The Spezial has never been particularly interested in following the crowd.
While much of the sneaker world continues to bring back low-profile terrace favorites, Gary Aspden’s archival-minded sneaker line has spent years digging into the more obscure corners of Adidas’s catalog.
That includes its outdoor footwear heritage, which the Three Stripes explored with its C.P. Company collaboration on the Helvellyn SPZL in 2024. Inspired by an ‘80s model called the Nepal, it reimagined a traditional hiking shoe with technical materials, weatherproofing and Spezial’s distinct design ethos.
Now, Spezial is revisiting that territory once again.
A modern ‘90s hiker
Introducing the Wetherlam SPZL, a hiking-inspired sneaker that trades the Helvellyn’s cleaner design for a modern take on ’90s outdoor footwear.
Before technical outdoor shoes became so streamlined, lightweight and aggressively engineered, boots were chunky and overtly sturdy. The new Spezial looks back to that era, embracing the kind of rugged, overbuilt aesthetic that has largely given way to sleeker trail runners and performance hikers.
Dominant olive-colored suede overlays cover the brown textile panels underneath, all made weatherproof with Adi-Tex tech. It pairs that construction with exposed metal lace hardware, a beefy toe bumper and a chunky lugged sole.
The design was in part inspired by an obscure ‘90s silhouette called the Top Light, but the Wetherlam is more of a pastiche of that era than anything else. At first glance, it reminded me of my old Vans Knu Skools from back in the day. But the engineering here fully embraces the trail … or the city street if you’re so inclined.
Price and availability
The Wetherlam SPZL is available now from Adidas’s website. It’s priced at $180.
Adidas Wetherlam Spzl Shoes
Follow Gear Patrol to ensure our independent journalism reaches your feeds.
Adidas,Adventure and Exploration,Hiking & Climbing,Icons and Influence,Sneakers
`;i&&(a=`${a}
`),e.insertAdjacentHTML(n,a)}return document.getElementById(t)}_repeatDynamicAds(t){let n=[],r=t.location===e.Recipe?99:this.locationMaxLazySequence.get(t.location),i=t.lazy?k(r,0):0,a=t.max,o=t.lazyMax,s=i===0&&t.lazy?a+o:Math.min(Math.max(i-t.sequence+1,0),a+o),c=Math.max(a,s);for(let e=0;e=a,o=r;t.name===`Recipe_1`&&r>=5&&(o=r+1),n.push({…t,sequence:o,lazy:i})}return n}_locationEnabled(e){let t=this._clsOptions.enabledLocations.includes(e.location),n=this._clsOptions.disableAds&&this._clsOptions.disableAds.all||document.body.classList.contains(`adthrive-disable-all`),r=!document.body.classList.contains(`adthrive-disable-content`)&&!this._clsOptions.disableAds.reasons.has(`content_plugin`);return t&&!n&&r}},Mt=class{constructor(){s(this,`_map`,[])}add(e,t,n,r=document){this._map.push({el:e,coords:t,dynamicAd:n,target:r})}addSorted(e,t,n,r=document){let i=this._upperBoundIndex(t);this._map.splice(i,0,{el:e,coords:t,dynamicAd:n,target:r})}get map(){return this._map}sort(){this._map.sort(({coords:e},{coords:t})=>e-t)}filterUsed(){this._map=this._map.filter(({dynamicAd:e})=>!e.used)}findNeighborIndices(e){let t=this._upperBoundIndex(e);return[t-1>=0?t-1:null,t>>1;this._map[r].coords<=e?t=r+1:n=r}return