Definitely an interesting shoe. I bought a couple pairs of stage 4 Pfanner's and Crockett's and overall they were decent. However, I have come to the conclusion that from now on, I will be only skating the classics versus Vans new shoes. One thing that drove me nuts about the Stage 4's was the lack of breathability. I understand that when you skate, naturally your feet sweat. However, with the Stage 4's, after one day of skating, your feet are completely soaked and the shoe itself become satined with sweat and just makes the shoe look awful. This may not be a valid complaint for some but for me it was a done deal. For cushioning, great, board feel, decent, but breathability, not at all. I would say if this is a concern of your's, try the lows before the highs. I'm happy to see Vans trying new things but I will be sticking to the Classics.