New Balance Numeric Westgate 913 Shoe Review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on June 22nd, 2020 by corpo

Rating: ★★★★★ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★☆☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★☆☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★½☆☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★½ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★☆ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ OVERALL

I’ve had a couple pairs of the Westgates now. They are a good shoe. This pair with the yellow sole did not grip or flick as well as the previous pair I had with a regular gum/white sole. This shoe is very comfortable though. I could skate longer than normal in them. The board feel isn’t as good as the 288S or 533v2. But it’s still decent. They have a good heelflip.

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New Balance Numeric 288s Sport show review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on May 1st, 2020 by corpo

Rating: ★★★★☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★☆☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★½☆ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ OVERALL

I thought this shoe would be a dream shoe. Very minimal heel lift, decently wide toe box and very flexible. I have been wearing this shoe without an insole. Normally I wear size 12 in NB, but in this shoe I wear 11.5. I had size 12s of this shoe too, and they were huge so I would say it runs slightly large. Although I’m not wearing the insole so it’s probably true to size. The sole isn’t as durable as other NB# shoes like the 533, but it does flex. The board feel is kind of whatever in this shoe. The flexibility helps the board feel a lot, but the sole construction is some weird compound that kind of kills some board feel. I don’t really care for the sock liner, but it does fit well so whatever.

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Lakai – Tony Hawk “Proto” shoe review

Posted in Shoe Reviews on October 27th, 2019 by corpo

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★☆☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★½☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★★☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★½ STYLE
Rating: ★★★☆☆ OVERALL

It’s been awhile since I’ve skated these, but I’m trying to catch up on my shoe reviews. As an older skater Tony Hawk has been a long time favorite. I was on a cupsole kick and these seemed right up my alley as they were quite flexible. I liked them for awhile, however the pointy toes got me and they started to become very uncomfortable. The heel is a little thicker than I desire in a shoe as well. Overall I’d say that this is probably a decent cupsole for most people (I just need a wider toebox that most). It’s a nice looking shoe that clearly reminds you of the old Airwalks Tony wore a lot. The packaging is really cool too. I used the box for my sticker collection.

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Adidas City Cup shoe review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on April 22nd, 2019 by corpo
Adidas
City
Cup

Rating: ★★★★★ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★★★ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ½☆☆☆☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★☆☆ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ OVERALL

My first shoe review in awhile. The Adidas City Cup cupsole shoe. This is one of those shoes that’s incredibly close to being perfect, but the negatives are quite bad. First the good. It’s one of the most comfortable shoes ever. Great shape, sole thickness, board feel, grip. There are really only two negatives, but as you can see they are huge. First is the durability. That toe piece wore out real quick and there is nothing under it. The other negative is there is quite a bit of heel lift. It’s not so bad on normal skating, but I found heelflips to be impossible in these shoes. So overall, if you don’t have razor toe like me and don’t do heelflips this might be a great shoe for you.

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Es Footwear Swift shoe review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on June 28th, 2016 by corpo

es swift skate shoe review skateboarding footwear

Rating: ★★★★☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★½ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★★☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★½☆☆☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★½ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ OVERALL

This shoe almost completely rules. It’s got one of the best soles for a skate shoe that I’ve ever skated. This is the most important part of a skate shoe to me. Unfortunately the suede wears away really quickly and requires constant shoe goo attention. The little sprayed on coating around the toes does nothing. The shoe is comfortable and skates great.

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Es Footwear Accel Slim shoe review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on June 28th, 2016 by corpo

es accel slim footwear skateboarding shoe review cupsole

Rating: ★★★☆☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★½☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★★ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★½☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★★ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ OVERALL

The OG Accel is such an iconic skate shoe. This slimmed down version is pretty awesome. It’s a little too slim for me though. It’s basically a cupsole that skates like a vulcanized shoe because it’s so thin and flexible. I would have preferred that they put some newer technology into the sole instead of just a thin sole, but that’s me. It’s a good steezy shoe, decent durability, but too thin of a sole for me.

