SOLES TECH
Selecting new skate gear can be fickle business: New decks sometimes feel cumbersome and weird at first blush, and new trucks feel tight and unstable until you're able to get properly acquainted. Fresh wheels are nice, but slipping into a dope new pair of skate shoes is like pressing "reset" on the OG Nintendo that is your stale skating routine. Once again you're ready to Carpe the mother-effing Diem, and Bowser doesn't stand a chance.
Today, skate fashion, and particularly skate shoes, has all but permeated mainstream society. While skate shoes are worn by everyone from the hipster down the block to your dad's golfing buddy nowadays, their true purpose is skateboarding. Highly scientific skate shoe test of 2008.
Today, skate fashion, and particularly skate shoes, has all but permeated mainstream society. While skate shoes are worn by everyone from the hipster down the block to your dad's golfing buddy nowadays, their true purpose is skateboarding. Highly scientific skate shoe test of 2008.
Here's how we studied our sneakers:
1) TECH TEST: Each shoe had its own special features and technologies, so we hand-checked all the bells and whistles ourselves...with varying results.
2) KICKFLIP TEST: We skated around all day and busted a hundred kickflips in each pair of shoes we tested. Both goofy and regular-footed skateboarders participated, using different flip variations. When we could barely lift our legs, we checked the wear and tear.
3) POO TEST: Due to the complex grip patterns on the soles of most skate shoes, dog poo has the potential to ruin a perfectly good pair no matter how many ollies they have left in them. We walked right through the sh*t to bring you the scoop.
VansSome of the best skateboarders in the world have ridden and continue to ride Vans, and the company's come a very long way since 1966. Designers work closely with pros to develop function while maintaining a classic vibe, so we decided to put Dustin Dollin's No Skool 2 to the test.
Tech: The No Skool 2 took the Old Skool model and blew it up with padding and support. With patented BoardFeel construction, the classic Vans Waffle outsole now has a cushy feeling of heightened responsiveness.
Kickflips: The waffle grip is great, and the Vans took the day of skating in stride, showing only a slight discoloration of rubber and virtually no toe-wear. If you ask us, they should start putting waffle grip on everything from car tires to high heels.
Poo: Waffle grip being what it is, Vans and doggie doo-doo are never a good mix. It's just one of those things—the soles of these shoes are doomed to retain any and all poo they encounter.
Adam Amengual/courtesy of Vans
Nike SBNike has put some serious research into their product. One of the best teams out there combined with serious technology and ever-growing credibility have all made the Swoosh a mainstay in the skate shoe landscape. We got down with the Zoom Tre A.D.
Tech: This shoe uses Nike Free Technology. A giant indented curve is incorporated into the bottom of the shoe, and this allows the sole to bend in ways that traditional, vulcanized skate shoes cannot. With Free Technology, your foot is able to stay on the skateboard for a longer period of time than a regular skate shoe, ultimately resulting in more board control.
Kickflip: This shoe is stuuurdy. We did around a hundred kickflips, but Frank Gerwer could kickflip Wallenberg 1,000 times in these things and they would hold up. The Tre A.D. is a fortress in skate-shoe durability, for real.
Poo: If you find yourself in poo while wearing these Nikes, you might be bummed. Due to the complexity of the sole grip, you're looking at a double-helix of poo. Extra-diligent skaters might be able to get in there with a stick and preserve them for another session.
Adam Amengual
OSIRISOsiris is a true-blue, down for skateboarding shoe company, and it shows in the product. They've gone through some aesthetic changes over the years but have consistently put out quality footwear. We tested the skate team workhorse that is the Chino Low.
Tech: The shoe features crazy huge tongues and extra-breathable padding that doesn't allow for much funk foot, which is nice. There's also an elastic apparatus holding your ankle in place. Dog, this allows you to lace the shoe as loose or as tight as you want.
Kickflip: Featuring a tough outer shell with plenty of grip and comfort, the Chino Low felt like a proper skate shoe. After a long day of street skating, the kickflip toe target zone was virtually unscathed, promising a bright future of rippage.
Poo: Stepping in crap is the opposite of fun, and doing so in this shoe is no different. Sand scurrying, curb swiping, concrete grinding, stick picking—nothing we tried was effective. That's the thing about great grip—it hates letting go.
Adam Amengual
etniesSole Technology—designers and manufacturers of etnies, éS and Emerica—is an innovator in the skate shoe game, and back in the nineties it was the first company to put legitimate scientific research into making a skate shoe. The etnies crew makes a mean skate shoe, but we ended up testing the SEED Project Boot, an eco-friendly "chill" shoe.
Tech: The SEED Project boot is hippie-tech through and through. Made from organic textiles using eco-friendly processes, the gum rubber sole is surprisingly grippy. Beyond the grip, inner-padding and cushioned footbed push comfort levels off the charts.
