like they'll be taking the show to the next round of the playoffs soon. He'll be doing it in the 099's with that patent blue toe cap that has been with Jameer for the better part of the season.

Hopefully all of the Converse players will make it into the second round, but only time will tell. The playoffs are sure heating up though and before long it will be so hot we'll need sunglasses to shield our eyes.

Hey, speaking of Sunglasses and other eyewear related topics, did you know that Converse and REM eyewear have had a partnership since 1988? I've had two pairs of Converse glasses and one pair of Converse sunglasses. Well today it was announced that Converse and REM will continue their partnership. Under the new contract, REM will produce Converse eyewear through 2012 and hopefully beyond as well. You can read more it here and view the products here.

Before I go, all of the pictures are from Yahoo sports by way of Getty Images. Thanks for checking out the Converse blog. Please take a second to leave a comment and vote in the poll on your way out. Thanks, enjoy Monday's you only get one a week.

The Converse Blog's Friday Flashback: React Flashback Accelerator 3

Hello all, and welcome to the Converse Blog's Friday Flashback. Today's post is about the Converse React technology. React was used in different years, from the initial React Juice to double stacked React called RAW (React at Work), which actually leaked. This resulted in a more solid React and eventually to React 2 which was not capsulized, think Asics Gel. Below is a little information about the technology.

Converse will introduce its React System in 1992. According to Mr. Bell, React incorporates a "responsive gas-charged fluid" that flows through compartments within the shoe. The system includes an ankle wrap that adjusts to fit an individuals ankle and a heel module to stabilize against shock.

"Technology is the missing link we needed in basketball," Mr. Bell said. "We had great price, great ads, but we were missing technology." From Mickey Bell, executive vice president of Converse in 1992 when this article was written.

Also, In the heel, Converse's REACT technology uses a proprietary visco-elastic compound to disperse the shock of impact. From this article.

Also I was able to find the patent for React, you can view it here.

Today's shoe is the Converse Accelerator 3. The Converse Accelerator 1 made a comeback of sorts during All Star weekend when Bill Laimbeer rocked them during the shooting stars competition, or whatever they're calling it these days. I've never seen pictures of the Accelerator 2, but they must be out there somewhere. Regardless, these come in a cool grey, black, and blue colorway.

In this last picture you can clearly see the React Juice in the heel of the shoe in all of its neon yellow glory.


I am headed home for the weekend, so I am posting this and getting out of here. Thank you for your continued support of the Converse blog, before you go take a second and vote in the poll.

The Converse Blog's Weapon Wednesday: The Goods.

The NBA Playoffs are in full swing. Everyone seems to be salivating for a Lakers vs Celtics Final. If this does end up being the finals match up then I would love to see a full run of what I have pictured below. Larry Bird's Black and White vs Magic's Purple and Gold. I am not going to say much today, I really just wanted to post the pictures and let you enjoy them. They could even run the old commercial again, which I guess they would need permission from Magic and Bird. Either way, it is because of these shoes and who wore them that (nearly) every Wednesday is Weapon Wednesday here at the Converse Blog. Just take a minute to stare at them and let them marinate in your mind.

Converse Pro Leather Skate

A few weeks ago I posted some pics of the Converse Weapon Skate. Today I have some pictures of the Converse Pro Leather Skate. There is a pair up on Converse.com in a Chocolate/Tan colorway. I also found a picture of what looks to be a Black/Tan colorway, they are pictured below. So far we've seen Converse Chuck Taylor Skate, Converse Weapon Skate, and now the Converse Pro Leather Skate. I really like this approach and I look forward to seeing what else Converse has down the like with their skate shoes. I actually bought my first pair of Converse skate shoes recently, the Converse Skate Star 2. Even though I don't skate, they're really quite comfortable. Anyway, here are are the pics of the Pro Leather Skate.






Well that will be it for today, Thank you for coming to the Converse Blog, before you go please vote in the new Poll. Before I go though, I want to talk about Andre Miller. 20 points, 3 rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 steal and logged over 44 minutes of action in the 76ers win over the Pistons in the first game of their series.

The Converse Blog's Friday Flashback: Magic Johnson Triple Double, Energy Wave, a new poll, and quite possibly the longest title to a post yet!

