How To Spot Any Fake Nike Dunk High (2023)

Last Updated on December 3, 2023 by Ch David

To put it shortly, the fastest way to spot fake Nike Dunk High shoes is to look at the size tag inside each pair, as well as the stitches on the rear side of the shoes, since the fake High Dunks never have their text and stitches at the correct thickness, while all of the authentic Dunks are distinguishable from the fake pairs, thanks to their higher quality from the fake pairs.

If you are wondering whether you have a fake or a real Nike Dunk High pair, you are in the right place to determine that.

We have compiled this fake vs real Nike Dunk High guide that will teach you the six best factors to check so as to easily know whether you have a real or a replica Dunk High pair of sneakers.

Along with every step of the guide on how to spot fake Nike Dunk High shoes, we are going to link reference images with the fake vs real Nike Dunk High pairs.

These real vs fake Nike Dunk High images will contribute to your authentication process, as they will make the job easier.

What we’d like to mention is that this guide applies to almost every Nike Dunk High colourway there is, except for these releases that are differently built, such as the Nike x Ambush Dunks.

How to tell if your Dunk Highs are real or fake

To tell if your Dunk highs are rel or fake, make sure to check the stitching on the back of the shoes. Fake pairs always have thinner, poorer-quality threads compared to the dense authentic stitches.

Let’s check it out!

1. Size tag

• The fake pair’s inscription about the date of manufacturing is too thin and too narrow.
  • Most visible if you look at the “01” text. It is too narrow on the fake shoes.
• The fake Nike Dunk Highs have their “UPC” text and the numbers are yet again too narrow, but also too thick.
• The”CN” inscription is too thin on the replica Dunk Highs.
• The fake pair has its “MADE IN VIETNAM” text too thin (this goes for all four lines of text).
• The fake pair’s Nike website (last line) is too thin, while the real text is thicker.

Expert's Opinion - Let us verify your Nikes:

2. Rear stitching

• The fake Dunks have their stitching lines at the wrong thickness.
• The four lines inside the patch in the middle of the shoes are too thick and short.
• On the fake pair, the two horizontal lines of stitching that come from the midsole and go to the upper side of the shoes are too thin and boxy.

The authentic Nike Dunk High pair has thicker and longer horizontal stitching lines, unlike the fake pair’s thin and small stitches.

A quick mention:

• The steps we’ve written so far are the BEST ways to authenticate this item
• The next few steps are still reliable methods…
• … but they apply to non-top-versions of replicas available for this item

If in doubt, we recommend double-checking the steps we’ve explained above this line.

3. Toe box

Authentic Nike Dunk High (and even the low Dunks) must have a thick and “over-inflated” look for their toe box.

• The fake Nike Dunk High shoes have a thinner/slimmer toe box.

The authentic shoes indeed have their toe box thick and pretty bulky.

That’s not how even an authentic but worn pair should look. Even a worn pair of legit High Dunks pair will have their toe box bulkier than the fake pair’s toe box from the image above.

4. Swoosh

• The fake Dunks have their stitches on the logo being at the wrong thickness and length.
• The fake Dunks have their threads too thin, and how the authentic ones are visibly thicker.
• As for the length of the stitches, the fake shoes have their threads too long.
• The fake Swoosh doesn’t have its stitches fit deep into the leather.

On the other hand, the authentic Dunk High Nikes have their stitching lines fit deeper inside the logo, as they have a thicker perforation look when compared to the fake pair’s thinner look for the stitches.

5. Tongue

• The replica pair has its two registered trademark “®” symbols being too thick and too boxy.
• The fake pair also has its bottom side’s “®” character being too close to the letter “N” in the “NIKE” text.
• The fake pair has its bottom sides of the letters in the “NIKE’ text being too curvy and too thick, as the letters come out of the patch too much.

Back to the legit Nike Dunk Highs, you can see how their “NIKE” text has its letters sharp and properly cut since they are not placed any close to the bottom “®” character.

6. Midsole

• The fake shoes have their stitches badly attached to the sole of the shoes.
• The stitches on the fake shoes are bad as they come out of the midsole, while the authentic shoes have their threads in their place, without coming out of the shoes.

Shortlist: Tell if Dunk High is fake in 30 seconds

1. Verify the size tag inside each shoe, as most of the fake pairs present their inscriptions at different font weights than the real deal.
2. Look at the back of your shoes. The replica Dunk High pairs usually have their stitching lines at the wrong thickness.
3. Brief the toe box of your High Dunks, as the replica Nike Dunk High pairs usually have their toe boxes too thin.
4. Check the Nike Swoosh logo on the side of your shoes, since the fake pairs commonly have their stitching threads too thin and too long.
5. Analyze the badge on the tongue of your High Dunks. In most cases, the fake Nike High Dunks have their text badly font-weighted.
6. Examine the stitching on the midsole of your shoes, since the fake pairs usually have their stitching too little visible.

The 6 detailed steps outlined above might not be so practical when you are in a hurry or when you want to buy sneakers online. 

That is why we have compiled this quick 60-second solution to authenticating your sneakers.

Expert Dunk High authentication

If you need help with the authentication of your Nike Dunk High we’ve got you covered. 

All you have to do is send us good-quality pictures of your High Nike Dunk sneakers and we will get back to you with the results within 24 to 48 hours. The results will also come with a report on why we believe your sneakers are fake or authentic.

That brings us to the end of our real vs fake Nike Dunk High legit check guide. We will continue to update this article as better and newer comparisons are put out.

Need our opinion on your item’s authenticity? It’s a service we provide.

Get a fully-detailed report for why you have a real or fake item. Takes less than 48 hours!

Alternatively, use our free resources: written guides and video tutorials.

Thank you for reading this,

Ch Daniel and Ch David