Sizing

The Etnies Marana Vulc fits slightly bigger than average shoes, we suggest trying it on at your local skateshop before purchasing.

Durability

The Etnies Marana Vulc features a recently popularized shoe technology; a rubber coating around the toecap. This greatly improves durability in this area, even though there was still visible wear during our 10h test. The sidewalls lived up to our expectations as well. The lateral part of the sole is protecting the suede whilst conserving the amazing flick. Moreover, the sidewalls don’t offer any seams that could tear. Even the Etnies logo is printed on. The only visible weak spot is the mesh material around the heel area, which tore rather quickly.

Cushioning

As shown in the cross-section, the Etnies Marana Vulc features a slim sole and a foam insole. The insole is constructed of STI Evolution Foam, a really lightweight material. This provides enough cushioning without sacrificing boardfeel, especially for below average impact skating.

Shape

Compared to other vulcanized models, the Marana Vulc is shaped rather wide. Even though padding in the tongue and heel area kept the shoe in place, we wouldn’t recommend this shoe for those with slimmer feet. For those with wider feet, the shoe ends in a pointy toe to help you control your flips.

Boardfeel and grip

The Marana Vulc focuses on boardfeel and grip. The already mentioned thin sole construction provides great boardfeel with direct contact between grip and board, even when skated straight out of the box. Grip is balanced really well, too. The flexible sole and the deep sole pattern did their part; grip did not decrease throughout our whole testing period.

Comfort and stability

Overall, the Etnies Marana Vulc is comfortable. The lack of seams on the inside makes sure no annoying pressure marks are possible. But the rather wide cut leaves lots of space in the general heel area, which leads to the need of lacing the shoe rather tightly. Weight and ventilation are below average, mostly because there is hardly any chance for humidity to get out the vulcanized sole is rather heavy. Stability is satisfactory, especially due to a stiffening plastic element in the heel. Overall shape stability is fair, the only part of the shoe that showed significant changes after our 10 H test was the opening of the shoe, which got a little wider.

 Summary

The Etnies Marana Vulc is a good vulcanized skate shoe. Grip and boardfeel are the major keypoints here, whilst cushioning and shape are a little off. If you have rather wide feet and are having a hard time finding a well-fit vulc model, this model’s made for you.

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Etnies

Etnies revealed at the Bright Tradeshow a mix of both very technical and classical models. Etnies has extended the Marana “Bloodline” with the introduction of a vulcanized Marana version, as well as an even more technical Marana model.

Emerica

After Emerica’s perpetual streak of releasing new models in the last two years, it was deemed time to facelift a model, or two. Righteously so, the Reynolds and the popular Bryan Herman Pro Model “G6” have been updated with a classic vulcanized sole. Thus, the Emerica collection has broadened even more and the #HigherQuality campaign starts this year in the next round.

HUF

HUF has outgrown the small shop in San Francisco for several years now and has earned their place in the skateboard universe with not only their clothes, but also their shoe collection. Last year, the team has expanded with the addition of Austyn Gillette and Dylan Rieder. Dylan is known for his extravagant shoe and clothing style, most notably after the release of his model with pre-HUF sponsor, Gravis. HUF was not afraid to back Dylan’s style and has helped design him another unconventional model. In addition, HUF showcased new colors for the already established shoe models and new additions to their clothing collection.

Vans

Vans had one of the largest booths and focused, like many other companies at Bright, on already established models for fall 2014. Our focuses were mainly on the Chima Pro and the recently released Gilbert Crocket Pro model. However, a new model that will be introduced this year will be the AV Classic, an Anthony van Engelen signature shoe. The model features a classic design with a lot of hidden technological attributes such as a Duracap element in the typical ollie-hole area.

DVS

DVS is fully back and that will continue in 2014. They were one of the few companies that presented several new models, including a new model for Chocolate Pro, Chico Brenes. Likewise, Torey Pudwill will get a shoe that comes with a Velcro closure which is aimed to protect the laces and also improve the stability.

Part 2 coming soon…

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When a new shoe is introduced one year earlier than planned, there must be something special about it. In this case, the public demand for the newest Ryan Sheckler pro-model made this happen, especially after it was crowned as the „most durable shoe I ever skated“ by Ryan himself.

Flashing the red model with the obvious white Etnies logo at various Street League and X-Games events along with the clever use of social media lead to an ever-increasing momentum of hype. As a result, Etnies decided to release the Marana to the public way sooner than they initially planned, and the success proved them right. Weather the shoe can live up to these new levels of hype can be read in the following lines.

Sizing

The Etnies Marana fits true to size.

Durability

Needless to say, the most noticeable feature of the Marana is the toecap. It’s made of a soft plastic-like material and although it may look a little unfamiliar at first, it does its job extremely well.

After 10 h of skating, the suede below the cap is hardly visible. This key feature is especially advantageous when learning new tricks and the abrasion takes place in the same small areas over and over again. Other areas of the Marana proved to be very durable as well. The sole shows only few signs of wear and the lateral sidewalls are protected to some degree by the rubbery Etnies logo, which is one of the main contacts of the griptape in this area. Even the shoelaces stayed mostly intact due to the clever placement of the eyelets. The only thing that suffered mentionable abrasion was the mesh-material around the heel-area, which is torn up easy, especially when doing heelflip-variations.

Cushioning

As shown in the cross-section, the Etnies Marana uses a foamed midsole of yellow „STI Evolution Foam“ as well as a „Pro 1“ PU – insole, both innovations of Sole Technology and its STI lab.

Fancy names for sure, but for good reason since they are actually able to provide a lot of cushioning. Overall the model is build for high impacts and the combination of a dampening midsole with a rigid outsole unit manages to absorb ground reaction forces due to bails very well.

Shape

Contrary to belief, the Marana doesn´t feel as bulky as it might seem at first sight.

Even though there is quite some cushioning in the tongue and heel area, the contact between foot and shoe still feels close. The shape itself is rather wide, which is great news for people with wider feet that nowadays might have a hard time finding properly-fitting models. Moreover, the broad, slightly rounded toecap provides surprisingly good flick and control.

Boardfeel and grip

After examining the shoe’s boardfeel it is clear that the compromise between cushioning/boardfeel resulted in a larger focus on cushioning and protecting the foot.

The foamed midsole and especially the stiff outsole decrease the overall boardfeel to some degree. For that reason models with a vulcanized sole are ahead of the race here. However, after some time wearing and skating the Marana, the boardfeel increases noticeably since the sole becomes softer and more flexible. This also increases the grip of the sole since the shoe starts adapting better to the concave of the deck. Again, it can’t entirely be compared to vulc-like standards, but the Marana still provides above-par grip.

Comfort and stability

The overall craftsmanship of the Etnies Marana is great. The small amount of stitching inside and non-existent tongue-straps make it a very comfortable shoe. The only drawback is that the heel-lock is relatively weak, which means that the shoe has to be tied rather tightly to provide a proper fit without the foot slipping out. This is partly due to the very soft upper part of the shaft, which prevents blisters and increases comfort to some degree, but noticeably decreases the heel lock. The Marana provides a great amount of stability and supports the foot at the most critical points. Even though heel-lock is rather weak, the overall rigid and supportive construction compensates this flaw very well. It is able to provide a very secure feeling while skating due to the stability of heel area and sole unit, especially if you are aiming for bigger gaps.

Summary

The Etnies Marana is a shoe that lays focus on durability, cushioning and stability, to some degree at the cost of boardfeel. If you are mainly skating heavy impact spots or are aiming for maximum longevity for your buck, this shoe will suit you well.

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