His debut pro model from Nike was released just a year prior, so there’s no doubt that the Nike product team was already working on his second model at the time. Upon first glance, the Ishod 2, or Ishod “Wair Max” as it’s officially called, was pretty sporty looking. The shoe looked technical, almost reminiscent of a 90’s basketball shoe with its debut obsidian color way and it somehow worked better on the eyes than a lot of the other shoes that were trying to capture 90’s nostalgia. With that said, if there’s any skater to make a new silhouette look steezy, it’d be Ishod. We got our hands on a pair of the new Ishod Wair Max, and put these to the test! Read on below to see how they fared.

SIZING

The Nike SB Ishod 2 fits true to size.

DURABILITY

The Nike SB Ishod 2 is a shoe built to last and has really good durability for several reasons. Firstly, let’s look at the forefoot section. The first toe box material layer is a stiff leather material that also adds structural rigidity to the toe box. Since this material is front and center to griptape abrasion and doesn’t offer the best flick, Nike SB also added a suede layer around the toebox. One special feature of this panel is that the suede rim is stitch-and-turned which helps to increase the durability and rigidity of the whole panel. Despite first concerns, this construction held up really well in our 10-hour wear test. First signs of wear of the suede panel developed in the kick flip area but with that layered suede, it kept its strength and did not loosen up.

Secondly, although the midfoot section features some overlapping materials and stitched layers, no major signs of wear appeared. Lastly, the sole pattern of the shoe turned out to be very durable as well, especially for how boardfeel-oriented the shoe’s design was. One impressive feature noticed after our 10-hour test is the lace protection reminiscent of 90’s skate shoes, which worked very well and no laces ripped.

CUSHIONING

Overall, the Nike SB Ishod 2 demonstrated an impressive cushioning performance. The combination of a stable upper and the well-thought-out sole construction resulted in pretty impressive impact protection. The sole construction consists of a vulcanized rim around the upper and is then embedded in a cupsole. Usually the main cushioning elements are hidden, but the Nike SB designers made it visible from the outside through the window in the heel area. As shown in the half-cut picture, the sole itself is thin and the main cushioning element is an drop-in insole with a Nike Air Max element glued into it. It was definitely noticeable to have a very secure and good cushioning feeling and the shoe can absorb medium to high impacts.

SHAPE

The second pro Model from Ishod is a rather technical silhouette inspired by retro skate and basketball designs. The Nike SB designers took inspiration from the AirMax silhouettes but also kept the signature details from Ishod’s first shoe consistent, like the vulc-cupsole mix, the stability strap and the medial ventilation. Looking down, the shoe looks very slim with its heel and midfoot section to run parallel to each other and then narrows down towards the toe to end with an arrow-shaped toebox with a clear peak. When looking in a mirror to see the side, the shoe looks rather big because of its seemingly higher than normal cut.

BOARDFEELI&IGRIP

The sole’s thickness in the front, as well as the overall stability of a shoe, are essential for boardfeel. The thinner sole in the toe-area of the Ishod 2 helps create a good board feel and the feet have a close connection with the board. However, the shoe needed some time breaking in to showcase this. The sole construction felt stiff in the beginning and needed one to two sessions to develop its flexibility but once reached, the shoe had really good boardfeel.

With regards to the grip, the Ishod 2 was below average; there were times where you could feel it become a bit slippery, especially fresh out the box. But in general, the rubber composite used held up well during the 10-hour wear test.

COMFORTI&ISTABILITY

The most important features for a comfortable skate shoe include weight, ventilation and a well-crafted inner shoe area. Overall, the Nike SB Ishod is lightweight and the inner area is crafted very well, featuring lock-in tongue straps that are connected to the heel area and help achieve a comfortable feeling for the feet. A highlight of the Ishod 2 is also its exceptional breathability which is created though a large medial mesh material window.

The stability is definitely an outstanding strength of the Ishod 2. The upper, with its multiple layer construction from toe to heel, maintained its structure very well over the 10-hour test. Nike SB took the stability strap from Ishod’s first shoe to the next level. The lacing system is connected to a midfoot cage which tightens around the foot when tying the laces. The large lace loops not only protect the laces itself, they also make it easy to secure your feet when tying the shoe. In addition, the high cut heel area makes sure that no slipping out occurs and also protects the foot in this area.

SUMMARY

Ishod’s second signature model was impressive. Priced at around 100 bucks, this is the shoe to try if you’re looking for a new all terrain model that features a perfect balance between stability, board feel, durability and cushioning. It lacked in grip at first, but over time the composite breaks in and improves.

The post Nike SB Ishod 2 appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

Since our first interview with Jeff back in 2014, he’s kept FLY Streetwear going strong in Shanghai, building a heavy squad of young Shanghainese skaters, celebrating family life with the welcoming of his newborn, renovating the shop, and of course, designing this shoe. And although he typically likes to stay out of the limelight, Jeff let us pick his brain on the all new FLY Streetwear x Nike SB Dunk “Gardenia” shoe. Read on for the full interview below:

Streetwear has already hit a 20 year milestone! Can you tell us a bit on how FLY started?

Jeff: As of this year, FLY is officially 24 years old, since we started in 1999. The inception of our story is quite simple; I used to do sales at a Milk company where I was swamped with work, so I didn’t have any time to go skate. I opened this shop because I wanted to do something related to skating and in my parent’s eyes “opening a shop” was a business venture, so they approved. But truthfully, I just wanted to find an “out” to have more time to actually skate. We’ve been up and down Chang Le Rd. throughout these years, and we’ve just renovated our shop, located on 704 & 706 Chang Le Rd (长乐路704号) .

