Nike knows what its audience wants. The Air Max 1 86 OG Big Bubble, which debuted to massive fanfare in 2023, returns this spring in three new colourways that honour the silhouette racing heritage while keeping things wearable for everyday rotation.
The "Big Bubble" nickname refers to the enlarged visible Air unit in the midsole, which replicates the original 1986 prototype designed by Tinker Hatfield. The first production run in 1987 used a smaller Air window due to manufacturing limitations. Nearly four decades later, Nike has finally delivered the shoe as Hatfield originally intended it.
The three new colourways are Sport Red, Royal Blue, and Obsidian. Sport Red features a white mesh upper with red suede mudguard overlays and a matching red Air unit. Royal Blue follows the same construction in a colourway that nods to the classic 1987 release. Obsidian goes tonal with dark navy across the upper and a gum rubber outsole that gives it a slightly more premium feel.
"The Big Bubble Air Max 1 is the shoe Tinker always wanted to make. We are just catching up to his vision." - Nike VP of Footwear Design
Construction stays true to the OG spec. The upper uses a combination of nylon mesh and premium suede. The midsole is polyurethane rather than the lighter Phylon found on modern Air Max models, which gives the shoe a denser, more substantial feel underfoot. The outsole pattern matches the original 1987 waffle design.
Each colourway retails at 160 dollars and releases on March 15 via SNKRS, Nike.com, and select retailers including size?, Footpatrol, and Kith. Given the sell-out history of previous Big Bubble releases, early registration on SNKRS is strongly recommended.
For Air Max purists, this is essential. For everyone else, it is a genuinely good-looking sneaker with serious historical weight behind it.