At an attempt to reach and appeal to the "Quick Strike" audience that has undeniably taken over skateboarding, Adidas is releasing a special edition Busenitz titled "The Blusenitz". Nothing too original but it's their first go at this (with the Busenitz) so we'll cut them some slack.
It's being released to certain independently owned skate shops and comes with a limited edition sticker pack with each purchase. As far as the colorway goes, it's nothing to go crazy about. Seeing this special addition colorway actually gives me a new found respect for the quick strike team over at Nike SB. It certainly can't be that easy to come up with colorways and catchy names to match.


I mean, what would this colorway be dubbed..? Perhaps the macaw? I searched google images for items that were blue & yellow and this was the majority of what showed up. I have no idea what love Dennis Busenitz has for the tropical bird; perhaps their is a back story missing. Whatever the case may be, if you're interested in these at all, be sure to call your local skate shop and ask if their one of the lucky ones getting them. They're due to be released on 5/1 and Adidas even had Dennis sign a shitload of commemorative soccer balls to shop owners. Truthfully though, with my experience, I've noticed most shop owners don't give a shit about this kind of memorabilia so if you're not too timid or at least a friend of the shop, try and negotiate a couple of more bucks to get your hands on that ball. It could go for big bucks on eBay.

Not to long ago I was lurking on our Ripped Laces FB, just dicking around not doing much. Occasionally I post, answer any shoe related questions you might have and chat with you about a shoe you're interested in. I may not know everything but I do pride myself in being able to help you guys out and field some questions. As I was just chilin on Facebook, I get a chat notification. It was from a dedicated reader and skater, Dave Van Housen.

Dave hit me up on Facebook chat and wanted to know if I had any suggestions on Vegan skate shoes. We went back and forth trying to figure out what canvas skate shoes could last the test of time and not rape your wallet in the process. I, myself, use to be Vegan for 5 years so I know this situation too well.

Since the mid 90's, vegan friendly shoes haven't been as easy to obtain without putting a tremendous hole in your wallet and shoes. Most vegan friendly shoes (when I say "most" I mean Ed Templeton and Geoff Rowley models) use to be indestructible and better than performance suede. They would always have a nice, thick rubber toe piece kinda like the Emerica Templeton 4. Since those days are over, I dug deeply into my skate nerdery of a brain and looked online to help Dave find a solution to his problem. In the end, I told him that a CONS CTS in canvas should do the trick. It has a solid rubber toe cap to manage his kickflip problems and has a strong layered toe box to handle some abuse. In helping Dave, I also came to a conclusion myself. I must review a canvas skate shoe.

Originally, this review started because Timothy Olson of Roger skateboards asked me if I'd like to do an Adidas review. I was all like "Fuck yeah, brah!" and he was all like "Oh-kay…..brah" and the rest is history. Weeks later, I received a package from Adidas to find the Ronan and the Adi-Ease. Obviously, I wanted to skate the Ronan and feature them in our reviews but after remembering my conversation with Dave, I knew that skating the Adi-Ease would make for an interesting and insightful article. It all lined up incredibly well so here is your Adidas Adi-Ease shoe review.

The review was done using our month long format and the shoe was skated for a total of 20 hours. Check below after each section to view the grading system. We base our ratings from 1-10. 10 being the best and 1 being the absolute worst. Enjoy.

Silas Baxter Neal just dropped his pro model shoe for Adidas and from what I've seen/heard most people aren't to excited about it...

This shoe specifically has an interesting backround because the overall approach towards a pro shoe is something that describes the pro, all without sacrificing looks, comfort and while still thinking...

"Hey, are these kids going to be into this?"

I personally think Silas Baxter Neal said "Fuck this, Imma do me." Although I couldn't possibly imagine him saying that,  I could only imagine how funny it sounds coming from him.

