Originally posted on Housakicks
The Jams were available as early as June and some people jumped on the early pairs; I think people know that the early releases are illegitimate, but somehow they convince themselves that they are authentic. I picked up an authentic pair at Footlocker this past Saturday, after winning my very first raffle. So you know what was coming next: the Real Vs Fake Air Jordan 11 Space Jam #45 comparison. I gathered up a handful of pictures and did a side by side to check for nuances, check the details in the comparison below.
Outsole: you can clearly see that the real pair’s outsole has a blue tint while the fake one has more of a purple tint ( see oval circles). On the other hand, the jumpman on the heel of the real pair looks purple, while the fake jumpman appears blue.
Patent leather cut: from my observation, the patent leather on the heel is cut lower on the authentic pair; also check the tint on the outsole ( purple on fake and blue on real).
Shape of the #45: the #45 seems leaning forward on the fake pair ( it isn’t properly aligned)
Peaks on the outsole: look closely at the peaks on the outsole, they are sharper on the authentic pair and more curvy on the fakes.
I purposely added an extra set of the back pictures ( in this second picture, the fakes have a lower patent leather cut, clearly noticeable). They are also bulky and do not have the bottle shape like the authentic pair.
The authentic pair has the infamous upside down “widow’s peak” while the fake pair has none- I guess Jordan Brand wanted the shoes to keep the OG look hence the widow’s peak.
Toe Box: the authentic pair again has a blue tint; moreover the patent leather cut on the toe box isn’t as deep as the cut on the fake pair.
Herringbone pattern: The threads have sharper angles and are deeper on the authentic pair compared to the shallow and curvy threads on the fakes.
Notice how the fake box is kind of ashy( doesn’t look black but rather light and fading into grey), compared to the authentic box . Moreover the writing and numbers on the label of the authentic pair are thinner than the ones on the fakes.
The authentic pair has the “QC” ( quality control sticker); it doesn’t mean that all authentic pairs will have that, but I just wanted to mention it. Also the color shade is totally different between both boxes ( darker on the authentic and very light on the fakes).
This is not an exhaustive comparison, and I guarantee you that the pirate factories will probably fix the shoes, and produce better fakes. So use sound judgment and only buy from trusted sellers.
Here is a list of Trusted Sellers You can buy from