Kickflip: As you may well imagine, the stylish looks, unbelievable comfort and heady vibrations emitting from the SEED Project Boot weren't enough to make it a good skate shoe. Just a handful of kickflips chewed the gum sole up and turned the cool, relaxed look of the shoe into something much rattier.
Poo: Don't toss these shoes out if you stroll through poo—just scrape the infected area across a sharp-angled surface and you're golden. One good swipe across a dry curb basically did the trick, but you might want to scamp around in some grass or dirt, just to be sure. It is poo, after all.
1) TECH TEST: Each shoe had its own special features and technologies, so we hand-checked all the bells and whistles ourselves...with varying results.
2) KICKFLIP TEST: We skated around all day and busted a hundred kickflips in each pair of shoes we tested. Both goofy and regular-footed skateboarders participated, using different flip variations. When we could barely lift our legs, we checked the wear and tear.
3) POO TEST: Due to the complex grip patterns on the soles of most skate shoes, dog poo has the potential to ruin a perfectly good pair no matter how many ollies they have left in them. We walked right through the sh*t to bring you the scoop.
VansSome of the best skateboarders in the world have ridden and continue to ride Vans, and the company's come a very long way since 1966. Designers work closely with pros to develop function while maintaining a classic vibe, so we decided to put Dustin Dollin's No Skool 2 to the test.
Tech: The No Skool 2 took the Old Skool model and blew it up with padding and support. With patented BoardFeel construction, the classic Vans Waffle outsole now has a cushy feeling of heightened responsiveness.
Kickflips: The waffle grip is great, and the Vans took the day of skating in stride, showing only a slight discoloration of rubber and virtually no toe-wear. If you ask us, they should start putting waffle grip on everything from car tires to high heels.
Poo: Waffle grip being what it is, Vans and doggie doo-doo are never a good mix. It's just one of those things—the soles of these shoes are doomed to retain any and all poo they encounter.
Adam Amengual/courtesy of Vans
Nike SBNike has put some serious research into their product. One of the best teams out there combined with serious technology and ever-growing credibility have all made the Swoosh a mainstay in the skate shoe landscape. We got down with the Zoom Tre A.D.
Tech: This shoe uses Nike Free Technology. A giant indented curve is incorporated into the bottom of the shoe, and this allows the sole to bend in ways that traditional, vulcanized skate shoes cannot. With Free Technology, your foot is able to stay on the skateboard for a longer period of time than a regular skate shoe, ultimately resulting in more board control.
Kickflip: This shoe is stuuurdy. We did around a hundred kickflips, but Frank Gerwer could kickflip Wallenberg 1,000 times in these things and they would hold up. The Tre A.D. is a fortress in skate-shoe durability, for real.
Poo: If you find yourself in poo while wearing these Nikes, you might be bummed. Due to the complexity of the sole grip, you're looking at a double-helix of poo. Extra-diligent skaters might be able to get in there with a stick and preserve them for another session.
Adam Amengual
OSIRISOsiris is a true-blue, down for skateboarding shoe company, and it shows in the product. They've gone through some aesthetic changes over the years but have consistently put out quality footwear. We tested the skate team workhorse that is the Chino Low.
Tech: The shoe features crazy huge tongues and extra-breathable padding that doesn't allow for much funk foot, which is nice. There's also an elastic apparatus holding your ankle in place. Dog, this allows you to lace the shoe as loose or as tight as you want.
Kickflip: Featuring a tough outer shell with plenty of grip and comfort, the Chino Low felt like a proper skate shoe. After a long day of street skating, the kickflip toe target zone was virtually unscathed, promising a bright future of rippage.
Poo: Stepping in crap is the opposite of fun, and doing so in this shoe is no different. Sand scurrying, curb swiping, concrete grinding, stick picking—nothing we tried was effective. That's the thing about great grip—it hates letting go.
Adam Amengual
etniesSole Technology—designers and manufacturers of etnies, éS and Emerica—is an innovator in the skate shoe game, and back in the nineties it was the first company to put legitimate scientific research into making a skate shoe. The etnies crew makes a mean skate shoe, but we ended up testing the SEED Project Boot, an eco-friendly "chill" shoe.
Tech: The SEED Project boot is hippie-tech through and through. Made from organic textiles using eco-friendly processes, the gum rubber sole is surprisingly grippy. Beyond the grip, inner-padding and cushioned footbed push comfort levels off the charts.
Kickflip: As you may well imagine, the stylish looks, unbelievable comfort and heady vibrations emitting from the SEED Project Boot weren't enough to make it a good skate shoe. Just a handful of kickflips chewed the gum sole up and turned the cool, relaxed look of the shoe into something much rattier.
Poo: Don't toss these shoes out if you stroll through poo—just scrape the infected area across a sharp-angled surface and you're golden. One good swipe across a dry curb basically did the trick, but you might want to scamp around in some grass or dirt, just to be sure. It is poo, after all.
1 comment:
hello guys ～ r u sk8 in Singapore??
here im sk8 in Taiwan
PEACE SK8 :p
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