Every few years, new fads come into play in every medium of life. Fist pumping, getting tans that make you look orange, designer tee shirts, etc.


Specifically with skateboarding, we've seen it all from the 90's Jnco jeans and 2XL shirts to todays tie dye shirts and skinny jeans phase. More recently I've been noticing something else in skateboarding. We've recently been exposed to more fashion forward skateboarding. I remember growing up and specifically having a set of clothes that I skated in. Stuff that I didn't mind looking like a bum in, that was my attitude towards skating because I knew I was going out to skate, get sweaty and fall on my ass through the dirty streets of New York. Eventually, my regular school clothes became my skate clothes as my love for skateboarding grew more and more. As a result, I looked like bum all the time through high school and never got laid.

I didn't care then because I was just a kid and skateboarding was all I had. Unfortunately, for the large quantity of skaters who never got sponsored, we all grow up and naturally have bills to pay and jobs to maintain. I now work at an office where their is a dress code to some extent. That little kid who loved skating is still who I am today but I need to keep my job and not look like shit, so what's my alternative, wearing a suit and tie? Nah, I couldn't. That's not in my budget and besides I wouldn't feel right without wearing some kind of skateboarding related clothing. The skate rat inside me won't allow it.

The point of all of this is to appreciate those few select brands that are willing to still stay true to skateboardings natural message but still realize the realizim of those who clock in a 9 to 5. Amongst the few, the brand that delivers this message the best is Gravis. Their unique approach towards "good looking" skate shoes and footwear is outstanding. Gravis manages to produce quality skate shoes with great designs, technology and still giving you the good looks to hit on any chick in the city with confidence and your best Dylan Rieder impression. Even after you get rejected, your still able to skate your favorite city ledges and spots all without having to change out of your best "Imma try to get some" outfit.



Below is the new Arto Mid. It's a brand new model from Gravis and consists of great new technology with a clean look. The new double rubber foxing around the ollie area is doubled up for longer durability. Rubber isn't the only thing covering your wear and tear worries. Suede is throughout the shoe and double stitching covers the top portion over the rubber. The height of the collar allows extra ankle protection along with a padded tongue. Both feature great padding and the interior of the shoe is lined with breathable mesh. This vulcanized outsole is layered for even more durablity, which means that the Arto mid looks to stand the test of time for any skater.

 Finishing this shoe off strong is the CLOUD 9 PU footbed, which is a personal favorite of mine. When I was a landscaper, I had these heavy ass boots and the insoles were terrible. After finishing skating some Gravis filters, I threw the Gravis insoles in my boots and they've been one of my favorite insoles since. Gravis has also continued to add more comfort for your padding needs with a "magic foam layer" between the insole and outsole for greater shock absorption. These padding features are exclusivly for the Arto mid so far, making these a priority to get for 2011.



(Arto Mid pro model, release 7/15)




(Featured above are some new colorways for the Arto. The white and black colorways on the left are the Arto LX models.)



These are the Dylan slip on. They come in a variety of different material and good looking new colorways. I haven't personally skated a pair of slip on's since the early 2000's, I use to be much lighter then, but these look great to skate. A narrow but not too slimming toe cap offers great flicking for all of your kickflip and frontside flip needs. You have a choice between suede or leather for skating purposes or chosing leather or canvas for styling out, or in my case going to work. All of these, regardless of material, offer the same great technology. All of them come with the CLOUD 9 PU footbed, breathable mesh lining and a high traction molded outsole. These shoes are best fit for those skaters addicted to high performance boardfeel because I do understand that not everyone can skate a bulky cupsole.



(Dylan slip on, release 7/15 or later)


Closing our Agenda 2011 installments is a shoe I have mention already, the Fliter. I have skated the Fliter before but not this model in paticular. This one is the "Filter TT" (TecTuff) and has some new technology integrated into it for high performance. This shoe has been tested to withstand the same abuse of a suede covered shoe but offers a canvas look and feel. It comes equipped with the CLOUD 9 PU footbed, mesh lining through the interior and the standard high traction molded outsole. I personally loved the feel of the Filters on my feet and look forward to skating it soon.