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Corporate vs skater owned skate shoes

Posted in Random skate news on April 22nd, 2016 by corpo

skate shoe debate.  corporate vs skater owned nikesb es emerica lakai nbnumeric adidas

With Fallen Footwear going under the shoe debate has become a hot topic again. I get bummed out on some of the stuff people say that isn’t correct. So for whatever reason I decided to document my current stance on the whole corporate vs skater owned shoe argument.

For years I took a ‘skater owned brands only’ stance. This changed when New Balance Numeric came around and gave PJ Ladd a shoe. Why? Because I’m a huge PJ Ladd fan and because the shoe seemed perfect (note – it is perfect). Lets start by listing a few facts about all skate shoe brands.
1) All skate shoes are made in China by non-skaters. From Vox to Nike, no skaters are manufacturing the shoes.
2) All skate shoe brands have a skate team.
3) All skate shoe brands have skaters involved in running the team and helping with shoe designs.

With that said what makes skater owned brands different from corporate companies? I think there are two main differences which can be broken up as a pro and con. The pro is that the bigger brands have access to better technology which in many cases make better shoes. This isn’t always the case, just a general consensus. The con is that a non-skater bigwig executive type could pull the plug at any point. It’s my believe that a skater owned brand would hold onto their company longer then a major corporation trying to make numbers. Obviously there is a point where even skater owned brands shut down. Both the pro and con are huge though.

Another aspect of the skate shoe world that often gets overlooked is the environmental aspect. I live in Boulder, CO. I am kind of a hippy. So this is probably a bigger deal to me then others, but I want my shoes to last as long as possible. Both for financial reasons and to minimize my waste.

I guess overall to me the biggest thing is that you buy your shoes at your local skateshop. Whatever brand you chose as long as the local shop benefits I’m down. I personally do not like Nike though. Nike continues to steal riders and make way too much of a point of being everywhere. I want variety in skateboarding. I do not think badly of any other company. I am a little upset that the skater owned brands didn’t immediately improve their quality once bigger companies started moving in, but I think there has been more effort for quality lately.

Thanks for listening. Have fun. Go skate.

A couple random notes:
Supposedly the process of vulcanizing a shoe is incredibly bad for the environment. Why isn’t this a big deal?
New Balance isn’t actually a corporation, but a privately owned company. I didn’t know that until this week.

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Adidas – Suciu shoe review, New Balance Numeric – PJ Stratford 533 shoe review, Emerica – Westgate CC shoe review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on November 3rd, 2015 by corpo

cupsole shoe review battle pj ladd suciu westgate emerica adidas new balance numeric skateboarding

It’s a cupsole shoe battle royale! Featuring three shoes from some of my current favorite skateboarders. PJ Ladd, Mark Suciu and Brandon Westgate. I gave up on vulcanized shoes awhile ago because they hurt my legs and back too much. I wore Footprints Gamechanger orthotic insoles in all of these shoes. I love them and highly recommend them. I blow through the left toe of every shoe I’ve skated. So having to duct tape in an extra piece of suede into the toe is normal for me.

New Balance Numeric PJ Straford 533

pj ladd stratford 533 new balance numeric nb# brown gum

pj ladd stratford 533 new balance numeric nb# brown gum

Rating: ★★★★★ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★½☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★★★ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★½ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★½ STYLE
Rating: ★★★★★ OVERALL

The original Blackbox made Stratford 479 had become my favorite shoe ever. The New Balance made 533 had a lot to live up to. I loved how flexible and yet supportive the 479 was. The 479 was not very grippy though and not the most durable shoe. I have skated about 5 pairs of the PJ 533 now. While I was initially hesitant of the thicker and stiffer sole I have become just as big of fan of the PJ 533s. The 533 is way grippier and way more durable then the 479. The 533 toebox doesn’t fit as perfect as the 479 for me, but it’s still a good fit. This shoe lasts forever, over a month of skating everyday. It’s insane. From a hippy standpoint I really like that I’m killing fewer cows and wasting fewer resources when I skate these. And I am a huge PJ Ladd fan so supporting him is a major plus to me. This shoe is great. I do with the sole was slightly more flexible though.

