Sardines
Hall of Fame
In Paris for the FO, and was prepared for all clay, but my hitting partners booked us on hard courts for 2 sessions as well. The Yonex Eclipsion 5 GC outsole is not good on hard, so I found a pair of Joma Roland Pro in Orange, which, after VAT refund, will come in under $74. I'd always wanted to try Joma shoes, and this orange reminded me of the old Rafa Zoom Cage 3 in Orange, but looks more ventilated and was slipper tongue instead of sock liner. So a no brainer purchase.
First of all, looking at the website for sizing info, it was the most detailed of all manufacturers, giving a range of measurements in CM, but the INCH measurements are lacking. For eg, li a US11 fits 28.4-28.8cm, but in inches, it only says 11.25", which is just strange.
FIT:
I bought true to size, and started lacing up the shoe. The lace pattern is quite close, so securing the forefoot was easy. The tongue and upper padding is ok and comfortable, despite the thin cushioning and TPU cage. There was initial cage stiffness in the forefoot, but walking a mile with Thorlos eased up the break in without discomfort. I was a little worried about the cage bending the wrong way and pressuring my V metatarsal, but it all loosened up. The kitchen scale weighed the US11 shoe @ 468g right , 449g left without the insoles. That's a big variance!
It is spacious in the forefoot depthwise and my D foot fit in well, width-wise. My buddy measured it with a digital caliper and the upper width was 4.165" at the widest. I replaced the thin insole with with my custom carbon insole, and it fit very well. Lacing system lock down was good, a little too good as it's easy to pull too hard, and over pressure the arches. I used a runner's knot and had no issue with heel slippage or instability. The heel locked in very securely, without any pressure points.
I did notice the slight supination in the outsole forefoot, which is caused by the thicker outsole on the lateral flange area, while the medial side is flatter. Yet the outsole looks like it's got increasing rubber pattern depth going from the lateral to medial side. This creates a bit of a concave shape on the width of the forefoot of the outsole, in addition to the convex curve from the mid to front of the shoe. More on that in the performance section.
PERFORMANCE:
I did my break in with the original insoles, which were thin and flattened with just 1km of walking. There was very little if any arch support. The midsole feels only below average cushioning, like a NB 696 or Lightstrike, without the energy return. When I put in my custom carbon insole, the cushioning was adequate for hardcourts, and the lacing system held my foot in place securely without discomfort. With all that outsole curvature going on, I was cautious with movement during warm up.
That proved to be unnecessary. Heel lock was very good with a runner's knot, and the heel collar cushioning made it comfortable. The outsole rubber is quite soft and squeaky, which I like, and traction was good, with enough give to slide a bit. Stability is very good, especially on direction changes, even sudden ones. However, the softer rubber did show wear after 5 hours of tennis, but the thick outsole depth (3.2mm thread depth in some areas, but strangely thinner on the outside of the shoe where most of the wear usually hits) compensates for this. The feel of the shoe was not clunky, and the breathability was surprisingly decent.
Overall, the Roland is a mid tier tank durability shoe. It's a heavy shoe, with harder feeling dense midsole foam, and a softer rubber outsole.. My buddy compares it to a Gel Res X, saying it's more comfortable for his foot, but not as cushioned. I personally would not run out to buy this shoe, but if I had to wear it for a couple of hours of tennis, I wouldn't object.
It really does look like a Spanish copy of the Nike Rafa Zoom Cage 3 in orange, but with a big shank and cradle.
First of all, looking at the website for sizing info, it was the most detailed of all manufacturers, giving a range of measurements in CM, but the INCH measurements are lacking. For eg, li a US11 fits 28.4-28.8cm, but in inches, it only says 11.25", which is just strange.
FIT:
I bought true to size, and started lacing up the shoe. The lace pattern is quite close, so securing the forefoot was easy. The tongue and upper padding is ok and comfortable, despite the thin cushioning and TPU cage. There was initial cage stiffness in the forefoot, but walking a mile with Thorlos eased up the break in without discomfort. I was a little worried about the cage bending the wrong way and pressuring my V metatarsal, but it all loosened up. The kitchen scale weighed the US11 shoe @ 468g right , 449g left without the insoles. That's a big variance!
It is spacious in the forefoot depthwise and my D foot fit in well, width-wise. My buddy measured it with a digital caliper and the upper width was 4.165" at the widest. I replaced the thin insole with with my custom carbon insole, and it fit very well. Lacing system lock down was good, a little too good as it's easy to pull too hard, and over pressure the arches. I used a runner's knot and had no issue with heel slippage or instability. The heel locked in very securely, without any pressure points.
I did notice the slight supination in the outsole forefoot, which is caused by the thicker outsole on the lateral flange area, while the medial side is flatter. Yet the outsole looks like it's got increasing rubber pattern depth going from the lateral to medial side. This creates a bit of a concave shape on the width of the forefoot of the outsole, in addition to the convex curve from the mid to front of the shoe. More on that in the performance section.
PERFORMANCE:
I did my break in with the original insoles, which were thin and flattened with just 1km of walking. There was very little if any arch support. The midsole feels only below average cushioning, like a NB 696 or Lightstrike, without the energy return. When I put in my custom carbon insole, the cushioning was adequate for hardcourts, and the lacing system held my foot in place securely without discomfort. With all that outsole curvature going on, I was cautious with movement during warm up.
That proved to be unnecessary. Heel lock was very good with a runner's knot, and the heel collar cushioning made it comfortable. The outsole rubber is quite soft and squeaky, which I like, and traction was good, with enough give to slide a bit. Stability is very good, especially on direction changes, even sudden ones. However, the softer rubber did show wear after 5 hours of tennis, but the thick outsole depth (3.2mm thread depth in some areas, but strangely thinner on the outside of the shoe where most of the wear usually hits) compensates for this. The feel of the shoe was not clunky, and the breathability was surprisingly decent.
Overall, the Roland is a mid tier tank durability shoe. It's a heavy shoe, with harder feeling dense midsole foam, and a softer rubber outsole.. My buddy compares it to a Gel Res X, saying it's more comfortable for his foot, but not as cushioned. I personally would not run out to buy this shoe, but if I had to wear it for a couple of hours of tennis, I wouldn't object.
It really does look like a Spanish copy of the Nike Rafa Zoom Cage 3 in orange, but with a big shank and cradle.
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