Beginning my review now, and I will update it as the playtest goes on.
Tennis experience/background:
I've been playing tennis for over 40 years (currently 51). I played high school, D3 college, and have coached high school tennis and have filled in teaching at my local club.
Describe your playing style:
I'm a 4.5/5.0 level player. In singles, I'm predominately an "aggressive baseliner", more in the mold of Agassi/Nishikori/Baghdatis, taking the ball early and feeding off my opponent's pace. In doubles, I'm pure serve & volley (off both 1st & 2nd serves), and look to get to the net off my return.
Current shoe:
I don't stick with a single brand/line of shoe, although right now I'm working my way through two pairs of ASICS Speed FFs (one black, one blue/orange). I also have a couple pairs of the adidas Barricade 2018 Boost waiting in the wings, and have worn ASICS Gel Res 7s before the Speed FFs.
How many hours did you play with the shoe?
14.5 (and counting)
Normal Size: 10.5
Playtesting Size: 10.5
**NOTE on sizing: I wear ASO braces on both my ankles at all times. I've rolled my ankles multiple times playing tennis/soccer/hiking, that I don't risk it anymore.
Comments on shoe performance:
Comfort:
Out of the box, they felt good. I put them on in the house & walked around for a bit as I haven't worn K-Swiss since my college days (see pics of Si-18s above). 10.5 was the perfect size. Not too lose, but enough room for my braces. Very comfortable, but not as comfortable as the Boost 2018s...at least that is what I thought walking around the house.
First Outing: My first time on the court with these shoes was outdoor hard hitting w/
@downs_chris. After hitting for 10-15 minutes, I looked down to pickup a ball, looked at the shoes, and realized I was wearing the playtest shoes. In other words, I had forgotten I was wearing different shoes. Over the next hour, I didn't feel any discomfort, and my foot never fell asleep (happens to me in some shoes, especially Nike). To update, I'd say they are almost as comfortable as my Boost 2018s.
Second Outing: This time it was doubles on indoor hard courts. Once again, no discomfort to report. No foot pain, no blisters (old Barricades rubbed my knuckles raw). This was different from my first outing as most of my movement was front-to-back (again, I serve & volley on both serves in doubles), which can expose different pains due to foot sliding forward instead of sideways.
Third and Fourth outing: This past weekend I played 3 1/2 hours of singles on clay. Absolutely no complaints, and I was doing a bunch of running (both east/west and north/south) & sliding (which, btw, they are good for on the clay).
Arch support:
I honestly don't know what my foot type is. I guess I have a medium arch? But suffice to say, my arches have experienced no pain due to lack of support.
Stability/support:
So far, this has been the standout aspect of these shoes. Yes, I wear ankle braces, but that doesn't mean I can't tell when a shoe has good stability. I move a lot side-to-side, scrambling for most shots, and so far these feel extremely stable. Even during my first outing, where I was sliding around like I was on ice, when I caught a dry patch, I didn't feel like I was going to roll over.
One thing I noticed during my play on clay is that my heel is locked in. Unlike my Speed FFs, where I'll feel my heel come up a bit, my heel stayed in the shoe with no slippage.
Ventilation:
I'm a heavy sweater, but its been cold/wet/rainy here in Northern VA the last week. Its supposed to clear up later this week, so I will update once I get out in sunny/humid conditions.
Update:
As others have said, this is possibly the shoe's only weak point. Its not bad to the point of discomfort, but we had mid-upper 80s in VA this weekend, and my feet were fairly damp after each match.
Sole durability:
Unfortunately, a good chunk of my playtest was on clay courts, so obviously there will be minimal wear. Below is a pic of the soles at the 11 hour mark (4.5 of which were on clay):
There is barely any wear (although damn, some of those hard courts are dirty...), and I have no doubt they'll last 4 months, maybe 6 depending on if I play singles or doubles.
Toe durability:
I am a toe dragger. Specifically, my left foot when I hit my backhand (you can see the discoloration in the picture above on the left toe). The good news is the toe guard extends high enough that I'm not going to burn through the fabric (I've done that on a few pairs). The bad news is 11 hours isn't enough to adequately determine if this will be a problem after repeated backhands. But, again, they have a 6-month warranty, so if not, I'll get a free pair...
Traction:
Extremely good traction on hard courts (we'll ignore my 1st outing, as nothing could have gripped those courts). I especially like the 'squeak' in the soles as I'm moving & stopping. I'm not graceful by any stretch of the imagination, and rely on my quick recovery, so its nice to have a pair of shoes that grip the court well.
On clay, the modified herringbone pattern works extremely well. It allowed me to slide into my shots, but when I needed to, just a tad more pressure, and I'm coming to a complete stop.
Weight:
TW page says 15.3oz. I didn't believe it. They didn't feel any heavier than my Speed FFs (12.3oz). So I put them on my postal scale. 15.3oz. Go figure...
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I have to say that I'm pleasantly impressed with the Ultrashot 2s. Ventilation issue aside (and lets be honest, they way I sweat, a little more mesh likely won't make a difference), these are really nice shoes. They're a comfortable fit (especially w/ my ankle braces), perform well, and are very stable. While they weigh in a bit heavier than some other shoes, they don't feel it. I even liked the color scheme (they went well with both white & black socks
), although I'd like maybe one or two more options as I normally buy 2 pairs and rotate, and if I came home with a pair of shoes in Florida Gator colors...well, it wouldn't sit well w/ my recent FSU graduate...
I'll most likely use these for the remainder of the summer, so maybe I'll track this thread down come late August and update on the sole & toe durability. But as of now, these are on my RADAR once I burn through the other 3-4 pairs of shoes I have in my closet.
Thanks to TW & K-Swiss for the opportunity to try these out. Like I said above, its been over 25 years since I've worn K-Swiss, but I think its time to revisit the brand.
