Converse Star Tech

Before the weapon, the Star tech was Converse's flagship basketball shoe brand in the 80s. Dubbed as one of the 4 greatest stars in Basketball alongside Julius Erving, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, it was one of the most anticipated shoes back then. Approximately 18 years later, Converse is bringing back these classics from the 80s. with the 2011 release of the star tech 2011.


The Converse Star Tech TV AD




The Star Tech is for Converse is like what the Air force 1 is for their sister company, Nike. Like the latter, It is one of those shoes which is relegated to both  performance and fashion footwear. And like it's sister company's counterpart shoe, It still has what it takes to take on the full 48 minutes of action of the hardwood game, How does it work out? Read after the Jump. .





The Look:



Pretty much your typical 80's shoe, the Star tech, with its simplistic design has a streamlined, duo tone scheme. It's predominantly green with trimmings of white at the top, the star chevron logo and the sole. The classic Reach for the star logo (popularized by the 84 LA Olympic games campaign) is visible at the back.

It's retro cred is deceiving in person, where the details are still pretty much solid. From the firm stitching and the quality of the leather. Sometimes, even the modern shoes does not incorporate dual stitching.The Leather quality used is even more firm than the recent retro weapon releases.





Like most of the Converse Retro releases, the Star Tech also gives you the option to have multiple laces used in the shoe, in the case of this colorway, you can choose if you want to compliment your home team jersey or your away team jersey.





The Technology

One of the problems when re issuing Basketball shoes is that people would use them more of a fashion statement than an actual real court accessory, Hence, some retro shoes are lacking the capability of an actual performance shoe. Gladly, the people at converse managed to include the then popular "Biomechanic research" features of the shoe.



The Star tech gives the Necessities in having a basketball shoe. From the Perforated Toe box to release some of those heat, Through the cushioned foot bed and padded tongue to cushion the foot's movements





The Shoe weighs 19oz., a little bit on the heavy side, but is compromised by the ankle support that it gives in. This is through its Uni Saddle Design which is one of the first technologies to give full ankle, heel and midfoot support. Flexi bars are also included for  on court versatility.




Performance

After using the star tech into an actual hoops game, here are my observations,

Being a post player, jumping is a must and I'm glad the shock absorption it promised back then is still there. The support especially in the ankles was firm but its firmness made it a little hard into sliding it on my feet. The heat issue is still there because there is only one area with ventilation, but thankfully did not result in blisters.

The traction is one of the strong points of this shoe, especially when hustling for those loose balls and keeping them alive. The sole area is well detailed and the grip is even better than the newer more technologically superior shoes. Its well detailed sole even gets a plus for style points.



Colors

 The re issued kicks comes in 3 colorways. First is with Larry Bird's Celtic colors, the other one is athletic navy and yellow. Probably reminiscent of Marquette's and Michigan's colors. The other is a simple yet clean looking white with some athletic navy accents.




Overall, If you want some kicks to compliment that throwback jersey you're wearing or if you want to own someone on the court, old school style, then the Converse Star tech is for you. It might be retro, but if those guys from the 80s rep it  while dominating in style, then so can you.