Nike SB Vertebrae review

We believe the Vertebrae would be a wonderful addition to your collection if:

• You want an affordable pair of shoes with a solid and durable upper that won't break easily.
• You're looking for a skating pal with a grippy outsole and wonderful board feel.
• You love feeling surefooted but you don't want to give up flexibility in order to get foot containment.

The sibling rivalry is strong in this family. After thoroughly testing not only the Vertebrae, but also the Force 58 (both of them from the Nike SB collection) inside and outside of our lab, we've come to the conclusion that you might not need to go for this newest pair. Apart from being slightly cheaper, the Force 58 also has a more durable and breathable upper overall, as well as an outsole that withstands abrasion better. The cherry on top is that it's also more flexible than the Vertebrae so, if you're looking for a new pair to enjoy every skating session with you, checking the Force 58 out might be worth it.

Also, if you're looking for a new pair of shoes to explore a new city or to stay by your side on an endless shift where you need to be standing or walking, we believe there are better options. The Vertebrae doesn't have a midsole, so it's absolutely not a cushioned shoe. As an alternative, you might want to have a look at the walking shoes we have analyzed, or at some of the most comfortable sneakers that have joined our lab team.

As soon as we took this shoe out of the box, we could see its cool skater vibe all over its design. After cutting it in half (please, don't cry) we had access to many other parts that also proved this pair would love Tony Hawk.

Our caliper returned 17.4 mm when we measured the Vertebrae's heel stack. This makes it a whole 42% lower than average, but far from being bad news, this just means we could feel the board better underfoot!

The forefoot follows the same logic.

At 9.7 mm, our caliper knew our toes would feel every pebble, but it was our feet the ones that verified it! During our wear tests, this came in handy when we grabbed our skate and tried some tricks (even though sometimes the hardest challenge is not to fall!).

When we walked around town in this shoe, we felt the rearfoot was slightly higher than the forefoot.

And when we took it to our lab and cut it in half, we could see it more clearly. With a drop of 7.7 mm, this pair didn't feel totally flat underfoot.

As you know, the drop is something that depends on your personal preferences, so there's no "good" or "bad" drop! But if you look at the picture of the cut-up Vertebrae, you'll most likely be able to notice it does not have a midsole. Once again, this is not necessarily something bad, as it depends on the intended use this pair has for you!

So, even though it might not be the very best to run errands from sunrise to sunset, your skating sessions will most likely make its full potential bloom.

In order to preserve the Vertebrae's wonderful ground feel, we believe the brand went for a thinner insole, as our caliper marked only 3.6 mm.

With a 2.2 on our sizing 1 to 5 scale, we can confidently tell you that most users believe this Nike SB pair runs small!

Apart from running small (according to our voting system), during our wear tests, our standard-sized feet also felt that the Vertebrae has a snug fit.

Our caliper confirmed it when it returned 99.5 mm after measuring its toebox width at the widest part. Even though it's not narrower than average, it's definitely not on the spacious side either!

Because of its pointy design, we thought this Nike SB would taper like crazy, but it wasn't so bad!

At 74.5 mm, this shoe's toebox width at the big toe is pretty much average. We didn't really have space to splay our toes and stuff, but with the overall foot-hugging design of this pair, we didn't expect it either.

Oh, also! It doesn't really have a lot of vertical space. In fact, the snug fit of the shoe makes the volume rather limited, and the materials don't really give in much.

The Vertebrae didn't disappoint when we tested its lateral stability.

You know, when you skate, it's crucial that your feet feel safe and supported, as you're going to be jumping, going full speed, trying tricks and, above all that, most likely falling down! So, in order to avoid potential injuries, this Nike pair hugged our feet tightly.

As expected, the Vertebrae put up a good fight when we tried to twist it.

Its massive lateral walls didn't let our fingers play much with it, so we decided it deserved a solid 4/5 on our torsional rigidity test.

This translated into a bit of a break-in period to us. Even though it might not be everyone's experience, we want to let you know. Just in case!

We're really happy to announce that this shoe's heel counter is not as stiff.

It bowed down to us more easily, but not by far! So we've given it an average 3/5 on our stiffness test. In other words, it's not crazy pliable, but it definitely doesn't feel like a brick.

Our caliper returned 108.4 mm when we measured this shoe's midsole width in the forefoot. It's pretty much an average result, so nothing wide. It just goes hand in hand with the sleek aesthetics of this Nike SB!

Things get even narrower at the heel, as our caliper returned 78.7 mm. This doesn't mean we felt unstable, as a wider landing base translates into some extra stability on the ride. The Vertebrae just has a slim build overall, midsole included!

If you're familiar with the skating world (either trying the sport yourself or just watching), you'll most likely know that there are a lot of tricks you can try. That's why it's crucial that the shoe you're wearing bends alongside your feet, even if it requires a break-in period! And we're not talking about some crazy 360 or stuff like that, just something as beginner-friendly as an Ollie is a great example!

