Nike Offline

Nike Offline Release Info and Guide

Nike brand is world famous for its basketball sneakers designed for performance, athletics, and impact. However, that’s not all Nike is good at. The Nike Offline silhouette aims to provide different benefits for different lifestyles and activities. The name ‘Offline’ comes from the idea of unplugging from the world, whether that’s putting down your cellphone, closing your tabs of schoolwork, or shutting off your computer at work and finally getting to relax and benefit your mental health. It’s an ‘anti-sneaker’ that has the sole purpose of comfort. There are two collections, the Offline and Offline 2.0, both designed as comfortable loungewear types of shoes with extra cushioning and sensory drop-in midsoles that you can change whenever you like. In this article, you’ll read a brief backstory on Nike, Nike Offline, and Offline 2.0 features, the difference between the two, sizing, release dates, colorways, pricing, and where to buy.

History of Nike

Nike started off as Blue Ribbon Sports, founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, coach at the University of Oregon. Phil Knight was an athlete, and Bowerman designed the first pair of shoes for him (although some sources say that it was designed for a different student initially). The company originally started as a footwear distributor for the Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger. They sold shoes out of their cars at games, which ended up becoming huge hits. 

Soon, they realized they had the potential to create their own company. Bill Bowerman took notice of his waffle iron at breakfast and thought that its grooves would help provide support and stamina on the sole of a running shoe. After pouring melted urethane into the waffle iron, he created a prototype for what would be known as the ‘Waffle Racer’. They soon created Nike, named after the Greek Goddess of victory. However, they soon faced a lawsuit from Tiger, which resulted in a breakup. Tiger sued them for reportedly selling the Tiger Cortez shoe under the name ‘Nike Cortez’. 

This shot Nike up as a brand. Over the years, they grew more and more popular among athletes, and they opened their first retail store in Santa Monica, California in 1966. Nike has also helped and acquired many brands. They had a short lived partnership with Yeezy before West joined forces with Adidas. They bought Converse for over 300 million dollars, as well as Hurley International and Umbro (which they later sold). They also joined together with Michael Jordan to create Jordan Brand, which is the Air Jordan shoe company, and became the official supplier for both NBA and NFL apparel. 

Recently, Nike has shifted their focus to inclusivity and diversity within their shoe designs. They created what is known as the ‘Move to Zero’ initiative, where they hope to move to zero waste and zero carbon, and created the Space Hippie and Cosmic Unity silhouettes. These shoes are made with recycled materials like production scraps, t-shirts, and bottles, and feature all sorts of space-like colorways and patterns, while still being designed for basketball. Nike is also offering many new colorways designed by women and for women, and available in women’s sizes. 

Nike Offline Features

The Nike Offline took inspiration from the… pandemic. You might not associate anything positive with that word, so how could Nike create a shoe inspired by the coronavirus? The pandemic resulted in many American families spending more time at home than ever and being rather immobile. If this is true, why would people be buying athletic sneakers? Nike took notice of this and designed the offline as a shoe that prioritized comfort. The company calls it an ‘anti-sneaker’. 

The shoe comes with two interchangeable drop-in midsoles that contain strategically placed nubs at certain pressure points to relieve stress and create what is described as a ‘massage-like’ feel. The tongue has an exposed foam thick padding. As many of us have shifted from going to the office to working from home, these slipper-like shoes are the most comfortable you can get for the job– just don’t let your boss see! The shoes released August 28th, 2020 on the Nike site for $120. 

Nike Offline Vs. Nike Offline 2.0

The Nike Offline released in 2020, and barely a year later came the release of the Nike Offline 2.0 after the original shoe blew up in popularity. The 2.0 is a slightly different shoe designed to be more versatile– it has a dual design that provides both comfort but also grip and functionality so you can wear them out and about. 

