As much as it saddens us to move from our blogger page, it's for the better.
 


Thanks for all the support everyone.
If you want to keep updated with us, just visit www.RippedLaces.com

If you haven't heard by now, Gravis shit the bed.

Well, kinda. 

Fallen Capitol results for weeks 1 to 4 from top to bottom.

       
This year has been an awaking of sorts for select shoe brands. After carefully thinking about this year, we've realized that those pros who have stayed loyal to the game but underground at the same time are finally getting the recognition they deserve. We're talking about the likes of Joey Pepper & Jack Curtin more specifically. People have been waiting for both of them to get a shoe for some time now & thankfully they are. Each of these guys have fallen into that category of "Why the fuck isn't he getting a shoe?".

We're looking to skate the HUF Pepper in the future but for now we'd like to concentrate on Jack Curtin's pro model, the Capitol. We got the chance to try out the Capitol from Fallen footwear & it surprised us more than we expected. With any vulcanized shoe, you have your premonitions about it and sort of set yourself up for disappointment because of it's expected short life span. We're so glad this wasn't the case with Jack's shoe. Throughout the review, you'll hear us reference the Capitol as a "superior vulcanized model" and by the end of it you won't even think about arguing with that statement. For such a thin shoe, it delivered some huge results.

Putting these reviews out is no simple task. It takes diligence, time and long amounts of skating. If you think our responsibilities are strenuous then imagine the hard work and dedication it must take to be a pro. While reviewing the Capitol, we felt the need to get in touch with Jack and pick his brain about all that he has coming up. From what he told us here, none of it sounds easy. In fact, it makes our lives seem like a walk in the park. He let us in on everything from working on his 2nd pro model to other video projects he's working on and a bunch more. The only thing we forgot to ask him was how it felt to get the thumbs up from Henry Sanchez. That must be the best feeling ever.


Jack, what's good with the DGK video? When is it set to come out & how's it going right now?

This skate shoe essential has seen every kind of change & collaboration possible & it keeps getting better with this latest rendition. After 20 years, the Half Cab is now enduring another change reminiscent of its original cutting of the collar. It's now slimmer, lighter and equally as flexible. This take on the legendary shoe is called the "Cab Lite" & it's everything you'd think & more.

If you were ever committed to Half Cabs before, this new slimmed down version is going to re-ignite your love for the shoe even more. The Cab Lite has some obvious differences than its forerunner but it still stays true in its silhouette and outsole design. The main differences that you should be looking forward to are the one piece suede toe cap over the traditional paneled toe and its newly slimmed design. Comparatively, it's night and day between the two shoes. The Cab Lite really is light as hell and you'll immediately feel the difference.

The Cab Lite's are already going through the review process.
We'll have more than enough info on them to come.

For now though, just know the following:

•  When walking in them, you'll feel the awesome-ness of the waffle sole. They feel as though they're broken-in just because of how comfortable it feels. Once you step on the board, that all changes. It'll take some more break-in time for the suede and additional fabric to break-in.

• They feel great in a half size smaller. Every now and then, the Cab Lite will feel snug but overall will stretch over time.

Expect for the review to be out soon.

Alley oop grinds are hard. Essentially, it's just wrong, which is also why they're cool. In the case of this trick, the same rules from high school apply here people.

The Austyn from Habitat Footwear has been one of the more highly anticipated pro models of the year. The demand of the shoe hasn't necessarily been from a promise of groundbreaking technology or a unique take on an already popular silhouette but because of the phenomenal year Austyn Gillette has been having. Much of it has to do with his stellar performance on the board, but what really brought him into heavy pro contention was his QUIK part that was released by the Berrics in collaboration with Quiksilver.

HUF 1984, week 1 to week 4. The end result of 20 hours.

Much like getting a woman to climax, finding a top performance paneled toe to skate is damn near impossible. They are becoming a thing of myth but once in a while, we're intrigued by a few models that catch our attention. As with pleasing women in the sack, these encounters don't happen to often but when they do, we're never going to forget the experience. This HUF 1984 review is clearly that special & its performance during this review will reflect just that. The HUF brand hasn't had a review on RL's in quite sometime & that's a damn shame. Since our last review with HUF, they've rapidly become a staple of every skate shop & boutique worldwide. Ever improving, they also introduced a refreshing team with the likes of Joey Pepper, "Team Handsome" soon-to-be-inductee Brad Cromer & hopefully Jimmy McDonald soon! We've been seeing you skate em' Jimmy.

 With all this momentum, our expectations are high for HUF as they introduce Joey Pepper's pro model in the coming year & continue their global take over. More on that shoe soon, for now, check out their most technical model to date, the 1984.

Interrupting someone while they're putting their blood, sweat and tears into design is never a proper way to start up a conversation. Sure enough though, that's how we managed to get a couple of words in with Fallen footwear designer, Nick Pappas. While having him on the phone, we talked about Fallen's new brand direction and more about this leaked photo from his instagram, the Porter.