t}reset(){this._map=[]}},Nt=class extends Mt{};let Pt=e=>{let t=ne(),n=T(),r=e.siteAdsProfiles,i=null;if(r&&r.length)for(let e of r){let r=e.targeting.device,a=e.targeting.browserEngine,o=r&&r.length&&r.includes(n),s=a&&a.length&&a.includes(t);o&&s&&(i=e)}return i},Ft=e=>{let t=Pt(e);if(t){let e=t.profileId;document.body.classList.add(`raptive-profile-${e}`)}},$={Video_Collapse_Autoplay_SoundOff:`Video_Collapse_Autoplay_SoundOff`,Video_Individual_Autoplay_SOff:`Video_Individual_Autoplay_SOff`,Video_Coll_SOff_Smartphone:`Video_Coll_SOff_Smartphone`,Video_In_Post_ClicktoPlay_SoundOn:`Video_In-Post_ClicktoPlay_SoundOn`,Video_Collapse_Autoplay_SoundOff_15s:`Video_Collapse_Autoplay_SoundOff_15s`,Video_Individual_Autoplay_SOff_15s:`Video_Individual_Autoplay_SOff_15s`,Video_Coll_SOff_Smartphone_15s:`Video_Coll_SOff_Smartphone_15s`,Video_In_Post_ClicktoPlay_SoundOn_15s:`Video_In-Post_ClicktoPlay_SoundOn_15s`};var It=class{get enabled(){throw Error(`Enablement must be defined at factory creation time.`)}};let Lt=(e=navigator.userAgent)=>E(e)===`desktop`;var Rt=class extends It{constructor(e,t,n){super(),this._videoConfig=e,this._component=t,this._context=n,s(this,`_potentialPlayerMap`,void 0),s(this,`_device`,void 0),s(this,`_stickyRelatedOnPage`,!1),s(this,`_relatedMediaIds`,[]),this._device=Lt()?`desktop`:`mobile`,this._potentialPlayerMap=this.setPotentialPlayersMap()}setPotentialPlayersMap(){let e=this._videoConfig.players||[],t=this._filterPlayerMap();return t.stationaryRelated=this._getPotentialStationaryPlayers(e,t.stationaryRelated),this._potentialPlayerMap=t,this._potentialPlayerMap}_getPotentialStationaryPlayers(e,t){let n=new Set(t);return e.forEach(e=>e.type===`stationaryRelated`&&e.enabled&&n.add(e)),[…n]}_filterPlayerMap(){let e=this._videoConfig.players,t={stickyRelated:[],stickyPlaylist:[],stationaryRelated:[]};return e&&e.length?e.filter(e=>{var t;return(t=e.devices)==null?void 0:t.includes(this._device)}).reduce((e,t)=>{if(e[t.type]||(F.event(this._component,`constructor`,`Unknown Video Player Type detected`,t.type),e[t.type]=[]),t.enabled){let n=t.type;this._videoConfig.shouldDisableStickyRelated&&t.type===`stickyRelated`&&(n=`stationaryRelated`),e[n].push(t)}return e},t):t}_checkPlayerSelectorOnPage(e){for(let t of this._potentialPlayerMap[e]){let e=this._getPlacementElement(t);if(e)return{player:t,playerElement:e}}return{player:null,playerElement:null}}_getOverrideElement(e,t,n){if(e&&t){let r=document.createElement(`div`);t.insertAdjacentElement(e.position,r),n=r}else{let{player:e,playerElement:t}=this._checkPlayerSelectorOnPage(`stickyPlaylist`);if(e&&t){let r=document.createElement(`div`);t.insertAdjacentElement(e.position,r),n=r}}return n}_shouldOverrideElement(e){let t=e.getAttribute(`override-embed`);return t===`true`||t===`false`?t===`true`:this._videoConfig.relatedSettings?this._videoConfig.relatedSettings.overrideEmbedLocation:!1}_checkPageSelector(e,t,n=[]){return e&&t&&n.length===0?(window.location.pathname!==`/`&&F.event(`VideoUtils`,`getPlacementElement`,{name:`Error`,message:`PSNF: ${e} does not exist on the page`}),!1):!0}_getElementSelector(e,t,n){return t&&t.length>n?t[n]:(F.event(`VideoUtils`,`getPlacementElement`,{name:`Error`,message:`ESNF: ${e} does not exist on the page`}),null)}_getPlacementElement(e){let{pageSelector:t,elementSelector:n,skip:r}=e,{valid:i,elements:a,…o}=P(t),{valid:s,elements:c,…l}=N(n);return t!