Overview
The Air Jordan Legacy 312 Low just emerged with some new colorways, just in time to give it another look and review its features. This model is a fairly recent model from the series of hybrid sneakers from the brand that combines elements from the Air Jordan 1, 3 and the Nike Air Alpha Force low, three of the shoes MJ wore in the first few years of his career and some of the most popular from his retro sneakers series. Its name was inspired from the 312 area code in Chicago as well as by the two retros that the shoe takes cues from. In 2018 Jordan brand came up with the high version of this sneaker in a collaboration with Don C, a well known luxury fashion designer from Chicago. A year later the low version was introduced and arguably became more popular than the high one for many sneakerheads.
How They Fit
The pair we came across was the one in black, gray, red and blue that came out in 2023. They came in the traditional black Jordan box with the Jumpman logo on it. As you try them on they feel similar to the Air Jordan 1 low, but a bit heavier. Certainly the fit is about the same, true to size with a bit of room to spare. If you like wearing your shoes snug on your feet you can try going a half size down but generally your usual size will work just fine. If you want to check out a Jordan size chart you can do it here.
Upper
The upper of the Air Jordan Legacy 312 is heavily inspired from the Air Jordan 3 design, the same way the high version had more of a AJ1 influence. The overall silhouette is still a bit high in the back and low in the front which also reminds us of the Nike Air Trainer SC. It features the lockdown strap at the bottom of the lacing system, an element that it was first used at the Nike Air Trainer 1 in 1987. The brand used the elephant print from the cement gray version of the AJ3 on all colorways of this shoe and this pair was no different, The Wings logo for the AJ1 was used on the tongues while the Jumpman logo sits on the heels same as it was for the AJ3. The lockdown of this shoe is quite decent, especially in the front with the strap from the Alpha Force low so you could try to actually play basketball in these. From what we noticed while doing this Air Jordan Legacy 312 they are great as fashion sneakers as you’d expect from such a model. There are plenty of perforations in the toe box area so there is some decent air flow in these. Material quality is excellent, justifying their quite high retail price tag.
Sole Unit
The sole unit of the Air Jordan Legacy 312 is essentially the same as the Air Jordan 3. This means that we have a visible Air Max unit in the heel and an embedded forefoot Air sole and polyurethane foam throughout. This makes it so the shoe is very comfortable, with a fair amount of responsiveness and shock absorption. If you want to take these on the court they still hold up pretty well but as mentioned above you’ll make the most of them off court. They are pretty stable with a decent lockdown feel, making them a viable option for the gym for lifting weights. The outsole is very durable with decent traction, enough for everyday wear.
Bottom Line
To conclude our short Jordan Legacy 312 Low review, this is surely one of the best hybrid sneakers the brand has ever released, being up there in this category with the 6 Rings or the Dub Zero. It’s only been five years since their release and the brand already came up with a bunch of colorways both in high and low versions, making the most of the success of this model. It is a sneaker that any sneakerhead would love to have in their rotation, rivaling many of the sneakers in the main retro line.