Scouring the internet for our daily dose of content has taken a turn for the worse. After innocently checking out Thrasher's latest coverage of KOTR featuring the Creature team and also watching the Krooked vs Kolorado video, we've come to the assumption, if not certifiable fact, that VOX might be on its way out.

"Ripped Laces recommends" is all about highlighting a shoes performance and feel without going through a lengthy, annoying & technical read. It's all about giving you the facts, straight up. This section is mainly dedicated to those shoes we absolutely love to skate on our off time of doing reviews. Now, we'll accept the notion that this sounds fucking ridiculous because: why would anyone need to skate another shoe when you're already reviewing one? The truth of the matter is, sometimes we don't want to collect data & just want to skate a shoe aimlessly and enjoy ourselves, you know....how we use to before we started reviewing & critiquing shoes. You must be thinking "Those poor bastards" & we're glad you don't have to know our pain.

Click to enlarge, then "Right click" and select "View Image" for an even larger photo.

 
Since leaving you off with the sneak peek, we've been dissecting these detailed photos of the upcoming Reynolds shoe obsessively. Emerica has put together their best efforts to give Andrew exactly what he wanted in a shoe and it most definitely shows. Working side by side with Emerica's primary footwear designer August Benzien, Andrew has given just as much of himself in his latest shoe than he ever has before. After meeting up with August, he let us in on every detail there is about the new Reynolds from Emerica.

The Emerica Reynolds has finally been posted to the internet and has already created a ton of buzz. While it's only been a number of hours, there already is an uproar between those who love it & those who are apprehensive. The truth of the matter is that we do understand both sides of the argument.

This Fallen Capitol review is happening because of the overwhelming requests that we've received from you, the reader, via e-mail, social media & so forth. Don't take all the credit though because our curiosity for Fallen footwear has grown since reviewing the Tom Asta shoe earlier this year. The brand that once pigeonholed themselves in their "gnar-hesh-rail-chomper" imagery have since steered clear of that direction in search of a larger & diverse audience. Many can say what they want but since the addition of Jack Curtin & the loss of Chris Cole, Fallen is certainly finding their new following & it seems to be a loyal, conscious & alert one.

Kubota holding a rare pair of Senix MV's.

When we weren't drooling over Kubota's hard work, we were questioning him about it. During this Q&A, we noticed our infatuation with the Fall '12 collection was growing stronger & stronger with every photo. While shooting these photos, I did have a moment of enlightenment. You really start to realize what we've taken for granted for so long was finally out of reach. More than just showcasing this Fall '12 collection, I hope this "Collectors Stash" will serve as an awakening reminder to support those brands you truly love & to reinforce why you should stand behind them.
Enjoy.

A man & his collection. Thanks again Mike K.

By now we could've given up the good fight & stop trying to track down any eS related gems but we're pretty screwed up in the head. Call it brand dedication or just plain old obsession but we just can't let eS' relevancy fade out so quickly. After 16 years in business, no one should forget a brand that made skate shoes specifically for skateboarders. With all the events that have passed, there really isn't any mystery as to why our beloved company went out of business but you can't help but wonder if eS could ever comeback today or even three years from now. The skateboard market is as saturated, commercialized & trending as ever and with those reasons alone, we've answered our own question.

"Why dey have to push the SPV when all we wanted was dem O.G. Rowley's?" - Jada

If you haven't been following us on da gram', we're currently out & on the side lines with a fucked back spasm. It's lame but we're finally getting to some overdue work & emails we've been slacking on. Speaking of which, we've had this Rowley photo for about 2-3 weeks now. What the fuck is wrong with us? It most definitely should've been posted a while back but seeing as how we've been preoccupied with tons of shit, here it is. Now that this photo is out, one question comes to mind: Why is this Rowley reissue coming out in 2013?

We stole this from our own Instagram. That should say something about our work ethic.

By now you know that we feature up to two reviews every month. With the Flauge lace protector review debuting on the first of the month, we're starting to wonder what review we should schedule next? What would you like to see? Most of the time we'll take your feedback into consideration but there are instances where we personify a young dictator & get all 'Stalin' about what's next to come. To follow the consensus of every skater with a brain, we've been feeling cupsoles lately. There's been some heavy consideration on getting a youngin to do vulc reviews for us soon. Could that be you?

It's clear as day that Etnies is on top of their game. If you don't think so, here's your reality check. They've got an amazing amount of materials, technology & models coming up for 2013 that we absolutely cannot wait to cover. If you've been following our coverage, you'll know that every guy & girl is already creaming their pants for the new Sheckler shoe that's scheduled to release for Fall '13. As much as we're looking forward to it, we can't let some other models fall beneath it's popular shadow.

Flauge Lace Protectors after 2 hours of skating. (additional photos below)