Jordan 4 Union Guava Ice Real vs Fake

To tell a Jordan 4 Union Guava Ice real vs fake, start with the style code DC9533-800 on the size tag and the box, then check the pair in the order an authenticator does: the overall shape, the side panels and netting, the folded tongue, the heel, the midsole, the size tag, the insole and the box label. Every check compares your pair with a genuine Guava Ice, because the Union details are the ones counterfeiters struggle to copy.

Judge shapes, stitching and print in the photos below, not how pink, blue or yellow the pair looks. Colour changes with the light, the camera and age.

• Which Union Jordan 4 Do You Have?
• The Overall Shape
• The Side Panels and Netting
• The Folded Tongue and AIR JORDAN Label
• The Heel and Nike Air Logo
• The Midsole and Air Window
• The Size Tag
• The Insole
• The Box Label
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Where Can I Get My Union Guava Ice Authenticated?

Which Union Jordan 4 Do You Have?

Union LA released four Air Jordan 4s in 2020 and 2021, in two pairs. They share the Union build, such as the folded tongue and the side tag, but each has its own style code and colorway, so compare your pair only with the same one.

The official colorway of this pair is Guava Ice, Light Bone, Brigade Blue and Light Fusion Red, on a suede and mesh upper. For the checks that apply to every Jordan 4, see our guide on how to tell if Jordan 4s are fake.

The Overall Shape

Start with the side profile. On the genuine pair, the toe box curves down in a smooth, rounded line, with no angled step in it. The heel runs in a fairly straight line and does not curve much. On the fake in our photo, the toe box is more angular and the whole shoe looks thicker and bulkier. On genuine pairs the heel usually curves evenly from top to bottom, while many fakes look pinched in the middle.

Look at the stitching above the midsole at the toe as well, which the photo circles. On the fake, the thread is thicker and the row ends abruptly. Heel and toe shape also change with size and wear, so compare with a genuine pair of a similar size.

The genuine pair in this photo also carries its hang tag on a ball chain. Hang tags are easy to copy and often lost, so a tag proves nothing either way.

The Side Panels and Netting

The Union pairs have a semi-translucent flap over the side panel and mesh around the collar. Look at the texture of that collar mesh first. In the comparison above, the genuine mesh has a wavy texture, while the fake's runs in a sharper zigzag.

Then check the stitching along the bottom edge of the flap. The genuine stitches are small and neat. The fake's are messy and uneven in size and shape. Finally, look at the netting cage. On the genuine pair it is thicker and more solid, while the fake's is thinner and looks flimsy. Compare the netting angle with a genuine pair as well. The Jordan 4 Union Taupe Haze has the same Union side details.

The Folded Tongue and AIR JORDAN Label

The tongue is the signature Union detail. It is made from foldable nylon and folded over, so the AIR JORDAN label that normally sits on the back of the tongue shows on the front, a nod to how Union's Chris Gibbs wore his Jordan 4s as a kid. The fold is held by a tack stitch that Union designed to be removable, so many worn genuine pairs have it cut out or redone. A missing or different tack stitch is not a sign of a fake.

Judge the label itself instead. On the fake we compared, the AIR JORDAN letters are thinner and shorter, less defined, and spaced further apart. The stitching around the label is also messier on the fake, while the genuine label is sewn neatly. The Jordan 1 Union has its own Union tag checks.

The Heel and Nike Air Logo

The Guava Ice has a Nike Air logo on the heel tab, as the genuine pair above shows. Compare the logo with a genuine pair: on the fake, the "NIKE" and "AIR" are placed closer together and the letter shapes differ.

Check the stitching around the heel as well, which is messier on the fake. Then look at the suede overlay at the bottom of the heel. On the fake in our photo, it is wider and less symmetrical than on the genuine pair.

The Midsole and Air Window

The midsole of every Union Jordan 4 is tinted to look aged, by design. The tint differs from photo to photo and from pair to pair, so judge the midsole by its shape and finish, never by its colour.

Look at the visible Air window first. Its shape is slightly different on the fake we compared, with a different outline at the ends. Authenticators also check the visible Air unit: on a genuine pair it sits tight in its window, while fakes often leave a gap around it. Low-tier fakes also often have a smooth, plasticky midsole paint, but paint texture changes with wear and cleaning on genuine pairs too, so use it only as a supporting sign.

The Size Tag

The size tag sewn inside the tongue or collar is the busiest label on a pair of Jordans. It shows the size in several systems, the country of manufacture, the style code, a UPC barcode, a short factory code and two dates. Nike has never said what the two dates mean. They are often read as the production window, but that is not confirmed, so treat them only as a rough check that they suit the release. Tags printed from around 2019 often add a QR code, and many genuine older tags have a barcode only. Counterfeiters copy genuine tags field by field, so a tag that agrees with itself shows the label is consistent, not that the shoes are real.

Our photo shows exactly that. The genuine tag (US 13) and the fake tag (US 9) both read DC9533-800, both carry the factory code LNM in the top right corner, both say Made in China and both have 2020 dates and a QR code. LNM is a factory code, so check that it agrees with the rest of the tag, not that it reads LNM. The second dates on the two tags differ, which is not a tell, because dates vary between production runs.

