About

Adidas Handball Spezial

The Adidas Handball Spezial is mistaken for a Samba more often than any other model. Both are low, both suede, both with a gum sole underneath. There is one place where the difference is immediately visible, and that is the toe.

Look at the toe, not the stripes

On the Samba there is a separate piece of rubber over the toe, like a cap. Here that isn’t present: the toe is simply suede, with only a curved seam running over the instep. That one missing piece changes the whole silhouette. The Spezial therefore looks smoother and rounder, while the Samba appears more pronounced with that rubber cap.

The sole is higher than you think

Place the model next to the rest of the archive and the sole stands out. The gum sole runs as a wide band around the entire shoe and is clearly thicker than on the Gazelle or the Samba. That comes from the hall: on a hard indoor floor a shoe must absorb impacts that on grass or gravel would sink into the ground. On the side of that sole the brand name and the trefoil are cast into the rubber, and the surrounding surface is finely speckled.

The stripes are perforated

A row of punch holes runs the full length through each stripe. That’s not a decorative detail but the ventilation for a shoe that is otherwise completely closed, and it’s the only point where air can enter and exit the upper. In front of the stripes the word Spezial appears in gold-coloured letters on the suede, with the trefoil above it. At the back there is a separate heel piece in smooth leather that holds the suede upper in place.

Where it sits

Within the brand’s archive this is the indoor shoe: thicker sole, no rubber on the toe, everything focused on indoor grip. The Campus is closest in materials but has a flatter sole, and the Stan Smith comes from a completely different angle with leather instead of suede and stripes that exist only as perforations.

On this page you can see which versions of the Adidas Handball Spezial are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, the starting prices and how many shops have them in stock.