diredesire
Moderator
Hey all, I was able to finally get my thoughts down "on paper" about these shoes that I playtested, and I thought I'd post my results on TW, let me know what you think!
Wilson Trance All Court Men’s Shoes Wh/Navy
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageMSWILSON-WTACMWN.html
Comfort: 8/10. These shoes had virtually NO break in time. Very comfortable right out of the box. I found the flex points of the shoes to be right where they should be. There was more cushioning/padding in the front half of the shoe than I am accustomed to. My shoe of choice is the Nike Breathe Free IIs, which, relatively speaking are a pretty “thin” shoe, with lots of mesh. The padding is OK, but the Trance’s are in a bit of a different ball game. Plenty of room in the toe box and in the heel, which will be nice for those with bigger feet, but mine are pretty narrow with high arches, so this fit was a little bit “weird” for me, and gave me a little discomfort after prolonged use. (I suspect this is due to my high arches, and not so much the shoe), the design is pretty robust. One complaint I did have about this shoe was that the cushioning did leave my feet a little “stuck,” in terms of heat. After a few hours on the court, my feet were begging for a little air. However, no complaints from an overall user-friendly standpoint here!
Stability: 8.5-9/10 Surprisingly stable shoe, these reminded me of something between an Adidas barricade 2 and a barricade 4. The barricades have the “claw” design, which (once laced up properly) sort-of pull your feet into the shoe. The Wilson Trances are similar in this respect, once laced up tight, they latch on to your feet. Moving from side to side was interesting for me, the Trances are a little more “clunky” compared to my usual Breathe Free IIs, but most every shoe is. The stability aspect was very impressive, though, I had no ankle rolling issues, and quick starts and stops felt very solid. The ankle support is actually a little bit more than I expected from what I believe to be a “low cut” shoe. There is definite support right around the bottom of my ankle, although it never feels like there is material in the way of my movement. I have to give the Trance pretty high marks in this aspect.
Arch support: 6.5/10 For me, I have very high arches, and the arch support was slightly lacking/weird. I feel that the arch in these shoes is shifted slightly forward than other shoes. I believe this might also be a sizing issue, as Nikes tend to run small, so the size I figured was about right for me might have been half a size too big. I feel the arches are also a little flat, but most shoes feel like that to me. I have to say that for an average user these shoes are probably about average in terms of arch support. This does improve slightly, however, once the shoes are laced up nice and tight.
Foot support: 7/10 Overall, the support was pretty solid all around, but there was a lot of room in the toe box and heel area for my narrow/high arched feet. I feel that this amount of padding and support would be perfect for the average foot, but I found myself sliding around a little bit inside the shoe. This isn’t to say that the stability was bad, the shoe itself was very, very stable. However, the room in the shoe for me was in all the wrong places. This is an exaggerated evaluation, though. I only noticed it when stopping and going very rapidly.
Overall sole durability: 8.5/10 Pretty impressive. I have used these shoes on and off for a few weeks now, and I don’t see very much wear and tear at all! I typically wear the inner front edge of the toes first, but I have to say that the tread has held up quite nicely. I would say that these are just about on par with other ‘durability guarantee’ shoes. The huge tread did appear (aesthetically) to me as rather odd, but after you get used to the look of the shoe, it does grow on you.
Toe Durability: 9.5/10 I’m not a huge toe dragger, so toe durability is not a major concern for me. However, I have to say that the toe region of these shoes looks pretty darn beefy. There is a (seemingly) thick rubber toe “cap” with some pretty serious coverage around the toe region. For toe draggers, this might be right up your alley.
Traction: 9/10 I’m a pretty quick guy, and I rely on my speed around the court. Quick stops and starts are definitely a big part of my game. The large tread pattern made me feel like I wasn’t making as solid a stop as usual, but I really did feel the “stick” of these shoes on the court. I found the Barricade IVs to be my “gold standard” as far as traction goes, and these do an admirable job in comparison.
Weight: 9/10 Judging by the looks of the shoe (and others agreed upon seeing them), these shoes look pretty heavy. There is some serious rubber on the sole and the toe region, and the side supports look to be made of a pretty sturdy material. However, I was surprised to find that these shoes felt very light on my feet! My Breathe Free IIs feel very similar in weight to these shoes, but upon checking, I found that they were actually heavier! I’m still pretty confused as to why this is, because the Wilson Trance’s feel better cushioned (overall) than the BFIIs, and the sole looks to be pretty seriously constructed. Definitely a winner in this category!
Overall: 8/10
For me, these shoes seemed to have a ton of potential, but just didn’t meet all my criteria. This isn’t to say the shoe is a bad choice, it is a serious contender for those who are budget minded ($80 isn’t a bad deal on a shoe, not to mention it’s got a 6 month warranty!) For the “average-footed” person, I think the Wilson Trance is a pretty solid choice. The Aesthetics are (in my humble opinion) simple, yet attractive (they definitely take a different direction than the Adidas/Nike offerings, which is a good thing, in this case). The weight is nice, and the cushioning per weight is excellent. The toe box is roomy (too roomy for me), and the heel region has some space to play around in. The one major issue I had with this shoe is that it was a little hot after a few hours of play.