What was the most defining moment that put FLY on the global radar?

It was a while ago, but we filmed and released the Gift Video <It’s A Wrap>, which was China’s first official full length skate video. I forgot what year that came out, maybe you can help me find it. This, along with P-Rod’s cameo, got us on the global radar. The Nike SB partnerships over the years have also helped us reach an audience outside of Shanghai or China. In terms of collabs, this most recent Gardenia shoe marks the 7^th collab we’ve had with Nike SB. Every time we’ve collaborated, Nike’s been helping promote our Shanghai skate scene on an international platform.

Skateboarding in China has blossomed in recent years, and there’s been huge changes in the industry, culture and skill level of skateboarding. What’s your opinion of the development, are we headed in a positive direction?

Definitely. I also agree that the skateboarding scene in China has been through huge changes these past years. In the past few years, there has been an explosion in skateboarding, due to the Olympics. China is massive; and recently, almost every city in China has multiple skateparks. There are a bunch of skateparks that the government has commissioned to build, as well as private skateparks coming to life, run by skaters who can make a decent living from teaching skateboarding. The scene in China has its own unique characteristics. I think it’s still going in a positive direction. With the explosion of skate lessons across China, and the development of skateparks everywhere, Chinese parents are having a more positive outlook on skateboarding, which is still a crucial part in pushing the local skateboarding scene.

FLY creates a lot of shoes with designs inspired by traditional Chinese street culture (Vans cricket shoe, Hutong Dunks, FLY “Elderly Shanghai” board series). Can you share with us the inspiration behind this specific design and how it connects with Shanghai’s traditional street culture?

For this SB Dunk, my design inspiration came from early days of street culture in Shanghai. Back in the days, there were a lot of elderly grandmothers “lao nai nai” (老奶奶) who would sell Gardenia flowers on the street corners. This Gardenia flower is extremely fragrant and back then, colognes and perfumes weren’t easily accessible or even available. So during the summertime, the elderly street vendors would sell these flowers around the busiest corners of the street and passersby’s would buy them to hang on their shirt to smell fresh. Nowadays, these street vendors are even harder to find. I think this is as Chinese “street culture” as it gets, and I really wanted to preserve this element of street culture through the shoe design. In a way, skaters, including myself, “grew up” on the streets, and we’re pretty familiar with the ins and outs of our own local street culture, so it holds a special place in our hearts. With this shoe, I wanted to make sure this part of Shanghai’s history of street culture was preserved and could live on. Selling flowers in Shanghai and skateboarding are two things that both live on the streets, so it was a perfect design inspiration.

Usually with shoe collabs there are strict guidelines in re-iterating their logos. With this Nike SB collab, what was different in terms of the freedom to design?

I think this is what separates Nike from other brands and companies. I’ve helped other brands do designs as well and more often than not, my original ideas get stripped down a lot. Sometimes production can’t make it happen, or the brand’s guidelines are really strict, and in the end a lot of the details I originally wanted aren’t in the final product, which is a shame. So before I start designing, I usually ask the brand what to look out for, or if there’s anything I can’t do. But with this collab, Nike approached me and said up front, don’t limit yourself and think as big as you want. With that, I sketched out the first draft, and I told them I wanted to make the swoosh into a flower with petals, and almost like a skateboard shape. Then I told them I wanted to make the heel of the shoe green, because it represents the bud of the gardenia flower, and metaphorically speaking it was the perfect area of the shoe to make the whole flower come to life. The Nike team took it all in, and they gave me complete creative control. They gave me a bunch of different materials and colors to choose from and in the end we landed with a stitched logo to create more of a three-dimensional feel to the “flower”. I loved how it came out. All my original designs and ideas came out in the final product. If you look closely, the tongue of the shoe is also made of leather. Most Nike SB dunk’s tongues are made out of a breathable nylon, but I insisted them to use leather, to match the topline upper of the dunk. Not only that, but I wanted to use a premium suede for topline, counter lining and heel collar, in hopes of giving a more premium feel to the shoe and making the shoe feel more “classic”.

Which element of the Nike SB Dunk was the hardest to design?

When the sample arrived, I made one last request. When it came to the stitching of the swoosh petals, the material proposed actually had two different sides. One side was shiny, and the other side was more dull, kind of like matte colored. I asked them to have each petal to use the matte color stitching. I was a bit hesitant to ask them this, because I knew this small detail would made the production of the shoe harder, but surprisingly Nike agreed. If you get a pair, definitely check out this small detail. I’ve always felt like the Nike SB Dunk was a rebellious, unique and youthful shoe model in their product line. The fact that they were down to change up the classic swoosh is also similar to the spirit of rebellion in skateboarding. The hardest part of this whole shoe was definitely the swoosh.

Which Nike SB Dunks released from the past did you like the most and why?

I like the Nike SB Dunk High “Sea Crystal”, which was released a while ago. I loved that shoe and it was really comfortable. 

If you were to create your own shoe from scratch, which design elements would you think are the most important when it comes to performance and style?

I think most important is to make sure it’s a good looking shoe. You want to catch people’s attention first. Once attention is caught, then people will look more into the story behind the shoe. I think this should be the starting logic behind designing a new shoe. But of course, the comfort of the shoe is also really important.

What can we expect from FLY in the near future?

