What's wrong with K-Swiss Shoes?

user92626

user92626

G.O.A.T.
I browse this section and hardly see anyone recommending K-swiss shoes. In addition stores I visit frequently put kswiss shoes on clearance. The price was irresistable, so I just got myself a second pair!!!! This time the Commend instead of Overrule. Comfortable as hell.

What's wrong with k-swiss to you guys?

Commend
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Overrule
kswis161950_30517_jb.jpg
 
I had the k swiss assendors and though they were great!

although for that particular model the durability was lacking.. more of a match day shoe!

:)
 
The kswiss shoes on TW seem to almost never go on close out so I haven't had the impetus to try them at their current price point:) I think they are actually the only brand I haven't tried.

The commend and overrule models appear to be shoes sold in Big Sporting Chain stores which I typically avoid.
 
My impression is that most of the K-Swiss line are firmly aimed at rec players, and are not designed to be pounded intensively. Also a lot of them have very poor ventilation, and the two pictured look like they will have this problem as well.

But if you see a couple of beginners larking around on a park court, there's a good chance that they're wearing K-Swisses (if they're wearing tennis shoes at all).
 
Thud and blunder said:
My impression is that most of the K-Swiss line are firmly aimed at rec players, and are not designed to be pounded intensively. Also a lot of them have very poor ventilation, and the two pictured look like they will have this problem as well.

But if you see a couple of beginners larking around on a park court, there's a good chance that they're wearing K-Swisses (if they're wearing tennis shoes at all).
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Totally agree. Everywhere ive been they are more of a cuasual style shoe. The two posted there look klunky not very breathable to me. I try to stay away from leather on my tennis kicks. The court is hot enough as it is.
 
I've owned several pairs of the Defiers & thought that they were great :). Very comfortable right out of the box & great stability. However, I have lost 20 lbs. since I started buying the Defiers years ago & now I find that they have become too wide :?. They're OK for the 1st 3 months or so, but then they stretch out too much that I end of pulling the laces super tight just so they don't loosen up during a match/practice. I play a lot of USTA & they hold up really well for me. I can't speak about the other shoes made by K-Swiss; only the Defiers. The soles last for me (I do a lot of scrambling on the court) & I'm not a toe dragger, but if you are a toe dragger I don't think these shoes would hold up very well for you. I'm a 4.0 woman that plays mostly doubles w/ some occasional singles here & there. Good luck!
 
I know it sounds crazy & if it didn't happen to me & I read this I would be like "Yeh, sure! You must be crazy". But maybe it's a thing w/ women that drop the weight after having kids. At least that was my experience..... Or maybe it's because it's actually made w/ leather & it gets stretched out?
 
i played with kswiss and after that it was a "never again" situation. they're good unless you wear shoes out fast. one slide of the foot took out a chunk of the outsiole for me >.>
 
Yonex10sFan said:
I've owned several pairs of the Defiers & thought that they were great :). Very comfortable right out of the box & great stability. However, I have lost 20 lbs. since I started buying the Defiers years ago & now I find that they have become too wide :?. They're OK for the 1st 3 months or so, but then they stretch out too much that I end of pulling the laces super tight just so they don't loosen up during a match/practice. I play a lot of USTA & they hold up really well for me. I can't speak about the other shoes made by K-Swiss; only the Defiers. The soles last for me (I do a lot of scrambling on the court) & I'm not a toe dragger, but if you are a toe dragger I don't think these shoes would hold up very well for you. I'm a 4.0 woman that plays mostly doubles w/ some occasional singles here & there. Good luck!
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I am a 4.0 woman that plays mostly singles. The Defier soles hold up really well, and like you said, very comfortable out of the box with great stability. Excellent cushioning, that actually gets more comfortable after you wear them for a few months, in my opinion.
Totally agree with everything you said, they stretch a bit after a few months. I still find them extremely comfortable, and they are still my favorite shoe. My only complaint is that they stopped making red/silver and now only offer white/pink.
The Commends are a nice light shoe, but they don't last as long as the Defiers.
The Accomplish is also a durable shoe, but very heavy.

