Customer Reviews adidas Originals Samba® Leather

Purchased for my son. This is his 2nd pair and he states that they fit like his old ones.

Classic European style. I've seen them on Vespa-riding university students and young professionals. Along with this "classic" style, though, you don't get some of the perks of modern shoes, like cushion or arch support. Toe-box was a little narrower than I'm used to from newer Adidas styles as well. But, boy, they sure look good.

These shoes are definitely half a size smaller. I am a women's 8½ and I got the 9 which just fits. Luckily there are laces to help. I think these shoes are best for people with skinny feet. Just order half a size up. I would recommend using a shoe insert because they are not very squishy. The tongue is very stiff and I had to bend it so that it did not dig in.

I love these shoes, but other reviewers were not joking about the squeaky material on the tongue. I literally put WD-40 on them to stop the squeak. It works and I still love the shoes.

Classic, awesome shoes (and better looking than the "classic" with the weird soccer tongue). As with most Adidas, though, be sure to size up. These are sleek, but that translates to less toe room.

Unfortunately nowhere near as comfortable as the 'Classic' Samba. The leather interior is rough and stiff. It will definitely take a while to break them in. The Classic Samba felt comfortable from the first second I put them on, I can't say the same for these. Of course, they squeak as it hasn't been failed to mention in the hundreds of reviews here. The only reason you should buy the Original over the Classic Samba is simply the shorter tongue, which looks much better with shorts. The other reason (comfort) I'd recommend the Classic.

I bought these to replace a pair of Sambas from 2005. I loved them but I had a very difficult time finding a replacement. The pair I had seemed to have been a rare style as it had the longer-style tongue but it was the same length as the short tongue on these. So it was confusing when I could not find the same thing for my new pair. Also, they have redesigned the backs so they come up higher and rub your ankle. They do squeak but not audibly. You can just feel that they are squeaking. The laces seem to have been replaced with nylon instead of the old cotton ones. They are not very comfortable yet but I am going to try breaking them in.

Very comfortable and look nice. My only complaint is that, as others have undoubtedly said, the tongue is quite squeaky and that does not go away.

They look and feel great, but have a squeaky tongue! Returned them. I'll wait 'til Adidas fixes the problem.

As stated on at least one other review, the tongue is perforated and plasticky rather than flexible, and squeaks. This is possible to overlook, so my only significant issue is that the black rubber is very, very slippery as opposed to the "gum" sole of the original style. This is mostly an issue in a city where it rains 158 days a year. Next time, I'll stick with the classics, but these will certainly serve their purpose.

This version of the famous Samba line seemed to run about 1/2 size small for me. Took and 11 instead of a 10 1/2. I even have old Samba shoes in size 10. Love the black on black. Would love to see this shoe with red stripes!

This shoe will be fine. It's leather, so it's going to stretch. It's tight in the toe box and the laces are a little short right now, but it's already stretching out. And they squeak. A lot. But that will stop as well, once they're worn in. They're like Levis. The more you wear them, the better they feel.

Well I just got these and they were just was I was looking for - beginner running sneakers for someone who runs short distance only and who doesn't want to spend over $100 on running shoes (which is what all my hardcore runner friends insist one must do). These shoes are comfortable, have decent support, seem to be well made and look good. As for the style, they do look more like sneakers than they are fashionable, but still have a simple design and are not ugly. These were the replacements for the Puma Benecios that I returned. To me the Pumas were more stylish in appearance and priced less but when I got them I couldn't believe how badly they fit my feet and how little support they had - none! They were so uncomfortable. I must say that I do have narrow feet and the Adidas do seem very narrow, which is great for me but not for all. They also have a pretty high arch insert, which may not be right for everyone. They are comfortable in how they fit but have a hard, sturdy feel, not like walking on cushions. Overall I am very happy with them for the price.

The quality and construction seem good. My husband used to play soccer and has been a fan of this leather model for years. He has an extra-wide foot, which these seem to accommodate. He prefers this all black model and used to apply permanent magic marker over the white stripes when that model was all he could find! Thank you, Zappos, for carrying this black Originals Samba and having it available in his size (7.5). Can't speak to wear yet because he's only had them a few months.

This is my second pair of these shoes. Still love them. And I love Zappos. And Zappos loves me.

Great shoes, very comfortable although not the greatest shoe for someone like me that has flat feet.

Good looking, very little arch support. I wouldn't recommend these shoes to anyone that requires or prefers good arch support.

Sambas have always had that classic Adidas styling much like that of the Superstar 2 (another favorite of mine). They are synonymous symbol of the three stripe brand. Sadly, you will be sacrificing your comfort for this style. I have always heard from everyone that they are not the greatest in terms of support, and I finally got to experience it. Much like a couple pairs of shoes I currently own...they will only be used for short outings, and never anything involving rigorous foot work.

This Samba is great but does require some break in time. Due to the squeaky leather tongue area and tongue is shorter than the true original. Very nice overall.

The first thing I noticed with this shoe was that the top (where the shoe meets the ankle) is slightly higher than other shoes I've owned, making them uncomfortable for the first week or two. The heel sticks up higher than I expected as well. However, after a few weeks of wear, they're much more comfortable.

These are awesome classic styled sneakers. This is my second pair and I love riding my bike with them. I bought them cause I can easily slide in and out of PowerGrips on my pedals.

I had to reorder a different size for this shoe; it runs much larger than most other shoes I've ever gotten before. Once I had a pair that fit, it took a few weeks of heavy use to get them worn in. Other than that, these are good shoes, just a little troublesome.

A great looking classic, looks great with jeans. Just be aware that like most of the Adidas Originals, there is little to no arch support, so you might want to buy some insert cushioning as well.

I had a pair of these for 5 years that I wore until they started to fall apart. In fact, they could have gone on longer but I wanted a new pair so I got rid of the old ones and bought a new pair. I don't know what happened. Adidas apparently restyled this shoe, shortening the tongue, increasing the height of the back of the shoe, and changing the material of the inner lining of the shoe. I cannot stand the short tongue on these new sneakers. It is completely pointless, and causes more trouble than good. I have owned this pair for a year now, and without fail, every time I slide the shoes on, the tongue slides down with my foot and I have to dig around with my fingers to try to extract it before I can walk comfortably. Incredibly annoying. The higher back of the shoe rubs against the back of my ankles when I wear ankle socks -- something my old pair never used to do. The inner lining material of my old shoes was made of a flexible cloth, but these shoes were lined in some kind of stiff, synthetic fake leather material that I couldn't break in for a long time. Don't get me wrong, I still love love love these sneakers and would buy them again. Now that it's been a year, they have gotten a lot more comfortable and I wear them all the time. I really miss the old version of these shoes though.

I have had Sambas before; they last forever. My old roommate has been wearing my 3 year old pair for some time now because he is too cheap to buy shoes. The pair I recently bought though, squeak terribly. I had not experienced this with my first pair, so I thought it would go away after a few days of wearing them. It did not, they squeak with every move; it's really annoying. I ended up putting some oil to stop the squeaking (which seems to be coming from the tongue of the shoe), so I'll see how that works.