Supra has always tried to balance their shoe collection with technical and basic models to cater all kinds of skater preferences. The Avex is influenced by the technical side, with a technical design and modern features. This is an exciting step and more than enough reason for us to test the Avex with all that we got.

Sizing

The Supra avex fits true to size.

Durability

The two-piece design has both advantages and disadvantages when it comes down to durability. The absence of material overlapping along the front half featuring durable suede is highly durable. The second part consists of mesh and reduces weight while also increases durability. Its placement in the mid-foot area, however, is some kind of a weak spot. Depending on your method of flipping and ollieing, this section might be prone to ripping, as such happened in one of our sample models. The shaft frayed rather easily, too. The sole on the other hand showed no weaknesses, after our 10h test not a single bald spot could be found. Overall, given the benefits and drawbacks of the design, durability can be described as average.

Cushioning

No matter what, cupsoles are still supreme to vulc when it comes down to cushioning. The Supra Avex featuring EVA foam all over its sole is another prime example for that, cushioning was good. The difference in thickness between heel and toes ensures solid cushioning in the heel area whilst maintaining great boardfeel in the toe area.

Shape

Despite the cushioning, the silhouette of the Avex is rather slim. It fits tightly and ends in a pointy toe. This shape ensures good control and flipping tricks is as easy as can be.

Boardfeel and grip

One advantage of this model is the boardfeel. The slim insole combined with a thin sole in the toe area ensures direct contact between foot and board. Even though the heel is significantly thicker, boardfeel is quite balanced and even cushioning in the thin areas is still pretty good. Although the sole gets flexible with wear, the grip is average. There is room for improvement in this field, especially during the first session.

Comfort and stability

The padded heel leads to a solid heel-lock without restricting movement, thanks to its rather low cut. The inside of the shoe is pretty much seamless, reducing the chance of rubbing or pressure marks. The usually underappreciated area of ventilation is a big plus here too; especially because of the mesh sidewalls and tongue, heat and humidity get transported well. Another important feature is weight reduction. The model is light thanks to the tech materials used in the Avex. Stability can be described as average. During the 10h of testing the shoe didn’t lose shape, but a did lose its stability.

Summary

The Avex is a well designed and important addition to the Supra skate shoe collection. Thanks to its technical elements, boardfeel and comfort are its notable strengths. Slight weaknesses can be found when it comes down to durability and grip.

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Then again this shouldn’t come too surprising since they have an amazing lineup of models like the Cuba, Pistol, Stacks, Hammer and Ellington which are quite popular. But still, all those models have been out for some time. Supra realized that and put quite some work into a new team model, the Avex.

The initial plan was to weartest the shoe at the new Les Corts Skatepark but we had the amazing luck to catch one of the few days with rain. After some phone calls, a quick decision was made: the weartest would happen at the Nevermind, an infamous skateboard bar with cheap beer and a concrete pool in it. It was surreal seeing a large group of people holding their boards walk through Barcelona, all wearing the same shoe.  Arriving at the bar, most people chose to test the grippiness of the shoe by spilling beer on it and doing weird dance moves, whilst Oscar Candon, Arthur Derrien and others ripped the tiny and really tough to skate pool. The shoes performed stellar, hardly anybody fell down and everybody loved the look of it. Also, it was quite obvious that even though they are a rather tech inspired model, they are skateable right out of the box.

Since we stayed a little longer, we straight up tested the shoe on the streets, and it performed quite good as expected. Stay tuned for the full weartested review coming early in 2015!

Text and photos: Stefan Lind (http://layingbreadcrumbs.com/)

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