I think K-Swiss is way underrated, especially the Defiers.
 
Ace and yonex's opinions are on spot. I don't exaggerate but my currently used overrule have been extremely comfortable for me. They have great cushioning and feel very stable due to being wide in the base. I've tried on same priced Wilson Tour and Reebox DMX and thought they were not cushioning and snugging at all like Kswiss. The Kswiss overrule tends to stretch more than i would like. Luckily I have feet that wear the bottom quite evenly, but they don't wear much and it's only been 5 months for me. By this rate they would last me 3 years at least. I do not care about the ventilation factor (yet) because it's still winter and cold. A thing being the cost of good cushioning is that they're a bit thick all around, ie they do not look as great as shoes like Barricade, etc. But hey I like comfortable and only play 4-5 hrs a week for sport, not fashion statement. You guys are right about rec/beginning players.

They're so great that yesterday I bought another pair, Commend this time. Can't go wrong with $23 after tax (clearance price)!!! If it's not too ridiculous about stocking up on shoes for future I would have bought two pairs!!!

Wholeheartedly recommend these shoes for comfort, stability and price.
 
Down Dog just started tennis last year, and she wears the Commend model pictured above; she tells me they are comfortable.
 
nothing wrong with kwiss..

I had been a "k-swiss preferred player" in high school... oh so many years ago...
and with 4 hours of practice a day, 6 hours on weekends ... these shoes definitely held up.

at that time, k-swiss had two model lines... one with a flatter bottom and metal d-loops for the laces and what ended up being the more modern line like the ones pictured.

i played with the latter, and it seems k swiss maintained the same shape/construction.

did not have issues with ventilation, but they were less durable than my current shoes -- the adidas barricade II and IV -- i alternate depending on price and availability (if I can get the discount price from the adidas rep)...

Frankly, I think K-swiss makes a good and comfortable shoe. I just find the barricade suits my need for a more durable shoe now that I am no longer a swift, light juinor and now a lumbering and fatter 36 year old weekend warrior...
 
Before I switched to BIIs, I was wearing the Ultrascendor. It's one of TW's Best Sellers and was a good shoe. Very comfortable and held up well. I just liked the BIIs better after I tried them.

I still wear my K-Swiss as a walking around shoe.
 
Ace said:
I am a 4.0 woman that plays mostly singles. The Defier soles hold up really well, and like you said, very comfortable out of the box with great stability. Excellent cushioning, that actually gets more comfortable after you wear them for a few months, in my opinion.
Totally agree with everything you said, they stretch a bit after a few months. I still find them extremely comfortable, and they are still my favorite shoe. My only complaint is that they stopped making red/silver and now only offer white/pink.
The Commends are a nice light shoe, but they don't last as long as the Defiers.
The Accomplish is also a durable shoe, but very heavy.

I think K-Swiss is way underrated, especially the Defiers.
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I just switched from Barricade II to Defiers for plantar faschiitis.

The Defiers are comfortable and seem to be wearing OK. They are much lighter weight than the Barricades. I feel a bit faster. The problem is that vile baby pink trim.

I try not to look down . . .
 
Cindysphinx said:
I just switched from Barricade II to Defiers for plantar faschiitis.

The Defiers are comfortable and seem to be wearing OK. They are much lighter weight than the Barricades. I feel a bit faster. The problem is that vile baby pink trim.

I try not to look down . . .
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I am wearing the hell out of my last pair of red/silver. Unfortunately, I don't think they will make it to the summer. The men's size 7 really is the same as the women's 8.5, but I do prefer red/silver.

In any case, I was wondering if you liked them. I'd hate to make a bad recommendation. I'm hoping if I can get enough people wearing them, they will start making better colors. Either that, or they will think everyone just loves pink.
 
I have a pair of Kswiss Glaciators and they are very comfortable shoes and I like them alot. I want to try the Head Prestige next though.
 
Ace said:
I am wearing the hell out of my last pair of red/silver. Unfortunately, I don't think they will make it to the summer. The men's size 7 really is the same as the women's 8.5, but I do prefer red/silver.

