Category: Skateboarding Product Reviews

So, Element have decided to pierce the shoe market, and Crossfire were on the receiving end of their first batch of skate shoes for a thorough testing. Here is what happened over the space of 2 weeks:

Day 1: I pick a brown leather and suede pair of Stratus Element shoes. I don’t usually wear leather shoes for fear of slippery abrasion surfaces, but these grip my board like a gorilla. I could skate the Stratus straight out of the box which is always a bonus. So far so good…

Day 5: The Stratus is a very flexible shoe so my feet aren’t hurting from pinching or strain. It is also an incredibly light piece of footwear with good board feel so you can trust your board to do what you tell it to. However, the leather ollie area is turning white, not only on my forward foot, but the switch side is also beginning to look scratched up..?

Day 10: Well, that worn leather got worse and now it has torn slightly like the broke skin of a fruit or something. The shoes are still relentless in their grip though. The sole has also worn flat, but no holes yet. It does make it tricky trying to climb up slippery skatepark banks though.

Day 15: Am I a beast at switch skating? Not to my knowledge, but judging by the gaping hole on my wrong foot wear the stitching has burst, I guess I am! Needless to say, areas of stitching have also split on my front foot, and a lace has snapped too. I could change it with the spare laces provided in the box, but they are red (?!). Not the best colour combined with brown, I must say…

So there you have it – Two weeks with my feet in a pair of Element Skate Shoes: The Stratus. Despite the apparent damage occurred, I must say that the shoes are relatively comfy and sure do grip. They have lost their shape a bit, but I think that is normal for light weight flexy shoes.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis
03/05/2006

OK, OK, we all know that Ryan Sheckler is tiny, minute even, and of course the envy of every kid across the globe for skating flawless at such a young age, but at some point, he had to go pro for Etnies.

After 20 years in the game, the Worlds most uniquely driven shoe company have decided that youth is proof and have handed the keys over to this little talented bugger and you know what? Yep, they have come up with the most comfortable shoe i have ever put on my feet!

It must be caused by all those crazy testing laborotaries that Etnies have hidden next door to the place where they keep those aliens that landed in the 70’s, but shit you not, these shoes wanna skate as soon as they go on your feet!

Here’s the spiel: Sheckler designed them and tested them, they are a combination of rubber and suede, the tongue is the most comfortable you will get in a shoe, the inner cushioning is like a foot party, and then you have the combined added bonuses of the System G2 heel slaying support and the STI foam, whatever that is, but i know it’s darn good.

So, these are winners…they look cool, they feel great on, they have a fantastic sole to merge with your griptape and are seriously comfortable. Don’t you just wanna throw a small poo at Sheckler even more now! Damn!

Click here to see all the colouways etc

Chuck Bangers

I think the importance of good skate wheels has been neglected these days… Most companies don’t bother to state the durometer factor of their product, and when someone introduces a new gimmick like cores or something (luckily the one bearing wheel was a one-off!), you can bet your set-up the others will soon follow. Spitfire Wheels actually care about what you ride and you can feel it when you set up a set of their rollers.

I received these Classics and gave them a thorough testing. This involved bombing hills, skating bowls, ledges, manuals, asphalt, paving stones, wood- The whole nine. I got a brief scare when I leant my board to an old schooler who only one trick- the powerslide! I thought I had a flatspot, but this soon disappeared.So, after a good thrashing the Spitfire Classics did one thing – Get smaller.

These aren’t the hardest wheels on the market but that translates as more grip when the speed increases. So if you are an all terrain vehicle that likes to push the boat out speed wise, you might be very interested in checking out a set of these.

9/10 – Nothing’s perfect.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis
06/04/2006

If you have been skating for more than 2 years you will be bound to know that Circa shoes have lost a lot of their top riders to companies such as Fallen, Osiris and the mighty Globe. This may have damaged their previous reputation of having one of the strongest shoe teams in the business but they still manage to make some kick ass shoes.

The pair I got, Circa Cx205’s (brown and white in colour) had many functions such as a ‘C1 Reflex cushion’ attached to the innersole, a rubber toe cap, a removable strap and is made from a 100% synthetic leather upper for all the vegans out there.

I got these shoes in the middle of the summer and seeing as I was skating hard every day, and these shoes lasted me six to eight weeks, I was well impressed. They felt pretty stiff at first but after a day or two of wearing them in they felt like a dream. They were particularly good to Ollie in and were great at absorbing the shock from big drops.

These shoes really are one of Circa’s finest moments.

Chris Arundel

Make sure you check out www.circafootwear.com for all the trimmings.

These were designed by Mike Carroll to accommodate the skateboarder who prefers a slightly higher rig. The geometry is custom set and the bushings are a little tighter with a smoother turning radius.

The MID range sports a low set kingpin, which prevents it from dragging, and it’s wrapped up in custom shaped bushings that responds well to your every turn. The trucks are of lightweight design, and are made by using GRADE A aluminium for extra strength.

They’ll serve you well on any terrain, be it rough banks, bowls, ramps, marble or concrete…whatever you fancy, these are solid, fast and they’ll definitely last…

Enjoy them.