FLY’s been around for 24 years, and I never really had a clear plan set in stone. I usually act on how I feel, try to do things I like. Whatever piques my interest, I dive into it 100 percent and prioritize it first. Everything after that, slowly comes. I think a lot of skaters share this similar problem. We don’t put too much thought into the future.

The post Behind the Design: Nike SB Dunk “Gardenia” – The Fragrance of Shanghai appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

SIZING

The Nike SB BRSB fits true to size.

DURABILITY

To sum it up, the Nike BRSB has great performance durability but average visual durability. Let us explain what we mean by that.

For starters, the shoe has a very special sole construction. The upper has a vulcanized foxing tape that stretches over a cupsole, so the shoe is a vulcanized cupsole construction. This means there are two layers to wear through. During our weartest, it showed very good durability characteristics in the lateral sides of the critical Ollie and Kickflip area. The sole pattern is also quite deep, which turned out to be durable as well, especially for how thin and boardfeel-oriented the shoe’s design is. The upper consists of a large suede piece that stretches from the midfoot to the toecap and was the strongest, most critical element of defense for the shoe. In our 10 hour wear test, the upper performed well and had more life in it, and in all, the BRSB’s performance durability is good.

When we mentioned “visual durability” we’re more talking about the elements around the shoe that are either added in to enhance the durability itself, or the aesthetic of the shoe. This includes taking a look at the stitched swoosh in the toe area, the seams on the lace panel, the swoosh itself and the collar in the heel area. All of these elements showed signs of wear after our 10 hour test and after a few sessions, the shoe is not in the best visual state. Do they have a direct influence of the performance durability (like a hole in the suede)? No.

CUSHIONING

For the BRSB, Nike SB used their React cushioning technology for the insole. Usually the cushioning tech is hidden within a skateboarding shoe. But the designers actually paid homage to the iconic blue wedge on the Blue Ribbon Cortez, so that the BRSB skate cushioning could be visualized through the transparent window that stretches from the mid to heel area. This is an awesome characteristic of the shoe, and the actual drop-in insole is visible. The bottom part of the sole consists of just the shoe’s profile and a few extra millimeters. The common difference in height between forefoot and heel area is being created entirely by the shape of the drop-in insole. Based on that construction, it is possible to achieve both, excellent boardfeel and cushioning abilities in one sole construction. The BRSB can cushion relatively tough landings which noticeably reduces the danger of heel bruises. All in all the shoe had good cushioning characteristics.

SHAPE

The shape of the BRSB is quite narrow and pointy. The model features a heel and midfoot section that run parallel to each other and then narrow down towards the toe, to end with very pointy toebox and a clear peak. Overall, the shoe is more of a slim cut.

BOARDFEELI&IGRIP

There is direct contact between foot and board when wearing the BRSB, which results in great boardfeel. As you can see with the lateral cut of the sole construction, the materials are minimized between the foot and the deck. Based on that design, the shoe can easily compete with vulcanized models, but with the risk of injuries being heavily reduced by the thicker heel cushioning. The impression given by the insole of the model is of one that provides good cushioning and great boardfeel; something not many other models can both offer in one product.

With regards to the grip, the BRSB is between average and good. The rubber composite used held up well during our wear test and provided a solid abrasive flick.

COMFORTI&ISTABILITY

The most important features for a comfortable skate shoe include weight, ventilation and a well-crafted inner shoe area. Overall, the Nike SB BRSB is lightweight and the inner area is crafted very well and comfortably. A key feature is the locked-in tongue straps which help to achieve a comfortable feeling for the feet. Breathability was not the focus of the model, resulting in an average performance.

Similar to how skateboarders see the original Cortez model, the BSRB model did not look like the stability was going to be great. But we were proven wrong. Due to the vulcanized cupsole construction, the feet sit below the sidewall of the sole, especially locked within the heel area. This means that the feet are well locked in a rim of strong rubber material and cannot move around. As mentioned before, on the upper, the swoosh is connected to the vulc part of the sole and this increases midfoot sidewall stiffness. Not only that, the heel area also features additional reinforcement materials. In all, the BRSB created a very secure locked-in feeling due it its high heel, which was just around 1 cm higher than a Nike SB Blazer GT for example. With this, the risk of slipping out is significantly reduced. All the elements combined helped the shoe retain very good stability.

SUMMARY

The shoe’s design found a great balance between cushioning and stability, without sacrificing boardfeel. With that, the shoe’s durability is good but does have a few elements that could be improved with regard to its visual durability.

The post Nike BRSB appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

Since then, Ishod has become an integral member of the Real Skateboards powerhouse team, released a number of incredible skate parts, and also part of the hugely broadcasted Street League competition, showing the world that his “go-to” tricks were enough to nab Top 3 placements against some of the world’s best skateboarders. The most respectable thing about Ishod is that he’s always down to film; either from the early days with Ant Travis and the east-coast Sabotage videos, to Davonte Jolly’s Godspeed video, Ishod’s always with homies who are serious about stacking clips. With that said, it was only a matter of time that Nike SB gave Ishod, a long time veteran on the Nike roster, his very own signature shoe. Read on below to see how the new Nike SB Ishod fared in our wear test. Nike SB Ishod

SIZING

The Nike SB Ishod fits true to size.