In any case, I was wondering if you liked them. I'd hate to make a bad recommendation. I'm hoping if I can get enough people wearing them, they will start making better colors. Either that, or they will think everyone just loves pink.
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Yes, I do like them. It's silly, but the pink bothers me. A lot. It is hard to ignore your shoes. I already dislike that I have to wear white shoes for tennis (what, I'm a circus clown now?) when I wouldn't be caught dead in a white shoe for anything else.

I would far prefer black shoes, even though I'm a chick. Geez, almost every pair of shoes in my closet is black. But does anyone make a black tennis shoe for women? Nope.

So Men's size 7 might work, eh? Might be worth a try. I like to keep a second pair in service, but the idea of coughing up another $70 for vile-looking shoes is just too much . . .

Ace, have you tried any other Kswiss other than the Defier?
 
Cindysphinx said:
Yes, I do like them. It's silly, but the pink bothers me. A lot. It is hard to ignore your shoes. I already dislike that I have to wear white shoes for tennis (what, I'm a circus clown now?) when I wouldn't be caught dead in a white shoe for anything else.

I would far prefer black shoes, even though I'm a chick. Geez, almost every pair of shoes in my closet is black. But does anyone make a black tennis shoe for women? Nope.

So Men's size 7 might work, eh? Might be worth a try. I like to keep a second pair in service, but the idea of coughing up another $70 for vile-looking shoes is just too much . . .

Ace, have you tried any other Kswiss other than the Defier?
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Cindy, I'm with you, I can't tolerate a shoe with pink trim. Yuck. Too girly!

I have had several pairs of the Kswiss Ultrascendor and it's a good shoe. I have problems with PF like you do, and the Ultrascendor has never caused my PF to flare up. But the last 2 pairs I have bought had some kind of stitching on the inside that rubbed blisters on my little toe. I was able to dig around in the shoe and cut that out, but it was very irritating having to do that. So I bought a pair of Babalots, and they were OK. After wearing the Babalots for a couple of months, I've decided to go back to Kswiss.

I'd like to try the new Kswiss Stabilors but they look awfully heavy. The new Kswiss Approach looks interesting. But so far there is no TW customer feedback on either shoe. I'd like to try them on before buying but no tennis shops in my area have the new Kswiss shoes. I may just buy them from TW anyway since I have liked most KSwiss shoes that I have tried and they always seem to run true to size. I used to wear the old KSwiss Ascendor GS but it was discontinued. It was the best hard court shoe I ever wore. The new Ascendors (SLT I think) came out last year and I did try some, but they were uncomfortable and were not the same as the old Ascendor at all. But I do have several friends who use the newer Ascendors and like them a lot.

If I get some of the new Kswiss I'll keep you posted. I agree with you that many women's tennis shoes are ugly and I like the look of many of the mens shoes.
 
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Ladies, if you don't like the pink Defiers & I can point you to another place where I've seen the red & even blue Defiers. I even found the old Ascendor GS's while I was searching the web. Contact me at jackies68@att.net
 
Cindysphinx said:
Ace, have you tried any other Kswiss other than the Defier?
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Yes. I've tried:
Commend: A light, comfortable shoe, but not very durable. Cheap rubber bottom.
Accomplish: Very durable, great support, but very heavy, like a boat anchor. Still, if I couldn't get the defiers, I might go back to these. Hard leather though, need to break them in before they get comfortable.
Also, K-Swiss makes some comfortable soft leather "cross training" shoes that they don't list as "tennis shoes. The "ST" line shoes. Unfortunately, the soles are not durable for hard court tennis, so they don't last long.

I tried on the Glaciator SCD, because I like the way they look, and I really wanted to like them, but they just weren't that comfortable for me. Not as much cushioning as the Defiers.

I wanted to try on the Ascendor SLTs, but they only came in purple-y blue, so I didn't bother. Now they make a leather version that looks ok, and is just white, and I would like to try those.

I totally agree about the lack of a decent color scheme in women's shoes. Some of the men's shoes look so cool, women are stuck with sissy colors (pink, powder blue, teal) or have to just get all white. Whats up with that?
 