(Filter TT, release 7/15)

Thank you again to our viewers and especially the sales rep's at Agenda NYC, you've all been great and be on the look out for great new segments and reviews on Ripped Laces in the near future.

Peace.

The last time DVS was featured on Ripped Laces was during our DVS product review. Now, I don't know if everyone agreed with those products in particular but if DVS failed to catch your attention, they will have it now. DVS debuted some promising product this year. With brand new pro models to be expected and an undisclosed Emb collabo colorway in the works, DVS is working to please everyone this season.

Andrew Brophy's debut pro model is dropping at the end of February and comes with todays standard, but effective, features. Known for his overwhelming pop, likely to ollie over your largest hometown gap, this shoe is still being worked on its release date approaches. The rep at Agenda told me how the sample pairs at the time had a standard DVS insole for the time being, but will likely have a better, more "drop" accommodating insole in the works. This shoe has a one piece suede toe cap, comes in a variety of colorways and comes together with some new technology. DVS has produced a fusion between vulcanized/cup sole and has dubbed it "Flex feel padding". It's a slim fit with minimal padding and its suppose to be the best of a Vul/Cupsole shoe. The grey colorway might be released sooner than the "Cliche" collabo, which will be released around fall so start saving up.



(Andrew Brophy Pro Model, Release Summer/Fall)


The Daewon 12 is being released not too long after his mind blowing Berrics part. I saw it once and still have trouble comprehending what I witnessed. The Daewon 12 is following suit with the one piece toe cap along with double stitched canvas off the side for added style and protection. For even more style, the 12 comes as an official "Almost" collabo and Daewon approved graphics inside the shoe. This vulcanized model also offers the laces being pushed back a bit for less abrasion and breathability is offered throughout the thinly padded tongue.



(The Daewon 12, Release Spring/Summer)


The next and last shoe being shown in this sneak peek is the new Chico Brenes pro model, dubbed "The Chico de Mayo". With great wordplay and people still being confused to this day of his nationality, Chico decided to embrace what most spanish refused to do, being confused as a mexican. The Chico de Mayo is being released, yes you guessed it, on Cinco de Mayo and is a great looking shoe. A nice mid-size shoe to mix up the DVS catalog this year, but the calm yet attractive looking colorways makes the Chico a heavy competitor this year. With a slight resemblance to a blazer, the core difference between the two are that the Chico offers more width in the footbed for added comfort. These also come with the same double wrapped vulcanized outsole the Rick Howards come with for major longevity. Padding around the ankle and tongue come standard with the Chico and hopefully a 6 pack with them to enjoy the Chico De Mayo pro model in full effect.


(Chico de Mayo Pro Model. Release Spring/Summer)


Thanks for checking back and sorry for the delay. I think I'm about 15 to 20 minutes late on the east coast but it's still Saturday in Cali so I guess my promise is still somewhat good. Check back between Tuesday and Wednesday for the next and last installement of Agenda 2011. Thanks again for checking back and hope you've enjoyed what we've had to offer.

The Song of the Day is seriously all I've been doing and is inspiration to keep going on.

"I put in work and watch my status escalate"

Peace.
-Ripped Laces

Just as a healthy reminder, between taking photos, talking to reps and letting people know as much as possible about Ripped Laces, it was pretty difficult to capture all of the product at Agenda 2011. Sorry for the limited photos but please enjoy this next installment, Agenda 2011: Lakai.

Lakai has two new models featured on Ripped Laces, two of them being from the men who made Lakai what it is today, Rick Howard and Mike Carroll. The new Rick Howard pro model comes in a single suede silhouette and has a stitched detailed design spotted at the top of the shoe. The best feature about this model is the double wrapped around vulcanized outsole. With two large strips for an outsole to rip through, this looks as though it'll be your favorite shoe for awhile.


