BakerForLife
06-10-2008, 09:35 PM
Lakai MJ-2 "Tales Of A Mountain Man" Edition Review
Features:
Limited Edition, designed and tested by Marc Johnson
Flexible vulcanized construction
Tacky rubber outsole
Full-length shock-absorbing insole
Form fitting upper for increased board feel
Soft pebble leather upper
Sizes: 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13,
First Thoughts/Impressions 10/10
The moment I saw these babies, I knew I had to have them. They were slim, comfortable when trying on, the suede had a buttery feel to them when you rubbed it, and they just looked too sexy.
Comfort 8/10
At first, these were pretty comfortable, almost felt like there wasn't going to be any break-in time necassary. Well, after a week or so of wearing/skating them, the back panel for the heel would sometimes give my heel a little poke, and I would need to adjust my foot in the shoe. Which was a little inconvient when skating.
Boardfeel 9/10
These shoes are vulcanized, so they're going to have more boardfeel then a cupsole. I was expecting the same amount of boardfeel that I got with my Koston Selects as I did with these shoes, and it turned out I was correct, they had an equal amount of boardfeel. Enough to feel your board from the start, until you can feel each and every pebble at your spot within a month or so.
Lace Protection 5/10
These shoes do not have lace loops, lace flaps, or lace savers on the shoe. But of an average time it takes me to rip laces on a shoe that doesn't have these features(2 days- 1 week), it took me a few days longer to rip these suckers. About 10 days for the first lace to rip.
Impact 5/10
Lakai Select models come with Lakai's patent "Equaform" shock-absorbing heel pad. At first, it is very stiff, and feels like a rock or something when landing. But after about a week or so, it gets a little softer, and protects your foot better. Although, as the pad gets beter, the sole gets thinner, meaning you can feel your landings more, so it balances out in the end.
Grip 10/10
These shoes had incredible grip. Usually, the best grip you can get is a gum-soled vulc shoe. Now, even though this sole was maroon/burgundy it gave gum soles a run for their money. And it lasted too. I skated/wore these shoes for a straight month, then switch off bewtween shoes for another month, and there still weren't any major flat areas on the sole. Lakai has impressed me with how well they make their soles.
Flick: 10/10
Very good. The toe cap is made out of suede, so I knew it'd be good from start to end. It gave me good rotations on all my fliptricks, I would overrotated on 360 flips quite often. Very please with the flick.
Durability: 9/10
Surprised? I'm not at all. Lakai is a very reliable, strong company when making skateboard shoes. So I had no doubt in my mind these would last awhile, since my Koston Selects held up so well. The first significant signs of wear/tear weren't for a full week of at least 1 hour of skating them. After about 2 weeks when the black suede started turning that blueish indigo color, it stayed that way for a good week of skating of at least 1 hour a day. Notice their is only a little bit of Shoe-Goo on my left shoe. I finally decided to put a bit on there after the hole started really getting big, which was at about 4-5 weeks.
Also, look how the leather is barely scratched, and how the suede toebox hasn't had any noticable rips/tears. I was pleased to see I didn't have to worry about this part of the shoe. Now, once the stitchings in the toe box ripped, the toungue, and toebox seperated, making my foot closer to the grip, making it uncomfortable at times when doing heelflip variations.
Overall:10/10
A little misleading maybe. But, I'm the type of skater who likes boardfeel, grippy soles, and a nice clean flick. I had a very pleasing time skating in these shoes, they got alot of my tricks cleaner, and better rotated. Note, if you want comfort throughout your whole time having this shoe, are big on durability, need something for your feet to fall back on, and hate ripped laces,this might just not be the shoe for you. But, anyway you look at it, everyone can get something good out of this shoe.
Adio Kenny Anderson V1
Lace protection
PU midsole
TPR technology
Split, synthetic, or action leather upper
Breathable mesh panels throughout
Tongue straps for added stability
Ventilation holes for added breathability
Sheet cut EVA midsole
400 nbs grippy gum rubber outsole
Grippy herringbone tread pattern for excellent traction
Flex grooves in key areas
13.00 oz
Sizes: 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14
Colorways
This shoe comes in MANY different colors/styles, so I'm sure you can find one that you like.
Retail Price:$70-75
Now, this is one of the older Adio pro models, so now, most online stores carry them for $65-under, and usually you can find them on sale for $45-under, and iff you look hard enough, maybe even $19.99.