The 2.0 has a more jagged outsole for better grip. Probably the most noticeable difference between the two is that the 2.0 is a slide, not a mule like the original. The toes are open on the 2.0 and the midsole is more complex, also with cork under the heel of the midsole. The toe strap uses mesh and suede with a bungee cord closure for comfortable prolonged wear time and an adjustable cushioned strap. It arrives with a set of removable insoles, one flat and one ribbed. If you want a pair of slides that are designed to wear outdoors and indoors, check out the 2.0. If you want closed-toe shoes that are smooth and made with extra padding designed for indoor only, consider the original Offline. Below are some popular colorways in both silhouettes.

Nike Offline 2.0 Velvet Brown/Noble Green

This nature themed slide features a black, brown, and forest green color scheme. The midsole is cream colored, along with cork and rubber pieces, and the mesh and suede upper is a deep brown and black. The bungee cord laces and Nike Swoosh are forest green and it features a wooden brown colored micro bead insole. This shoe released March 18 for $130, and is made to be worn as a slip on.

Nike Offline Anthracite/Electro Orange

This mule is part of the original Offline silhouette and boasts a mainly all black colorway with some scarlet and brown accents. The midfoot strap, heel tab, and Nike logos are all a bright orange, and the synthetic shroud and mesh base are Anthracite. The outsoles are a gum brown while the midsoles match the jet black of the upper. The insoles are bright bubblegum pink and are removable so you can adjust the fit according to your liking. These are closed toe shoes and released in October of 2020.

Nike Offline Light Smoke Grey

If pajama sets came with footwear, you’d probably see lots of shoes resembling the Nike Offline Light Smoke Grey. It has a pillowy textured upper with washed out blue, purple, and pink tints, plus light toned laces (that don’t need to be tied), a heel tab and mudguards, and grey on the tongue and inside the collar of the shoe. The outsoles are beige, and there’s a mesh patterned Nike ‘Swoosh’ along the upper. It resembles the Nike Offline ‘Ocean Cube’ as they have the same pillow texture on the upper as well as the same blue/purple/pink tint, but they have different colored midsoles (the Ocean Cube is blue). The Light Smoke Grey released Friday April 29th of 2022 for $120 in men’s sizes.

Nike Offline Pack Enamel Green 

The Enamel Green is part of the original Offline silhouette and released December 22, 2021, for a retail price of $120. It has a quilted nylon upper with bungee laces, all the same light sea foam green color, that matches exactly with the minty colored midsole and outsole. The mesh patterned Nike Swoosh is a very light grey that blends in with the mint green shoe. If you are a fan of pastels and solid colored shoes, or you just like green in general, the Pack Enamel Green is definitely going to be the Nike Offline you’ll want to look at.

Nike Offline Pack Cool Grey

So the Offline Pack Enamel Green was a sea foam/minty green all over. It’s perfect for those who love solid colors and pastels. If you want a solid colored shoe but you’re not the type to go for bright and colorful, you might end up purchasing the Cool Grey. Similar to the Enamel Green, it has a quilted nylon upper and matching midsole and outsole, along with matching rounded laces, all colored a neutral medium grey. The puffy quilted design on the upper was inspired by puffy jackets and the comfort that they can provide. The foam insole is bright green. This slide in mule was released March 8th, 2022.

Nike Offline 2.0 Black 

We can’t have a complete silhouette without the all-black shoe! The bungee laces, cushioned insole, mesh and suede upper, heel tabs and rubber toe caps are all jet black– even the Nike ‘Swoosh’. The only spot without black on this shoe is the cork and rubber midsole which is its own natural brown, and the white spots on the woven black laces and a bit of white on the top of the tongue and ‘It’s Ok To Take A Break’ branding on the insole. It’s a luxurious looking slide perfect for indoor lounging, resting, and working as well as some outdoor use due to its jagged outsole and padding. This monotone slip on was released May 20th, 2021.

Nike Offline Sizing

It’s a non-traditional Nike shoe; the original is a mule and the 2.0 is a slide. If you’ve never purchased these types of shoes from Nike, you’ll want to make sure that you get the sizing right before you take any guesses. The original Offline Pack silhouette runs slightly large. To get a comfortable true to size fit, order a half size down. If you’re ok with a little extra space in your shoes for wiggle room, ordering your normal size should be ok. The Offline 2.0 Mule shoes do have a true to size fit so order your normal size for the slides. 

