Parlour Skateshop have hooked up with Lakai Shoes this Thursday 21st June for a cruise across London to support Go Skateboarding Day. The street sesh will include hitting up 7 spots that start at Mile End and finish at Old Street kicking off at 4.30pm. The first 50 people will receive FREE Lakai tees. How can you miss this?
When éS thought of the concept of simplicity vs technical, they pulled out quite a few stops to produce a very minimalistic skate shoe that can easily be mistaken for a loafer rather than something you would wear when skateboarding. They’ve released these in a few different versions, but I’m picky and if ain’t suede, I ain’t riding them. Fortunately for me, this model has full suede uppers supported by synthetic leather lining throughout.
Slim shoes should always have a thin tongue, again, a feature apparent on these beauties. A nice added feature I personally like on the modern skate shoe is waxed laces, they look better and last a bit longer. éS have taken the initiative to ensure the laces are nice and shiny to match the slick appearance of the leather lining.
I will admit I wasn’t a fan of the stitch and turn toe cap due to the fact that it might hinder my flips and probably wear through rather quickly, but it really hasn’t influenced my board control in anyway and I was surprised to see it last this long. Professionals, Ams and all kinds of skaters are riding skinnier shoes these days, but they all know a slim shoe still needs a solid sole, which is why these represent a full length EVA midsole with a moulded STI system G2 embedded into it. The rubber outsole is a regular 400 NBS, slightly different to a vulc sole of course, but rather light and really not disappointing at all.
Overall I like these shoes, they’ve been good to me and outlasted their expectancy. I can’t fault them in anyway, but I do prefer a vulcanised outsole which I feel could have given them a slightly better overall performance.
2P
UK skate shops are stacked with new decks, wheels, clothing, shoes, hats and more right now so here’s our monthly gathering of what we think are the best options throughout July. Explore below for a selection of products available from Skate Mental, Girl, Superdead, Heroin, Drawing Boards, Volcom, Foundation, Unabomber, Chocolate, Crayon, Toy Machine, Fourstar, Altamont, DVS, Lakai, Kr3w, éS and Emerica.
If you would like your product considered for inclusion in this zine, get in touch here.
Back in July when we re-launched this mag we had the pleasure of trying out a limited edition version of the First Blood signature shoe from éS rider and Beast from the East, Bobby Worrest and we were not disappointed. Well actually that’s a lie, we were actually gutted that éS had not released the leather version of these in plain black once their collab with graf artist Cycle had passed as they are one hell of a skate shoe and in leather they are as slick looking as Ice-T and his mates on the front of the Power sleeve.
After searching the web for simple black versions I found these black, red and gum sole versions in suede and they were that good that I ordered two pairs. Sometimes if you love a shoe that much and think that it suits your needs it’s always worth investing for the future as they do become harder to find as time ticks on.
Worrest’s kicks come in various other colours and are full of the usual goodness like the System G2 malarkey in the heel and that griptape sucking, vulcanized sole that was just made for skateboarding. It’s the most simple skate shoe ever made and on par with the Etnies Faction- no fancy shit, comfortable as hell with a thin padded tongue with a beer inspired logo fitted with those elastic tongue-centering straps that hold your entire life together. What more do you want from a skate shoe? Everyone has their own styles but for me I need look no further.
Rambo was the last surviving member of his unit in First Blood, the movie that I guess inspired the name of these kicks and with that in mind I believe it’s worth fighting everyone in your path to get a pair of these before they become ‘last year’s collection’.
MT
When we visited Soletech’s labs in LA last summer, Bobby Worrest’s collection was being prepped and looked like one of the highlights of 2010. A year later and Bobby’s signature éS shoe the First Blood is being voted by most skaters as one of the best shoes on the market.
This month Bobby has collab’d his successful shoe with Cycle– a graffiti artist famous for his artwork spanning over 20 years in Washington DC. The 2 guys met in a local bar, shot the shit and got their heads down to design this end product.
The shoes are strong, comfortable and lightweight and made from a wonderful shiny leather that makes you feel as though you have more than just a skate shoe on your feet. The tongue is not too fat that it gets in the way, the System G2™ heel cushioning gel insert provides cushioning only found in a Soletech shoe which feels perfect and skate straight out of the box.
The suede versions of course tend to get battered a little harder where your feet scrape the griptape when you ollie so these leather versions should last you a little longer which is worth thinking about if you go through skate shoes like Chunk does Baby Ruth’s.
MT