DURABILITY

The Nike SB Ishod is a shoe built to last and has a good durability for several reasons. For starters, the shoe features a clean one-piece toebox without any supportive stitching, which means there were no overlapping materials that need to be hold together. This takes away the critical seams that may tear apart after multiple sessions of griptape contact. Secondly, although the midfoot section features some overlapping materials and stitched layers, the high quality suede material was stiff and rigid, which helps to prevent the suede areas from softening out, especially in the mid foot patch that includes the holes for the first three lace loops. Lastly, the sole pattern of the shoe turned out to be very durable as well, especially for how thin and boardfeel-oriented the shoe’s design was. One impressive feature noticed after our 10-hour test are the options for lace protection. Certain lace loops are protected with lower positioning and the first three lace loops had the option to use hidden loops where no ripping is possible. Nike SB Ishod

The area with the most sign of wear were the sides of the sole, primarily in the forefoot and midfoot area. The Ishod features a special sole construction which Nike SB calls vulcanized cupsole. It’s as if Nike SB added one vulcanized rubber layer to the upper first, before assembling the cupsole onto the shoe. When it came to wear and tear, the forefoot area of the shoe where both the cup-and vulc layer were, got worn down to the suede quite quickly. However, the aforementioned high quality suede made up for it, and provided an additional line of defense. One flaw of the shoe would be the collar in the heel area. Although comfortable, the material got destroyed very quickly by the griptape; this doesn’t affect the overall performance of the shoe, but does make the shoe look untidy and seem like it was worn out quickly. Nike SB Ishod

CUSHIONING

For the Ishod, Nike SB used Nike’s React cushioning technology for the insole. As you can see in the lateral cut, the bottom part of the sole consists of just the shoe’s profile and a few extra millimeters, with the common difference in height between forefoot and heel area being created entirely by the shape of the drop-in insole. Based on that special construction, it is possible to achieve both excellent boardfeel and cushioning abilities in one sole construction. The Ishod can cushion relatively tough landings which noticeably reduces the danger of heel bruises. All in all the Ishod had extremely good cushioning characteristics.

SHAPE 

The shape of the Ishod is a mix between a SB Dunk and a Blazer GT. The model features heel and midfoot sections that run parallel to each other and then narrow down towards the toe to end with an arrow-shaped toebox with a clear peak. Overall, the shoe is more of a  slim cut.

BOARDFEELI&IGRIP

The contact between foot and board when wearing the Ishod is almost perfect. As you can see with the lateral cut of the sole construction, there is direct contact in the forefoot area, because the sole materials in between the foot and the deck have been minimized. Based on that design, the Ishod can easily compete with vulcanized models, but with the risk of injuries being heavily reduced by the thicker heel cushioning. The impression given by the insole of the model is of one that provides excellent cushioning and great boardfeel, which not many other models can offer that simultaneously.

With regards to the grip, the Ishod is between average and good. The rubber composite used held up well during our wear test and provided a solid abrasive flick.

COMFORTI&ISTABILITY

The most important features for a comfortable skate shoe include weight, ventilation and a well-crafted inner shoe area. Overall, the Nike SB Ishod is lightweight and the inner area is crafted very well, featuring locked-in tongue straps that are connected to the heel area and help achieve a comfortable feeling for the feet.

A highlight of the Ishod is that the shoe features exceptional breathability. After reading some of our other shoe reviews, you will see that finding a breathable skate shoe is extremely difficult. As soon as breathable mesh materials, holes or other options are used, it sacrifices the shoe’s stability and performance. The Nike SB design team found a smart way to achieve breathability without giving up stability. The rubber reinforced mesh window in the midfoot area for easy airflow is actually quite flexible. However, underneath is a blue midfoot strap which is connected to the lace system through a loop in the upper. This strap can be used to tighten the laces and adjust the stability of the mesh window sidewalls. Next to the mesh window in the midfoot, the material is also used in the tongue and the toecap also features holes to increase ventilation.

The stability is good and very well balanced, ensuring a secure feeling on and off the board while maintaining boardfeel. The heel area is very stiff because the vulcanized cupsole is reinforced with another rubber layer (in blue). The padding in the heel area makes the shoe comfortable and also helps secure the heel when skating. The suede material of the shoe did not stretch out during our 10-hour test and held its rigidity. Due to all the elements that helps the shoe retain exceptional stability, the Ishod feels quite stiff in the first two sessions before breaking in.

SUMMARY

The shoe’s design found a perfect balance of exceptional cushioning and great stability/support, without sacrificing boardfeel. The shoe needs some time to break in, and the durability is good but with some flaws such as the aforementioned heel collar. With that said, this is probably the best all-round skate shoe currently available in the market.

The post Nike SB Ishod appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

Sizing

The shoe fits true to size.

Durability

The Nyjah 2’s upper is a 360 construction featuring a sandblasted rubber compound and added mesh panels; the shoe’s durability was extremely surprising. At first glance, the rubber compound that surrounds the shoe seems a bit skeptical for the suede/canvas shoe skater, but Nike and Nyjah chose the rubber compound specifically to enhance the durability of the model and extend the shoe’s lifespan. After ten hours of skating, it was obvious that the upper held up very well with no signs of wear; and seemed that the only element of the shoe that would give out first would be a gradual tear through the lining between the shoe’s outsole and rubber compound. The sandblasted rubber compound extends through all possible flick points of the shoe, and is fused together, instead of stitched together, which leaves almost no critical points of stitching open for the grippe to break through. One great design feature is the first pair of hidden eyelets beneath the rubber compound, that prevents your shoelaces from ripping after doing higher ollies/kickflips that require more dragging on the griptape. The durability of the shoe was one of the biggest highlights of skating the Nyjah 2’s.

