I’ve been into the Vans Pro Classics ever since they hit the market somewhere around 2010-2011, I think. They used to be the perfect shoe for me, then around 2013-2014 they changed the last, which is the actual mold of the shoe. Now all of the pro classics are skinnier from rear to front. The rear doesn’t bother me, but the front suffocates my feet and gives me blisters on my pinky toes. It sucks because their newest ultracush insole is actually very good.
I recently tried to give the Era Pro’s another try and within a couple days my pinky toes were raw. Went and bought a couple pairs of regular Era’s and they feel like they’re supposed to. The insole could obviously be way better, but so far I haven’t had any foot pain.
I have no idea why Vans ruined their Pro Classic line like this. But I noticed that actual pro skater models don’t use the skinnier last, like the TNT SG’s, Chima’s, Crockett’s, etc. Haven’t been into any of the designs of recent pro skater models so I’ll stick with the classics for now.