Welcome to another exciting Friday Flashback. As you can see by the ridiculously long title today, this is going to be a packed post. Today's post is kind of exciting because it correlates to the new poll that I've posted. So for the next 5 Fridays I will be featuring shoes that have one of the 5 Converse technologies listed in the poll. Working my way from top to bottom, today I have Energy Wave. What is Energy Wave? Well, it was a synthetic foam used for energy return. Below are some thoughts on the technology.

"According to our mathematical models, Energy Wave has a 17 percent performance advantage over EVA," says Rick Bunch, manager of the Converse company's biomechanics laboratory. He adds, "For a competitive runner, that can be a lot." From the article, "The race to make a 'perfect' shoe starts in the laboratory." On a side note, this article makes mention of a Puma shoe that had a computer chip in it, and then plug it into your computer for and get data from your run, and this was in 1989.


Also I found this piece of information about Energy Wave.
"Converse has developed its own midsole material called the Energy Wave which is 10 per cent lighter than compression-moulded EVA (an advance in itself). Converse claims that its new material gives 50 to 55 per cent energy return compared with 40 to 45 per cent for Gel and EVA and 25 to 30 per cent for Air and polyurethane. The company also claims a longer life for the Energy Wave shoe. After 40 kilometres, its says, EVA has lost 20 per cent of its cushioning compared with 0.5 per cent for Energy Wave. For many runners this durability may prove a better selling point than the energy a shoe promises to return." I found this in the article, " The race for a better running shoe: Some manufacturers claim that their shoes give 'energy return' to help you to run faster. Others say that their rivals are chasing an illusion." Which actually destroys my idea of a long title.




So I didn't exactly pick a great shoe for Energy Wave day, simply because there is no visible Energy Wave in Magic's shoes. This one is on me, I am actually in Lexington today and not on my normal computer. So I didn't have as many pictures as normal and these were the best of any shoe with Energy Wave that I had. With that being said, these are still amazing. And before we get to them, big thanks to Project Sole from ebay for pics.


Yes these are Converse, yes they are under the Magic brand. Long before Dwyane Wade, or even Dennis Rodman had their own Converse shoe and Converse apparel there was Magic. You don't hear much about the Magic line anymore, not since Magic left Converse and fired some shots at the company at the time. Which may or may not have been true. Of course this was way back in the early 90's and when Magic returned in all of his Ref attacking glory he did it wearing a brand called MVP.


I would love to see these re-issued, but I am not sure of the likely hood of Converse and Magic working together again. I haven't heard one way or another, but I always felt like if it were ever going to happen it would be this year during the Converse Century. I still have my fingers crossed.

This last shot is gives proof of the use of Energy Wave, that would be the Energy Wave logo towards the bottom of the heel. These technology was used in the ERX and Conquest lines of basketball shoes as well.


I am not for sure, but I believe these were called the Triple Double, I have the white colorway for myself. Well I truly enjoyed today's Post and I hope you did as well. I can't wait to dive into the other technologies in the coming weeks. Thank you for stopping in and remember the vote in the new poll.

The Converse Blog's Weapon Wednesday

I was searching around the other day on TaoBao and I found a ton of samples for the Pro Leathers that are releasing soon. The seller also had these gems, which you can tell by the last picture are samples. I can't really give words to describe these, you'll just have to look for yourself. What I did notice though, is a logo on the intersection of the Y-Bar. It sort of reminds me of the Mos Def logo that showed up on a pair of Weapons a few years ago, but on closer look it is different. I especially enjoy the design on the heel area because of the use of the geometric shapes that are used.

As I mentioned before these are samples, so I am not sure if we'll see them or not. Thanks for checking out the blog and enjoy your Wednesday!

The Converse Blog: Converse Wade 3.0 Ox

The Wade 1 and the Wade 2.0 both came in a low top ox version. However, with the Wade 3.0 so far we haven't seen an ox version. I found some samples of the Wade 3.0 ox on TaoBao and thought I share them with you today.

Well that will be all for today. I am tossing around a few ideas for a new poll, but I'd love some suggestions from you the readers. Thanks for checking out the blog and enjoy Monday it only happens once a week.