Supra Blackout Factor Black Ops 4 Shoe Review — Weightless

Supra, an American apparel company, has released a limited edition Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 inspired collection, including lots of goodies like a hoodie, jacket, fitted New Era 59 Fifty Cap, and a pair of Blackout Factors, a lightweight training shoe. This collection is aimed towards the Black Ops 4 fan, with the game’s logo printed across each article of clothing. While the fitted cap, hoodie, and jacket are nice, the real star of the show is the pair of Blackout Factor shoes, of which we will be taking a deeper look at and ultimately deciding whether they’re worth purchasing.

The Blackout Factor shoes are quite stylish, with an eye-catching combination of colors, ranging from black to orange. The laces feature an almost neon-looking orange pattern on them, making them stand out against the rest of the shoe. The Black Ops 4 logo can be found subtly at the top of the shoe, adding to the visual appeal because of its bight color.

Inside, a sort of digital camo pattern can be found, this time making more use of that bright orange. It’s nice that this design is found on the inside of the shoe, because otherwise, it might run the risk of being an eyesore if it were on the outside, instead. You can still appreciate the design and not worry about blinding those in your immediate vicinity.

Externally, the bottom portion of the shoe features more of that digital camo design, but uses a gray and black combination, instead, which is easy on the eyes. The main takeaway from the shoe, visually, is that the subtle hints of orange still stand out, but aren’t enough to look obnoxious, a category in which many training shoes fail.

Lightweight Comfort

What good is a shoe if it isn’t comfortable to wear, though? Luckily, the Blackout Factors aren’t just visually appealing, but they’re also some of the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. The lightweight mesh material used for most of the upper portion of the shoe makes it feel almost like not wearing shoes at all. I’m not much of a runner, but I can imagine that running in these would be effective because of their design. I also appreciate how the mesh knit not only makes the shoe lighter, but it makes it easier for your feet to breathe inside of them. Not a whole lot is worse than the feeling of taking a sweaty, stinky foot out of a shoe. With the Blackout Factors, this issue is nonexistent, thankfully.

Now, it is worth mentioning that this mesh design could be a downside in and of itself. This isn’t something that happened to me, but I have seen instances of breaking through the thin mesh material due to heavy use. If you’re someone who runs a lot, you might want to consider this and keep a steady rotation of shoes to avoid damaging them. I could see a situation in which your toe could bust through the thin material, so keep that in mind. Again, this didn’t actually happen to me, so it’s somewhat of a non-issue, but it’s worth considering.

Aside from the lightweight nature of the shoe and how comfortable they are to wear, I would be doing the Blackout Factors a disservice if I didn’t mention how easy they are to slip on. The laces are there mostly for show, as you can easily slip these on without having to bend over or even touch the shoes. I know it may seem like a trivial thing to mention, but I constantly found myself gravitating towards these shoes over any others in my collection, simply because of the accessibility of putting them on. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind tying your shoes, this might not be an important factor for you. But for those of you who sometimes find yourselves fighting with your shoes to get them on, you might want to pick up a pair of the Supra Blackout Factors.

Worth the Price?

One major issue with the Blackout Factors is that they are super limited edition and hard to find; so much so, that they’re completely sold out on Supra’s website, making it tough to justify the scalper prices on eBay or Amazon. Most recently, I saw a posting on eBay with a Buy it Now price of $400.00, and a starting bid price of $175.00. Needless to say, you might struggle to get your hands on these.

Also, this might sound like nitpicking, but I did notice that no matter how well I thought I tied the laces, they would constantly come undone. I ended up having to tuck the laces within the shoe, which is a fine solution, but I did have to get used to the ever so slight discomfort of the shoestrings.

All of that said, this is a fantastic shoe and if you can find them for a reasonable price, I highly recommend grabbing them, especially if you’re the athletic type. The lightweight material makes it feel like you’re walking on clouds, the mesh knit gives your feet some breathing room, and the easy-to-slip-on design is enough to outweigh the minor gripes I have with this shoe. Please don’t pay $400.00 for the Blackout Factors, but if you like Call of Duty and want a comfortable and light shoe, these should be high on your list.

Shoes provided by Supra. For more information on scoring please see our Review Policy here.

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