Adio Kenny Anderson V1
First Impressions: 10/10
Well, these were my first real skate shoes, so I soley got them based off looks, I loved the look, the black, with gum soles just appealed to me more then any other shoe the skate shop had.
Comfort: 9/10
Pretty good. At first, they are stiff, and all by the rubber toe cap, making your toes feel uncomfortable, but after the first week or so, they feel very broken in, and eventually feel like slippers!
Durability: 9/10
I loved the durabilty of this shoe. The rubber toe cap work really well for me. Now, I've had these for over 3 years, so I've been skating them off, and on over those years, but for the first 2 months, these were all I skated and nothing happend until I started skating them again for another month, and got that rip n my left shoe. These were also the shoes I learned heelflips in, notice the nubuck is only slighty frayed, so both the rubber, and the nubuck held up well.
Lace Protection: 10/10
Well, I didn't ripped a single lace when using the lace protection, and only ripped one pair of laces when I didn't use it. It worked well for me.
Flick: 10/10
Well, the toe cap is molded to a certain shape when you first get them, then starts to smoothen around the sides where you wear it down, making it perfect for fliptricks. I can tre with ease in these, and getting double kickflips without any strain on my legs.
Boardfeel: 7/10
Pretty bad for the first few weeks of having them. But after you get used to it, and the grip wears down a little, it get a little better. Not a vulcanized feel, but definitely not a brick feeling either.
Grip: 8/10
Pretty decent. It's a gum sole, so I like that, because gum soles are known for their grip. The grip has worn down quite a bit due to alot of walking in them. Probably more walking then skating them because I lended them to my friend who wasn't that good for a few months, so they've been walked in alot. The ziz zag tread pattern works great though when catching fliptricks, and doing gaps, sets, etc.
Impact: 7/10
They don't have a gel heel pad or anything fancy like that, but the Adio insoles are pretty good for keeping your feet safe. Also, the heel was pretty thick, but not like when you land it's a rock, so it was all good.
Overall: 8/10
Now, personally, I'd give it a 10/10 for the type of skating I do, but for overall performance, and for the types of skating I'd give it an 8/10. It very durable, you won't need to switch laces, and they look pretty sweet. So if you want a comfortabe, durable, and pretty nice looking pair a kicks, try out a pair of Adio Kenny Andersons V1's today!
Features:
Limited Edition, designed and tested by Marc Johnson
Flexible vulcanized construction
Tacky rubber outsole
Full-length shock-absorbing insole
Form fitting upper for increased board feel
Soft pebble leather upper
Sizes: 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13,
First Thoughts/Impressions 10/10
The moment I saw these babies, I knew I had to have them. They were slim, comfortable when trying on, the suede had a buttery feel to them when you rubbed it, and they just looked too sexy.
Comfort 8/10
At first, these were pretty comfortable, almost felt like there wasn't going to be any break-in time necassary. Well, after a week or so of wearing/skating them, the back panel for the heel would sometimes give my heel a little poke, and I would need to adjust my foot in the shoe. Which was a little inconvient when skating.
Boardfeel 9/10
These shoes are vulcanized, so they're going to have more boardfeel then a cupsole. I was expecting the same amount of boardfeel that I got with my Koston Selects as I did with these shoes, and it turned out I was correct, they had an equal amount of boardfeel. Enough to feel your board from the start, until you can feel each and every pebble at your spot within a month or so.
Lace Protection 5/10
These shoes do not have lace loops, lace flaps, or lace savers on the shoe. But of an average time it takes me to rip laces on a shoe that doesn't have these features(2 days- 1 week), it took me a few days longer to rip these suckers. About 10 days for the first lace to rip.
Impact 5/10
Lakai Select models come with Lakai's patent "Equaform" shock-absorbing heel pad. At first, it is very stiff, and feels like a rock or something when landing. But after about a week or so, it gets a little softer, and protects your foot better. Although, as the pad gets beter, the sole gets thinner, meaning you can feel your landings more, so it balances out in the end.
Grip 10/10
These shoes had incredible grip. Usually, the best grip you can get is a gum-soled vulc shoe. Now, even though this sole was maroon/burgundy it gave gum soles a run for their money. And it lasted too. I skated/wore these shoes for a straight month, then switch off bewtween shoes for another month, and there still weren't any major flat areas on the sole. Lakai has impressed me with how well they make their soles.