Emerica Westgate CC

emerica brandon westgate cc  cupsole skate shoe review

emerica brandon westgate cc  cupsole skate shoe review

Rating: ★★★★☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★½ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★½☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★☆☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★☆☆ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ OVERALL

I have had the Leo and I don’t like that shoe. So I was happy to see the new Westgate offer a bit more support then the Leo, but still remain a simple thin cupsole. The long and narrow fit is a little weird and required some breaking in to avoid blisters on the outside of my toes. They are also a little too spongy for me initially. They did break in though and there were a few days where I loved this shoe. I say ‘a few days’ because the shoe didn’t last much longer then that. I wore through to the insole in 9 days. That is not good. For the record I skate Mob grip, but that didn’t stop the PJ shoes from lasting a month. I’m in a position where durability isn’t my biggest concern so I will say I still like this shoe quite a bit. Even if I couldn’t ollie over a car in them.

Adidas Suciu ADV

Adidas Mark Suciu ADV cupsole shoe review

Adidas Mark Suciu ADV cupsole shoe review

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★★ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★★½☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★½☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★★☆ STYLE
Rating: ★★★☆☆ OVERALL

Alright this is kind of a weird one to review. I like thin cupsoles so I thought the ADV would be similar to a cupsole. It’s not, it’s insanely thin and skates like a vulcanized shoe. It also comes with an incredibly thick insole which I replaced with my normal Footprints Gamechanger. So I didn’t really skate the shoe the way it’s designed. I only lasted a few days before I gave up on these. My feet hurt in them even just skating flatground. Rating the durability isn’t easy either as I only skated them a few days, but as you can see they already had wear marks. Judging from experience I don’t think they were very durable. With all that said, if you like a super thin shoe and a thick insole, maybe these are for you.

No surprise, but the PJ shoe wins. Never doubt PJ.

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Es Footwear Accent Review

Posted in Product Review, Shoe Reviews on October 14th, 2014 by corpo

es accent

es accent

Rating: ★★★½☆ STYLE
Rating: ★★★½☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★☆ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★★ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★½☆☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★½☆☆☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★★☆☆ OVERALL

I’m super hyped that Es is back. I’m hoping they put together a small team and keep at it. Anyways I had a few pairs of these. They run big. I normally wear a size 11, I wore a size 10 in these. They are very thin vulcs, so the break in period is almost non-existent. The sole durability is average for a vulc shoe. The top is below average, if I didn’t shoe goo them they would have had a hole in a couple days. The black ones with the patent leather are a bit much, but other then that they are a good looking shoe. I wore these on a road trip and my achilles was super sore by the end from pushing. I’m old though and should probably stick with the added support of cupsoles. All in all a decent vulc shoe.

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Etnies RCT shoe review

Posted in Shoe Reviews on January 12th, 2014 by corpo

Etnies RCT

Etnies RCT

Rating: ★★★★½ STYLE
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ COMFORT
Rating: ★★★★★ BOARD FEEL
Rating: ★★★★☆ BREAK IN PERIOD (Good rating means it doesn’t take long to break in)
Rating: ★★½☆☆ SOLE DURABILITY
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ UPPER DURABILITY
Rating: ★★½☆☆ OVERALL

This shoe straight up hurt my feet. I’ve been in more of a cupsole zone lately so I’m not sure why I even picked these up. The sole and the insole are very thin. Great board feel, but too much pain for me. A pretty nice looking shoe for sure, grippy sole, good fit. Didn’t last very long though.

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