Today, I’m comparing one of the most popular Yeezys of all time, the Yeezy 350 vs 380.
Since 2016, the Yeezy Boost 350v2 has been one of the most popular and hyped-up sneakers available.
Not only was the 350v2 tied to prolific artist Kanye West, but the sneaker itself also had a pretty unique look that really drew a lot of people in.
It’s futuristic, it’s different, and up until 2016, it was not really something we had seen before. In addition to that, the sneaker was also pretty limited and pretty difficult to get.
Even after its initial release, the Yeezy Boost 350v2 is still one of the most resold sneakers of all time. The top 3 most sold sneakers on StockX by a pretty large margin were three different colorways of the 350v2.
So, needless to say, the 350v2 is an incredibly popular sneaker, and following in its footsteps, pun intended, is going to be pretty difficult.
It looks like Adidas is finally giving us a follow-up to the 350v2 in the form of the Yeezy 380.
Because the 380 is very similar to the 350v2 in a lot of different ways and it’s also technically the successor to that shoe, I felt like it would be a good idea to do a versus article where we compare and contrast the Yeezy 350 vs 380 and find out:
- The differences are.
- The similarities.
- Whether it’s worth upgrading.
- Whether you should just stick with your old pairs of 350v2s.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Related:
Adidas Yeezy 350 vs 380
Before we get too far into the comparison and get into the materials of each shoe and how they feel on foot, I think it’s important to talk about the price…
Price
The 350v2 comes in at a retail price of $220 before tax. The 380 comes in at a retail price of $230 before tax.
To be honest, construction-wise and material-wise, I feel like these two sneakers are pretty similar and we’ll get into that more later on in the article. But as we’ve seen with the sneaker market in general, prices do seem to rise over time.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the price of Jordans going up like $10 every year and it looks like that’s what they’re doing with these shoes. Because it’s a new model, they’re able to justify the price increase.
Do I think a $10 price increase will stop people from buying the 380s? Probably not. I still think it’s a shoe that’s going to sell out immediately and resale for a good amount of money.
However, it does kind of stink that if you are able to grab the shoe for retail, you have to pay $10 more than you had to with the 350v2s.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the overall styling of both of these sneakers.
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Design
From a distance, the 380s and the 350v2s do look pretty similar especially in the static and alien colorways because they’re both kind of gray sneakers.
Both the 380s and the 350s have an athletic low-cut look and they definitely have sort of a wedge shape to them.
Not only that but both shoes also feature a sock-like Primeknit upper. They both have rope places that weave through the upper and don’t do too much in the way of tightening the shoe.
And neither one of them has any kind of midfoot cage or external heel counter.
The only real difference when it comes to construction is that the 350v2s have exposed stitching running down the center of the shoe and the 380s have their stitching on the inside of the sneaker instead so you just have a pretty clean seam.
That stitching detail was always kind of a unique characteristic to the 350v2. While I didn’t mind it, I think I prefer the look of the 380 better.
Upper
The construction of both of these uppers is pretty similar as well. Each shoe is made up of a left side and a right side that’s sewn down the center of the shoe.
Moving into the actual pattern of the uppers, both shoes feature a sort of gray, white, and tan look.
The 350v2s, at least on the newer iterations, have sort of a static linear pattern. The 380s on the other hand have a very organic look that reminds me a lot of a Rorschach test.
Both patterns are fine if not a little crazy and I think it really just comes down to personal preference.
Another change between the 350v2 and the 380 is the difference in translucent mesh on the lateral side of the sneaker.
The 350v2 has a very thin plastic mesh panel running down the side of the sneaker pretty much all the way from the heel to the toe.
On the 380, you’ve got a much larger translucent plastic panel that has these large perforations throughout. It also has a much more organic look to it.
A question that I actually got a lot is whether you could use these perforations as eyelets for the laces. They look about the same size and I don’t see why you couldn’t use these perforations as new eyelets on the 380.
Also, this is not something you can do on the 350v2. So, in some way that’s an upgrade.
Ankle Collar
A pretty major difference between the 350v2 and the 380 is the ankle collar area. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the 350’s ankle collar area. It doesn’t really hug your foot at all and you just use these two ends as pull tabs and that’s about it.
However, on the 380, it looks like Adidas opted for a more sock-like style anchor collar.
Visually, I don’t like the look of the 380’s ankle as much as I do the 350 because I feel like this is just a more interesting and unique style.
But I mean it works. It feels fine and it actually cups your ankle better and I think it’s a more comfortable fit. But it just doesn’t look as good.
The one thing to keep in mind about this style of ankle collar is that if you’re wearing low-cut socks or no-show socks, there is a potential for this to actually rub up against your skin, which would hurt, to be honest.
I’ve only ever worn this Yeezy with long socks because I usually just wear shoes with longer socks so it hasn’t affected me, but it’s just something to keep in mind.
Feel
As for the actual feel of these materials up against your feet, they’re both pretty similar.
You’ve got a pretty nicely padded heel area on both of these sneakers and then the rest of your foot is just up against raw Primeknit.
But where the 380 has been improved over the 350v2 is the actual cut of the upper. In my opinion, the 380 has a much more foot-shaped upper than the 350v2.
