Hello ladies and gentleman,
It's my pleasure to "give back" to the community in the form of this brief "impressions" piece on some of the latest tennis footwear for gentleman. I had the pleasure of sampling the shoes listed below, and I'm happy to share with you my impressions from the beautiful USVI.
I warn you though, the views expressed are solely those of Chopin and no one else. It is also worthy of your attention that I did not actually hit in all these shoes, but rather, tested them for "out of the box" comfort, fit and general quality impressions.
Nike Lunar Vapor Tour
Being a Vapor V user, it was with high hopes that I tried the latest "Vapor" incarnation on. Sadly, I was disappointed. While they're very comfortable out of the box, with a super soft upper, as well as stylish, they're also a disaster in terms of support. The upper is far, far too soft for competitive tennis (and, mind you, this it out of the box). There are also no arches at all (and this is coming from someone with low arches!). This is a stylish shoe for casual wear, but nothing more. Federer does not wear these according to many posters here (some of our finest minds insist that Federer uses last year's model based on picture analyses) and just trying them on, I can understand why. Overpriced for a shoe that is simply not a performance tool.
4/10.
Nike Air Court Ballistec 2.3 (A Chopin Gold-Star Choice)
A shoe that is worthy of a champion (and indeed, this is the shoe of choice of Rafa Nadal). Excellent comfort. Excellent support. Excellent fit. The toe-box is a bit narrow, but I sense they'd stretch out nicely. Arch support is lower, but not nonexistent like the Vapors. Perhaps not ideal for a very wide foot, but my regular size (11) foot fit perfectly for this shoe.
9.5/10
adidas Barricade V
A classic shoe with a strong following. Good comfort, excellent support, good fit for me (a bit wider than the Ballistecs). They don't "breathe" as well as the Ballistecs though and don't feel quite as nimble to me. Medium arches. I'm sure they're the tops in terms of durability and support.
8.5/10
adidas Barricade 6.0
A very odd shoe. Very high arches, which are uncomfortable and awkward feeling. It's undetermined how they'd break in, but out of the box these felt clumsy and uncomfortable. I can't recommend them, unless you have very high arches, when the Vs can still be bought.
6.5/10
Wilson Tour Vision (A Chopin Gold-Star Choice)
The "sleeper" shoe of the lineup also turns out to be one of the best. Amazing comfort out of the box (the best of the group). These also felt very well made and supportive. The only downsides are that they felt like they'd be a "hot" shoe and for me, they are perhaps a little bit wide. Still, these shoes are easily up there with the Nadal shoes.
9.5/10
So, there you have it folks. Nike and Wilson have scored big. Which one did I choose? Well, let's just say you'll have to wait for one of my postmodern threads to find out!
Best to you all,
Chopin
Edit: Grading Scale
10--The "Hammerklavier"--remarkable in every way. Truly a feat of engineering and humanity. This score, while hypothetically possible, is rarely, if ever, achieved in a Chopin Review (C).
9--Excellent in every important way, with a certain intangible glimmer like a dying sun.
8--Very good to excellent in every important way. A middle-period Mozart sonata.
7--A good shoe with a few minor limitations. These shoes can be good values (like airfare sometimes bought from Priceline).
6--An average shoe with strengths and weaknesses, though it's weaknesses limit it's appeal to a competitive player.
5--A below average offering. A piano tuned in tune with itself, but not to concert pitch.
4--A poor shoe that despite a strength or two has a critical problem.
3--A very poor shoe that proves a major hinderance to a player's game.
2--A shoe that risks injury to the user and has no redeeming qualities.
1--Playing barefoot would be preferable than wearing a shoe of this quality. Atrocious.
It's my pleasure to "give back" to the community in the form of this brief "impressions" piece on some of the latest tennis footwear for gentleman. I had the pleasure of sampling the shoes listed below, and I'm happy to share with you my impressions from the beautiful USVI.
I warn you though, the views expressed are solely those of Chopin and no one else. It is also worthy of your attention that I did not actually hit in all these shoes, but rather, tested them for "out of the box" comfort, fit and general quality impressions.
Nike Lunar Vapor Tour
Being a Vapor V user, it was with high hopes that I tried the latest "Vapor" incarnation on. Sadly, I was disappointed. While they're very comfortable out of the box, with a super soft upper, as well as stylish, they're also a disaster in terms of support. The upper is far, far too soft for competitive tennis (and, mind you, this it out of the box). There are also no arches at all (and this is coming from someone with low arches!). This is a stylish shoe for casual wear, but nothing more. Federer does not wear these according to many posters here (some of our finest minds insist that Federer uses last year's model based on picture analyses) and just trying them on, I can understand why. Overpriced for a shoe that is simply not a performance tool.
4/10.
Nike Air Court Ballistec 2.3 (A Chopin Gold-Star Choice)
A shoe that is worthy of a champion (and indeed, this is the shoe of choice of Rafa Nadal). Excellent comfort. Excellent support. Excellent fit. The toe-box is a bit narrow, but I sense they'd stretch out nicely. Arch support is lower, but not nonexistent like the Vapors. Perhaps not ideal for a very wide foot, but my regular size (11) foot fit perfectly for this shoe.
9.5/10
adidas Barricade V
A classic shoe with a strong following. Good comfort, excellent support, good fit for me (a bit wider than the Ballistecs). They don't "breathe" as well as the Ballistecs though and don't feel quite as nimble to me. Medium arches. I'm sure they're the tops in terms of durability and support.
8.5/10
adidas Barricade 6.0
A very odd shoe. Very high arches, which are uncomfortable and awkward feeling. It's undetermined how they'd break in, but out of the box these felt clumsy and uncomfortable. I can't recommend them, unless you have very high arches, when the Vs can still be bought.
6.5/10
Wilson Tour Vision (A Chopin Gold-Star Choice)
The "sleeper" shoe of the lineup also turns out to be one of the best. Amazing comfort out of the box (the best of the group). These also felt very well made and supportive. The only downsides are that they felt like they'd be a "hot" shoe and for me, they are perhaps a little bit wide. Still, these shoes are easily up there with the Nadal shoes.
9.5/10
So, there you have it folks. Nike and Wilson have scored big. Which one did I choose? Well, let's just say you'll have to wait for one of my postmodern threads to find out!
Best to you all,
Chopin
Edit: Grading Scale
10--The "Hammerklavier"--remarkable in every way. Truly a feat of engineering and humanity. This score, while hypothetically possible, is rarely, if ever, achieved in a Chopin Review (C).
9--Excellent in every important way, with a certain intangible glimmer like a dying sun.
8--Very good to excellent in every important way. A middle-period Mozart sonata.
7--A good shoe with a few minor limitations. These shoes can be good values (like airfare sometimes bought from Priceline).
6--An average shoe with strengths and weaknesses, though it's weaknesses limit it's appeal to a competitive player.
5--A below average offering. A piano tuned in tune with itself, but not to concert pitch.
4--A poor shoe that despite a strength or two has a critical problem.
3--A very poor shoe that proves a major hinderance to a player's game.
2--A shoe that risks injury to the user and has no redeeming qualities.
1--Playing barefoot would be preferable than wearing a shoe of this quality. Atrocious.
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Anyway, thanks for the reviews....