Cushioning

The shoe features a cupsole construction and is designed to withstand the huge impacts that Nyjah himself faces when skating big handrails and sets. A lot of skate shoes add impact support in the sockliner, as it’s the most direct-to-foot layer of the sole. However after pulling out the Nyjah 2’s sockliner, we were stunned as to how extremely thin it was. After skating a few sets and medium gaps, the cushioning of the shoe did very well, with no impact to the heels whatsoever. The Nyjah 2’s cushioning support is focused around the midsole of the shoe, which features a similar Nike SB “Tristar” midsole found in the Nyjah 1. The Nyjah 2’s midsole actually has a thick separately wedged out component made from Nike Free technology, which is visible from the medial angle. The Tristar midsole absorbs the majority of impacts, which allows the thin sockliner to provide better boardfeel when skating.

Shape

It’s quite interesting to find a skate shoe that has a technical upper similar to running shoes, but adapted with a flat sole, naturally found with skate shoes. At first glance, the slim silhouette shape of the Nyjah 2 seems narrow, and when you look down at the shoe, it looks like it’s an athletic shoe with a pointed toebox. After putting on the shoes, we found that the shoe was quite spacious, even for those with wider feet.

Board Feel & Grip

As mentioned earlier, the shoe’s sockliner was extremely thin, which served more as an element to enhance the boardfeel of the shoe. The Tristar midsole wedge also ends where the forefoot starts, so the compound used in the forefoot area is more compact and direct, allowing the foot to gauge the concave of the board better. For those used to skating suede shoes, the grip of the Nyjah 2 will take some time getting used to. The rubber compound will seem a bit slick at first, but does break in better when combined with the grip of the outsole for flip tricks. The sole of the shoe also features the signature Tristar tread, and has added traction support in certain critical areas, where other areas are focused more for flex.

Comfort and Stability

The comfort of the Nyjah 2 was above average. The inner construction of the shoe features a padded heel collar and neoprene lining, that helps wick away sweat and almost provides a bit of a cooling effect for the feet. We always complain about the breathability of shoes as well, but the Nyjah 2’s overall design showcased the importance of breathability as an element of comfort when skating. The shoe features elongated mesh panels on the forefoot that allow heat to escape from the tops of your feet. It seemed a bit daunting to leave the top of your feet exposed, but the mesh panels didn’t sacrifice structural stability, and helped immensely to let hot air escape when skating during the summer. The rubber upper of the shoe and heel area of the shoe held up very well during the weartest, providing structure and support when pushing and landing tricks. The design elements of the shoe’s upper also helped reduce the weight of the shoe, which made the Nyah 2 a light, and flexible shoe to skate in.

Summary

Priced at almost a 100 bucks, the Nyjah 2 is absolutely a shoe that gives you what you pay for. The shoe is exceptional in terms of durability, board feel and comfort, but grip, shape and cushioning could use some more tweaks for the perfect model.

The post Nike SB Nyjah 2 appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

SIZING

The Nike SB Shane fits true to size.

DURABILITY

There are several factors that make a good durability on a skateboard shoe. The toe area, the midfoot area and the sole construction. The Shane has a one-pice toe cap that stretches all the way to the midfoot area. The suede in the toe area features a seamless construction and poses no threat for ripping, creating a very durable characteristic in the shoe. The upper is basically split into two pieces; a long toe-box is connected to the midfoot area, and another section that trickles into the heel element of the upper in follows. Although, the connection point seems to be at a rather critical Ollie-area, the Shane did not show any signs of ripped seams in our 10 hour test. The shoe featured a thick vulcanized sole construction in the toe-area, directing abuse away from the suede itself, and increasing the durability to help withstand all 10 hours of skating, with minimal wear. In addition, another positive feature in regards to the durability, is the lacing design, which helps shield the laces well without making the shoe’s design feature look abnormal. The only area that showed signs of wear was the heel collar. The material was destroyed quickly by the griptape, and the same goes for the top lateral part of the mesh tongue, which isn’t hidden under the laces. All in all, the durability of the Shane was excellent.

SHAPE

The shape of the Shane is a feature that’s well appreciated in a time where bulkier skate shoes are more common and cramped down by an overcompensation of technical design features. The shoebox shape is long, a bit slimmer, and well protected by a high taped vulcanized sole. The toe piece tapers off a bit, but rounds out well more than the toecaps of other shoes on the market. Moreover, the vulcanized construction is double layered so even when the first layer starts wears off a bit from griptape, there’s another layer underneath to maintain the structural shape of the shoe.

CUSHIONING

It’s difficult to create maximal boardfeel while upholding a high level of performance cushioning, for vulcanized shoes. The main cushioning element of the Shane is the insole, which is made from slightly thicker foam, and a Nike Zoom Air pocket in the heel of the sockliner. The cushioning was fair and not that noticeable.

BOARDFEEL AND GRIP

As with most vulcanized models, boardfeel and grip are the highlights of the shoe. This was definitely the case with the Nike SB Shane O’Neill, which proved to have amazing grip throughout the 10 hour wear test, and had plenty of life in them for future sessions. The main technical feature of the shoe in terms of boardfeel is the thin vulcanized construction and deep groove sole pattern. Boardfeel of the shoe was great because the insole flattens out much more in the first third of the shoe and the midsole itself is fairly thin, which provided for a responsive board feel for the feet. In addition, the flexibility of the sole helps sink into the concave, creating close contact to the board and improving boardfeel and grip.

