Craig Sheppard
Hall of Fame
I've been playing with the K-Swiss Defier RS this past week. I know, I know, it's an old shoe. But oldie and a goodie, that's for sure. I passed this model up in the past, trying to find a flashier, lighter shoe... but I finally tried some and am duly impressed. Here's a mini-review:
Fit: Wide baby, wide. These fit my wide foot better than the Yonex SHT-304s, my previous favorite widebody shoe. Maybe that's b/c in K-Swiss sizing I hit up a 9 instead of the 8.5s on the Yonis. But these are great fitting shoes for a wide foot. They're fairly low to the ground too. I had pretty good court feel in the forefoot.
Comfort/Cushioning: Not the most cushioned shoe I've tried, but they do the job. They're darn comfortable though. Leather is soft, not like some other K-Swiss plasticky leather I've seen. These really are out-of-the-box comfortable. I wore them around my house for a few hours watching TV just to get a feel for them and then hit the courts, no worries.
Weight/Support: Not too heavy, not too light. Just middle of the road. My size 9 shoes weighed a smidge under 15 oz (yes I weighed them), so I can't complain. The laces are extraordinary. Didn't have to re-tie once--and I don't think I've met many shoes I didn't have to re-tie. They felt very stable moving from side to side... I run on the outside of my foot, so I can feel if a shoe is weak in lateral support...no worries here.
Outsoles: Nice traction on the full herringbone tread. I haven't had a chance to work them on clay, but I'm guessing they'll work well. My Yonex SHT-304s were bad on clay. I slipped many times due to their bad clay traction. One nice thing about the outsoles on these is that they're flexible. Some shoes, namely my NB CT1002's and the K-Swiss Glaciator SCD's I tried, are "clompy". There just isn't a smooth transition from heel to toe when walking/running. These babies are smooth and quiet.
Some negs: Ok, not everything is strawberries and ice cream... these shoes are a little stuffy. Full leather will do that to you. It's not as bad as say, the Nike Air Resolve Plus, but it's no mesh monster. I will take the comfort and support over some mesh, but maybe for the next version they could throw in a little more aeration. I don't think it's that big of a negative... but something to be aware of if you don't like to have foot saunas in Miami in August.
Fit: Wide baby, wide. These fit my wide foot better than the Yonex SHT-304s, my previous favorite widebody shoe. Maybe that's b/c in K-Swiss sizing I hit up a 9 instead of the 8.5s on the Yonis. But these are great fitting shoes for a wide foot. They're fairly low to the ground too. I had pretty good court feel in the forefoot.
Comfort/Cushioning: Not the most cushioned shoe I've tried, but they do the job. They're darn comfortable though. Leather is soft, not like some other K-Swiss plasticky leather I've seen. These really are out-of-the-box comfortable. I wore them around my house for a few hours watching TV just to get a feel for them and then hit the courts, no worries.
Weight/Support: Not too heavy, not too light. Just middle of the road. My size 9 shoes weighed a smidge under 15 oz (yes I weighed them), so I can't complain. The laces are extraordinary. Didn't have to re-tie once--and I don't think I've met many shoes I didn't have to re-tie. They felt very stable moving from side to side... I run on the outside of my foot, so I can feel if a shoe is weak in lateral support...no worries here.
Outsoles: Nice traction on the full herringbone tread. I haven't had a chance to work them on clay, but I'm guessing they'll work well. My Yonex SHT-304s were bad on clay. I slipped many times due to their bad clay traction. One nice thing about the outsoles on these is that they're flexible. Some shoes, namely my NB CT1002's and the K-Swiss Glaciator SCD's I tried, are "clompy". There just isn't a smooth transition from heel to toe when walking/running. These babies are smooth and quiet.
Some negs: Ok, not everything is strawberries and ice cream... these shoes are a little stuffy. Full leather will do that to you. It's not as bad as say, the Nike Air Resolve Plus, but it's no mesh monster. I will take the comfort and support over some mesh, but maybe for the next version they could throw in a little more aeration. I don't think it's that big of a negative... but something to be aware of if you don't like to have foot saunas in Miami in August.
