darklore009
Hall of Fame
I searched through the threads to see if there's anyone that did a legit review on these shoes, I also read through the customer reviews and its between its good and bad. I wore these for a good month now and I would like to give you my experience on these shoes if its worth it or not. I worn through a lot of shoes to know to look for when it comes to tennis shoes. Hopefully this review will give you some thoughts before purchasing this shoe. I purchased the red color as it reminds me of Federer's Vapor 9 tour he rocked in 2013. Do note that my experiences wont represent what you will go through as we all have different treatment of shoes. Mines all about making aggressive cuts when getting the balls on the doubles ally and to the service line and constantly sliding.
First time wear before heading to the court:
These shoes will take some time to break in as the interior uses a stiff plastic to prevent your feet from sliding over the shoes. It took about 2~3 hours to fully break them in before they mold to my feet. The thread pattern is what you normally see from similar shoes like the Barricades. The heel cup seems to be decent, but on the right shoe it doesn't seem to secure my heel as well as the left shoe. This can simply be resolved with a lace locking knot. The shoe lace is firm and secure, you wont have to worry about it coming off in play.
First on Court Experience:
The shoes are supportive and stable, but the break in period will turn a lot of people away as it takes some time to get used to. This is when I ran into a major problem with these shoes, the traction doesnt seem to grip the court at all. I slide normally to catch the ball when it comes to the service line, but with these it doesnt deliver when it comes to slide/traction ratio. However, the stability of the shoe is top notch so I dont feel like the shoe would move around whenever I take aggressive turns. The cushioning is another major flaw of this shoes as the forefoot lacks of cushioning as you feel like your touching the ground; while the heel part is solid with a passive foam. It will string your feet when you land on the ground hard. The included insole it very thin and hardly give you any benefit of extra cushioning, of course you can swap it out with your insole of choice, but I'm used to playing with the one that comes with the shoe. Ventilation is ok, not too hot that my feet is all sweaty, but it not a fully ventilated shoe either.
Month Later Experience:
After playing with them over a month now, these shoes will start to get better. The shoe is fully broken in and it will feel comfortable right when you put them on. The traction is also noticeable improved after wearing out the initial layer of rubber to get the traction going on the court. Sliding with them is much in line with other similar shoes of it class to like the Barricade/ Zoom Cage3/ Gel Resolution 7. The big toe area is bald and the toe area too, but the the sole is still there. It hasnt affected the way it grabs the court. The stability is slightly dropped a bit due to wearing out the interior plastic, but the stability is still there whenever I need to make those aggressive cuts. The side guard is still in tact for further use. The plastic however show a bit of discoloration after constant flexing on the shoes and small parts of it came off from the toe box, but its only a minor issue. The shoe discolored slightly from its bright red when I initially got it, but it holds its bright color as many friends commenting my shoe is bright as heck and its stands out.
Final Verdict:
If you want the straight forward answer of if this shoe worth the try, I would say it will take some time to get used to before it starts to shine to compete with other big brands. If you're into out of the box comfort and immediate performance, I would say this isnt a shoe for you as it will take some time to break in and will need some wear. However, if you can tolerate through the breakin period, then I would say its worth for its $100 price. I wore the previous version of these shoes and I can say this version is much better in terms of ventilation and flexibility of the materials in the toe box. Will it be something I would pick up again if I were to get a chance, most likely not but will if I cant get my hands on other shoes such as the Gel Res 7; that shoe finally hits the mark in terms of fitting. For the sale price, its worth trying out to see if it works for you or not. 7.0/10
Will post picture of my current state of my shoes is at later.
First time wear before heading to the court:
These shoes will take some time to break in as the interior uses a stiff plastic to prevent your feet from sliding over the shoes. It took about 2~3 hours to fully break them in before they mold to my feet. The thread pattern is what you normally see from similar shoes like the Barricades. The heel cup seems to be decent, but on the right shoe it doesn't seem to secure my heel as well as the left shoe. This can simply be resolved with a lace locking knot. The shoe lace is firm and secure, you wont have to worry about it coming off in play.
First on Court Experience:
The shoes are supportive and stable, but the break in period will turn a lot of people away as it takes some time to get used to. This is when I ran into a major problem with these shoes, the traction doesnt seem to grip the court at all. I slide normally to catch the ball when it comes to the service line, but with these it doesnt deliver when it comes to slide/traction ratio. However, the stability of the shoe is top notch so I dont feel like the shoe would move around whenever I take aggressive turns. The cushioning is another major flaw of this shoes as the forefoot lacks of cushioning as you feel like your touching the ground; while the heel part is solid with a passive foam. It will string your feet when you land on the ground hard. The included insole it very thin and hardly give you any benefit of extra cushioning, of course you can swap it out with your insole of choice, but I'm used to playing with the one that comes with the shoe. Ventilation is ok, not too hot that my feet is all sweaty, but it not a fully ventilated shoe either.
Month Later Experience:
After playing with them over a month now, these shoes will start to get better. The shoe is fully broken in and it will feel comfortable right when you put them on. The traction is also noticeable improved after wearing out the initial layer of rubber to get the traction going on the court. Sliding with them is much in line with other similar shoes of it class to like the Barricade/ Zoom Cage3/ Gel Resolution 7. The big toe area is bald and the toe area too, but the the sole is still there. It hasnt affected the way it grabs the court. The stability is slightly dropped a bit due to wearing out the interior plastic, but the stability is still there whenever I need to make those aggressive cuts. The side guard is still in tact for further use. The plastic however show a bit of discoloration after constant flexing on the shoes and small parts of it came off from the toe box, but its only a minor issue. The shoe discolored slightly from its bright red when I initially got it, but it holds its bright color as many friends commenting my shoe is bright as heck and its stands out.
Final Verdict:
If you want the straight forward answer of if this shoe worth the try, I would say it will take some time to get used to before it starts to shine to compete with other big brands. If you're into out of the box comfort and immediate performance, I would say this isnt a shoe for you as it will take some time to break in and will need some wear. However, if you can tolerate through the breakin period, then I would say its worth for its $100 price. I wore the previous version of these shoes and I can say this version is much better in terms of ventilation and flexibility of the materials in the toe box. Will it be something I would pick up again if I were to get a chance, most likely not but will if I cant get my hands on other shoes such as the Gel Res 7; that shoe finally hits the mark in terms of fitting. For the sale price, its worth trying out to see if it works for you or not. 7.0/10
Will post picture of my current state of my shoes is at later.