Two-Pee

Jason Adams is an inspiring individual and rules on a plank. He still has the mad ability to execute gnarlers like he did back in the 90’s, doesn’t blow his own trumpet and portraits skateboarding in a fun manner…RESPECT!

Then my 8.25″ of Resin-7 constructed wood arrived, I could hardly contain my excitement and hit the streets straight away. She’s a beast in many peoples opinion, but too perfect in so many ways.

In past experiences I’ve found enjoi boards to be rather skinny and quite concaved, but my flavour has matured a bit since then and this beauty is as flat as they come. The shape is amazing and the board is super stable/comfortable.

Tail and Nose have a mellow lift, with the tail being slightly shorter in length. It’s still a pretty fresh plank (4 weeks), but it’s retained it’s pop excellently and still stands strong like it did on day one.

I’ve managed to chip the nose, but my board did fly off a 30 ft drop into a car park, so that’s pretty self explanatory! The graphic sports a six gun shooter on a pink background, a replica to Billy the Kid, whom never shot blanks either…SKILLS.

It’s a great ride and Jason Adams rocks it fast and gnarly!!!

Two-Pee

www.enjoico.com

When I first slipped into these, they felt amazingly comfortable and they blew me away. These are Andrew Reynolds 3rd signature model on Emerica, and I think he’s done a really good job with these.

Specs wise, the suede/leather uppers are stuck to a vulcanised gum rubber outsole that have a great grip control contrast, not too much nor to little! They have a seamless toe cap with perforations for fresh shoe-breath, and a nicely padded tongue with straps to keep it lined up and comfortable throughout. It also sports a System G2 in the heel for cushioning support to keep you heel bruise free whilst perfecting your frontside flips down the Newcastle 40.

I personally enjoy riding these and am currently on my second pair. I have to say that they don’t seem to hold up that long and become flimsy after a few months of grip dragging, but they hold up long enough for you to get great kicks out them. They’re great and I love rocking them, definitely a good overall skate shoe.

“Old shoes were good new”

Two-Pee

DVS runs a tight ship of stylers, and everybody knows that you can judge a man by his shoes, so these kicks have got to look good. The Nova keeps things simple- it’s lo-cut, gum sole, suede, no air bags, stash pockets ankle straps or other wing dings. In fact, when I first saw this shoe, I thought it might not last very long, because of the minimalist outlook- I was wrong.

Now, I know the winter is not the best time of year to test new skate shoes, but every occasion I got I went for roll about, thrash and slash. And if Mother Nature was hellbent on keeping me indoors or offboard, I still wore my Nova’s.

Firstly, the gum sole grips. Always a good sign because in today’s saturated skate shoe market, some people will use anything for a sole in order to flog stock… So, I’ve got good grip, but will it last? I know other brands’ gum soles wear down pretty fast, but this DVS material took a good 4-5 months to finally bear a hole!

Next, the suede upper and toe area. I prefer suede to shiny leather because it grips your board straight away and doesn’t slip around like oiled fish scales. However, leather lasts longer as suede takes a harsh knock when applied to abrasive grip. Stitchings pop and holes rub through, and before you know it the shoe has fallen to pieces! Not here. The DVS Nova kept things together and even if the stitching wore away, the layers didn’t peel apart. In the toe area where ollies do the most damage, the suede simple wore away very slowly to reveal a weird silicone layer that wasn’t going anywhere. No holes for my socks!

Finally, I rock the hidden lace hoops because ripped and torn strings are not a good look, plus shoe laces are never around when you really need one. The only place my lace snapped (once!) was where I thread it through a regular hoop. Oh well…

So, the DVS Nova gets some sausage thumbs up. It’s simple and sturdy- two things so many skate shoes can’t seem to get right.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis
16/03/2006

www.lakai.com

I know what you are thinking as you look at this image – “what the fuck!”.

But hold the next line as these are the most comfy shoes i have worn in ages, like pillows to keep your heel bruises with smiles on their smug faces! Well goodbye suckers cos i ain’t riding without these even if they look like they just flew out of a gay Miami slumber party!

Seriously, i opened the box and was almost sick, but it was my birthday, slipped them on and you know what – “it’s my party and i do what i want to, pizza face” because these may be big shoes and i don’t usually float a mid-top, but they pack em, if you know what i mean. Summer is round the corner in this town and i will be wearing these at every slumber party AND even at the skatepark at lunch times, so suck my oil.

By the way, have you seen the Lakai trailer for Fully Flared yet?* No? What kind of droid are you?

*hint to visit their website….

Chuck Bangers

www.emericaskate.com

OK, arguably Emerica make the best skate shoes out there, i know what i prefer to ride in when i go skate and they are usually in the top 5 shoes in my porch that i grab on the way out.

Now these little beauties have just become number one on that grab list purely due to it’s simple form. I mean, if you are one of those fat sneakered types, then fuck it, you know that Emerica ain’t famous for that style really (unless you grab a pair of those Ellingtons and to be honest, he has done the offs from this team anyways), but seriously if you like a good clean simple skate shoe with style then these in black and white can’t lose.

The padded tongue is the best part (pardon the etnies pun) as the shoe just glues around your feet straight from the box without you having to wear it in. These are similar to the Tilts – with a superb grippy sole and also sleek to so you can pull birds in them out at your local boozer as well. What more do you want?

Chuck Bangers