Interesting.
I posted earlier that one day in a gym class I had forgotten my regular sneakers so the phys ed honcho yanked a pair of these (the Tiger G-9's) out of a closet that had PILES of used shoes.
They felt fossilized and very stiff at first but were totally serviceable for gym class.
There are lots of posts on here addressing the issue of minimalist shoes; in my opinion the Tiger G-9 flat was perfect for those runners.
I wonder if the same upper with new-age materials would feel as good?
classicsportshoes.com has a better selection of onitsukas than zappos, but neither has the shoe described above. that's a shame...i got a pair of mexico 66s there(nylon) and love them...just for every day wear and 1 or 2 easy runs per week on trails only. the outsoles wear away very very fast. and because of that,the biggest drawback of the shoe is price...i can't find them for less than 70 bucks...it f***ing hurts to spend 70 bucks for shoes with outsoles that wear through that fast...even though i would love to run more in them. instead i have taken to buying whatever old racing flats i can find in the 20-40$ range and training in those.
I know this is bringing back an old thread, but look what I found on ebay. This is definitely a reissue of the Marathon. I wish it was my size, but for the small of foot-- go for it. Let us know what they're like.
THAT'S THE ONE! Alas they're a 1/2 size to a full size too small.
C'est la vie.
Thanks very much though.
At least we know Tiger has heard the cries of the people. Where do we find these bad boys?
Check this site for ordering your size. I feel like I have liberated the overly-shodden. Good luck with these "Bring Back the Onitsuka Tiger Marathon" guy.
Wow! How'd you find that? Those are awfully close to what the Marathon looked like.
By the way, the Marathon was a light shoe, but probably not as light as modern runners woulde expect from a shoe of that profile as the older materials were heavier than modern ones. The modern shoe that most resembles the Marathon in look and feel, in my opinion, was the New Balance RC 150. But that seems to be gone as well.
YES!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
I ordered a pair today. I will let you know how they are when they arrive. If you order some please do likewise. All the professed minimalist lovers would do well to support Onituska's efforts to please us.
This is crazy that I happen upon this thread. I went to a shoe store called Journey's in our local mall Friday and they had the casual/walking shoe version of the Tiger's in the class Green/Yellow design on sale for 29.99... couldn't help myself. I see why people love these shoes, I would love to try on the running version. I went to our home indoor meet that night and my teammates were loving the shoes... kick ass.
I too, fell for them and ordered.
Absolutely.
Minimalists will rejoice. Somebody tell trackhead!
ocxc wrote:
This is crazy that I happen upon this thread. I went to a shoe store called Journey's in our local mall Friday and they had the casual/walking shoe version of the Tiger's in the class Green/Yellow design on sale for 29.99...
Were they the Onitsuka Super Marups? Maybe this is the next old-school shoe stores are going to start selling. That's pretty cool if it's like the Tiger Marathon Flats!
That pic brings back memories, BUT I have been trying to remember the name of a similar Onitsuka tiger shoe that I used all through the 70's. Does ANYONE remember the name? Imagine the marathon but with the toe suede shrunk down so that it only covers about a 1" wide portion of the front seam instead of wrapping around. Also, there was no "roll" around the ankle. Basically, a minimalist version of the marathon! Other than that they were pretty much the same. Available in red or blue with white stripes. The name "pinto" is stuck in my head but I just don't know for sure. I still have an old pair with shoe-goo on the heel/toe.
It sounds like you're describing the Pinto or the Cub.
I think we had this discussion before:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=454511&page=1
Was the shoe on the cover of the first Jim Fixx book the Tiger Pinto or the Tiger Marathon (or were they the same shoe)? It appears the Onitsuka Super Marups are pretty darn close:
The Pinto and the Marathon were the same shoe. When Nike began selling their own version s of Tiger's shoes, they got legal rights to the names of the various models. So the Tiger Cortez became the Nike Cortez. Tiger sold the same shoe but changed the name to Corsair. Nike sold the Marathon for a time, as did Tiger. At that time, Tiger renamed the shoe and it became the Pinto.
It may be the Cub that is the other model. A lot of guys who were slightly older than me liked that shoe.
They also had the Tahoe and the Boston around that time.
It does look something like the shoe on Fixx's book cover, but I can't make out the toe detail on that pic to be sure. When I get home perhaps I'll take a shot of them with my digital camera and provide a link, and one of you guys with a better memory than me can give me the answer. I know it's a minor thing but it's been driving me crazy for some time. Thanks.