(Rick Howard Pro Model, Release Sping/ Summer 2011 release)


The Mike Carroll pro model is a low profile shoe and has double stitching all around the toe cap. On top of that, it's an official Girl collabo and has the traditional Girl design/logo on the thinly padded tongue. This shoe has higher walls through the outsole and continuing straight up towards the tongue for a more relaxed fit and no exploding blowouts on the sides.


(Mike Carroll Pro Model, Release Spring/Summer 2011 release)

Both shoes have great and original designs. Specifically, Lakai seems to have a greater grasp on the color coordination with their new seasoned shoes. I am looking forward to much more from the Lakai brand and Girl family in 2011.

Either tomorrow or Saturday at the very latest, I will have the next installment of Agenda 2011. Check back for some more exclusive sneak peeks.

The song of the day goes out to the 2nd Nature team for arriving safe and sound back in NYC.

Oh and if you haven't already, please add these guys on FB. No shit, they are having 1 to 2 hour sales everyday on newly dropped product and are cutting down normally high prices to walmart value prices. Stay fresh for less.


Peace.

The Agenda trade show continues to better with age and this year was no different. All of you favorite brands were there like Huf, Dvs, Gravis and more. Ripped Laces covered the latest and greatest in spring and fall product to drop in 2011.

The very first spot I hit up was the Circa booth. They've been under the radar for a while but have been brewing up a killer team with their latest additions of Gallant, Gravette and Nuge -  and you can't forget Guzman. I spoke to the rep and he had nothing but good things to tell me about the future of Circa. Currently, Circa has been hyping up the "Lifestyle" collection. This Circa boot is one of the many things you can look forward to from Circa's Lifestyle collection, currently it's still under wraps so you'll have to wait a bit longer to see what else the Lifestyle collection has to offer. (photo below)




More importantly, their upcoming skate collection and pro models look promising. With their absence from the skate game for quite some time (product-wise), it's reassuring knowing that Circa hasn't been sleeping on the skate game at all. Circa reveals new models from Gravette, Gallant and Nuge. All of them coming with some strong features and great designs.(photos below)


Gravette Model with multiple colorways. (Sorry for the blur, shitty phone)

Next in the Circa catalog are the Nuge and Gallant pro models.


The Nuge pro shoe comes with what most skaters have been getting use to seeing more and more lately. A classic vulcanized one piece toe cap, not to rounded and not too narrow, for automatic boardfeel and ready to go ripping. I, personally, am looking forward to the "Gallant" pro model. It features a great classic cupsole look with some vulcanized technology backing it. I can't wait to test these.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment from Agenda. I still have tons to show you from DVS, Lakai and more.

In the meanwhile, heres the song of the day and here are some clips of the day.
Lizard got served, Dickson is a beast and Macba got a fork stuck in it.

I was recently talking to someone who's seen the real in's and out's of the industry and was told "the only two places that matter in skateboarding are NY and Cali." It was an interesting point, sure there are the many talented skaters out of Arizona and Philly amoungst other places but It's true. NY and CA are the quintessential locations for skaters to try to make it. Living in NY has it's pros and cons as does Cali but where we have a stronger reputation for skating the harder, shittiers spots, we also have the negative outcome of the strong winters. I've always been fine with the idea of skating in the winter but now that reviewing shoes is in the mix it's harder and harder to do then lets say if I lived in Cali.....

Now, am I moving to Cali? No. I don't make nearly enough money as this guy (or this guy) to do that.

Having a strong following in NY, Keith Hufnagel has spent the majority of his skating career in CA, I guess this is what my friend meant. Huf happens to be the perfect example of all of this. Sure there are tons of NY heads who've risked it all in CA but Huf has actually made a brand steming from CA with NY roots.
The Huf 1 review was done for 5 weeks and is being reviewed using a Bi weekly format. This shoe was skated depending on weather conditions but overall was tested using a 1 hour duration for 4-5 days and weekends sessions anywhere from 2-3 hours for 5 weeks.

Sizing, Style and Support:
The HUF 1 is stylish enough to be worn/marketed as a streetwear brand but has enough skater influenced  and credibility backing it to be skated like any other shoe. This shoe is true to size so no need to rack your brain wondering what size to get and despite its simple looking demenor, the HUF 1 comes with some high tech support features.