COMFORT AND STABILITY

The comfort of a shoe is related to weight, fit, inner construction and breathability. The weight is average compared to other shoes, but when it comes to fit and inner construction the Shane O’Neill model creates an extremely comfortable feeling. The shoes fit very close to the feet and not stiff out of the box. The inner construction is clean and everything is held together by tongue centering straps, which secure the feet in place when it comes to flip tricks and heavy impact landings. One thing that was lacking in terms of comfort, was the absence of ventilation for hot air from the feet to escape from. After skating, those who get sweaty feet easily will find it hard to keep the shoes on for a long time since some of the sweat gets absorbed into the suede. The shoe’s stability is slightly above average. The shoe hugs the feet very well and creates a secure feeling of not slipping out even though the shoe is very low cut. However, due to it’s focus on boardfeel, the Shane O’Neill model has a minimum amount of padding and thus, the support is sacrificed.

SUMMARY

It was well worth the wait. The Shane model fulfills the expectations, also due to a similar design language as the Janoski shoe. The Shane shines when it comes to durability, boardfeel and comfort, in fact, its durability and boardfeel are benchmarks in 2020 for a skate shoe. The Shane especially has its advantage in terms of comfort over the Janoski since the shoe has a better balance of flexibility/stiffness right out of the box. Areas to improve are the stability and the cushioning, which are just a reflection of the focus on boardfeel in the shoe.

The post Nike SB Shane appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

Sizing

Due to its slim construction, the Nike SB Nyjah fits slightly smaller than other Nike SB models. We recommend going a half size up. Also, the shoe features a power stretch bootie construction, which makes it a bit harder to step into, but once you are in, the shoes secure your feet in place.

Durability

Once the shoes are in your hands and you can feel the rubber upper, you know that immediately that one of the strengths of the Nike SB Nyjah is its durability. The shoes in the pictures posted have been skated intensively for 10 hours. The synthetic upper is vey durably as well as offers a very good flick. To provide additional durability in the high wear areas, another layer of the rubber upper material has been fused around and under the toe box, not visible to the eye. The one piece upper is a highlight, it also reduces the amount of stitching required to hold different layers of the shoe in place; this proactively reduces the points of attack and eliminates the possibility of the threads coming apart. After numerous flip tricks, the sole surrounding the toe box area ripped a bit fast but the synthetic upper served as a second wall of defense and prolonged the lifespan of the shoe immensely. The depth of the sole pattern is fair, judging from the 10 hours weartest, it probably won’t outlast the upper material and will eventually become flat in certain areas. Although the sole being worn out fast will reduce the grip, this is still negligible due to the overall durability. All in all, the Nyjah Free’s 360 rubber upper proved to have very good durability.

Shape

The shape of Nyjah Free is a slim fitting shoe. The toebox of the Nyjah is long and symmetrical. The construction of the long toe box is quite similar to a Janoski but tapers into a more flat surface than pointy. The padding in the sidewalls of the shoe is minimal and when worn, the Nyjah Free feels very close and secure to the feet. 

Cushioning

As expected, flex is one of the most characteristic strengths of the Nike Nyjah sole construction. They’ve used the small triangular pattern often found in certain models of the Nike Free sole, and applied it all throughout the Nyjah Free’s sole to create a multi-directional flex pattern. Not to mention, the sides of the sole all feature vertical grooves to enhance this flex. This is quite important when it comes to skateboarding, especially in the forefoot area. Overall, the cushioning of this model is slightly above average and takes medium abuse quite well. Gaps and sets up to 10 stairs were no problem and the impact was well absorbed. The thickest part of the sole is located in the midfoot, which helps to protect you from primo landings. The midsole pans out to be thinner towards the forefoot, to provide better boardfeel, and as expected, turns much thicker in the heel area, with a larger emphasis on cushioning protection. This design benefits the rider without losing any of the board feel of a flat-bedded shoe and helps protect your heels way beyond the lifespan of the shoe. A small detail that was also quite noticeable was the support in the arch of the foot, which helped reduced the foot’s soreness after a long session. 

Boardfeel and Grip

The Nike SB Nyjah clearly puts its focus on boardfeel and grip. The geometry of the sole pattern increases the flexibility of the shoe and good flexibility results in good grip. As a result, the grip of the sole is greatly effective due to the flex maximizing the surface area of the sole. This, in combination with its thin sole construction in the toe area, creates a responsive contact between board and shoe. The grip is balanced pretty well; in the beginning it was almost too grippy especially with a new sheet of griptape, but after a few sessions, the grip evened out and was well adapted. A lot of skaters are used to choosing a shoe with traditional suede upper due to its responsive grip and flick, which leaves this rubber upper material of the Nike SB Nyjah quite controversial. But after our personal weartest, we’re backing this the grip of this all around rubber upper: the flick was exceptional.

