The Air Jordan 2 ‘H' Wings Is Dedicated To A Jordan Brand Legend. Review, On Feet and Lace Swap!
The 2023 Air Jordan 2 'H' Wings pays tribute to one of the founding figures of Jordan Brand. Howard 'H' White played a huge role in signing stars such as Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Deion Sanders, and of course the GOAT Michael Jordan. Howard White's favorite quote was "Everyone Can Fly" which fits into the Nike's Wing's community impact program perfectly, and this shoe Jordan 2 (his favorite silhouette) contains references to his life.
Colorway (4/5):
The colorway is inspired by Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Virginia, the school Howard White attended (Kecoughtan is a Native American tribe in Hampton), and it’s hard to go wrong with a predominantly white sneaker with hints of dark green. The official green of this shoe is ‘malachite-green’ and you’ll see the heel tab has a glittery look to bring malachite (a copper mineral) to life. Of course the most distinct feature of this shoe is the hand-sketch wings on the mid panel. ‘Wings on a shoe’ sounds like a terrible idea in my head, but I have to say it’s very well done and elegant on this shoe. Howard White’s favorite quote is ‘everyone can fly’ which fits perfectly into the Wings collection of shoes from Jordan Brand.
The heel counter is perhaps my favorite part about this shoe. It comes with this very light shade of translucent green and you can see ‘H’ shine through, a very nice touch and very nice modification. The insole also provides the same type of detail, with a black Jumpman and ‘H’ in quotes.
Material (4/5):
The leather on the shoe is nice, nothing different than a usual Jordan 2. The leather on the tongue of Jordan 2s is usually synthetic so that’s the only source of complaint, however, overall this shoe has good materials. The faux lizard texture is featured here just like most other Jordan 2s. I don’t love this texture but it is a defining aspect of Michael Jordan’s second signature shoe.
One thing to point out is the heel tab on this shoe is actually a solid TPU rather than a softer rubber-like heel tab that you see on other Jordan 2s. This is probably done to allow for the glitter aesthetic, but I do prefer the softer heel tab. Another modification made to this shoe is the padding inside the ankle collar is satin instead of mesh. That gives the shoe a more ‘slippery’ feel but also has a more premium vibe to it.
The Jordan 2 features a polyurethane midsole with a Nike Air unit on the heel with a rubber outsole, and it is one of the best outsoles ever. You can see the influence of the Jordan 1 outsole and the predecessor to the Jordan 3 outsole with the Nike cutout. The Jordan 2s also prints the size of the shoe on the outsole, however, for women’s exclusives they often miss the detail and still print the size in men’s sizing. Lucky for Jordan Brand, this isn’t a women’s exclusive so it leaves me with nothing to complain about.
Size and Comfort (3/5):
I’m a size 9.5 true to size, I do have wide feet and I have yet to find consistent sizing for Jordan 2s that fit me well. This is due to the fact that Jordan 2s can sometimes come stiffer than others out the box, so whether I go true to size or go up half a size it really seems like a guessing game. For this shoe particularly, it feels stiffer than other shoes such as the Jordan 2 OG ‘Chicago’ and Jordan 2 ‘Cool Grey’, but I went true to size and I don’t regret it yet. It usually breaks in after a while with the main source of discomfort coming from the arch where the TPU begins. If I had to give a recommendation to wide footers, I’d say stick true to size as that’s worked more often for me than going up half a size.
Comfort wise the Jordan 2 performs well (when the initial stiffness goes away). The padding is great and the ankles feel well protected, and I’d say one of the more comfortable Jordans from the ‘golden era’.
Versatility (3/5):
Perhaps it’s due to Jordan Brand’s excessive marketing of the Jordan 2 recently, I feel like the versatility of the silhouette is underrated. It is harder to wear than shoes such as Nike Dunks and Jordan 1s, however, there’s an elegance and classiness of the Jordan 2 that is very appealing. The white and green colorway also lends itself to great wearability, especially with a darker shade of green rather than something like the ‘Lucky Green’.
Storytelling (5/5):
The storytelling on this shoe is tremendous. From the ‘H’ on the heel counter to the ‘H’ on the insoles, the wings on the mid panel as well as the lace tips (see below), all the details pays tribute to a legend from Jordan Brand and someone who’s not mentioned enough in sneaker history.
Laces and Box:
This shoe comes with TWO extra sets of laces, one in that malachite green to match the rest of the shoe, and the other in a muslin/sail/off-white color. 90% of the time I opt for the default set of laces, but this time I actually like the muslin laces. It’s so different than the rest of the shoe it really makes the shoe pop (there goes that phrase again) but is still muted and subtle enough that it doesn’t stand out too much. All three sets of laces comes with ‘POWER’ on one lace tip and ‘BELIEF’ on the other. Love it.
The box of the shoe is a standard Wings logo box, no special details or modifications to the box.