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Vans Rowley Shambles
Price: $60-$65, although I got them on sale for $40.
Style: There isn't much to not like about these, there a simple vans shoe that comes in a large range of colorways from plain black to a bright blue. I had the black/white/red colorway shown above. I like them and thought the little symbol towards the back of the shoe was a nice touch to an already good looking shoe. No rating given since style is an opinion.
Boardfeel: The insole that come with these shoes is actually really thick, similar to the ones in halfcab pros and av sk8-los. But the rest of the sole is pretty thin, so they still have great boardfeel. In my opinion these have a near perfect combination between boardfeel/impact support for a vulcanized shoe. The rating for how good the boardfeel is would be an 8/10 I'd say, but a 9/10 for the boardfeel/impact support combination.
Comfort/Impact Support: As mentioned in the "Boardfeel" section these shoes have a very thick insole but the sole itself is quite thin. Though this is expected from a thin shoe the impact support is mediocre. Although, I hear a lot of people saying they think thin shoes are very comfortable which would make this a good thing also, though it's not my cup of tea. But I'd say even though I think more padded shoes are more comfortable these weren't too bad, especially at first. I thought there were really comfortable for the first few days of wearing them. There is actually a hi-top model of this shoe, so if you need ankle support than you should be happy to hear that if you didn't know already. I would give the comfort an 8/10 and the impact support a 6/10.
Grip: These shoes have the Vans waffle sole grip that everyone is always praising, and it should be praised. It's not so durable that it never fades away because it does, but it's definitely good and lasts longer than most while still being very grippy. The first thing I noticed with these shoes is how grippy the midsole was when first skating them, which is normal for a vulc shoe, but it wasn't as grippy as some other shoes I've had. The colorway I had was suede so that adds to the grip nicely, though it ripped quickly. I would give the grip an 8/10, very good.
Lace Protection: There is none, and the lace holes aren't high up the shoe like on some other shoes. Nothing shoe goo can't fix.
Durability: The main downfall for this shoe is the durability. As stated before the grip lasts a good time. The midsole wore down quickly even though I also drenched it in superglue, but other than that this shoe is pretty weak. I applied superglue to these shoes many times, it seemed that whenever it the superglue wore away a lot of damage would be done to the shoe before I re-superglued them, which is saying something because I usually noticed quickly. The suede as I said before ripped quickly but thankfully there are a few layers under it to keep from affecting your skating. Overall I would give the durability a 6/10, not bad for a vulc shoe.
Overall: These are great shoes for people who only skate smaller obstacles and transition, not so great for people who are looking for a durable shoe with good impact support. I would reccommend these shoes, though they are certaintly not the best I've skated, others would disagree. The overall rating I give is an 8/10, if you want to try them, you definitely should.
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