The HUF 1 ankle support starts with premium grain leather and is strengthen all around the ankle and heel area with a hard plastic lining inside, giving the HUF 1 enough support as a skate shoe yet enough style as a street/lifestyle sneaker. As a matter of fact I had someone literally come up to me, bend down and say "yooooooooo those are hot, what are those?" so with that alone these are street solidified and certified. The premium leather throughout the outer heel area complements the hightop style for minimal risks of rolled ankles and makes this shoe look damn good. An almost unnoticeable feature of this shoe is the mesh lining on the inside of the shoe. It's lined throughout the tongue and goes from the top of the heel all the way to the bottom, justifing all of the breathability needed with no slippage. Another reason I'm running with this whole streetwear thing is the small design detail this shoe has compared to most nowadays. In regards to style I've always been under the impression that less is more which is why I'll never understand these. The fact that the HUF 1 has small yet simple patches sowed all around really catches a buyers eye. (photo below)

Sizing, Style and Support Grading: 10






Comfort and Cushion:
The HUF 1 took sometime to break in, approximatley 3-5 days. Even so it didn't take long till I got use to them. Truthfully, rather than skating to break them in I just walked to and from work because I liked the way they look. Cushion-wise, the HUF 1 has a intergrated rubber heel collar insole wrapping all the way around the heel and ending towards the arch of your foot. The insole itself is a foam material with medium thickness underneath the heel for a minimal loss of boardfeel (photo below). With a cupsole designed shoe, the footbed of the insole progressivly gets thinner and has grooves cut into it for evenmore boardfeel. The tongue of the shoe is filled with a thin amount of cushion, just enough to prevent any damage to the ankle.

Comfort and Cushion Grading: 9




Boardfeel and Grip:
Due to the fact that breaking in any shoe is such a bitch, the HUF 1 is no different. The boardfeel isn't going to be there at first. Even so you should embrace hitting on as many girls as possible wearing these shoes. Seriously though it's nothing, after 3 to 5 days you'll feel a significant difference in skating them. I really enjoyed skating this shoe specifically to test the pateneted "H" sole. Its a play on a classic gum sole and it works well. The main factor in testing the sole was the red "H" section of the sole. It seems to be made of a harder rubber than the rest of the sole and grips much better when scratching my thumb against both rubber materials. The red H seems to stick more but wears aways with the same duration as the regular gum sole.

Boardfeel Grading:  8
Grip Grading: 7




 

Durability:
A rougher selection of suede is surrounded all around the shoe and is amazing. No, that is not an overstatement, this is seriously amazing. Most shoes start to tear between the 3rd and 4th week of testing. This suede on the other hand is continuously reinforced and rather than ripping, sheds into another layer of suede, which becomes hairy/rough and then sheds slowly. I can really appreciate the fact that an old school design with some new suede technology can still top any synthetic shoe out there (atleast I think so). A triple stitched suede lining fronts this hightop shoe and has some minimal lace protection. The lace protection, if any is irrelevant but a relief to have even though I didn't have to change laces one. The outsole is made from a fine and smooth rubber that sheds away nicely, I don't have any gouges in the rubber, no foreseen foldage in the suede or signs of the glue wearing off.

Durability Grading
Suede and Outsole: 10
Gumsole: 8





Summary:
All together, HUF is making a solid and bold statement with his brand of shoes. In a time where most board companies are trying to become cemented shoe brands, I'm glad to see HUF succeeding in all of its endeavors. As far as the quality of his shoes go, he seems to have a perfect blueprint and plan on how to executed a well lead footwear brand. Here in NY, the HUF brand isn't just at any skateshop. If you enjoyed the review enough to want to try them yourself pick em' up where I got them.

BELIEF Skateshop and Boutique
29-20B 23rd Avenue
Queens, NY 11105
(718) 721-4444

A special shout out to all the Belief boys, I know they're going big in Cali.