Adidas Samba trainers: How to spot a counterfeit?

Since 1949, Adidas, known as a sports brand, has branched out into ready-to-wear, working with a large number of celebrities and brands. Adidas expanded internationally. Its many collections of trainers remain timeless and are sold all over the world. In particular, the brand has created a whole collection of "Samba trainers", which have proved very popular. The success of this pair of trainers has attracted counterfeiters, who have been quick to create replicas of these shoes with the sole aim of making a profit. But there are ways to spot the real Samba trainers from the fakes, because genuine Adidas craftsmanship is no match for the robots in the counterfeit factories. In this article, we'll give you some tips on how to identify a fake pair of Adidas Samba trainers.

The logo

First of all, analyse the logo on your Samba pair. The logo should not be painted or simply written on the sole. Also, on most imitation Adidas Samba sneakers, the text and logo are very poorly reproduced. The letters are too far apart or not anchored enough in the trainer.

The "Samba" text

The best way to spot a counterfeit is to check the 'Samba' inscription on the side, above the three stripes. Replica factories tend to neglect this notice considerably, and it is written in very poor quality. It can also fade quickly due to poor design.

Laces

There's also a real difference in the thickness of the laces. On authentic Samba trainers, the laces are quite thick, whereas on the Adidas replicas, they are quite thin.

The tab on the front

You can inspect the tongue on the front of the shoe, which has the brand's logo in white on a blue dial. Fake Samba shoes feature the Adidas logo and name in a different thickness to the original. You can spot a difference in the inscription on the fake Samba, as the text appears to be simply written or glued on, whereas on the authentic Samba it appears to be inscribed more deeply, as if it were engraved on the outer tongue.

The sole

Pay particular attention to the outsole of your pair of Samba trainers. The difference in the quality of the sole and the colour is clearly visible to the naked eye, between a real pair and a fake. The original sole is of very good quality, brown in colour and the underside is made of small circles with small triangles. Here's a look at the sole on an authentic pair.

Because of the difference in materials used, counterfeit insoles look "cheap" and are of very low quality.

The logo is perfectly engraved into the sole, with the letters of the brand in relief and framed by a rectangle. On counterfeits, the logo is not as deep and the letters are much thicker.

Curious to find out more about counterfeit trainers? Read our articles on the New Balance 550 and Yeezy 450.

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