Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Etnies Jameson Eco 2 shoe review

etnies_jameson_eco_2

As soon as the summer kicks in I’m craving one thing in particular – another fresh pair of the best recycled shoes you can pick up via etnies, and they never disappoint.

The Jameson Eco 2 is an annual must have. Not only do they give you what you need – a pair of summer kicks that without socks, just cruise through the warmer months and keep your feet happy, but also the fact that etnies are STILL planting trees in various forests around the world, and for every pair sold, another tree goes in the ground. They have managed to plant over a million trees to date in the forests of Costa Rica and Brazil in an attempt to create more oxygen, reduce more co2, mitigate climate change, grow food and feed people. Their mission has now turned to Africa where they continue to plant and create, just like their skateboarding.

As ever, recycled shoes take a little longer to break in than usual. Only a couple of days though so don’t be put off. The faux vulc cupsole stands up as good as it’s unnatural namesake, as does its recycled rubber outsole. Definitely one for the vegetarians out there but notably for everyone.

These are straight up chillers, and I would personally recommend skating in one of etnies’ other amazing lines of skate shoes and keep these for the downtimes. You literally cannot go wrong with a pair on your feet. Go check out the many colourways here.

Zac

etnies_jameson_eco2

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Girl Skateboards x Sub Pop collab

subpop_girl_decks

30 years of Sub Pop Records has been rightfully celebrated with Girl Skateboards in a new collab this week. The Seattle based record company famed for their grunge scene with Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden and many more have ruled the musical airwaves since their birth releasing classics along the way from the likes of Love Battery, The Shins, J Mascis, Afghan Whigs, Eric Matthews that have graced the Crossfire stereo weekly

Five decks and some garms have been released today that you can check out here. Enjoy this crate edit featuring Girl riders to Bully.

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Lakai x Motörhead collab

lakai_motorhead_hawk_shoe

Hawk Jr has Motörhead on his side of this new Lakai shoe collab that you can find here. Lemmy would have approved. In all skate shops now.

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

My First Skateboard

The wonderful illustration work of Henry Jones is now available in a new book titled, My First Skateboard written by pro skater, Karl Watson. The full colour, hard cover read for kids tells a children’s tale of how skateboarding can save the world, designed to inspire more kids to choose skateboarding.

It could be the perfect Christmas present for someone you know. Pick one up from here.

my-first-skate-book-karl_watson

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Etnies Jameson HTW Winterized Boots

jameson_htw_etnies_winter_boot_black

Are you on the lookout every winter for a simple pair of boots? Not to skate in of course, because it’s rare to find a crossover that works, just a clean and simple boot that deals with the shitty British deep freeze and dampness for 5 months straight. The kind of boots that don’t make your feet wet. Boots that don’t have heels or super thick soles that take forever to put on and make you feel like a stupid goth twat. Do you ever feel this seasonal anxiety?

The chances are that I’m on my jacks on this one, but for those who agree that this feeling exists I can safely say that those frustrating days are long gone, because etnies have totally smashed it with their Jameson HTW. I’ve personally been a big fan of the Jameson range from their very first offering, which include the SC, Bloodline, eco, eco 2 etc – they’ve always delivered a killer shoe to skate in but these new winterized numbers are next level and guess what? You can even bloody well skate in them too. Question is though: why did it take so long? Perfection always takes time and with 30 years experience in the game, etnies are now looking to up their game across all of their ranges and nailing it too.

jameson_htw_etnies_winter_boot_black

These boots are ridiculously comfortable as soon as they hit your feet but not too bulky like some other winter boots I’ve reviewed in the past. These are skate shoes with amazing waterproofed gum compound on the outside, mirrored by insulated, quick dry material on the inside. The tread on the sole is a little deeper than your average skate shoe allowing you more stability on slippery surfaces too – like ice and snow. Once back indoors, you can stick your shoes on a radiator when wet and they will dry pretty quickly. They are also easy to clean just with a wet rag, or in the washing machine on a low heat, but the best fact of all is that you don’t feel like you are lugging around any weight – just like wearing a skate shoe.

I opted for the jet black ones (as I once was a stupid goth twat) but these also come in brown tan and also black with white soles as you can see in the photos. No joke, these are the best winter boots I’ve ever had on my feet and made by the skaters of Soletech, for skaters. Just don’t tell anyone else how good these are, and that they are only £85, otherwise you will see them in your local high street shops by February and your Dad will be wearing them.

Zac

jameson_htw_etnies_winter_boot_black

etnies_jameson_HTW

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

éS SWIFT 1.5 preview

5101000158-976-S-001

The 90’s seem to be making a big old comeback right now with everyone cashing in on rave tunes and retro clobber. Only today, DC and Dime released a stupid looking shoe that probably performs well, so what have éS got to offer this month?

