I picked these up because I needed some new skate shoes, and they reminded me of the ones I wore 5 years ago or so. The main difference now being that they are Hemp instead of the leather (pleather, I don't quite remember). Either way I was excited to see that these shoes were still available, and were to be had so cheaply here on Amazon (sorry Journeys for being my shoe test-fit guinea pig).
Onto the shoes. The shoes to be expected took awhile for me to break in. The sole remained quite stiff for about 2 weeks or so. Not a big deal, and to be expected. After riding around a bit on my motorcycle trials bike, it completely broke them in. Obviously not their intended use, but it softened them up a bit and brought them to a great comfortable state. The look on them is IMO great. I know 95% of the people that are buying skate shoes are buying them for the looks. So do yourself a favor, and get the shoes that still maintain a good deal of class to them. These shoes can easily be worn in a "dressier" situation, and I've had no ill comments as to them looking haggard with casual pants.
The other part of these shoes that drew me to them was the fact that all new skate shoes have gone to this completely terrible flat "old school" type shoe. I'm not sure who brought on this look\style\whatever you want to call it. That style shoe just doesn't work right, and are uncomfortable. Now don't get me wrong. I know that these shoes aren't exactly praised by Podiatrists. They don't have any arch really, but actually have some "shape" to them. I enjoy this in a shoe. Now if you're anything like me with skating, you will have a tendency to somehow roll your ankles with ease. I know this can be remedied with wearing my shoes looser, but then things just get sloppy. This is to me the best feature of these shoes. With them being a sort of mid-top shoe, they have saved me from many a rolled ankle.
The reason I gave them a 4\5 though is due to the fact that on the velcro strap on my left foot, the velcro has separated from the fabric. I did nothing weird, and the only thing I can think of is that I caught it on something and it pulled it up. This is not a big deal, doesn't hurt function, and isn't really noticeable until I remove the shoes.
All in all one of my favorite shoes, and now I'm wishing I had picked up another pair at the 40$ price. Such is life.