Pricing and Where to Buy

The original Nike Offline sneakers were sold at a retail price of $120, and the newer Nike 2.0 slides were sold at $130, also from the Nike official site. Now, it might be too late to get the pair you wanted directly from the site or at a retail store due to limited supply. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get your own brand new Offline’s. Check out StockX, GOAT, Flight Club, and Stadium Goods, which are trusted sneaker marketplaces and selected retailers that verify their shoes so that you can get a pair at a good price and condition, that’s also real. 

StockX is a Detroit based online apparel and sneaker marketplace that was founded in 2016. It’s the world’s first ‘stock market for things’, meaning the marketplace is live and sellers and buyers communicate through bids, offers, and historical sale data. You can only purchase and sell brand new shoes on StockX and shoes are authenticated before they are shipped to you. The company has authentication facilities all over the globe where they are checked with machine learning and marked with a green StockX tag to show that they are real. You can find the Nike Offline 2.0 ‘Velvet Brown/Noble Green’ for an average sale price of $116, but the price depends on the size and your offer.

GOAT is a second, equally good option for purchasing sneakers. The brand was started by a friend group in Los Angeles who were upset after they received a pair of fake Air Jordans. They didn’t want that to happen to anyone else, and wanted there to be a safe option to purchase genuine sneakers online. GOAT is very versatile, and offers sneakers in many conditions– new, used, new with defects (missing lid, damaged box etc.) and instant new (shipped directly to you and pre-verified, brand new in box). You can find a pair of brand new Offline 2.0 Black sneakers for about $115 on GOAT, and used prices are even lower. All GOAT shoes are authenticated before shipping, and the company is on your side in case you need to make a return as long as the shoes are in the same condition they arrived in.

Flight Club is tried and true, and even has retail stores in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City. Note that prices on Flight Club tend to be more expensive than at others and they carry both new and used sneakers, but used versions are typically out of stock. There are no returns, and orders are final sales and can only be canceled within three hours of placement. However, you’ll get lucky sometimes and find cheaper prices on FC than on other marketplaces, and FC is not known for any sort of fake sneaker scandals that have shut down many other newer platforms, so you’re safe with them. For the Offline Pack Light Smoke Grey, you can expect to pay about 150 dollars for a pair on Flight Club. 

Summary

Nike began as Blue Ribbon Sports all the way back in 1964. From the original Waffle Racer to the Air Force 1, Nike has always stayed at the top of the sneaker industry and even helped push off many other brands like Yeezy and Jordan Brand. As the covid 19 pandemic struck the globe, Nike noticed that sneaker sales dropped and comfier shoes were selling more. This was due to many people staying home and working from home, so they didn’t need shoes designed for rough play or outdoor wear. This led to the creation of the Nike Offline, as well as the Nike Offline 2.0, a silhouette of slip-ons and slides respectively that prioritize comfort. They have extra padding and a comfier sole with removable inserts that provide a massage-like feel, and they have soft uppers and bungee laces that do not need to be tied. They’re the ultimate lazy shoes. Slide them on hands free and sit back and relax!

The main difference between the 2.0 and the original is the look. The 2.0 is a slide with an open toe while the original is closed toe. The original has a more slipper-like design and is strictly designed for comfortable indoor wear. The 2.0 is geared towards both indoor and outdoor wear, and features cork and rubber. The original silhouette released in 2020 for a retail price of $120, and the 2.0 released barely a year later for ten dollars more. They’re available now on StockX, GOAT, and Flight Club, as well as other online platforms like Amazon and eBay (but be careful with those– you don’t want to receive a fake). Overall, the Nike Offline proves that Nike can do more than just basketball shoes and that they’re ready to create a shoe for any situation, no matter how unprecedented.