Initial Thoughts: Etnies Marana

Taking the shoes out of the box, the Etnies Marana looks like 

one of the more technical shoes available in the industry right now. The front of the shoe has a clean, no stitching toe area with a reinforced molded rubber toe cap. The laces are set back so it looks like the laces will not rip quickly. The shoe is a cupsole, and is a little stiff, which is regular for a capsule. The inside of the shoe contains a single density PU insole. The midsole contains STI Evolution foam, which is a lightweight, high-impact rebound cushioning foam. One of my favorite things about this shoe is that the collar of the shoe keeps your shoe from falling off of your foot. When i put these shoes on, the shoe wouldn't slip off of my feet, even without laces. This shoe is very comfortable, seems extremely durable and looks nice. I am really looking forward to skating in the Marana!

Review - DC Landau

Hours Skated: 22 hours 15 minutes

Reason for stopping: Blowout in left shoe's toe cap led to abrasion on sock and toe

  

Laces used (excluding original pair): 2

Comfort/Fit: After breaking the shoe in, shoe fits very well around foot and provides good padding throughout the shoe. (8/10)

Weight: The weight was good. For as bulky as the shoe may look, it definetly isn't as heavy as looks so thats a plus. (7/10)

Durability (Upper): The shoe's toecap is triple-stitched to keep the toecap from falling apart. However, the rest of the shoe's upper is double-stitched which provides lees durability than the toecap. The shoe's upper has DC's super suede and to me, the suede lasted well. the only things that really wore down were the stitchings and the inner area of the toecap. The only reason the inner area blew out unlike the rest of the toecap is because it is only one layer of suede, while the rest of the toecap had suede overlapping itself along with other materials underneath to keep it holding up. (7/10)

Lace Protection: Extra panel overlaps lowest eyelet of the shoe providing lace protection for only one lace hole. The eyelets of the shoe are set low on the shoe. Most people usually rip the laces on the bottom three eyelets, so being that there is only lace protection on one eyelet, the lace protection is minimal. (5/10)

Durability (Outsole): As a cupsole shoe, it was no surprise to me that the outsole held up very well. The only parts of the outsole that wore out were near the toecap and the area where the ball of my feet are, which barely wore down. As flexible as it felt, it also provided good protection to my feet. I never felt at any point while skating the shoe that the outsole was too thin. (8/10)

Breathability: The shoe was alright in terms of breathability. It wasn't bad, had the same breathability as most standard skate shoes. (5/10)

Board Feel/Grip: The shoe had a herringbone tread on the outsole which is very commonly used in skate shoes, so the grip was good. As for the board-feel, it had good board feel as well, similar to a vulc sole. (7/10)

Flexibility: The shoe is surprisingly flexible for a cupsole shoe. After the break-in period it was flexible much like a vulc-soled shoe, and felt very comfortable on my feet. (8/10)

Simple Summary: The DC Landau is a well-priced out-of-the-box skate ready shoe with a very good outsole and great comfort.