Adidas Handball Spezial WTR: the indoor classic heads for the hills

The Handball Spezial was made in 1979 for indoor courts, where a low suede upper and a gum sole made perfect sense on polished wood. It did not stay in the sports hall for long, as football fans in the north-west of England adopted it as a quiet terrace shoe that favoured restraint over loud logos, and that history has kept it among the most respected silhouettes in the Adidas Originals catalogue. What it was never designed for is weather, since soft suede and gum were not meant for wet pavements in January.

The Handball Spezial WTR, short for winterised, fixes that by borrowing from the mountain boot without changing the shape. The low profile, T-toe, metal eyelets, three stripes and Trefoil all stay where they were, but the build has changed around them. Premium leather overlays reinforce the upper, a water-repellent textile panel protects the heel, and a mudguard runs around the base to keep water and dirt out, just as it does on a hiking boot. Inside, an Aditex insole adds warmth for cold days, and underneath a synthetic outsole with a ripple pattern grips wet asphalt and cobblestones far better than a classic gum sole.

The colours lean into the season too. "Maroon", with Night Grey and Core Black, is a deep burgundy that works with raw denim, grey flannel or black cargos under a wool coat or a dark puffer. "Khaki Three", released on 17 September, sits in earthy and cream tones that suit a parka or a quilted bomber, while "Tent Green" adds an outdoor olive to the range.

What we like most is that Adidas resisted the obvious move. It could have added a high collar and a chunky lugged sole to the Spezial and called it a boot, but the WTR keeps the silhouette that made the shoe a terrace icon and lets the mountain details work quietly at the edges. It applies the same logic that has turned the Samba and the Gazelle into year-round shoes to the months when most people would usually put their Spezials away.

The Adidas Handball Spezial WTR in "Maroon" is available now on noirfonce.eu at €149.99, with the last sizes of "Khaki Three" at €139.99, and if you want more footwear that brings outdoor engineering into the city, read our story on the Adidas Terrex Agravic GTX.