The 20 Most Underrated Sneakers of 2012

Amongst the Lunar releases, Inneva, Woven Roshe and other casual runners, Lunar Flow Woven QS seemed to have only a day of buzz and then was quickly forgotten. As far as comfort and quality, these two Quickstrike colorways are top notch but somehow you can still grab them for close to retail if not below.

The New Balance MT580 made a jump from its typical Japanese roots this year and arrived in a number of collabs. Some may have gotten some more attention than the West NYC makeup but this color combination and quality of materials is a competitor to any sneaker this year.

The Internet has a way of stiffling the true beuty of sneakers. Whether its leaked pics, the standard catalog-like images or just plain poor quality pictures, seeing a sneaker in person is sometimes the only way to really experience it. If you've seen the blue hues of the "Eiffel 65" Nike SB Dunk in person, you know exactly what we're talking about.

It's rare that ANY company release "retro inspired" without defacing the heritage of the brand. Reebok Classics took their old school Reverse Jam silhouette, added some current style and some extra comfort to create the Classic Jam, a tasteful take that mixes that mixes past, present and future. The price was on point too.

The 20th Anniversary of the Half Cab was celebrated in many ways with a variety of colorways but SoCal's Primitive killed it with their version. All grey with premium materials, knit detailing and a metal plaque on the side replacing the traditonal label, dope.

One of the greatest tennis sneakers in history and J Crew got the chance to bring back a vintage version built to classic specs. The fact that these didn't sell out makes us hope you all have a really good excuse.

Of all the Sk8 Hi styles that dropped this year, Nice Kicks raised the bar with their version. "The Duel" had plush materials and a fresh colorway and a lot of people will wish they copped these a few years down the road.

Military inspiration is always a welcome choice for most 'heads but the Kozik x Nike SB Dunk for some reason didn't catch on like we'd expect. If you scored these after they got discounted, this could be your come up of the year.

The Ball and Buck x New Balance 574 pack has the workings of a future classic. Camo? Yep. Made in the USA? Yep. Premium materials? Yep. Wait until these show up in your favorite resellers eBay feed a year or two from now. You'll be tempted to pay twice what they're selling for right now. Thank us later.

J Crew has been on point with their New Balance collabs. Both companies seem to have stepped the standards up for these collabs and the "Cork" colorway of the 1400 might be their best one to date. Gum sole and orange accents, these are must-have for spring, grab a pair and thank us when the weather warms up again.

Foot Patrol teamed up with ASICS for the very first time this year. Rather than going the easy routee with the uber-popular ASICS Gel Lyte III, they opted for the Gel Saga. If you were onto these from the get go, you might have lucked out with the 1/100 wooden box but even without, the suede, gum sole, and two-color stripes across the camel colored upper is about as good as it gets when making a first impression. Well played, Foot Patrol.

While we were all chasing after Galaxy releases, Tom Sachs used some real space age shit to make up the NIKECRAFT. These were packaged up perfectly and a lot of people missed out.

adidas Consortium brings out the best materials and for the "Your Story" project, Shaniqwa Jarvis wrapped the ZX 500 in blue suede. One of the best from the "Your Story" project, it's hard to believe these sat on shelves as long as they did.

Galaxy releases had everyone going crazy for astronomical colorways and resell prices in February. All the while one of the most iconic sneakers Penny Hardaway ever wore was released, the Nike Air Flight One. The Orlando colorway had all the elements to be a hyped up release but even with limited numbers, these lingered at a lot of retailers longer than expected.

Opening Ceremony stepped up with their design of the BMX Cycling High. While most everyone was grabbing the Jeremy Scott Instincts (rightfully so), these Opening Ceremony joints have the feeling of high end fashion that was unparalleled this year.

How can a retro Air Jordan I make an underrated list? These sat on shelves until they were cheap. This colorway is a classic on any other silhouette but most slept on the Air Jordan I Phat black and Cool Grey combo.

The New Balance M990 in OG form was a complete sleeper this year. It was made up of premium materials and built to spec down to the tongue tag and Vibram outsole. The 30th anniversary of these couldn't have been celebrated better.

adidas Hoops reached into the vault this year to bring out one of their most memorable sneakers in the last decade. The adidas T-Mac 1 dropped in a number of colorways, including original makeups, and for some reason they hit clearance racks. After all that complaining people did about that Return of the Mac step-down, maaaannn.

The Reebok Question is without a doubt one of Allen Iverson's best sneakers. With all the colorways of the Question that dropped and quickly hit eBay with a bunch of markup, it seems people forgot about the other classic Iverson's that dropped this year. The Answer IV is arguably one of the best of the AI lineage and yet, you can still get them at retail. Como se dice "Y'all trippin"?

adidas Originals slipped this three-pack of Superstar '80s under the radar for most. Sure, they drop plenty of Superstar options throughout the year but the materials on this pack were collab worthy. On top of that, the snakeskin Three Stripes on the medial sides was a subtle change that added some extra oomph to these classics. To think these went on clearance is an atrocity.