How To Spot Fake Grateful Dead Dunks (2024)

Written by
Ch David
how to spot fake grateful dead dunk
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Last Updated on January 10, 2024 by Ch David

The best way to spot fake Grateful Dead Dunks is to check the size tag inside each shoe, as the fake pairs never have their inscriptions in tune with the authentic shoes’ text. Besides the size tag, checking the shoes from the rear side is also a reliable sign of authenticity, as fake shoes commonly have poor quality in terms of stitching.

If you are here because you want to learn how to spot fake Nike x Grateful Dead Dunks, then you are in the right place.

By perusing this article, you’ll gain insights into identifying counterfeit Grateful Dead Dunks. Spend just 2 minutes examining authentic vs fake visuals and absorbing our clarifications to know everything about telling fakes.

This guide works for all 3 colorways: Green, Orange, Yellow.

Without any further ado, let’s jump into the guide!

How to tell if Grateful Dead Dunks are real or fake

You can tell if Grateful Dead Dunks are real or fake by checking the size tag’s inscriptions. A fake label always has thicker prints compared to a genuine pair.

Let’s check it out!

1. Size tag

  • The fake “VH” print is too thin.
  • The fake style code has multiple font weights.
    • The “CJ5378” part is too thick, and the “-800” text is too thin.
    • On the other hand, the authentic shoes have their text at the same thickness for all symbols.
  • The fake shoes have their UK, EUR, cm, BN and CN inscriptions looking too thin.
  • The fake “MADE IN VIETNAM” prints are too thin.
  • The fake “nike.com” inscription is too thin as well.

Expert's Opinion - Let us verify your Nikes:

2. Rear details

  • The fake shoes have their “nike” stitched text looking too thin.
  • The double stitching below the patch which has the coloured fur appears to be too short and thin, as it looks like it was perforated into the shoes.

On the other hand, the authentic shoes have their stitches properly attached to the shoes, showing better quality when compared to the fake Grateful Dead Dunk pair.

3. Suede

3.1. Orange

  • The authentic shoes have their suede moving.
  • By that, we mean that if you rub the shoes on the suede area, you will notice how they leave traces of where you rubbed them, as the material darkens where you’ve previously touched it.
  • On the other hand, the fake shoes always have the flaw in which their suede effect is not as highlighted and noticeable as supposed to be, as they either don’t or they just leave little traces behind, where the suede was touched.

3.2. Yellow

  • The fake suede is static: it doesn’t move at all.
  • The authentic suede is pronounced, as the material leaves dark traces where it is touched.

4. Footbed

The footbed is basically the area of the shoes between the insoles below which your feet stand, and also the area above the exterior sole of the shoes.

  • The fake shoes have glue stains in the middle of the shoes.
  • The fake stitching is also too thick.

Notice how the threads on the fake pair are too big compared to those on the real pair.

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.

5. Tongue

  • The fake shoes have their stitching around the tongue’s badge looking too short and thick.
  • The fake shoes present jump threads.

On the authentic shoes, you can see how all of the stitches are in their place, without being stacked or missing in any place.

6. Swoosh

  • The fake shoes have their stitching on the Nike Swoosh logo improperly attached to the shoes.
  • The fake stitching is too thin and fits too little deep into the shoes, while the legit shoes have their stitching thicker and fit deep inside the logo.

7. Midsole

  • The fake shoes have their midsole’s stitching looking too thin and long.

On the other hand, the stitches present on the authentic SB Dunk Lows are thicker and shorter than the ones on the fake shoes.

Shortlist: Spot fake Grateful Dead Dunks

  1. Check the size tag inside of your shoes. Most of the time, the fake Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead sneakers have their text on the size tag improperly font-weighted.
  2. Look at the shoes from the rear side. Mostly, the fake shoes have their “nike” text looking too thin, and the double-stitching below the fur patch is often looking too short and thin.
  3. Verify the quality of the suede material. Most of the time, the fake shoes have their suede not leaving traces behind after being touched and rubbed.
  4. Inspect the footbed’s stitching. The fake Grateful Dead Dunks commonly have glue stains on their footbed. Also, the fake shoes’ footbed’s stitching is commonly looking too thick.
  5. Verify the stitching on the tongue’s badge. Mostly, the fake pairs have their stitching on the tongue looking too thick and short. Also, keep an eye out for stacked stitching and for any jump stitches.
  6. Examine the stitching on the Nike Swoosh logo. Commonly, the fake shoes have their stitching on the Nike Swoosh logo looking too thin and fit too little deep into the shoes.
  7. Lastly, have a look at the stitching on the midsole of your shoes. The fake Grateful Dead SB Dunk Lows commonly have their stitching on the midsole looking too thin and long.

In certain instances, it might not be feasible to follow each intricately outlined step mentioned earlier for verifying your Grateful Dead Dunks’ authenticity.

This is precisely why we have assembled a rapid 60-second approach to validate your sneakers.

What color are the Grateful Dead Dunks?

The authentic Grateful Dead Dunks come in 3 different colorways:

  • Opti Yellow (Blue Fury).
  • Green Spark (Soar).
  • Orange (Bright Ceramic/Green Spark).

Our legit check guide works for all three colorways.

Expert Grateful Dead Dunk authentication

If you need help with the authentication of your Grateful Dead Dunks, we’ve got you covered.

All you have to do is send us good-quality pictures of your Grateful Dead Dunks 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 fake vs real Grateful Dead Dunk 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

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About the Author

David is the co-founder and co-CEO of Legit Check By Ch. David's experience: 5+ years of creating educational content in the fashion industry. 6+ years of authenticating luxury items. Currently, David is the Head Editor of the LCBC Library, where 1,000,000+ words have been published, in free guides, for over 1,000 items.
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