surprised none of you have snapped up some of those Kenny's after my last post. Anyways...
I currently only have two pairs of skate shoes in my closet and no one on here wanted these so I deleted that thread and I've been skating them quite a bit recently. Here's my (revised) thoughts on them:
Size: pretty damn tts if you ask me, perhaps a tad long in length but nothing that would warrant going down half a size. Maybe also a little bit narrow in the toebox but I feel this is true with most skate shoes these days. These aren't going to stretch too much due to the synth/ rubber toe so I wouldn't take that into account when buying.
Support: before you even think about this category, RIP OUT AND THROW AWAY THE STOCK INSOLE, it's garbage! after you've done that I feel that this shoe perfectly blends thin cupsole/ supportive vulc that so many companies are trying to achieve. being a high top, it gives you amazing heel lock and ankle support and as another poster said in this thread, it's going to be hard to go back to lows/ mids after skating this shoe. Internal tongue straps too keep you extra locked in. If you like baggy/ loose shoes, you'll probably despise these.
Grip/ Boardfeel: If you like Vans Skate Hi's and just want a little bit extra support I feel that you'd fucking love these shoes. Grip is easily on par with waffle soles and once broken in (took me probably two shortish skates) flexes in all the right places without feeling floppy at all.
Durabilty: Sometimes synth suede/ leather is terrible, sometimes it's amazing. In this shoe's case it's definitely the later and they way the outsole is designed I haven't even put any scuffs on the suede at this point (you could also see this in plant rider's review, that dude does a LOT of flip tricks). As others have pointed out, the area where the synth suede meets the canvas (and subsequent stitching) is the shoe's obvious weak point. I'm not super hard on shoes so I think that other than a possible hole in the sidewall from ollies it's doubtful that I'll ever rip through that suede to see the rubber below.
Pros: Feels like a beefed up (vegan) Skate Hi, vice heel lock/ ankle support and superb grip. Looks dope to boot. I'm surprised someone like Ben K. hasn't rocked a pair with red laces yet
They are Soletech too and I feel like this is definitely a company we need to support as they have been offering vegan options since the days of Sheep. This shoe had some obvious Sheep influences and that was why I originally snapped them up so quickly.
Cons: It's a swamp in there.
This shoe is fucking HOT!!!! I first tried them on in the middle of summer here in Japan and almost threw them in the bin because of how hot they were. There is ZERO ventilation in them which is a real let down (especially coming from my Silas 1's), I really wish they could have worked some holes into that toecap or made the tongue more breathable. Now that it's cooler, I've been able to appreciate them more but DO NOT buy these if you live in a hot/ humid part of the world. The synth suede also has/ had a pretty toxic smell to it so these are probably not your best bet if you're a sensitive little soul when it comes to smells.
Other than that I can only say that it was a tough transition coming from Silas 1's to these; I know I'm a broken record but that shoe was so perfect for me and my feet that anything that proceeded them was bound to get a tough review from me.
Feel free to ask me any other questions about the shoe, might end up reviewing my State's this time next week too...
Topic: Vegan skate shoes (Read 171637 times)