Review: Original Ariakes April 15, 2010 at 5:06 pm
The K-Swiss Ariake is considered the standard for Parkour shoes. It is usually synonymous with Parkour gear and accessories. You can get a hold of a pair of these shoes for about $90.00 from the American Parkour store. The product description says this:
“The K-Swiss Ariake is the most supportive Free-Running shoe for moving over, under and through the streets.• Traction is achieved with a combination high-grip rubber in the forefoot and durable Aosta® rubber outsole in the heel.
• Stability is maximized by an external heel counter and variable width lacing.
• Cushioning is achieved with a dual Density CMEVA midsole compound.
• Durability is enhanced with an extra-padded, seamless forefoot and rubber toe bumper.”
I have used the Ariakes for at least a 6 month period of time, and I can tell you exactly how good they are for running, jumping, climbing, and landing. This review is coming from a faithful wearer of the Five-Ten Alien Glow. So this review could probably be considered slightly biased.
The minute you take these out of the box, you will be amazed at how ‘grippy’ they are on everything you touch. From hardwood floors, to concrete, and even playground plastic and metal. During my first week or so of wearing these shoes, I would sometimes skim the bottom of the shoe to the ground while walking, causing the shoe to grip to the floor and trip me. It was both frustrating and exciting, because I was excited to use these for training in the city. However, after you begin to break in the shoes, and use them for daily training, the grip starts to go away. You start sliding on things that you used to not slide on, and wishing you could get them back the way they used to be.
The other big problem with these shoes is durability of the shoe itself. The front of the shoe is the problem that makes most of these shoes fall apart in a few months. (See pic)
See that little area on the toe that has a red circle around it? Instead of being straight rubber or anything else that would allow them to last longer, K-Swiss decided to put some kind of mesh fiber-type material around the top. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but as Traceurs we like to climb things. Most of the time using our feet (duh). From time to time, the toes of the shoes we’re wearing tend to become subject to sharp edges, rocky concrete, and good old fashion friction. A few scrapes on rough concrete and that mesh will start to tear apart, piece by piece. Eventually getting through that and destroying the creases around it. After that the creases of the shoes will lose the support they once had, and form holes at the toes.
In conclusion, I think that these are a great pair of shoes for a beginning Traceur (or Tracuese), who’s learning the basics. Anything above that, and you’re wasting your money. Go with the Five-Tens instead.
cash on these pants.
So here’s a quick recap of the scores:
- Grip: 8
- Look: 8
- Durability: 6
These shoes, I believe, got a little better score in grip than what I would have given to them. The grip in my opinion, after a month or so, seem to deplenish towards bars/railing. Myself however would choose to wear regular checkered vans when working with bars, because however long you have them they still have a decent amount of grip to the point where you won’t slip off the bar and hurt yourself. As well as the ability to feel more and get to know the rails a little better if that makes sense.