Comfort and Stability

The most important features for a comfortable skate shoe include weight, ventilation and a well-crafted inner shoe area. The Nike SB Nyjah Free is lightweight and the inner area is crafted quite well, although some slight pressure marks were noticeable during the first few sessions. Those pressure marks are a direct result of the shoe’s shape and the stability of the synthetic upper. The only disappointment of the Nike SB Nyjah Free is it’s below average breathability. Beside the breathable tongue area and a few holes in the synthetic material, the upper doesn’t offer any other breathable elements. This means warm air and moisture can’t escape the shoe, which already causes warm feet even before being skated in. As far as stability goes, the Nyjah Free features a heel reinforcement, which you can feel by squeezing the sides of the collar together. It keeps the foot in place and prevents horizontal movement within the shoe. The synthetic upper did not stretch out at all during the test. This means the sidewalls won’t get too flexible and lose their shape, and the stability of the shoe should maintain it’s full potential over the whole lifespan of the shoe, which rarely the case with most suede or leather models. Moreover, Nike implemented their patented Flywire technology (also known as Vectran Fibers) into the shoe, which are essentially thin string-like filaments (similar to a bridge’s suspension cables) applied to the shoe’s upper that connect to the shoe’s outsole with the purpose of reducing weight and holding the feet securely in place. Instead of having pieces of different material stitched together to create a stable shoe, these high tensile strength fibers wires act as targeted lines of reinforcement where the shoe really needs it. The designers at Nike know the force loads at certain points of the shoe when it faces strong impacts from jumping down big sets, and strategically placed these fibers to stabilize the feet in a certain methodology to prevent injury. Although the shoe is extremely lightweight and the inner bootie construction allows for a wide range of ankle movement, the shoe still feels very supportive and stable.

Summary

Despite a lack of breathability, the Nike SB Nyjah Free impressed us with it’s long-lasting durability, outstanding flick, exceptional comfort, and is currently the most innovative skate shoe on the market.

The post Nike SB Nyjah appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

The post Weartested Awards 2016: Best Design appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

Sizing

The Nike SB Bruin Hyperfeel fits true to size.

Durability

If there was one thing that was most impressive during the weartest, it would be the durability of the shoe during our 10 – hour test. There were many factors that were considered into making the upper as durable as possible to eliminate any chance for ollie or kickflip holes to appear. For starters, given Nike’s deep rooted investment into their R&D program, they outfitted the whole shoe with top notch quality suede that only became grippier and gripper with more skating. The panels of the shoe were also attached together through a seamless construction, and Nike pushed their “seamless” line where the kickflip hole is as far back posterior to the toe as possible, which helped direct your wear and tear away from the “danger zone”; the area where most shoe’s seams get blown out and the panels start coming apart. Additionally, there was an added Hyperscreen coating along the toe area to increase durability and traction, a technical element that we’ve seen used on previous models like the Stefan Janoski and Lunar One Shot. With this combination the durability of this classic model was greatly enhanced and the skating only got better as all elements eventually broke in and became a cohesive durable upper. Fire. One more thing to mention is the mindful placement of the shoelace holes and the seamless Hyperfuse coating around them to help protect the laces from ripping too easily.

Cushioning

The patented Hyperfeel technology implemented in both the Koston 3 and Bruin models aims to maximize cushioning and boardfeel, without choosing one or the another. This is a large step in technology because although many companies have tried to attain this balance with their innovation, Nike is the first to have a successful patented release that does a pretty good job…granted, it definitely takes time for your feet to get used to. The cushioning technology of the shoe features a Poly-Urethane Hypercush drop-in sockliner that provides a very stable and firm cushioning feeling. The posterior part of the feet feel well protected as the heel to midfoot area have a much more dense PU support with a concave tread pattern on the bottom, and is fully secured with a strong heel lock. In the frontal part of the sockliner however, from the midfoot to the toe, boardfeel is the main focus as the cushioning is dramatically minimalized, and has a convex tread pattern. With this contrast, the Hypercrush sockliner takes a bit of time getting used to. Initially, for those whose feet have flattened out with the impacts over the year, the arch support in the sockliner might take some time getting used to, but once broken in, the Hypercush sockliner provides exceptional boardfeel and impact protection.

Shape

Originally, the Bruin was a classic low-top basketball shoe in Nike’s product line. However, as far as skate shoes go, the Nike SB Bruin Hyperfeel is one of their more narrow models in the SB product line. The redesigned shape of the shoe overall is more sleek and narrow, with the heel to the midfoot area of the shoe extremely compacted and tight to prevent any slippage. Moreover, on the inside lateral side of the midfoot area, the shoe is fitted with the arch of the sockliner, which is angled much higher than other SB models. Another aspect of the shoe’s shape that was highly favored was a lowered heel counter that was thinly padded but extremely supportive, offering a wide range of motion for the ankle as well as strong ankle stability.

Boardfeel and grip

As aforementioned, the Hyperfeel aspect of the shoe is aimed to provide exceptional boardfeel without compromising cushioning, and in the case of the Bruin Hyperfeel, Nike did a fantastic job. While most shoes have a fair balance between the two features, the Bruin hyperfeel does exceptionally well at both. Without the insole, the shoe is extremely thin and flexible, but with the insole added in, which is about 5 mm thick PU Hypercush around the midfoot to toe area, the boardfeel is at it’s prime. As a cupsole model, the outsole of the shoe is made of rubber, and has an almost unnoticeable herringbone pattern on the outsole for added grip. But truthfully, the herringbone pattern doesn’t do much for grip. During our ten hour test, the overall grip of the shoe was exceptional, but during the last hour of the test as the shoe was much more worn in and the upper and outsole started to meld together, the grip noticeably became weaker. With that said, strong durability of the shoe played a strong factor in the grip of the shoe as well, and had much more life even after our 10-hr weartest.