Wilson Trance All Court Men’s Shoes Wh/Navy
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageMSWILSON-WTACMWN.html
Comfort: 8/10. These shoes had virtually NO break in time. Very comfortable right out of the box. I found the flex points of the shoes to be right where they should be. There was more cushioning/padding in the front half of the shoe than I am accustomed to. My shoe of choice is the Nike Breathe Free IIs, which, relatively speaking are a pretty “thin” shoe, with lots of mesh. The padding is OK, but the Trance’s are in a bit of a different ball game. Plenty of room in the toe box and in the heel, which will be nice for those with bigger feet, but mine are pretty narrow with high arches, so this fit was a little bit “weird” for me, and gave me a little discomfort after prolonged use. (I suspect this is due to my high arches, and not so much the shoe), the design is pretty robust. One complaint I did have about this shoe was that the cushioning did leave my feet a little “stuck,” in terms of heat. After a few hours on the court, my feet were begging for a little air. However, no complaints from an overall user-friendly standpoint here!
Stability: 8.5-9/10 Surprisingly stable shoe, these reminded me of something between an Adidas barricade 2 and a barricade 4. The barricades have the “claw” design, which (once laced up properly) sort-of pull your feet into the shoe. The Wilson Trances are similar in this respect, once laced up tight, they latch on to your feet. Moving from side to side was interesting for me, the Trances are a little more “clunky” compared to my usual Breathe Free IIs, but most every shoe is. The stability aspect was very impressive, though, I had no ankle rolling issues, and quick starts and stops felt very solid. The ankle support is actually a little bit more than I expected from what I believe to be a “low cut” shoe. There is definite support right around the bottom of my ankle, although it never feels like there is material in the way of my movement. I have to give the Trance pretty high marks in this aspect.
Arch support: 6.5/10 For me, I have very high arches, and the arch support was slightly lacking/weird. I feel that the arch in these shoes is shifted slightly forward than other shoes. I believe this might also be a sizing issue, as Nikes tend to run small, so the size I figured was about right for me might have been half a size too big. I feel the arches are also a little flat, but most shoes feel like that to me. I have to say that for an average user these shoes are probably about average in terms of arch support. This does improve slightly, however, once the shoes are laced up nice and tight.
Foot support: 7/10 Overall, the support was pretty solid all around, but there was a lot of room in the toe box and heel area for my narrow/high arched feet. I feel that this amount of padding and support would be perfect for the average foot, but I found myself sliding around a little bit inside the shoe. This isn’t to say that the stability was bad, the shoe itself was very, very stable. However, the room in the shoe for me was in all the wrong places. This is an exaggerated evaluation, though. I only noticed it when stopping and going very rapidly.
Overall sole durability: 8.5/10 Pretty impressive. I have used these shoes on and off for a few weeks now, and I don’t see very much wear and tear at all! I typically wear the inner front edge of the toes first, but I have to say that the tread has held up quite nicely. I would say that these are just about on par with other ‘durability guarantee’ shoes. The huge tread did appear (aesthetically) to me as rather odd, but after you get used to the look of the shoe, it does grow on you.
Toe Durability: 9.5/10 I’m not a huge toe dragger, so toe durability is not a major concern for me. However, I have to say that the toe region of these shoes looks pretty darn beefy. There is a (seemingly) thick rubber toe “cap” with some pretty serious coverage around the toe region. For toe draggers, this might be right up your alley.
Traction: 9/10 I’m a pretty quick guy, and I rely on my speed around the court. Quick stops and starts are definitely a big part of my game. The large tread pattern made me feel like I wasn’t making as solid a stop as usual, but I really did feel the “stick” of these shoes on the court. I found the Barricade IVs to be my “gold standard” as far as traction goes, and these do an admirable job in comparison.
Weight: 9/10 Judging by the looks of the shoe (and others agreed upon seeing them), these shoes look pretty heavy. There is some serious rubber on the sole and the toe region, and the side supports look to be made of a pretty sturdy material. However, I was surprised to find that these shoes felt very light on my feet! My Breathe Free IIs feel very similar in weight to these shoes, but upon checking, I found that they were actually heavier! I’m still pretty confused as to why this is, because the Wilson Trance’s feel better cushioned (overall) than the BFIIs, and the sole looks to be pretty seriously constructed. Definitely a winner in this category!
Overall: 8/10
For me, these shoes seemed to have a ton of potential, but just didn’t meet all my criteria. This isn’t to say the shoe is a bad choice, it is a serious contender for those who are budget minded ($80 isn’t a bad deal on a shoe, not to mention it’s got a 6 month warranty!) For the “average-footed” person, I think the Wilson Trance is a pretty solid choice. The Aesthetics are (in my humble opinion) simple, yet attractive (they definitely take a different direction than the Adidas/Nike offerings, which is a good thing, in this case). The weight is nice, and the cushioning per weight is excellent. The toe box is roomy (too roomy for me), and the heel region has some space to play around in. The one major issue I had with this shoe is that it was a little hot after a few hours of play.