TL;DR Popcush is Ultracush but better Popcush is superior to Ultracush. It’s supportive, provides actual impact protection, and eliminates nearly every problem Ultracush has. Vans recently upgraded their Ultracush insole to the Popcush insole, and their only description of this new insole is that it “snaps back and won’t pack. A new Pro Skate impact protection and energy return foam for less fatigue to skate longer.” As short as that description is, it pretty much covers everything that Popcush offers over Ultracush.
What’s wrong with Ultracush? Ultracush was Van’s old insole, with there being many iterations of it as feeble attempts to improve the insole (they all didn't make any improvements). The insole is thick to help provide support, comfort, and impact protection, but the insole was so soft and squishy that it did the complete opposite of what it was trying to do. Everytime I wore Ultracush my feet would hurt, I would have bad lower back problems, and impact protection was super inconsistent. My theory of why this is was because Vans was trying to provide cupsole protection to a vulcanized shoe by giving the insole the jobs of the outsole and the insole combined. It’s why the insoles are super thick, but the outsole is super thin. I believe they tried to undo this and give the insole and outsole their respective jobs with the AVE Pro by basically putting the lower half of the Ultracush insole into the outsole, but I don’t actually know since I don’t have experience with the AVE Pros (I’m not paying $100 for a shoe I don’t know will work for me).
Popcush Review I’ve been skating these Andrew Allen Authentic Hi’s for about three weeks, and I have a very good feeling of how these insoles perform.
On the first day of just wearing these, I did experience some lower back pain, but I can easily chalk it up from bad posture from sitting down too much and not being outside lately, as this problem went away in a couple days. I have not experienced any back pain from these insoles since then. I would wear these around the house and break them in before actually skating them.
After a few days, I finally skated these shoes. The impact protection was great. I landed primo a bunch of times and in one instance had a direct impact on my arch. It did hurt, but the pain subsided relatively quick, and I was able to continue skating. There was some times where I would land super hard on my feet after bailing from a high trick (i.e. FS boneless off a bank), and I recovered super fast. I haven’t done any big stair sets because I don’t have access to any and I’m not really into that, but I would say that the impact protection on Popcush would hold up for that type of skating. Overall, impact protection is great and a major improvement over Ultracush.
What about general walking around/pushing? I put these insoles in a pair of Era Pros, and walked my friend’s dog around. The walk was comfortable, and the insoles actually improved the fit of the shoes. The only thing that did suck was the ball of my foot got fatigued and sore, which was most noticeable and came from pushing my board hard. The thin padding Ultracush had towards the front of the insole is still a feature on the Popcush insole, albeit firmer. If you hated this feature or the balls of your feet are sensitive, I would look elsewhere.
Popcush actually provides foot support. With Ultracush, it felt like my foot would sink into the heel portion and move around. With Popcush, the insole is significantly more firm; my heel didn’t feel like it was moving around and it felt secure in place. As mentioned before, I didn’t have any lower back problems, my feet didn’t hurt, and I was comfortable walking around all day.
Overall, Popcush is pretty much a direct upgrade from Ultracush, and there’s no reason to buy any model that features Ultracush or its iterations anymore. Everything that Ultracush failed in, Popcush succeeds in. Vans went from my “don’t buy unless it’s discounted heavily” list to “buy” list.
What are you guy’s experiences with Popcush? Let me know if you felt I missed anything.
Topic: Vans Popcuh vs Ultracush Insole Review (Read 38939 times)