If you’re parents were like many of the late 80′s early 90′s then there was no way they were paying 125+ for a pair of inflatable basketball shoes. Nope, your best bet at the “Pump experience” was whatever you could find at your local Fayva and what you were more than likely going to find was this shoe, the L.A. Gear Regulator Pump. The Regulator Pump didn’t try to differentiate itself from Reebok much the way Nike did. Nope, L.A. Gear said #$%^ it, we are putting the pump right on the tongue. They didn’t have the clever basketball pump Reebok did but it was still nice to look at and still fun to pump up. Instead of an ERS (Energy Return System) found on many of the earlier pump shoes from Reebok, L.A. Gear had an “Air System”. Also, the release valve slid sideways on the Regulator and felt a little more flimsy in comparison to the Pumps release that was just a button you pressed (same with Nike). While at the time this shoe wasn’t the most desirable it still holds a special place in sneaker history. Take a trip back to the very early 90′s with the L.A. Gear Regulator Pump low!