You promised me this would make me better at PE basketball, Reebok!

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Spartan04@reddit

I had the LA Gear knockoffs, the Regulator. No way was my mom going to spend Reebok Pump money on kids shoes that I'd outgrow in a year or less.

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Obi_Wan_Benobi@reddit

At least they weren’t the Voit knockoff.

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beeswax_swiffer@reddit

I had those! Core memory unlocked. Were those a Payless special? I forget.

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They may have been at Payless (no idea) but if they were it wasn't an exclusive. They were available in a lot of places since LA Gear was popular for a bit. They also had the shoes that came with 2 sets of different colored laces that you'd lace together and of course later on the LA Lights shoes.

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cheffartsonurfood@reddit

Me too. I ended uo mowing lawns to save up $ to buy my friends pair of Reeboks. They were too small but I wore those small shoes with pride. Much nicer than my L.A Gear pumps.

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Shortbus_Playboy@reddit

My parents would never buy me a pair, so when the reissues came out a few years ago, I treated myself.

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Tinyhulk27@reddit

I got a pair a few years back also but couldn't find them in stores to try them on so I had to order them on-line, which i normally never do.

It reminded me why I don't. They are uncomfortable as hell.

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Rude-Imagination-898@reddit

I had to have a pair after seeing Dee Brown in the slam dunk contest. That was proof to me that they really worked. Lol

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GW_Jefferson@reddit

I did jump a little higher...

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impliedapathy@reddit

I had the ones that had a little inflator you attached to the release valve. I think they were Shaq’s first shoe?

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guyincognito121@reddit

Yup, I had those too. Had another pair before that that I think we're since kind of white and teal and black cross trainer or something.

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Shortbus_Playboy@reddit

CCM added the Instapump feature to hockey skates in the mid 90’s too.

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NPC261939@reddit

Sounds about right. I knew a kid who had them in 6th grade. Dude carried around that little Co2 inflator everywhere he went.

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impliedapathy@reddit

Looking back it was so dumb 😂

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NPC261939@reddit

That may be, but I'd gladly go back to that era if I could.

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PenelopeRupert@reddit

This was the exact pair my crush had.

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Iconshero@reddit

They were awesome because i hated tying my shoes and kept em loose but a few pumps and suddenly they were tight. I also got them on clearance 2 years after they debuted.

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DenaliBurnz@reddit

I didn’t have these, but those that did….were better.

Anyone remember pump iskates? 🥅🏒

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tmotytmoty@reddit

I had the voit version.

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BeefSupremeeeeee@reddit

I had LA Gear, wasn't the same.....

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SirStocksAlott@reddit

I remember when I punctured the helix window on the bottom. I saved up for those with my paper route.

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GravyPainter@reddit

Ayo, you better flee hops, or get your head flown three blocks. L keep rappers' hearts pumpin' like Reeboks

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nickd1980@reddit

Got a pair for X-mas. Kids would start pumping it up. I think I stopped wearing it because of that and that and I remember hearing thugs would jack Pump shoes from other people wearing those.

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ThinkFree@reddit

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks

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Ramen_Addict_@reddit

I was sure I was horrible at PE because I didn’t have the good shoes. At least I had an excuse.

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GreenZebra23@reddit

I remember these looking pretty clunky and hideous with the only draw being the gimmick, but these are sharp. I just looked up other models and they're all pretty sharp

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Catladyweirdo@reddit

Time for a class action lawsuit.

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59apache01@reddit

I had a pair of the first generation of these. Believe it would have been around Christmas of '89.

One thing I remember about them. They were damn heavy for a basketball shoe. Almost to the point where they slowed me down!

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Ok-Money2811@reddit

That’s because you got the cross trainers…not the basketball version. I remember those were cheaper.

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xt0rt@reddit

Man those are dope asf! I'd wear them today for real

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Cody-512@reddit

Reebok bb shoes really fell off a cliff there. They were the #1 shoe company from the mid until end of the 80s. They tried to get back with their Pumps but came up short. However, they had some pretty dope bb shoes and were neck and neck with Nike in shoe sales thx to athletes like Shaq, Kemp, AI, and Wilkins. I haven’t been in the market for bb shoes in about 10y but last time I looked I got a pair of adidas. I didn’t see anything I liked from Reebok but back then they had about 10 different pairs I wanted

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bigmacher1980@reddit

If i recall the tongue was the inflatable part?

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LineImpossible3958@reddit

My uncle worked for Reebok, he was a sales rep and knew pro athletes. He got me some Pumps and let me tell you, I still sucked.

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superhex12345@reddit

I had the same exact pair.

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KidFlow1019@reddit

I don't care what anyone says, as soon as I put those on I could just feel myself jumping higher than before!

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Cody-512@reddit

The Reebok Placebo Pumps

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_danger_@reddit

I rocked these and my Cavariccis in 6th grade like a boss.

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are-e-el@reddit (OP)

Dude yesss Cavariccis!

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Seattle_Lucky@reddit

I recall the compressed air version. I saw a kid with them, and he had a cartridge he was “saving” as his parents wouldn’t buy more. Hilariously stupid product, as rapid inflation was completely unnecessary (as was the concept of the shoe), but people did buy it…

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Man_in_a_chair@reddit

I had the knockoffs with the 'gel' in the heel!

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Old-Tea1980@reddit

They did! Just imagine how bad you would’ve been without them. 😉

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TheLastGenXer@reddit

honestly, i am WAY WAY worse at basketball now than when i had these 30 years ago

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PeaceJoy4EVER@reddit

They were really comfortable

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tenthousandtatas@reddit

Each pump did make you better but just not by that much

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Jonestown_Juice@reddit

Never in a million years would my parents or anyone in my family spend that kind of money on shoes for me.

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tenthousandtatas@reddit

Broken dreamz and no ice creamz

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HowsMyBuddy@reddit

Remember what else came out around then? Catapults! DOA at my school because they were LA Gear. https://youtu.be/9AREL_HXjWM?si=Pg3sA2Q7WXusfKzN

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Emannuelle-in-space@reddit

My camp counselor said he was saving up for a pair and then one day he shows up with a black eye saying he’d finally copped them but got mugged for them in the mall parking lot. No one I knew had a pair until I was way older and hipsters started wearing them

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