That’s a stamp that they’re legit, Nike are known for poor materials.

They clearly aren’t.

I’m not even sure what I’m looking at.

Is that supposed to be Rocky “The Rock” Maivia?

Just try them out at a store

Just to correct your terminology, the rubber on the sides of vulcanised constructed shoes is called Foxing tape. Chances are those are different versions, the one with the lower foxing tape is the standard Vans Authentic, while the one with the taller foxing is either from the vault line or the Anaheim factory line. The skate line also has higher foxing, but the toe is a little different.

Skate version has a different design for the rubber that wraps around the toes being squared off at the ends, and duracap branding. The doheny looks more like the era with padding

Either they’re too small or you’re wearing them in wet conditions. These things happen with vulcanised construction