Gatorade Pack, Part Two: The Air Jordan 6 Joins the Collection

Last time out we told the full story of the Gatorade Pack — the four Air Jordan 1s, the 1991 "Be Like Mike" campaign, and the Air Jordan 6 that closed the loop a year later. At the time, that AJ6 was still the one we didn't have. Not anymore. The "Orange Peel" Gatorade Air Jordan 6 just landed, and it's exactly as good in hand as the pictures promised.

Worth the wait Photos never quite do this one justice. The white tumbled leather and orange nubuck read as a clean two-tone split on screen, but in hand the contrast is sharper, and the white has a slight cream warmth to it rather than the stark white it photographs as. The details we talked about last time are all still the standout: the translucent outsole with the Gatorade logo moulded underneath it, the squeeze-bottle-cap lace lock sitting right at the top of the tongue, and "If I could be" embroidered where you'd normally find a Jumpman. The gum sole peeking through the midsole window is a nice bit of restraint next to how loud the rest of the shoe is.

How it sits next to the rest of the pack We said in part one that the AJ1 pack is the one people actually wear, and the AJ6 is the one that understood the assignment. Having it on the shelf now, that still feels right — this isn't a shoe that blends into a rotation. It's the one you build an outfit around, or the one that just stays a display piece. Either way, the pack finally feels complete rather than theoretical. Four flavours and the shoe that finished the story, all accounted for.

The one that's still missing Here's the twist: the Orange Peel AJ6 we've just added isn't actually the first Gatorade-themed 6. Jordan Brand released a green suede version a full year earlier — the Air Jordan 6 NRG "Gatorade" (AJ5986-335), in Pine Green with Orange Blaze accents, dropped 30 December 2017 at $225 as part of the same "Like Mike" collection. It's the one we don't have yet, and the one that would actually complete the full Gatorade story rather than just the half we've told so far.

The NextSole verdict: everything part one promised, and the collection's better for finally having it. Who else has been sitting on this one — and if the green AJ6 crosses your path before it crosses ours, we're not too proud to admit we'd take it off your hands.