I Just Bought The Nike Killshot 2 in Black with the Gum Sole—Here Are My First Impressions

So the other day, I purchased the Nike Killshot 2 in the black leather colorway with black suede accents, gum sole, and white Swoosh.

I’ve owned other Killshots in the past and most follow the same color pattern: White leather, grey suede accents, gum sole, and a different color swoosh: navy, red, green, white, etc.

I’ve been in the market for a black sneaker I can wear every day with casual outfits and when I saw this, I knew I wanted to get them.

So here are the pros and cons based on my initial impressions of the shoe.

Some Pros

Unique colorway

I’ve seen variations of the white Killshot 2s for years, and with good reason. They’re a classically styled sneaker that pairs up perfectly with casualwear that leans a bit on the “basic” or standard side. Think jeans, T-shirts, button-up OCBDs, crewneck sweaters, etc. It looks great! Can’t knock that.

But I wanted something that’s similar, just slightly different. When the black colorway came out, for me, this fit the bill.

The Gum Sole

I’m glad they kept the gum sole with this black leather / suede colorway. The mixing of the black and brown tones is what sealed the deal for me.

It gave me Adidas Samba vibes, and I’ve always liked the way the white 3 stripes looked on the black suede with the gum sole, but I could never get into Adidas. Like, literally could not get into them. Adidas sneakers are way too narrow for my foot and very uncomfortable.

It’s Nike

A brand I know and love that puts out sneakers for every possible life and sport situation and just so happens to release a new style in their classic tennis silhouette, what’s not to love.

The Price

At $90, that’s a decent price for a classic sneaker that still feels very of-the-moment and current, in terms of cool factor… and that you can wear for years.

The Killshot, similar to the Samba, is one of those models that may wax and wane in popularity over the years, but they’re never out of style or completely unwearable.

I’m sure in the future, there will be specials and markdowns on this particular model. I’ve seen sales on other Killshot 2 models in the past, and you could probably find them on Amazon, Zappos, etc.

I don’t think that’s the case yet for this new model, but I wouldn’t be surprised seeing them on discount in the future.

So if you can wait for some future sale, sure, go for it. But for $90 to wear it now (assuming you’re like me and wanted a black sneaker in your casual shoe rotation), I’d say go for it.

Some Cons

Longevity

Naysayers might say that they won’t last as long as a “premium leather” sneaker that’s resoleable blah blah blah. Maybe that’s true, but maybe it doesn’t matter.

I’m pretty sure these will last a long time. Even longer if you take care of them. I’ve seen some beat up Killshots on the streets of NYC, and they still look good to me.

But if you’re still worried about it lasting forever, then just learn how to take better care of your shoes—for starters, brush them with a horsehair brush once in a while, wipe them down with a clean cloth, use sneaker cleaner, put shoe trees in them—and they’ll last long enough.

And really, who resoles a leather sneaker? I’d love to hear your story. I own many premium leather sneakers and to be honest, I’d get rid of them and buy a new pair sooner than I would get them resoled or refinished. (Different story if it were a high end pair of dress shoes)

They’re slightly narrow

I’d say these feel a bit narrow to me. I don’t have a very wide foot, but it’s wider than normal, and I also have somewhat flat feet.

I feel the narrowness on my left foot, from the ball of my foot all the way to the other side… which makes sense, since that’s typically the widest part of your foot.

I walked for several hours in them today. The shoes felt more comfortable the longer I walked, so either I was just getting used to them or they were starting to break in. I think in general, this silhouette is pretty forgiving, especially compared to other sneakers and loafers I’ve worn in the past.

So all this to say, if you have a VERY wide foot, you may need to either size up, or try a different Nike model.

Nike Killshot Outfits?

Unsurprisingly, this is a really easy shoe to wear with any casual-leaning outfit. Not only this colorway, but the white / grey colorways as well.

Here’s a simple cozy black and white outfit I put together with these black Nike Killshots:

Updates after a few more weeks and months of wear

So as I mentioned above, these Killshot 2s are still new to me. If I realize there are other things worth mentioning, I’ll be sure to update this article!

As of now:

• For style, they’re a 9 out of 10 (is anything truly a 10 out of 10?)
• For comfort, I’d say 7.5 out of 10 (for now, on first wear)

I’m curious to see how the comfort score changes the longer I wear them. I’ll let you know here!