Not that the 350v2 is uncomfortable, but if you wore this shoe all day, you’d usually find that your toes were all kind of mashed together and it would get to be a little bit painful towards the end of the day.
Fit & Sizing
The 380 has a much wider toe area, which I find to be a lot more comfortable.
However, when it comes to the overall fit and sizing of the 380 over the 350, I haven’t noticed that much of an improvement.
I own both of these shoes in a size 9 which is my true size. As I’m sure a lot of you guys know, the rule of thumb for the 350v2 is to go up half a size. So, the 350 does seem to fit me a little bit tight.
Related: Should Running Shoes Be A Size Bigger?
The 380’s fit is a little bit better but it’s not a huge improvement. I’m fine wearing the 380 true to size and I probably will continue to buy the 380s in my true size, but I have narrow feet and so it might be different for people with wider feet.
I mean you should be fine going true to size in the 380s if you want, but if you’re unsure or if you have wider feet, you probably want to go up half a size.
Related:
- Do Yeezys Run Small, Big or True To Size? 350, 380, 450, 500, 700, 750, QNTM, MNVN
- Do Yeezy Slides Run Small, Big, or True To Size?
- Adidas Yeezy 380 Size Chart & Size Guides
- Adidas Yeezy 350 & 350v2 Size Chart
Insole
One little detail that I’m noticing just now is that on the 350v2 on the insole, you have the Adidas originals logo and on the 380s you have the Adidas performance logo.
Performance
I’m wondering if that’s because the 380 is a more performance-driven shoe, which wouldn’t surprise me because overall, there are a lot of performance improvements on the 380 versus the 350.
I don’t know if that’s the case. I mean I probably wouldn’t run in the 380, but it does seem like there are some fit improvements and some comfort improvements.
Related: Are NMDs Good For Running – How Do They Compare To The UltraBoost
Pull Tab
One difference between these two models that I guess varies depending on which colorway of the 350v2 that you have is that the 380s don’t have any kind of pull tab on the heel of the sneaker (pic 7.42). You just use the top of the ankle collar.
In the 350v2, some of the colorways do feature a pull tab. This is kind of a minor thing, but I just thought I’d mention it.
Moving down on both shoes, you get to one of the biggest changes between these two models, the midsole…
Midsole
The 350v2 features that iconic Yeezy ribbed midsole which I think a lot of people love, whereas the 380 features a midsole that is completely smooth.
Obviously, that difference is purely aesthetic and it definitely signals a change in direction for the Yeezy design language.
However, the new 380 features a pretty large change to the midsole that’s actually pretty functional. That change is this really intense upward sweep of the midsole.
The 350v2 has a very sort of rounded and bulbous heel area which can sometimes catch the ground when you’re walking, whereas on the 380 because the end is swept upward, you just don’t have that problem at all.
It’s not something that I really thought that I needed until I started to wear this shoe and noticed how much better it feels to walk in the 380 than it does to walk in the 350v2.
That’s just another example of a performance-driven improvement on the 380 that I think makes this shoe much more comfortable than the 350v2.
Something else I noticed is that the rubber on the 380’s midsole seems to be a lot softer and a lot thinner than that on the 350s, which should allow the Boost to expand more and give you a more cushioned ride.
I’m also pretty sure that they added more Boost cushion in the 380 than they had in the 350v2. So, all around, the 380 has a more comfortable midsole than the 350v2.
Outsole
Finally moving to the bottom of both of these shoes, you’ll notice that the styling of the 380’s outsole is much more organic than that of the 350v2.
Not only that, the 380 actually has a traction pattern, which means that this shoe grips the ground way better than the 350v2 because the 350 didn’t really grip anything.
Overall, I would say that the 380s are definitely a performance improvement over the 350v2s.
Does the 380 have 3M?
3M
Another question that I got a lot about the 380 was whether there was actually any 3M on the shoe. When you look at the 350v2, there’s usually some 3M at least in the laces and of course, there’s a whole 3M variant of a lot of the 350v2s, but on the 380s, it doesn’t seem to be any 3M to speak of.
The only part that I think people could confuse for 3M is a super shiny plastic mesh. In some lights, it does look like it could be 3M because it’s so glossy and so shiny. But no, it’s just standard plastic mesh that’s been sort of pressed down and given a very glossy coating.
Yeezy 350 vs 380 – Which One Should You Choose?
I personally don’t like the way the Yeezy 380s look as much as I like the 350v2, but that’s fine. It’s a much more comfortable sneaker and it’s probably something I’m going to be wearing more often.
So, which low-top Boost Yeezy should you buy, the 350v2 or the brand-new 380?
If comfort is the most important thing to you, I think the 380s are the way to go. However, the 350v2s definitely aren’t uncomfortable sneakers either.
When it comes to visuals, I think it just depends on which ones you personally prefer, but I really don’t think you can go wrong either way.
I hope our Yeezy 350 vs 380 side-by-side comparison was quite helpful.
I would love to know your thoughts on the and whether you prefer it to the 350v2 or whether you’re just not sure yet until you get a pair in hand.
Let me know in the comment section down below and as always, thank you so much for making it this far in the article. I’ll see you all on the next one.
