Reebok Club C 85 review

Let your outfits bring the 80's back with the Reebok Club C 85 if:

• You love tennis-inspired trainers, but you won't settle for any less than premium, authentic leather.
• You don't want wet streets or a painfully high price point to stop you from enjoying your day and rocking the trendiest retro vibe.
• You're looking for a durable upper that doesn't sacrifice its aesthetics and comfy, flexible structure.

If you have ants in your pants and can't stay still, we believe you should forget about this Reebok pair. It's definitely not the best option for someone with itchy feet! But don't worry, we have a lot of alternatives. What about going for a swim in our sea of walking companions and playing with our filters to find the best option for you?

Looks can be deceiving, and the pretty face of the Club C 85 tricked us at first glance. Luckily, our wear and lab tests are always on their toes... quite literally! The slim silhouette and low profile of this shoe made us believe it would be lightweight, but we were painfully wrong. If you're looking for a nimble pair of trainers with a minimalist style, the Vintage version might be a perfect match!

The much-needed ground feel in racket sports wouldn't let this tennis-inspired pair of trainers have good impact protection. With a score of 64 SA in our shock absorption test, it doesn't even reach the average of its category!

Even though we can't say it's a responsive shoe, the Club C 85 offers some bounce in every step. According to our energy return machine, it reaches a solid 55.9%!

Being truthful to its tennis soul, this Reebok pair has a heel stack of only 23.1 mm, which means it feels pretty close to the ground.

And the forefoot follows the same philosophy. At only 15,2 mm, this shoe's stack in the toe area is still far from its category's average.

The difference between this Reebok's stacks leaves us with a 7.9 mm drop. Even though it's lower than the standard, the Club C 85 doesn't really feel any different from most trainers.

Smashing our lab record like a boss, our durometer marked an unforeseen 85.3 AC when we measured the Club C(hamp) 85's midsole. So, please, don't expect any plushness underfoot!

During our wear tests, we never felt like our feet needed some extra space. To put our feelings into numbers so we can analyse and compare them, we used our gel to create a replica of the Club C 85's interiors.

When we measured its width with our calliper, it returned 94.1 mm, which makes it slightly wider than average.

Unfortunately, the Club C 85 tapers quite a bit. Our calliper marked 67.6 mm when we measured this shoe's width at the ball of the foot, which falls under the average.

Last but not least, we didn't feel like our toes needed some extra vertical space during our wear tests. At 27.5 mm, this shoe's toebox height is standard.

That being said, its upper is made of leather, so even though it might give in a little bit over time, you shouldn't expect it to loosen up like crazy. It's definitely not the most stretchy material out there!

Brilliantly showing off its tennis expertise, this Reebok pair got an incredibly high friction coefficient of 0.75. Wet streets, slippery tiles, and any other surfaces that might make you "sit down rather hard" meant nothing to it, as the Club C 85 made us feel safe and sound in every step.

Without letting you ever forget its sporty vibe, this tennis-inspired pair of trainers features a pivot point at the ball of the foot and a criss-cross design that proved its worth and efficiency in every single wear test we performed.

This shoe needed 12.0N of force to bend all the way up to 30 degrees, which is slightly less than the category's average. This translated into a more natural ride; nevertheless, the flexibility of its design also means some creasing will unavoidably appear with its use.

The Club C 85's clean and simple vibe totally tricked us into believing its weight would also be minimalist. But, boy, were we wrong! Our scale returned 13.9 oz/394g, surpassing the average and pushing this pair far away from our lightweight category.

During our wear tests, we never felt like our feet had their own sweat-filled indoor pool. Nonetheless, we would have appreciated a little more help from this Reebok pair's materials, as they uncomfortably struggled to pull built-up moisture away from the skin.

With a lower-than-average score of 60 BR on our breathability test, we can't really recommend the Club C 85 for your summer adventures.

The same machine allows us to evaluate the shoe's drying potential. At a standard 34%, we can't really say this Reebok pair lets the accumulated sweat evaporate easily.

The low and firm base of these trainers make them naturally stable, even if they don't have any supportive elements!

We thought this shoe's leather upper and firmer platform would resist torsion efficiently, but our machine proved us wrong. At only 11.9 Nm, don't expect a lot of lateral support from this tennis-inspired Reebok!

The Club C 85 features a rather pliable heel counter. This was great news for us, as the 2/5 it got on our scale translated into a hotspot-free experience.

Our calliper returned 108.6 mm when we measured this Reebok's midsole width in the forefoot. It's an average result, so the only thing we can say is that our feet felt quite happy with this landing base during our wear tests.

The heel is a little bit more extreme. At only 79.7 mm, it's definitely not the widest one out there. It's not like we felt unstable, but we would have appreciated a slightly more spacious landing area, as the heel is the first part of the foot to touch the floor when you are walking.

We couldn't believe our eyes when the Reebok Club C 85's leather didn't burst into flames after checking its authenticity with our torch. In other words, for only £80, you're getting gorgeous, high-quality authentic leather!

And when we say high-quality materials, we really mean it! Even though our Dremel tried really hard to ruin this Reebok's pretty face, its toebox kept it cool, earning a solid 4/5 in durability.

Surpassing its category's average with another fantastic 4/5 in durability, this shoe's heel padding clearly stated it withstands constant use after its successful battle against our Dremel.

Unfortunately, we have to disagree with the brand's claims regarding this shoe's outsole. Reebok promises durable rubber, yet the 1.5 mm deep dent our Dremel left definitely tells another story.

Even though it's not a breaking point for us, this score does call for some extra care, especially if abrasive surfaces are the usual for you.

What makes things worse is that the Club C 85's outsole is only 3.6 mm thick. This really wouldn't be a problem if the rubber was durable, and you know what, we'd even be willing to almost let it slide if this thinner piece meant the shoe was lightweight. So... yeah, definitely not the best of both worlds.

At 4.0 mm, this shoe's insole thickness is standard. We can't say it made us forget about the incredibly firm midsole during our wear tests, but it did soften things up a little.

But don't worry, if you want a more cushioned insole, you can just change the one that comes with these trainers. That sounds fantastic, right? Well, if you decide to go for a thicker orthotic... be careful with the even lower toebox height. Your toes might end up imprisoned!

As expected, the clean, leather upper of this Reebok has no reflective elements.

Even though this shoe's tongue padding is only 4.9 mm thick, we didn't have to deal with any kind of lace bite. Additionally, as the Club C 85 is on the heavier side, asking for more padding would be totally self-defeating.

Who would change this shoe's Reebok branding at the very back for a heel tab? Cause we definitely wouldn't. It's the cherry on top for its clean look, and we love it.

For only £80, you can get an all-time beauty crafted with high-quality, authentic leather. Its trendy retro vibe, durable upper, wonderful traction, and a style that upgrades every outfit come at a very fair price, to be honest.