What separates them is the finish and the print. On the genuine tag we compared, the border around the tag is semi-transparent, while the fake's is solid white fabric. The fake's print is also thinner and less consistent, with the LNM letters set closer together. The border finish varies between genuine tags, solid on our genuine Off Noir tag and semi-transparent on our genuine Guava Ice tag, both from factory LNM. Print weight also varies between factories, so neither is a tell on its own. Compare both only with a genuine tag of the same release from the same factory.

The genuine tag is dated 02/19/20 and 05/14/20, both before the August 2020 release, the later one by about three and a half months. That fits the other genuine Jordan tags we read, where both dates fell before the release and the later one by two to five months. The fake tag copies the genuine first date exactly, which is why dates that fit the release prove nothing alone. Dates that start after the release are a question for the seller, because restocked pairs can carry later dates.

If your tag has a QR, look for the patent line that recent genuine tags print, "This product is covered by one or more patents: www.nike.com/patentsvirtualmarking". The genuine tag in our photo has it along the bottom edge. A fake tag can get that line wrong, so its spelling is one of the things an authenticator compares. Older tags are laid out differently, so a pair without the line is not a fake for that reason.

The QR code on the tag opens a page on qr.nike.com, which sends every well-formed code to the same Nike page. It is not an authenticity check, as our guide to what a Nike QR code and UPC can show explains.

If your tag has a QR, two details help here. The qr.nike.com page opens the same way for any code in the right format, even one that was never printed on a shoe, so a scan that works says nothing about the pair. And the 13-character code beside the QR uses digits and letters but never the letters I, L, O or U. Nike's own server rejects a code that contains one of them, and a fake tag can print such a code. If you read one of those letters, look again in good light, because a smudged 1 or 0 is easy to misread, then check the code in our Nike and Jordan code checker.

Our photo shows this check at work. The code printed under the fake tag's CN size reads 01F22EP5LDHIQ, with an L and an I, two letters Nike's codes never use. The genuine code above it has none of them.

The Insole

The insole carries a Jumpman with the Union script under it. On the fake we compared, the print looks wrinkled and cracked, as if from cheap printing, and the Jumpman's proportions are off: the left arm is too bulky and the legs too slim. The "Union" script is fuzzy, and its "U" is rounder than on the genuine insole.

Insole prints rub and crack with wear on genuine pairs too, so judge the shape of the figure and the script on a used pair, not the condition of the print. Do not worry about the position of the size sticker on the insole either, because it is placed differently even on genuine pairs.

The Box Label

The label on the end of a Jordan box repeats the shoe's details: the model name, the style code, the size, the colorway and a UPC barcode, and recent labels add a QR code. On a genuine pair in its own box, the UPC on the label matches the one on the size tag, while the box QR carries a different code from the tag QR. A second barcode sticker from a resale platform is normal, and so is a regional label on pairs sold in Asia. Box labels are the easiest part to reprint, so compare fonts and spacing only against a genuine box from the same release. A missing or replacement box is not a sign of a fake.

Both labels in our photo read AIR JORDAN 4 RETRO SP, GUAVA ICE/LT FUSION RED, DC9533 800, Made in China and USD $250.00, but they are for different sizes (US 13 and US 9), so compare the type, not the numbers. On the fake we compared, the price text and the style code print bolder than on the genuine label. On the genuine label, the size numbers are bold while the "cm" letters beside them are thin, and the fake does not keep that contrast. The Jumpman on the fake label also looks slimmer.

A barcode that scans proves little. Fakes print real Nike UPCs, and a fake barcode passes the barcode's own check digit too. A label can also print a real Nike barcode that belongs to another shoe or size, which is why the barcode, the style code and the size must agree. So check that the UPC on the tag matches the box, then that the number belongs to your style code and size. Recent tags print 14 digits starting with 00 after "UPC", and the box prints 12 digits plus a small two-digit add-on, so drop the add-on and the leading zeros before you compare.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Union Guava Ice tongue fold over?

It is part of Union's design. The tongue folds over to show the AIR JORDAN label on the front, inspired by how Union's Chris Gibbs wore his Jordan 4s as a kid. The tack stitch that holds it is meant to be removable.

Is the folded tongue stitching supposed to come out?

Yes. The tack stitch is removable by design, so a pair with the stitch cut out or redone can still be genuine.

What style code is on a real Union Guava Ice box and tag?

DC9533-800 on the size tag, and DC9533 800 on the box label. Fakes print the same code, so a correct code proves nothing alone.

Should the Guava Ice have Nike Air or a Jumpman on the heel?

Nike Air, as the genuine pair in our heel photo shows.

How is the Guava Ice different from the Off Noir and Taupe Haze?

The Off Noir (DC9533-001) is the black pair from the same 2020 release, and it got a wider release than the Union-only Guava Ice. The Taupe Haze (DJ5718-242) and Desert Moss (DJ5718-300) came in 2021 as Union's 30th anniversary pack. See the table at the top of this guide.

Do Guava Ice samples exist?

Yes, samples of this pair have been sold on resale platforms, and a sample can differ in details from the retail pair. Have a sample checked by an expert rather than comparing it with retail photos.

Where Can I Get My Union Guava Ice Authenticated?

If you are still unsure after these checks, send clear photos of both shoes from the side, the side flap and netting, the folded tongue and its label, the heel, the midsole, the size tag inside each shoe, the insole and the box label. LegitGrails authenticates Jordan from photos you upload, with results in under 30 minutes and a digital certificate with every order.

If your Union Guava Ice fails any of these steps, send photos to our Jordan authentication service.