Comfort and stability

With regards to comfort, the shoe takes a bit of time getting used. The arch support is a bit uncomfortable for those with wider feet, however, with more skating, the shoes are much more comfortable to wear. Those with more narrow feet should have no problem getting used to. One thing that wasn’t well taken into consideration was the ventilation and breathability of the shoe. Although Nike added a few upside down V shaped cuts into the side panels of the shoe, this was far from enough to compensate for breathability. One feature that did help a little bit more though, was their addition of ventilation holes into their gusseted tounge. These holes helped a bit with the ventilation and also made the tounge much lighter than most shoes, which didn’t keep the top of your feet very sweaty. However, with that said, the breathability did not satisfy and the shoe’s shape was a bit affected. Stability-wise, the shoe was very well adapted to keep the feet feeling secure and uniform. The gusseted tounge, drop-in sockliner and extremely supportive heel counter made for a very stable feeling.

Summary

The Nike SB Bruin Hyperfeel is the second installment in the SB Hyperfeel series but the first to have well rounded technical features that make skating look and feel simple. The shoe excels the most in terms of stability, cushioning and boardfeel but definitely leaves breathability and grip more to be desired.

The post Nike SB Bruin Hyperfeel appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.

Sizing

The Eric Koston 3 Hyperfeel fits smaller, we recommend getting a half size bigger.

Durability

Most of the time, when it comes to durability, certain areas of the shoe such as the toe-cap itself, the side-walls or the out-sole etc outshine and prove to be more durable than other parts of the shoe. But this wasn’t the case with the Koston 3; all parts of the shoe exceeded expectations in terms of durability and all proved to be engineered with the wear and tear of skateboarding in mind. The one piece toe-cap withstood session after session and there was no show of any holes. With that said, the laces ripped quite fast, so the positioning of the shoe eyelets was a bit too in the direct line of fire for flip tricks. The suede is very durable around the usual wear and tear areas. The outsoles were able to endure all the elements of skateboarding, games of S.K.A.T.E, cruising the park, filming sessions, to pant-falling foot dragging.

Cushioning

The Koston 3 comes with a drop-in Lunarlon midsole equipped with a flexible web design. The midsole pans out to be thinner towards the forefoot, but gets much thicker in the heel area which features the iconic Nike Zoom air bag for added heel protection. This design benefits the rider without losing any of the board feel of a flat bedded shoe and helps protect your heels beyond the lifespan of the shoe. A small detail that was also quite noticeable was the support in the arch of the foot, which helped keep the feet less sore after a long session. These insoles are definitely one of the more technical insoles and they do their work really well.

Shape

Throughout the 10 hour weartest, the Nike SB Koston 3 held its shape up very well. The one piece suede toe cap held it’s structure and offered no loose seams for the toe box to lose its shape from skating.  More impressive was the flyknit sockliner of the shoe, which held up the shoes lock-in feel extremely well, inadvertently increasing the lifespan of the shoe’s stability. Often, when the feet get sweaty from skating, the shoe absorbs moisture and the shape of the shoe changes significantly, losing much of it’s structure and stability. However, with this shoe, the shoe’s shape and structure was very well maintained and almost showed no signs of change over the first few sessions. Moreover, the heel of the shoe proved to extremely stable; there was an added plastic wall to keep the shoe’s heel shape upright and also protected the heel to achilles tendon well from boards jamming into the heel.

Boardfeel and grip

The boardfeel of this shoe was very impressive. Surprisingly, even as a cupsole model, it had very similar features as a vulcanized shoe: the Lunarlon cushioning elements and the added Zoom air bag did not overpower board feel and felt relatively thin, which made it skate able right out of the box. Grip at the beginning was not the best. It may have been this sole’s material, which seemed like a gum sole but with much less grip. The grip with more skating, got better after being broken in. Rivets are added to the cupsole outside in areas outside of the sole which helped provide better flexibility. This helped increase the flexibility and also made the grip feel very consistent. This may also have to do with the very simple and strategic design throughout the entire bottom of the sole which also showed little abrasion throughout the wear test time period.

Comfort and stability

With regards to comfort, the shoes right out of the box get some getting used to. Nike really spent time in making the Eric Koston 3 as different from traditional skate shoes as possible, which is why initially, the break in period takes a bit longer, and can bit a little uncomfortable at first. But with that said, once the break in period is over, the benefits from the shoe’s technical elements is well worth the initial discomfort. The upright sock collar looks a bit awkward at first, but does amazing in securing your feet and stabilizing your ankle to prevent ankle rolls. Breathability was a drastic improvement from the past 2 Nike SB Koston models; as can be seen in the pictures, mesh ventilation is found throughout the mid-section the shoe, from the arch area to where your toes meet your foot and mid foot area. Another innovation of Nike technology which helped create great stability is the hyperfuse taping used throughout the shoe. The seamless hyperfuse taping wrapped around the core stabilizing areas of the shoe’s midfoot and gave it a bit more structure when put under stress (pushing and walking). One added feature that should be mentioned are the lace loops that are hidden behind the eyelets of the shoe. This tiny feature helps to secure the shoelaces when skating and even makes the laces look much more proportionate in terms of spacing. Overall, the shoe was quite light, which was very impressive given the durable suede used through wear and tear areas.

Summary

The introduction of the Koston 3 Hyperfeel to the skateboard world is a strong one; it’s technical elements excel in terms of cushioning, durability and stability, but it’s comfort and grip could be strengthened.

The post Nike SB Koston 3 appeared first on Weartested - detailed skate shoe reviews.