How Do the 2015 'Hare' Jordan 7s Compare to the Originals?

by Brendan Dunne

Images by Andy Hur/Yulia Nidbalskaya

Earlier this week, Sole Collector's Air Jordan 7 "Hare" Retrograde breakdown captured some of the bigger differences that set apart the three versions of this classic Air Jordan 7 colorway. That quick video is complemented here by a more thorough examination of the disparities between these pairs. Included in the group are the original 1992 Original Air Jordan 7 "Hare," the 2008 CDP Air Jordan 7 "Hare," and the 2015 Remastered Air Jordan 7 "Hare."

One of the more important aspects, and one of the ones most difficult to recreate, in retro sneakers is the overall shape. Above is the original "Hare" Jordan 7 from 1992. Notice the overall sharp shape and the forward lean of the collar.

Above is the 2008 Air Jordan 7 "Hare" from the Countdown Pack. Toward the midfoot the silhouette has a more raised and puffier shape. Also, the collar is angled to point higher than it does on the original.

Above is the 2015 Air Jordan 7 "Hare," which features a shape that is purported to be as close to the original as possible. Jordan Brand did a good job here giving the shoe that sharper feel, particularly with the collar in its proper orientation. The model still doesn't have quite the same angle to it as the 1992 pair, but the shape is an improvement over 2008's.

The "23" badge on the back of the sneakers differs in height — the 2008 pair has the badge lower, but 2015's pair matches better with the height of the 1992 pair. Also noticeable here is the height disparity for the inner bootie. In the 1992 pair this piece is taller than the others, and the red cushioning really pokes up over the leather collar.

Tags are always going to be different on retro pairs, but this is a cosmetic change that collectors traditionally haven't cared much about. As seen above, the 1992 pair predates the barcode and hails from the made in Taiwan era. Some original pairs of this Air Jordan 7 were made in Korea.

Air Jordan 7s typically have a random assortment of colors and shapes on the tongue, although the 1992 pair has considerably more green. Also of note on the tongues is the height for the "Air Jordan" logo, which ends up lower on the tongue for the 2015 pair. The band that connects the tongue and the perforated piece beneath the laces is also different. 1992's pair has a dull, slightly fuzzy material, where the 2008 and 2015 pairs both have a shinier nylon band.

This shot again shows off the different heights of the red bootie that lines the sneakers. The pull-tab attached to the bootie is also stitched on at different heights, with the 1992 and 2008 pairs lining up closely while the 2015's sits lower on the bootie. Behind this pull-tab, there is a seam on the 2015 that isn't on previous pairs.

As seen above, the 2008 CDP pair of the Air Jordan 7 "Hare" had a particularly shiny midsole, unlike the 1992 and 2015 versions of the shoe.

The Jumpman branding on the 2015 Air Jordan 7 "Hare" matches with the 1992 pair in terms of detail, but is curiously flatter. Both the 1992 and 2008 pairs have Jumpman logos that are thicker and sort of pop out of the shoe. This up-close look at the nubuck shows a slightly more textured piece that the Jumpman logo sits on, although some of the texture there has to do with age. The sharp shape of the 1992 pair really comes through on this detailed shot, where the leather piece in the left of the frame is much more angled. Another small difference across these pairs can be seen in the shape of the curved strip of leather that runs below the nubuck collar pad.

The curved strip of leather also has a different shape to it on the medial side of the shoe. This strip, seen just below the red piece in the above images, is not really uniform across any of the pairs, although this difference is a somewhat minor one.

The original 1992 Air Jordan 7 "Hare" has a Nike Air logo in the heel, but the 2008 pair has the CDP logo. 2015's pair brings it back to the original with Nike Air branding, although this time without the ® symbols.

This original pair of the 1992 Air Jordan 7 "Hare" only has two lace holes at the collar, while later versions have three. But, many 1992 originals came with three lace holes instead of two, so the difference here is understandable.

This detailed shot again displays the sharper shapes found on the 1992 pair. Notice how the leather piece at the collar on the 1992 is a parallelogram, while the 2008 and 2015 pairs have more rounded shapes here.

The padding on the collars of the three "Hare" Jordan 7s differs slightly. The 1992 and 2008 pairs have a piece of padding that runs along the stitching, but the 2015 pair does not. Also, the leather on this inside piece seems to decrease in quality with successive pairs.

The perforations on the neoprene bootie below the laces differ across the three pairs. The 1992 pair's perforations leave lots of space before the toebox, where 2008 and 2015 almost go right to the border. 2008's neoprene bootie is also particularly slim.

One final difference can be found on the laces. The 2008 pair broke from tradition by using shiny metallic aglets, but 2015's laces are just like the original's.

Vintage sneakers provided by Esmin23 and Image NY.