They are excellent, far better than the Jameson Sheep shoes which I had been skating exclusively for a couple years now. Prior to that I was skating Ryan Lay's Hi Top and also the NB420, but this shoe is better than all of them in my opinion.
them's fighting words! no joke though, now I'm kinda intrigued ...
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As for Mike V.'s shoe, I reserve judgment until I see them. Lots of people in here have no qualms supporting non-core brands (and that's fine) but eS alone has proved in this drop that they can bring out non-flimsy option and keep the materials tough!
Not for everyone though I guess? I was actually trying to break my evants in yesterday, in all honesty though they don't even need breaking in BUT I just don't like looking down at them... I love the silhouette of the 420s, they are shoes I'd rock even if I wasn't skating but the evants just don't fit my style...