28.03.07
Not so long ago, I reviewed the DVS Baron as a shoe to chill in and lounge about with after skating. It was good for that.
Then, I came across a predicament where I was wearing my Barons and a session was going off. Naturally I got my skate on, but a little voice kept telling me to hold back a bit because I wasn’t wearing the toughest of skate shoes, and no-one wants to ruin a pretty pair of slippers, do they? That little voice was evidently squashed by the noise of boards slapping on coping and raucous cheers as the skate session thumped harder.
One session led to another and before I knew it, the DVS Barons had become my official skate shoes for the next couple of months. Why I was worried about rubbing a lo-cut pair of flexy sole slippers on abrasive sandpaper didn’t outweigh the fact that the Barons gripped and flipped better than a few armour-plated shoes I’d worn in the past. I suppose the simplicity of the design had something to do with it. A gum sole, rubber outline and canvas and suede upper can be combined to create a fine piece of footwear. No air bubbles meant optimum board feel. No ankle straps meant quicker response to ankle movement. And no pleather upper meant affirmative grip on each ollie.
I won’t lie and say that the Barons are indestructible because that isn’t true. The outline that took the most abuse obviously wore down rather fast, and a couple of shoe goo amendments to the laces had my feet buckled in safely.
However, the overall wear and tear of the underside and upper was pretty minimal considering such a lo-fi design for a shoe. The Baron is a no-nonsense skate shoe that looks good when you don’t skate it, and feels good when you do. Keep that in mind when you go looking for fashion over function and vice-versa.
Go to www.dvsshoes.com
7/10
Ralph L-D
17.03.07
