Is it the shoes???
- shredzilla
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Is it the shoes???
Alright alright...time to throw it down...Lavers or Gs? Or...Climas hehe. 
J. Chris "Thread-killer" Miller
- shredzilla
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Senor Grommet
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Lavers. I like G-Units, but I've only had a limited time experimenting with them. I prefer the Lavers because of their lighter weight. And mine are customized green.
When I get some extra $, I'm probably going to invest in a pair of G-Units for when the trusty Lavers die.
When I get some extra $, I'm probably going to invest in a pair of G-Units for when the trusty Lavers die.
Sam Mayer
"Son, a woman is like a beer. They smell good, they look good, you'd step over your own mother just to get one!" - Homer Simpson
"Son, a woman is like a beer. They smell good, they look good, you'd step over your own mother just to get one!" - Homer Simpson
- King Monkey
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Ken made a comment recently that he thought G-units improve ur ankle crank, or at least can accomodate poorer ankles better. anyone else found this? im after anything that can help me in the ankle department 
Ian Pritchard - http://www.ausfootbag.org
'People, just play Footbag and stop being dickheads!' - Michał Biarda
'People, just play Footbag and stop being dickheads!' - Michał Biarda
This is an honest, and intelligent response.pips wrote:I couldn't accurately tell you what I prefer, because I've only tried the Lavers so far...
With the Academy Awards, members of the Academy are required to see every picture nominated in the categories they vote in. Otherwise, what's the point?
A:"I thought Annie Hall was the Best Movie of the Year."
B: "Did you see Star Wars?"
A: "Nope."
If you have only played in one pair of shoes, you can't compare it to any other shoes! Saying that you prefer Lavers "because you haven't played in any other shoes" is saying nothing.
Don't dis(count) any shoes you haven't given a fair try to. That's just silly.
I played for about 8 years in Lavers. I have been playing for about 3 weeks in G-Units. I tried Millenium Lavers for a couple weeks a long time ago, but didn't like them.
From PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, here are my impressions of shoes I have used for serious freestyle.
Adidas Rod Lavers, Slovakian model. Back in the day, Lavers were heavier. The sole was made of a solid chunk of rubber, which was heavy, but very durable. Slovaki lavers had the shoe size number written on the sole, in a small circle. I learned to play in these shoes, and the flat surfaces were great. They were a bit heavy, but I didn't notice it too much at the time. The soles didn't wear down as quickly as China lavers. The heels weren't good for heel stalls, but otherwise the surfaces are flat and ideal.
Adidas Rod Lavers, Chinese model. These shoes are essentially the same as the Slovaki ones, except the rubber sole has tiny air bubbles in it, which makes the sole both lighter, and less durable. The lighter weight helps though, as you can probably play longer (without getting tired) in them, and dexterities likely require less energy. The obvious drawback to the, is that the soles can wear down very quickly. The toe area of the sole can wear down completely within 8-12 months. There is no number on the sole of the shoe indicating the size.
Adidas Rod Laver Millenium Edition. I tried these shoes for about a month, back in 2000. The insteps are significantly different to regular Lavers, in that the moulding has a small gap, and it felt like there was less mesh area (this is my recollection, which may be flawed). Overall, they just felt very "chunky" to me. I think the distortion on the insteps is less noticeable on bigger size shoes, but for my small feet, clippers took some definite readjustment. I also found the toe flaps felt different. At the time, I remember feeling like I could hit any toe trick I could in normal lavers, but only as the first trick in a string. In midstring, I found the toes less reliable. I did find that they Milleniums had much better support. I never felt like my ankles would roll, and I felt like they absorbed impact much better than regular lavers. After a handful of sessions, I decided they weren't for me, and sent them off to some beginner kid in New Zealand. Johnny something or other.
G-Units. I'm not sure what model I am using, but I inherited these from Guido Tapia the day I arrived in Australia. At first, I thought I would just mess around in them, and hit a few tricks. They felt a bit chunky, but a lot less chunky than Millenium Lavers did. Similar to Milleniums, I found these shoes to have excellent support. They are very comfortable, and have good ankle support and shock absorption.
The biggest difference between these shoes and Rod Lavers, is that the lip of the instep (the white sole below the mesh on the instep) is curved upward slightly, whereas on Rod Lavers, that lip is flat. This means that G-Unit insteps can catch some stalls, where a bag might normally roll off on a Laver. This is a pretty significant difference. I think Eli said of it initially, that it gives people with no crank the feeling that they have "crank ankles." It took about one session of playing in them to adjust to this, and to tell the truth, I felt a bit guilty/weird about using these shoes because of this reason. Many osis moves became easier, and in a few occasions, I knew I was snagging tricks which would have rolled off if I were wearing Lavers. I talked to Honza about this, and he said he felt "they make the style lazy" which I sort of understand. But then, if everybody were using crappy shoes, and one day somebody discovered Lavers, would Lavers be frowned upon because they make clippers easier? I think its a similar question to the shoe-goo/blue tak debate.
Weightwise, I have the impression that G Units may be heavier than Lavers, but I am not sure. I've played a ton in my G-Units since I got them (2 days off in 3+ weeks), and I've been able to hit pretty much everything in them that I could with Lavers. My string and session length have also been as good as, if not better than when I played in Lavers.
I think its worth trying out a few different kinds of shoes if you have the chance. Personally, I am happy now with my G-Units, but that's because they suit several circumstances and preferences particular to me (my weight, playing style, color preference, state of wear of my old shoes, etc).
Hope this was helpful.