I have been off the grid for quite some time mainly because of my regular job as a teacher but since I have an off day today, I wanted to take this opportunity to write about the quick ways to identify the fake Air Jordan 6 Reverse Infrared that released on Valentine’s day. The 6’s are one of my favorite Jordan silhouettes especially in a black and red hue and many in the sneaker community are drawn to this colorway as well so you know counterfeiters were going to heavily target it. I was able to find a video courtesy of the one and only Jacob Marcellus that I watched thoroughly this morning and here are the tips that I came up with to help you spot the fake pair. Areas we’ll focus on are the toe, the back, the colors, the insole, outsole and more.
How To Tell If Your 2026 Air Jordan 6 Reverse Infrared Is Fake?
Lateral Side
On the fake pair, the red looks a little pinkish — it looks brighter and more saturated, almost like a hot/cherry red that jumps off the midsole. On the real pair, the Infrared looks a bit more toned down and deeper, with a slightly darker, more muted finish. In other words, the fake reads like a ‘hot red,’ the real reads like a ‘deeper Infrared.
Back
On the heel, the real pair’s embroidery looks fuller and more “filled-in.” The stitch lines on the NIKE heel logo are thicker because of the larger font. On the fake pair, the embroidery looks thinner and a bit flatter, so the edges don’t look as crisp. When you zoom in on the AIR text, the real pair has a wider, bolder “I” and the letters look more evenly shaped, while the fake pair has more open cutouts inside the “A” and “R” (the holes look bigger), which makes the lettering feel more sloppy. And if you look closely at the heel patch ( yellow circles), you’ll notice how it has a more plush feel on the real pair with more vivid and larger vertical lines.
Toe
The real pair’s toe comes across as a deeper, richer black (almost a dark charcoal/ink-black), while the fake toe looks lighter and a bit “washed out,” like it has a faint grey/ashy cast to it.
When you zoom in on that little “tongue extension”/throat area above the toe (the panel with the perforations), the real pair leaves more breathing room: the perforation row sits farther away from the edge, so you get a wider, cleaner border around the holes. On the fake pair, the holes ride closer to the edge, see red lines.
Insole
On the fake pair, the NIKE AIR print is a brighter, more “neon/coral” red and it looks more solid. The real pair’s print is more muted and slightly darker, with a more worn and faded look to it. Font-wise, the fake also comes across a touch oversized: the AIR letters are thicker and wider, and the NIKE/swoosh strokes look heavier, which makes the whole stamp feel bolder. On the real pair, the lettering is a bit finer.
Outsole
On the real pair, the red looks a bit deeper and more muted . On the fake Jordan 6 Reverse Infrared pair, the red comes off brighter and slightly more saturated which makes the logo pop harder against the black/icy outsole.
Tags
The fake hangtag looks like it was cut cleanly with a straight, smooth edge, so the border is uniform and “finished.” The real tag, on the other hand, has that ticket-stub look: the edge isn’t perfectly clean, it’s slightly rough/uneven like it was torn off from a strip, which gives it a more authentic “detached from a ticket” appearance.
Moreover the real tag is wider than the fake tag, see yellow lines.
Box
The red print comes across differently: the authentic looks deeper and more solid, while the fake looks brighter and a bit less crisp.
Same thing with the Jumpmsn logo, it appears of deeper red on the real box but almost orange on the fake, see green arrows. Moreover there’s a slight difference in the height of boxes with the real one about 2 inches higher, see red and green lines.
Black Light Test
Under the black light, the The Nike Text at the heel glows on the real pair but does not on the fake one, see yellow arrow. Moreover the red strip on the heel tab/spoiler turns orange on the fake pair under the black light, but retains its integrity on the real pair, see green arrows.
The yellow arrows confirm the color difference on the midsole between both pairs. Under the black light, the infrared red color turns almost orange on the real pair but has an almost pink hue on the fake one.
There you have it folks, hopefully you’ll be able to spot the 2025 Fake air Jordan 6 Black Infrared with these tips. I’ll update the post as soon I come across more detailed tips to look for, stay tuned and check the post regularly.
I’ll also invite you to check my authentication post on the Air Jordan 5 Arctic Pink Awake and Jordan 11 Gamma blue as both pairs were released not long ago and fakes of both have flooded the market.
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Where To Buy Legitimate Pairs
You can buy it on eBay from our featured sellers via authenticity guaranteed
Quick Recap: How to Spot a Fake Air Jordan 6 Reverse Infrared
Here’s a fast checklist to spot a fake Air Jordan 6 Reverse Infrared based on what we just saw:
Back heel embroidery (NIKE AIR)
The fake embroidery looks chunkier and less refined: the NIKE letters read bolder and more filled-in, and the AIR letters have wider inner cutouts (especially the A and the R). The authentic pair looks tighter and cleaner overall, with more controlled stitching and more compact letter shapes.
Toe color and finish
The authentic toe reads as a deeper, more uniform black with a more matte look, while the fake looks slightly lighter/ashy under the same lighting. This is subtle, but it’s noticeable side-by-side.
Toe area near the tongue extension (perforation gap)
On the authentic pair, the perforation arc sits a little farther from the edge, giving you a wider “buffer” of material. On the fake, those perforations sit closer to the edge, so that gap looks tighter.
Insole print (NIKE AIR)
The fake’s NIKE AIR print appears a bit larger and brighter/pinker, while the authentic print looks more muted/darker and slightly more controlled in shape and spacing.
Outsole Jumpman red
There is a shade difference. In your outsole photo, the fake Jumpman reads more vivid and saturated (a stronger, punchier red), while the authentic looks slightly deeper/less “neon” in comparison.
Hangtag edge finish
The authentic tag has that ticket-stub look (a perforated/torn edge), while the fake tag is clean-cut with smooth edges, like it was trimmed with a straight blade.
Box color
The fake box looks warmer and more orange/peach, while the authentic box looks more neutral/tan. The red print also comes across differently: the authentic looks deeper and more solid, while the fake looks brighter and a bit less crisp.
