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Specialized Sport
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Vans Dualist

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Vans Dualist

In a word, slick. In two words…silky smooth! You’d think for such fine lookin’ shoes they might sacrifice fit. Hey man, Vans has been foot friendly and all about Cali-comfort since ’66 — and dang...who are we to judge? We scored the saucy, fire engine red, but they also come in black leather/checkerboard mesh, charcoal leather/mesh/orange detail. I can't speak for the orange ones, but those colors sound bold. Simple lone laces for fit, but as cool as this skate shoe looks, doesn’t mean it forgoes performance. The sole is not bendable and the heels have a thin exterior Velcro heel strap that tightens it all together perfectly. The only problem was it began peeling off after several uses. The cleats are set up almost high enough to squeak silently on hard floors. The ankle support, however, is only on the inside, making these freestyle booties a bit confusing at first. The support is protection against the bike I guess — like she could ever hurt me.

Who The Shoe Fits: Any freestyle, stylee "off the wall," bunny hopper. This isn’t another dilemma where if you don’t skate, you don’t relate. It’s a shoe with a purpose. Are you cool enough? Will you never install the cleats and just try and look like you skate? Who cares, once people start asking — and they will ask, you just turn up the sole and show ‘em the SPDs and watch ‘em nod in appreciation.

Set Back: ~$70

Features: A first with a "huge," but tiny, heel strap that looks too small and weak to do so much. But looks can be deceiving.
Got more style than Money Mark.

Factors: Stiffer than you might expect from a freestyle shoe, but no complaints here! You can’t expect to loosen up the laces and just go shoot some hoops, though. When I said they were stiff I meant that, if untied, your foot will come right out of them when you walk, but who cares? Tie ‘em once and just cram ‘em on like any other skate shoe. The best feature was unquestionably the heel strap that, for its thin size, added so much snugness, even though it started peeling off after a few good pulls. They come in kid sizes, too.

Tongue 'n Groove: The uneven ankle protection just looks and feels funny, but, like braces, you'll get used to them.