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NB done messed up bad, but better for Griffin.
NB is kind of the go-to for sponsorless dudes now days, so I'm sure the waiting list is long and you gotta battle with Jaime Foy and Reynolds for a shoe. DC could have him and Shanahan as the top younger pros.
If anything, DC has always had different shoes and don't use the same 3 factories from China that most companies use, so you're not getting a re-logo'd Vans or Sole tech shoe. The few pairs I've skated over the last 25 years have been solid.
Hate to burst your bubble on this, but as far as I know DC uses the same factory as all the sole tech shoes. Its in Vietnam. Footwear manufacturing is a lot more incestuous than people would believe. It always makes me laugh when I see people claim that one brand of skate shoes has better 'quality' than another when in reality its mostly just different branding.
'Quality' comes down to design.
If you take a sole tech vulc shoe and a DC vulc shoe they are different. In rubber compound or mold.
If you take an Opus, Vox, Osiris, whatever vulc shoe they're legit the same thing with a different logo.
There are single factories with individual manufacturing lines with different quality standards and materials.
In the guitar industry, Core-Tek in Indonesia makes half of the worlds guitars, but companies using them as a manufacturer have control on the quality control and materials based on how much they want to spend on production costs. I've played great and shitty guitars both made in that factory depending on brand.
Point being, it's all mostly garbage and skate shoe designers don't actually know what they're doing to create a good shoe.
I mean, we're basically arguing the same point here... I was just pushing back against your claim that DC shoes are not just re-branded sole tech shoes, when in fact, that's almost exactly what they are, fundamentally. Same material suppliers, same mold shop, same factory hands assembling the shoes, etc.
This is why I said that quality comes down to design. Its the designers job to choose the materials, specify the hardness of the rubber, implement construction details, and design the geometry of the tooling. Some designers are better at this than others.
It mostly comes down to price-point and margins. While I won't make the claim that all skate footwear designers are on the same level from a talent perspective, all of the designers still have good intentions when it comes to making a high quality product. Its the suits at the top that kill 'quality' (using cheaper materials, removing interesting details, etc.) in an effort to maximize margins.
Opus and Globe use the same factory, and have access to the same quality of materials. Most people would say Globe is of much higher visual quality - because the designs are more considered, and (some of their shoes) prioritize a higher price point positioning. Opus is positioned as a budget brand. To accomplish their desired price point they use cheaper materials to maximize margins. Also, their designs are not great, which make them appear cheaper. But both brands are still using the same manufacturing processes and facilities (glues, vulcanization ovens, pattern technicians, mold shop). From a manufacturing standpoint, their quality is mostly the same...
Aesthetics play a big part. A cheap shoe can still look and feel high quality if the design is high quality. An expensive shoe can still look and feel like sh*t if the design is low quality.
Topic: Griffin Grass on DC? (Read 8932 times)