I Wore the adidas Samba for a Month in Search of the Perfect Beater
A sneakerhead’s collection is often so chock full of footwear that we can probably go months, if not years, without wearing the same shoe twice. Although many of us tend to gravitate towards a single or handful of pairs weekly – usually shoes we don’t mind running up the miles on – . They’re almost always copped with the sheer intention of becoming daily drivers, worn on trips to the grocery store, for a few drinks, to concerts, or just running general errands.
Everyone has their perfect beater, the one we become emotionally attached to, and is comfortable, durable and easy to style. Although, finding this golden pair is hard, especially nowadays with a gargantuan amount of product clogging the market. A perfect beater can be worn for a month straight with no hassle. They should be long-lasting, comfortable, hard-wearing, look good after a bashing, and be able to get you through your daily tasks and beyond. The perfect beater must be affordable yet have a subtle flex value or icon status.
Looking for the perfect beater? This month, the is the test subject, and one Sneaker Freaker writer has bravely volunteered to wear them every day for a month.
First Impressions
Day one, 11:00 AM: The doorbell rang. It was the postman – the Sambas had arrived, and they went straight on-foot. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and mine of the adidas Samba was… mixed.
Two OG colourways were ordered for this test: ‘black’ and ‘white’. The reason for the dual pickup of the most popular Samba iterations was to get the best picture of how each wears over time. My first thoughts were that I would definitely lean on the black as my main daily driver because it seemed longer-lasting and, thus, more beater-esque. The white just felt delicate. When I first slid into my new creps, they fit like a glass slipper – but it’s important to note that I have narrow feet, so you’ll want to consider foot width when copping your own pair. Despite sliding in seamlessly at first, I noticed they were pretty stiff movement-wise for the first 48 hours. Still, the stiffness gradually subsided over the first few days, allowing the real wear test to begin.
The Wear Test
After the first impressions were out of the way, it was time to give this beater a beating. The initial three days of wear consisted of my usual weekday tasks, and I instantly noticed that the Samba’s ’slip-on-ability’ was incredibly handy. I’m the furthest thing from a morning person, so this little bonus meant I could slip on my sneaks while running out the door without a second thought. Definitely a major score for the Samba in this experiment seeing as beaters should always live by the door, ready to be slipped on at a moment’s notice.
My daily routine wasn’t particularly strenuous for the Samba, and it held up well at work, during social activities, and when going about errands. I’m in sneakers every day, so wearing Sambas in most situations didn’t feel too weird – except at the gym. I don’t have a degree in podiatry or know much about shoe support, but I don’t think these sneakers were built for actual athletic work… at least not compared to these modern times of ultra-teched-out performance runners. In terms of doing free weights and machine workouts, the Sambas weren’t actually that bad. But when I hit the treadmill for some cardio, I felt slightly uneasy – probably because of the thin soles.
Both pairs have had a good bashing over the past month, but I didn’t worry too much about absolutely annihilating them because of their affordability. Although, after said annihilation, the black looked far better than the white did for obvious reasons. Throughout my thirty-day test, I mostly opted for the black pair because, in my eyes, it was more of a beater. In fact, I only reached for the white when the black didn’t go with the day’s outfit, and coincidentally, this is when I started to ponder a fairly significant issue with the Samba’s overall aesthetic. See, the black colourway doesn’t match everything, but I found that the white does. Although the former feels much more durable and looks better after a good bashing, the latter exudes a delicate vibe and can quickly take on a more dishevelled look.
Heavy Duty Wear
This part of my wear test journey fell into one whole weekend, and I’ve dubbed it ‘heavy duty’ because I put the Sambas through the wringer! The weekend began, and I was heading out with the boys for Friday night dinner, a few drinks and then to the movies. At that point, I had only been wearing Sambas for one week, so many of the homies hadn’t seen me in them and didn’t know about my experiment. I rocked up to dinner, caught a few side-eyes, and pointed questions (Understandable, as Sambas are quite the departure from what’s usually on my feet). Luckily, despite my friends’ apprehension about my footwear choice that evening – and my slightly upset response – the night continued with no Samba drama.
Then came Saturday. I was helping out at my friend’s cafe and making coffee for six hours straight, so I wore the more hard-wearing black pair. Following the shift, I inspected my Sambas thoroughly, and despite having coffee grounds and milk spilt all over them, they looked cleaner than my usual cafe-friendly shoes (although the suede toe box picked up plenty of ground coffee). Saturday night was another dinner and drinks, and Sunday was packed to the brim with some run-of-the-mill errands. After a chock-a-block weekend, the Sambas held up well. They were slightly uncomfortable during the six hours I was helping at the cafe, but other than that, I had no major complaints.
Final Thoughts
By the end of the 30-day test, I found myself quite fond of the Sambas (in my daily journal, I described it as being ‘Samba-pilled’). As I said in the intro, we tend to get emotionally attached to our daily driver sneakers, so it was a good sign that my beater test was positive. But now, it’s time to put my emotions on hold – results time, baby!
The biggest trait sneakerheads look for in a beater is comfort level, and the Samba did a lot better than initially expected. My feet were cushioned throughout most of my daily activities, but I wouldn’t recommend wearing them for hours on end if you’re on your feet most of the day. When it comes to the gym or physical activity, the Sambas shouldn’t be your go-to – they are a lifestyle shoe, after all. Fortunately, that fact means that it’s a shoe with an impressive ability to be styled with most ’fits, which adds major points. The black colourway didn’t style as well as the white, but it did look better after a good bashing. Considering these points, the Samba you choose will come down to personal preference: Would you prefer an easy-to-style option that picks up wear fast? Or a somewhat easy-to-style pair that’ll still look good after being worn into oblivion?
Despite a couple of hurdles leading to some brief discomfort during my month-long journey, adidas’ ever-popular Samba got me through my daily tasks and beyond. Ultimately, Sambas aren’t valuable enough to worry about wear and tear, making them an almost-perfect all-rounder for daily use.
Looking for your own pair of adidas Sambas? Keep it locked to for restock announcements.