All brands

Nike

“Dri-FIT” is a moisture technology, not a quality grade — the same label goes on a €25 supermarket tee and a €90 race singlet, so it tells you nothing about what's in your hand. Judge the fabric and the price tier instead. On shoes: the classics never really discount, the seasonal colourways collapse 40% within months, so decide which colour you're willing to wait for.

Scores

6.5C€€

Quality
6/10
Design
7/10
Appeal
7/10

Usually €30–160

What to buy, and what to skip

  • StrongFootwear

    Usually €100–150Buy at or below €85

    The reason the brand exists, on both counts. The running line is genuinely best-in-class and the Pegasus in particular is built to take a beating; the archive shoes stay wearable for years. Two caveats: lifestyle-model materials have measurably thinned over the last decade, and at this price you're paying the full brand premium.

  • StrongPerformance & Sport

    Usually €30–70Buy at or below €35

    Properly engineered kit where synthetic is the correct material rather than a cost cut. Wash durability holds up well against Adidas. Just don't read the Dri-FIT tag as a quality promise — see the in-store note.

  • DecentJackets & Coats

    Usually €80–160Buy at or below €70

    Windrunners and Storm-FIT shells survive heavy washing and do the job. You're buying a sports jacket at a sports-brand premium, not a coat.

  • AvoidT-Shirts

    The same trap as Adidas and Under Armour. A cotton Sportswear tee is €30–35 for fabric H&M matches at a third of it; you are buying the swoosh and nothing else.

  • AvoidKnitwear

    No wool anywhere in the range, so there is no knitwear here in the sense this page means it — the slot is filled by fleece, which is a different garment and now has its own category. One Massimo Dutti merino on sale does the job this shelf can't.

  • AvoidSweats & Hoodies

    Tech Fleece and Club Fleece are polyester sweats at €70–120 that pill at the thighs and underarms inside thirty washes — merino money for something that won't reach its second winter looking new. This is the best-known version of the mistake rather than the worst: EA7 charges €95–150 for it and Under Armour €50–100. If you want a hooded layer that survives, none of the logo-led sportswear options compared here is the settled answer.

On the design score

Level with Adidas at 7, and the tie hides the more interesting comparison. Nike's archive is the deeper one — Air Force 1, Air Max 1, Cortez and the Blazer are the vocabulary most sneakers since have been written in — but its owner has been spending it down: Dunks and Air Force 1s were produced into ubiquity, the share of releases trading above retail has roughly halved since 2020, and Adidas's much narrower terrace bench happens to be what people currently want. Same number, opposite trajectories. As with Adidas, read the 7 as the shoes — the apparel is a swoosh on a blank, and a larger swoosh than Adidas prints.

Who owns it

NIKE, Inc. (US, listed)

Also owned by NIKE, Inc.

Owned by

How this was judged

Researched. Confidence high, checked 2026-07.

Wardrobe Ledger is an independent clothing research project and is not affiliated with the brands listed.

Official store