Flick: 10/10
Very good. The toe cap is made out of suede, so I knew it'd be good from start to end. It gave me good rotations on all my fliptricks, I would overrotated on 360 flips quite often. Very please with the flick.
Durability: 9/10
Surprised? I'm not at all. Lakai is a very reliable, strong company when making skateboard shoes. So I had no doubt in my mind these would last awhile, since my Koston Selects held up so well. The first significant signs of wear/tear weren't for a full week of at least 1 hour of skating them. After about 2 weeks when the black suede started turning that blueish indigo color, it stayed that way for a good week of skating of at least 1 hour a day. Notice their is only a little bit of Shoe-Goo on my left shoe. I finally decided to put a bit on there after the hole started really getting big, which was at about 4-5 weeks.
Also, look how the leather is barely scratched, and how the suede toebox hasn't had any noticable rips/tears. I was pleased to see I didn't have to worry about this part of the shoe. Now, once the stitchings in the toe box ripped, the toungue, and toebox seperated, making my foot closer to the grip, making it uncomfortable at times when doing heelflip variations.
Overall:10/10
A little misleading maybe. But, I'm the type of skater who likes boardfeel, grippy soles, and a nice clean flick. I had a very pleasing time skating in these shoes, they got alot of my tricks cleaner, and better rotated. Note, if you want comfort throughout your whole time having this shoe, are big on durability, need something for your feet to fall back on, and hate ripped laces,this might just not be the shoe for you. But, anyway you look at it, everyone can get something good out of this shoe.
Adio Kenny Anderson V1
Lace protection
PU midsole
TPR technology
Split, synthetic, or action leather upper
Breathable mesh panels throughout
Tongue straps for added stability
Ventilation holes for added breathability
Sheet cut EVA midsole
400 nbs grippy gum rubber outsole
Grippy herringbone tread pattern for excellent traction
Flex grooves in key areas
13.00 oz
Sizes: 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14
Colorways
This shoe comes in MANY different colors/styles, so I'm sure you can find one that you like.
Retail Price:$70-75
Now, this is one of the older Adio pro models, so now, most online stores carry them for $65-under, and usually you can find them on sale for $45-under, and iff you look hard enough, maybe even $19.99.
Adio Kenny Anderson V1
First Impressions: 10/10
Well, these were my first real skate shoes, so I soley got them based off looks, I loved the look, the black, with gum soles just appealed to me more then any other shoe the skate shop had.
Comfort: 9/10
Pretty good. At first, they are stiff, and all by the rubber toe cap, making your toes feel uncomfortable, but after the first week or so, they feel very broken in, and eventually feel like slippers!
Durability: 9/10
I loved the durabilty of this shoe. The rubber toe cap work really well for me. Now, I've had these for over 3 years, so I've been skating them off, and on over those years, but for the first 2 months, these were all I skated and nothing happend until I started skating them again for another month, and got that rip n my left shoe. These were also the shoes I learned heelflips in, notice the nubuck is only slighty frayed, so both the rubber, and the nubuck held up well.
Lace Protection: 10/10
Well, I didn't ripped a single lace when using the lace protection, and only ripped one pair of laces when I didn't use it. It worked well for me.
Flick: 10/10
Well, the toe cap is molded to a certain shape when you first get them, then starts to smoothen around the sides where you wear it down, making it perfect for fliptricks. I can tre with ease in these, and getting double kickflips without any strain on my legs.
Boardfeel: 7/10
Pretty bad for the first few weeks of having them. But after you get used to it, and the grip wears down a little, it get a little better. Not a vulcanized feel, but definitely not a brick feeling either.
Grip: 8/10
Pretty decent. It's a gum sole, so I like that, because gum soles are known for their grip. The grip has worn down quite a bit due to alot of walking in them. Probably more walking then skating them because I lended them to my friend who wasn't that good for a few months, so they've been walked in alot. The ziz zag tread pattern works great though when catching fliptricks, and doing gaps, sets, etc.
Impact: 7/10
They don't have a gel heel pad or anything fancy like that, but the Adio insoles are pretty good for keeping your feet safe. Also, the heel was pretty thick, but not like when you land it's a rock, so it was all good.
Overall: 8/10
Now, personally, I'd give it a 10/10 for the type of skating I do, but for overall performance, and for the types of skating I'd give it an 8/10. It very durable, you won't need to switch laces, and they look pretty sweet. So if you want a comfortabe, durable, and pretty nice looking pair a kicks, try out a pair of Adio Kenny Andersons V1's today!