Review: Everlane Tread Trainer and Court Sneakers

Everlane Trainer (top), Everlane Court (bottom)

Everlane launched their Tread sneaker line last year with their first sustainable shoe, the Trainer. Which was a chunky, dad shoe with minimal branding.

This year Everlane released their follow up, the Court sneaker with a more minimal low top sneaker aesthetic.

With both shoes in hand, I thought I’d review and compare them for anyone thinking about picking either of them up.

The Specs

Brand	Everlane	Everlane
Model	Trainer	Court Sneaker
Colour	Grey	Cloud Grey Nubuck
Retail Price	$142 AUD	$142 AUD
Size Reviewed	10US	10US
Fit	True to sneaker size	True to sneaker size
Upper Material	Full grain Leather	Full grain Leather
Sole Material	Natural and recycled rubber	Natural and recycled rubber
Lining	Recycled polyester lining	Recycled polyester lining
Laces	Recycled plastic	Recycled plastic
Made	Thai Binh, Vietnam	Thai Binh, Vietnam

The Look

Trainer

Chunky. The Everlane Trainer is a chunky sneaker. Taking style queues from running shoes from the 80’s and 90’s but updated to be slightly more fashion forward. They remind me of a monochrome New Balance 574, with various shades of earthy greys.

The upper has a mixture of finishes with panels made of leather and a nubuck-like material. There’s also a small section that perforated on both the lateral and medial side of the shoe.

A mixture of natural and recycled rubber were used for the sole of the shoe and also resembles old school runners. It extends slightly past the heel and up the front of the chunky toe box.

The stitching around the shoe was surprisingly good, but there were some glue marks here and there.

Court

Basketball court? Or possibly a tennis court? You could definitely see these shoes on either or even a skate park. This cupsole low-top sneaker is definitely more minimal than the trainer, but is still constructed from different panels of leather around the shoe.

Although less chunky than the Trainer, the Court sneaker is still quite a wide shoe when on foot. This could be because the toe box isn’t as narrow as some other minimal sneakers.

Again, another monochromatic grey sneaker sneaker with very similar construction notes as the Everlane Trainer. Natural and recycled rubber sole, stitching was pretty good and a few glue marks around.

The Feel

Both feel similar in hand, the leather is surprisingly soft. Although the nubuck-like material on the Trainer is a little rough to the touch. Overall pretty similar in terms of build quality.

But here’s what I found weird. Sizing. I’m a size 10 in most other sneaker brands (Nike and Adidas) and I got both the Trainer and Court in a size 10. The Trainer felt tight on foot, while the Court felt more roomy.

From the side by side photos, the Trainer looks wider because it’s chunkier and the Court looks slimmer because of it’s design. When they’re on foot it’s the opposite.

And the comfort is similarly perplexing. The Trainer looks more comfy, but isn’t. The Court is actually way more comfy for me. Weird.

Anyway, I’m not sure if going half a size up in the Trainer would make it more comfortable, it’s worth noting if you’re looking into either pair.

Everlane Trainer (left), Everlane Court (right)

Everlane Court (left), Everlane Trainer (right)

Are they Affordable?

Personally, at full price I probably wouldn’t buy them. On sale, I’d only buy a pair if there was a colour I particularly liked.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy them if you like them, but there’s so many other shoe choices out there. If you’re on a budget and looking for a shoe with minimal branding in either the Trainer or Court style, Everlane’s options aren’t bad at all. I’ve added some comparison photos with other shoes to give you a better idea of their silhouette.