During our wear tests, the Vertebrae felt just right once we had warmed up. Our force gauge confirmed it when we took this shoe to our lab, as only 14.3N of force were needed to bend it all the way up to 90 degrees. This is wonderful news, as it means the Vertebrae is more flexible than average, which really helped us with our tricks!

During our wear tests, we felt this pair was on the lighter side for skate sneakers. Maybe it was its slim build tricking our eyes, but to us, it balances protection and weight just right.

Our scale marked 13.9 oz/394.0g, which is just average. But it seems like our intuition was right, as the Vertebrae is slightly lighter than other models with a minimalistic design, such as the Vans Slip-on (14.11 oz/400g). But it was not enough to win the weight battle against its sibling, the SB Force 58! Which stands victorious at 11.7 oz/332.0g.

From the very first moment we saw this shoe, we knew it would put durability first and breathability second. Our light didn't find a single spot to shine through, as expected!

But the upper of the Vertebrae showed us that not all hope was lost. As you can see in the video below, it let some smoke out. It wasn't much, though, but at least it was consistent! So we decided to give it a 2/5 on our breathability test, which sounds like a lot if we compare it to the poor Reebok Phase Court. Oh, gosh... now that's 0% of ventilation and 100% of sweaty feet!

Our microscope let us see the pattern of this Nike's solid upper, and we realized there's clearly no way it favors airflow. Like, at all!

We couldn't find a single ventilation hole.

We didn't expect this shoe to feature real suede, especially after checking its affordable price tag! But Nike decided otherwise and, honestly, we couldn't be happier.

We sure expected the low breathability = high durability formula to come true here. At 5K RPM and with 3.2N of force, our Dremel started its battle.

And we were really happy with the results! The Vertebrae put up a good fight, so it earned a well-deserved 5/5 on our toebox durability test.

Sadly, the heel is not that much of a fighter. Our Dremel destroyed it as soon as they both touched!

The results were so bad, we really couldn't give it anything higher than a sad 1/5. Just look at that!

To measure the hardness of an outsole we need to pressure our durometer against it. In this case, it returned 86.3 HC, which is pretty much average. This means that the Vertebrae focuses on neither grip nor durability, offering a little bit of both.

This time at 10K RPM but with the same 3.2N of force, we put this Nike upside down and started drilling its outsole.

For a skate model, we did expect a better result, to be honest. When we measured the damages using our tread gauge, it returned 1.6 mm, which is a whole 38% higher than average. So, yeah, bad news regarding wear resistance!

Even though Nike didn't go for a very durable rubber, it decided to give the Vertebrae a thinner-than-average outsole, as our caliper returned 4.8 mm. We believe the reason behind this was most likely saving some oz and prioritizing ground feel, which is crucial on skateboarding shoes.

Overall, we were pretty happy with this SB's traction.

As you can see, it features some kind of circular pattern with a big Swoosh in between that improves flexibility. We felt it bit the board easily, just like the urban surfaces of our town, so we really can't complain about this shoe's grip. It does its job properly, and that's all that matters when you skate: confidence is key!

We believe the Vertebrae's price is pretty fair: who doesn't love a budget shoe! Also, this one features authentic suede, which caught us totally by surprise. Nevertheless, if we had to compare it... its sibling, the Nike SB Force 58, is slightly cheaper yet more durable, lighter, and more flexible.

So... yeah, we don't want to say it ourselves, but... take all that into account if you want to take home with you an SB pair.

No reflective elements here! Just be careful if you stay skating until late at night.

Our insteps loved the extra thick tongue padding of this pair, as it offered protection and comfort not only during our tricks (yep, when you accidentally hurt yourself with the board it just hurts a lot) but also when we were simply walking around town.

Our caliper returned some crazy 17.4 mm, which is a whole 47% higher than average. We know the Vans Knu Skool still holds the record with the pillowest of tongues (at a senseless 38.4 mm), but we ain't complaining. In fact, the Vertebrae's tongue seemed to absorb all the inner padding of the shoe, just leaving some for the heel support. Look!

Despite its thicker nature, Nike decided to add a semi-gusseted tongue to this SB pair.

Out of the non-gusseted, semi-gusseted or fully-gusseted options, we believe the brand made the right choice. Why? Well, because a non-gusseted tongue, despite saving up some weight, would not offer any extra foothold. And then, on the other hand, even though a fully-gusseted piece would increase support and surefootedness, it would most likely add unwanted weight.

Even though this Nike has a snug fit and a semi-gusseted tongue, the brand decided to omit the heel tab. We can understand why, as it's a budget model and every detail counts when we're talking about reducing the overall weight of the shoe. But we would have loved the help of a finger loop to put the shoe on, honestly!

This shoe is not very spacious, so even though it features a removable insole, changing it might not be the best idea.

We're really happy about the Vertebrae giving us the option to use our own orthotics if we need or want to, but keep it mind that going for a very thick insole might reduce the inner space too much, and even lead to discomfort.