Rather than playing it safe and continuing with the "Pro skater formula" (you know...? All black shoe, with some suddle details and a white sole)(and yes I enjoy it too) but just like the air in the woods that Silas Baxter Neal ventures through daily to catch some fresh water fish, this shoe is a breath of fresh air. This is a new approach towards a pro shoe, all while staying true to himself.

Silas wanted something that he could easily skate a nice gap/handrail in and still reminded him of that fresh water fishing he enjoys so much, just as much as a steezy back tail.


Rubber Sole:
Again, I know that most skaters aren't feeling the look but as far as skating goes it's gets the job done. After awhile of skating, I was feeling the colorway, I got my "Beef and Broccoli" look on real quick.The Silas have that instant break-in feeling with no running or walking necessary. The board feel is good for what most people would think is a bulky shoe and it is pretty grippy as well. This is thanks to the type of rubber cupsole Adidas used. The rubber cupsole is much stranger (in a good way) compared to most skate shoes, it has a hard but flexible rubber. For a shoe with such flexiblity in its sole it has an even better durablity feature. In the photos above, you could easily see that the rubber is holding up considerbly well. Kickflips and all I'd have to say that the suede takes most of the beating, the rubber doesn't even flake at all. The only negative feature of this rubber cupsole is that it's a two piece rubber sole. Meaning, the bottom portion of the shoe and side portion, where most of the flicking will be taking place, are not a whole piece. In a positive outlook it just means that the shoe won't sag over easily but more negatively this means that their is a better chance of the shoe to start talking. (Photos Below)





Suede and Lace Protection:
The suede with the double stitched feature held up pretty well and I could see how Silas was trying to involve the whole "Trail walks and Fishing" idea into the shoe. With the leather laying directly under the suede, It's more or less there, not for looks but for the idea that you'll actually get em' wet from walking down muddy trails and such. The suede has a really smooth finish and sheds away nicely, no large gunks or anything. Although, if you happen to screw up on a couple 360 flips or any other kickflip variations beware, it will probably gouge the very tip of the shoe (Photos Below) but not the side so thats the least of your worries. Adidas tried to promote some lace protection with this shoe, they called it "Recessed Eyelets" which is basically the extra layer of suede before the laces. This suede is not to prevent any abrasion against the laces but to prolong it so you don't have to switch out the laces so quickly but thats bull, the laces ripped in 2 days. Adidas knows that they're going to rip, thats why they give you another pair of cream laces. NICE!




Cushioning:
I've been looking forward to write about the cushioning features for the Silas. I really enjoy some of the different areas of cushioning, especially the "Geofit Collar Lining" which is the extra padding around the ankle area. (Photos Below) This extra padding prevents the annoying effect of your heel falling out of your shoe, either from just kicking down the street or from just walking. Even more importantly, it is made to protect some unforeseen ankle rolling or atleast make it less painful. The insole is nothing fancy, just your typical Adidas rubber insole, nothing different than what you would find in a Campus vulc or Busenitz. Unless you really enjoy looking at the Jason mask design everytime you lace up,(I know I do) I guess thats the only added bonus.

 

Summary:
I had a really good time skating the Adidas Silas, I have to say though, I had some false pretenses about it when I first started this review. I didn't think it would skate as good as it did and I also thought to myself how risky it was reviewing this shoe. I thought, "Well if people are instantly not feeling it, why review it?" But that in itself was the answer. That's basically what Ripped Laces is all about, about reviewing the shoes that most people want to buy and spend their hard earned money on but just don't know whether it's worth it or not and I had to remind myself of that.

 With this just being my 2nd review I did realized this: Some shoes aren't instantly going to be your favorite and this shoe happens to fall into that catagory. This is one of those shoes that you'll skate, hate and throw them in the closet. Months later you'll find them, give em' another try and be like "Wow, I'm a fucking idiot, these are great." and then you'll love em' OR you'll do like I did and realize that good things come in the long haul. It took me 2 days until I really enjoyed the shoe to its full potential and could review it fairly. I hope that the review was as informative as I wanted it to be and if so you'll find yourself looking at that Jason mask before skating soon enough.