==“&&!i?(F.error(`VideoUtils`,`getPlacementElement`,Error(`${t} is not a valid selector`),o),null):s?this._checkPageSelector(t,i,a)&&this._getElementSelector(n,c,r)||null:(F.error(`VideoUtils`,`getPlacementElement`,Error(`${n} is not a valid selector`),l),null)}_getEmbeddedPlayerType(e){if(this._videoConfig.shouldDisableStickyRelated)return`static`;let t=e.getAttribute(`data-player-type`);return(!t||t===”default”)&&(t=this._videoConfig.relatedSettings?this._videoConfig.relatedSettings.defaultPlayerType:`static`),this._stickyRelatedOnPage&&(t=`static`),t}_getMediaId(e){let t=e.getAttribute(`data-video-id`);return t?(this._relatedMediaIds.push(t),t):!1}_getOrientation(e){return e.getAttribute(`orientation`)===`vertical`?`vertical`:`horizontal`}_createRelatedPlayer(e,t,n,r,i){t===`collapse`?this._createCollapsePlayer(e,n):t===`static`&&this._createStaticPlayer(e,n,r,i)}_createCollapsePlayer(e,t){let{player:n,playerElement:r}=this._checkPlayerSelectorOnPage(`stickyRelated`),i=n||this._potentialPlayerMap.stationaryRelated[0];i&&i.playerId&&!this._videoConfig.shouldDisableStickyRelated?(this._shouldOverrideElement(t)&&(t=this._getOverrideElement(n,r,t)),t=document.querySelector(`#cls-video-container-${e} > div`)||t,this._createStickyRelatedPlayer({…i,mediaId:e},t)):F.error(this._component,`_createCollapsePlayer`,`No video player found`)}_createStaticPlayer(e,t,n,r){if(this._potentialPlayerMap.stationaryRelated.length&&this._potentialPlayerMap.stationaryRelated[0].playerId){let i=this._potentialPlayerMap.stationaryRelated[0];this._createStationaryRelatedPlayer({…i,mediaOrPlaylistId:e,orientation:r},t,n)}else F.error(this._component,`_createStaticPlayer`,`No video player found`)}_shouldRunAutoplayPlayers(){return!!(this._isVideoAllowedOnPage()&&(this._potentialPlayerMap.stickyRelated.length||this._potentialPlayerMap.stickyPlaylist.length))}_setPlaylistMediaIdWhenStationaryOnPage(e,t){if(this._potentialPlayerMap.stationaryRelated.length&&this._potentialPlayerMap.stationaryRelated[0].playerId&&e&&e.length){let n=e[0].getAttribute(`data-video-id`);return n?{…t,mediaId:n}:t}return t}_determineAutoplayPlayers(e){let t=this._component,n=t===`VideoManagerComponent`,r=this._context;if(this._stickyRelatedOnPage){F.event(t,`stickyRelatedOnPage`,n&&{device:r&&r.device,isDesktop:this._device}||{});return}let{playerElement:i}=this._checkPlayerSelectorOnPage(`stickyPlaylist`),{player:a}=this._checkPlayerSelectorOnPage(`stickyPlaylist`);a&&a.playerId&&i?(a=this._setPlaylistMediaIdWhenStationaryOnPage(e,a),this._createPlaylistPlayer(a,i)):Math.random()<.01&&setTimeout(()=>{F.event(t,`noStickyPlaylist`,n&&{vendor:`none`,device:r&&r.device,isDesktop:this._device}||{})},1e3)}_initializeRelatedPlayers(e){let t=new Map;for(let n=0;n{let e=new c;!e||!e.enabled||(e.siteAds&&Ft(e.siteAds),new jt(e,new Nt).start(),new zt(new fe(e),e).init())})()}catch(e){F.error(`CLS`,`pluginsertion-iife`,e),window.adthriveCLS&&(window.adthriveCLS.injectedFromPlugin=!1)}})();
