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.

10 Hour Mark - DC Landau S Shoe

 These shoes are feeling very comfortable at this point. The collar and tongue of the shoe have good padding, and the toe cap has already conformed to the shape of my foot. The shoe has a very general, basic shape.  The left shoe (being that i skate regular) is starting to tear at the tip of the toe cap, and under the first few eyelets on the bottom. 

Suprisingly, none of the laces have ripped yet. The shoe has good breathability. The shoe is somewhat light. The right shoe's  seams are starting to blow out on the front tip of the toe cap. The heel area of the shoe has not worn down to a noticable point yet. The forefoot area of the outsole is starting to wear out but hasn't flattened at all yet. For a cupsole, the shoe is very flexible, much like a vulcanized sole. 

Initial Thoughts: DC Landau S Shoe

DC Landau S

(Black/Suede)

         The DC Landau looks like a very basic, out-of-the-box skate ready shoe. It has a round triple-stiched toe cap, with double stiching on the rest of the upper, which seems it may blow out after not too long. It has optional lace protection on the first lace. The tongue, collar, and the sides of the shoe look padded well. The outsole is a cupsole, which i'm thinking a thin cupsole probably because of its flexibility.The insole looks very simple, has good arch support, but nothing special. The outsole has a basic herringbone tread on the bottom, which is very commonly used in skate shoes. As for the design, I really like it. To me, the design reminds me a little bit about the Emerica Reynolds Classics or the éS Accel tt's. Can't wait to put These on my feel and skate them!

 

Starting Off Small...

Hi!
 To anyone that may be reading this, if you're wondering what this is, hopefully I will be able to use this blog to post reviews on skate shoes. These reviews will mainly be wear tests on skate shoes and their durability, comfort, breathability, etc. As for me testing these, if you are wondering what I do, I am a former wear tester for a multiple major skate shoe companies. One of their main programs was to give sample skate shoes to selected skateboarders, have them "skate" the shoes, return them after a certain period of time and explain the shoe's performance. As one of their former wear testers, I have done many reviews in the past on sample skate shoes they have given me to skate during the shoe's developent process.  These shoes I will be reviewing in the future will mainly be chosen based on new technologies made for the skate shoes, popularity of the shoe, performance of the shoe.
I hope you enjoy these reviews to come!