The Swift 1.5 is now unleashed and built with full blown tech inside for your rides to last longer. Big fan of the ollie tear. About time shoe companies started assisting skaters again with protection from ollie damage. You only have one job remember shoe brands…

Enjoy Ronnie Creager and Tom Asta shredding the LA Courthouse and note that their cousin, the Swift Everstitch is a peachy number too. Follow your nose to our review.

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

éS Swift Everstitch review

es_swift_everstitch_skate_shoe

Succumb to the beautiful curves of the new éS Swift Everstitch. With its glistening tones and finely tuned stitching these stunning-to-look-at-and-even-better-out-the-box kicks have skateboarding, and only skateboarding in mind.

éS have no need to host lame tennis court events to promote their shoes. These are built for those who truly love the feeling of a new shoe pushing hard into the grit between molecules on your griptape and do so like a boss.

Firstly, these are super lightweight when you lift them from their crib. Secondly they are super comfy – like pillows as your toes seep into the STI within and thirdly, for those who like to skate in the winter, you will happy to know that a wave managed to creep over my toes in these just last week on a beach and my feet stayed as dry as a bone. They also go through a washing machine like a hot knife through butter.

Oh and did I mention these were vegan shoes? Magic you say? YéS, to a degree, because that is what you get when skateboarders have been serving up kicks for skateboarders since 1995. Pure magic, once again, from the masters of all skate shoe making.

Support skateboarding. Buy éS.

Zac

Learn more about the morals of éS here.

es_swift_everstitch_skate_shoe

es_swift_everstitch_skate_shoe

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Skate Not Hate clothing by the Splintercell

skate_not_hate_tee

We are lucky as skateboarders to have been integrated into our own society amongst people of all races and rarely do we witness racism within our own scene. In fact, thinking about it, I personally cannot think of one example of it existing wherever I’ve sessioned with others in over 30 years. The majority of us accept anyone who rides a skateboard wherever we go and to that end we should all feel truly blessed that this behaviour is the norm, as the minority out there seem to be spreading hatred that we thought was eradicated in the last century only for ‘politicians’ to bring it back into the mainstream via a cruel and disgusting faction. There should simply be no place for it, ever.

Local Nottingham skater Peter Urbacz is famed for his amazing creative posts on his socials (that we steal every month) and can also sand down and sculpt recycled skateboards to make the raddest stuff under his @thesplintercell insta page. In his owns words in regards to his latest prints and why they are available, Peter had this to say:

“Last year some racist shit went down and we got fired up to counter it in someway positive, so me and my skate buddy Joe from theprintink.co.uk did some non-profit tees and stickers under the #stampoutfascism banner to show that skaters don’t tolerate fascism and racism. We raised over £400, and all the money raised went to help local refugees. So after what just happened in Charlottesville and seeing the rise of the haters everywhere, we are moved to do it again. This time we hope to raise much more and also inspire some of the younger refugee community to skate.”

Tees (£15) and long-sleeved tees (£25) are available order now with a free sticker at skatenothate.bigcartel.com or search and share the hastags #stampoutfascism #skatenothate. Spread that good word folks.

skate_not_hate_sweater

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Emerica Leo Romero x Truman skate shoe

leo_romero_emerica_truman_skate_shoe1

There’s nothing better than opening a fresh box to smell a waft of full grain hand selected Zambian leather and a slab of goodness looking right at you. Even better though, is that these come in a box that slide out making that experience all the better. Plus you can keep the box for filing shit and actually have an excuse to be organised for once.

This is the third pair of Leo Romero’s from Emerica that have graced my feet over the years. They are not similar to any of the other models on the brand and always come up rather small in comparison. With my pinkies just fitting into these and their first day on ‘crete, I decided that there’s no goddam way that I’m wasting these beauties sliding around on the floor playing skateboards. Fuck that, these are far too sexy to trash on a rig. Instead, these are now my night shoes, or my day shoes. They are just not my skate shoes. But you can do what you want. They can be skated in. I’ve just ordered the boots for the re-match.

Truman is Chad Tim Tim and Leo Romero’s creative leather thing so expect to see more collabs in the future for shoes that are far too sweet to skate in.

leo_romero_emerica_truman_skate_shoe1

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

éS X DGK collab shoe preview

eS_DGK_shoe_skate

éS footwear and the mighty DGK Skateboards have collabed this month on a new premium collection for your feet. They have mixed and matched the Accel Slim, the Accel Slim mid, and the premium Sesla alongside a range of clothing that includes tees, hoodies, and accessories put together by éS and DGK riders: Wade DesArmo, DeMarquis McDaniels, Juan Moreno, and Shinya Masuda.

Ask your local skate shop to order them in.

eS_DGK_shoe_skate

eS_DGK_shoe_skate