Leave a scrap!
chaitanya bhargavaFirst of its type n sporty too
mak290
gimme this instead of ferrari..
mak290
informative..and brave..very brave
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By sneakerologist
Published: March 24, 2008
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EmailThe very short life of Premier Bislett...
I must be nuts. Here I am, cutting a perfectly fine pair of running shoes after having just run five kilometers in them. And why would I do that? I'll come to that in a moment...
In the world of performance footwear, the pecking order is very clear. Brands like Adidas, Nike and Asics dominate with an arsenal of cutting edge technologies at their disposal. As for Reebok, they started off with a bang a few decades ago with innovations like the Pump and Hexalite which kept them pretty much level with Nike and Adidas till the early 90's. But they somehow seemed to have lost steam after that, though they had occasional flashes of inspiration with new technologies like the 3D Ultralite and DMX in the late 90's. Personally, I have always felt that Reebok has seldom been successful in sustaining the technologies they launch. For example, the 3D Ultralite, a technology which involved a single piece construction of the midsole and outsole, was initially introduced by Reebok and then was later adopted by the Nikes' of the world, the example of which is the Nike Free. But Reebok only made half hearted attempts to promote the Ultralite in the first few years of its launch, so it only ended up being a mediocre success and never reached its full potential. Same with DMX. The original DMX was an outsole cushioning system which involved an assembly of interconnected sealed chambers filled with air, but today the word DMX means anything from a foam insert to big transparent bloated chambers of air. If you ask me, this is reverse evolution at its best. They started with foam, evolved to high tech DMX chambers and then went back to foam. Sheesh...
3D effects: Reebok was one of the first in the industry to introduce the one piece foam midsole-outsole construction. The 3D Ultralite Opus shoe you see in this picture is from a 1998 Runner's World advertisement and is probably one of worst lookers I have ever seen, but I guess you gotta start somewhere...
DMX 6: The shoe picture on the left (with the yellow pod outsole) is one of Reebok's first DMX shoes with the 'moving air' technology. Now the word DMX is printed on pieces of foam, which, in my opinion is pretty retrogressive. As far as I know, the first DMX shoe was launched in 1997. While you're at it, see the shoe on the right called the Electrolyte -it was based on the 3D Ultralite sole unit.
But in the recent years, Reebok has started making efforts to regain some of the lost ground. First, they forged a partnership with NFL which gave them some visibility where there was none and secondly, they started making fresh forays into the core running business with their 'Premier' series of running shoes. Initial success came quickly to Reebok, and magazines like the Runner's World feted some of their shoes with the 'Editors Choice' award and the like. I suspect a heavy advertising deal to have played some role in that judgment, but whatever the reason, one doesn't argue with the types of Runner's World when it comes to shoe ratings.
Having said that, the Premier series is considered the best when it comes to running shoes in Reebok, and I do hope that Reebok manages to sustain it for sometime and not give up on them like they did on the DMX.
The Reebok Premier Bislett: The shoe takes its name from Bislett, the annual track and field event which is held in Oslo, Norway.
Cut to present day. I am browsing around in the neighborhood Reebok store, trying to find shoes for my reviews. It is hard. The stores have just finished with their discount sales, so there's very little fresh merchandise available. As far as I could see, there were only three new styles in the store - the Smoothfit Hexride , the Hexride Rally and the Premier Bislett. After trying all three shoes in the store, I decide to buy the Hexride Smoothfit and Bislett and do my 5k thing on them.
At first glance, the Premier Bislett looks like an average running shoe: standard mesh and synthetic leather construction, with some welding and reflective bits thrown in. It's not bad looking either; the silver stripes on the white midsole blend in nicely with the silver overlays on the upper. The silver reflective material peeps out from beneath the toe area perforations, and thin strips on the heel come in handy when reflecting light when you're running in the dark.
The forefoot area is quite roomy, which is ideal for Indian feet. I have seen a lot of runners with wide feet and the fit of the Bislett should comfortably accommodate different foot widths. The open mesh used on the upper makes the shoe airy, but without making the shoe flimsy.
Just for peeps: There's a small U-shaped reflector right on top of the toe, and reflector story continues beneath the perforated blue material.
Curvaceous: The molded heel part keeps your foot from slipping out, and four strips of reflectors add some lighting effects.
Play safe, Play Dry: The collar lining fits very well and also is treated with Reebok's moisture managing PlayDry technology for wicking away sweat faster.
But as I go through my five kilometers of pounding in the Bislett, one thing's very clear: this is a very well cushioned shoe. Good cushioning is not only about how soft it should be, but it is also about the way it helps transition your foot from the time it lands on the heel to the time it takes off. In the Bislett, I found the heel compression of the DMX foam insert quite welcome, and the forefoot DMX foam helped propel my foot during take off. If there was one word to describe the whole feeling, it would be consistent.
Yesterday once more: The Bislett reminds me of the 3D Ultralite Areeba and Electrolyte which Reebok introduced ten years ago - see pictures from the magazine a few paragraphs earlier. Hard rubber is used on limited high wear areas, which means lightweight cushioning comes at the cost of durability.
Peek-a-boo: The DMX foam is visible in the outsole in the heel area - the blue tear drop shaped portion in center of the heel is a part of the DMX foam insert. If you look at the picture above this, you would notice the DMX foam in the forefoot area.
One thing kept gnawing at me though: since the Bislett's cushioned ride during my 5K run was very consistent, I was unable to judge whether the DMX foam inserts were only in the heel and forefoot area, or whether it ran through the entire length of the outsole. I saw the blue color beneath the transparent TPU shank in the midfoot so I guessed that the DMX foam ran the whole way through, but yet I had this little iota of doubt which said it did not. And I knew that there was only one way to find out...
Ready or not, here I come: I win! The DMX foam cushioning units are only in the heel and the forefoot, while the regular injection molded EVA fills in the midfoot area. The blue area I saw beneath the transparent TPU shank was nothing more than paint.
I better get used to cutting brand new shoes - you might as well be cutting a wad of brand new banknotes for all practical purposes. And what's worse, there's at least one more Reebok shoe which goes under the knife this week. But sometimes cutting the shoe into half is the only way which will tell you what's really inside, and this is what Solereview is all about.
All in all, the Premier Bislett is a shoe which does its job well. The only possible downside is that the outsole might wear off pretty soon in areas which are not covered by rubber, since the rest of the outsole is nothing but the midsole foam. I noticed signs of wear and tear in the white areas of the outsole after just having run 5k in them, so that's not a good sign if you are running long distances and can't afford to change your shoes every few weeks.
The Lowdown:
Shoe name: Premier Bislett
Color reviewed: White/Navy/Red/Silver/Black
Retail price (India): INR 5690
Estimated US retail: $85
Available at: Majority of Reebok stores and select multibrand stores.
Weight: 352 grams for a half pair of size UK 10 / US 11
Recommended for: Runners with neutral to high arch looking for a shoe which they need for short runs or recovery days.
Not recommended for: Runners with flat/low arch.
Verdict: A decent running shoe with consistent cushioning, but the average material quality and possible compromise on outsole durability does not make the Bislett great value for money.
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