It appears that there's a landslide consensus that most k-swiss are very (not just averagely) comfortable. The complaints are usually the look, color and maybe weight and durability. It's nice to know where I am in the concept of comfort.


K, I'm gonna stock up on kswiss when they go on clearance again :) I don't mind the plain white
 
The only kSwiss I have are narrow and way too hot (non-breathable). I'll look to find out what model they are but the sole has been very durable even though they are quite heavy. I don't wear them much due to the heat factor...
 
Thud and blunder said:
My impression is that most of the K-Swiss line are firmly aimed at rec players, and are not designed to be pounded intensively..
Click to expand...

Mine are holding up after almost a year so far
and I am someone who runs every ball down and slides around just to get the ball back etc

what you said about ventilation is true though..I find they get stinky easily
 
I am on my 4th or 5th pair of the ultrascendors. Best shoe available in that price range (66USD). The only two complaints from me are outsole durability, and that I cannot find them in Europe...
 
nothing is wrong with k-swiss.i dont know whats wrong with this post.it shouldnt be up here anyways.they were probably on clearance cause they are an extremely old model.the k-swiss shoes that are out right now are amazing and extremely comfortable and durable.
 
Best shoe ever:

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageMSKSWISS-DRS.html

Zero break-in time (unlike you, Barricades). Very comfortable, light, ultra-durable.

I did lots of research before buying, and I'm glad I found these. I have a wide foot, and these fit me like a glove.

I'm a big guy, very hard on shoes. These shoes have held up as well as any shoe I've ever had. And while they are "plain" looking, they are not ugly.

Not sure how the rest of the line holds up, but these shoes are greatness.
 
Had a pair of Ascendors a couple winters back. Never ever have I blown through a pair of shoes so quickly. They were super light 'n comfy with a lot of that softer breathable mesh in the uppers, but without abusing them and even alternating them with a pair of Diadora Speedzones, these K-Swiss bedroom slippers simply evaporated by early spring.

Although I'd probably need an extra pair of socks to fit them well (narrow feet), I can say I'm curious about the Defiers. They seem to be the ones that those folks got right.
 
Not having worn K-Swiss since high school (15 years ago), I've wondered if they've put out any sneakers that come close to the comfort & durability of their famous Si-18 line. I wore those for 4 years of HS & they were terrific sneakers. Does anyone remember those sneakers?
 
Nothing wrong with K-Swiss shoes. The 7.0 line is better quality than the casual line and depending on your foot they may not fit as well. People with wider feet seem to like them better. My personal favorites were the Ultrascendors. I think the main thing is that they aren't marketed like the bigger brand names and their price point is pretty high. They very rarely go on clearance because K-Swiss does a lot of inventory and price control in the market. Their philosophy is to go for a smaller slice of the market with what they think is a comparable product in high end tennis shoes. A friend of mine used to be the K-Swiss rep, that's how I was able to get a lot of my shoes when I was playing a lot.
 
tennisnj said:
Not having worn K-Swiss since high school (15 years ago), I've wondered if they've put out any sneakers that come close to the comfort & durability of their famous Si-18 line. I wore those for 4 years of HS & they were terrific sneakers. Does anyone remember those sneakers?
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I was in HS around the same time and had three pairs of the Si-18 line. Loved them and have been a fan of K-Swiss shoes ever since. I especially like the fact that everyone else on the team wore Nike or Reebok so my shoes were pretty unique, at least at the time.
 
I, too, have a wide foot and have worn K-Swiss' performance shoes for years. I currently wear the Stabilor and love them. I tend to care more about stability and support but I would add that I think they wear pretty well too.
 
eric draven said:
I was in HS around the same time and had three pairs of the Si-18 line. Loved them and have been a fan of K-Swiss shoes ever since. I especially like the fact that everyone else on the team wore Nike or Reebok so my shoes were pretty unique, at least at the time.
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Eric, that's EXACTLY why I wore them. Some of my HS teammates used to call me K-Man b/c I wore their sneakers. My favorite were the ones which had the flags of the 4 countries hosting Grand Slam tournaments on the back right above the heel.
 
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