Your favorite shoe

[Radek Deko]

Hello Modislaves, I've struggle at the beginning, WHAT SHOE SHOULD I BUY?
As equipment plays a big part in footbag, it is good to have a sturdy decision on the shoe so you are not disappointed after you buy the shoe.
Therefor I made this topic for pre-footbag shoe players.
I know it's hard to choose between the 80 dollar ready to play quantum or the 50 dollar laver.
I wanted the lavers but I was afraid I'm going to mess up on the mod, so I did not do it.
I got them anyways, after wards I heard quantums were good so I got them. Now I'm breaking in the lavers
and playing in the Quantums.

*THIS TOPIC IS NOT FOR MY SHOE BUYING. *
*IT'S FOR PEOPLE THAT DID NOT BUY A SHOE YET *

So pick your favorite shoe and give a good description beginners have no more struggle on picking their shoe!

[mc]

I chose Laver:

always readily available
least expensive on average
strong, stable sole
great stall surfaces
thin material (even thinner with modding)
requires no complicated modding
light (not as light as quantum or climacool. comparable weight to G6)
attractive classic aesthetic

as opposed to:

Climacool:
limited availability
more expensive than Laver, in my experience
unstable, dangerous sole - this is a running shoe, intended for FORWARD motion. The LATERAL (or side-to-side) motion of footbag causes the the sole on the "outside" side of the shoe to compress over a short period of time, making the player MUCH more prone to ankle-twisting injury.
requires the most difficult modifications by far, when compared to other shoes listed.
Sole is bad for delaying - bag tends to get caught in the gappy spot

pros:
the lightest shoe listed
MASSIVE toe spot with proper lacing
looks cool


G6:
Limited availability
more expensive than Laver, in my experience
Modded stall surfaces are very bucket-like, allowing for success for players with sloppy form, which, in turn, encourages sloppy form.
Modded stall surfaces are extremely thin, making them prone to breakage.

pros:
light
solid, durable, supportive sole
supports 50 Cent
available in some remote locations where Laver is not
makes your feet look bigger, which can have a nice effect with dexes


Quantum:
limited availability
most expensive
least durable
soft, less stable sole


pros:
light
great shape, stall surfaces
looks really nice

[Muffinman]

I recommend Lavers for a first-timer.

I play in Climas and they are by far my favourite hack shoe (I've never once twisted my ankle in them, but have many times in Lavers (I also don't have crazy crank like Matt Cross though)). I could never go back to a dense, supportless shoe like all the others mentioned.


Radek: Like Matt said, Lavers don't really need any modding (lots of players don't mod at all), so I wouldn't stress over it. One of the most affective is the lacing, and you can't harm your shoes doing that.

[Kyle Hewitt]

I recommend Lavers for a first-timer.

I play in Climas and they are by far my favourite hack shoe (I've never once twisted my ankle in them, but have many times in Lavers (I also don't have crazy crank like Matt Cross though)). I could never go back to a dense, supportless shoe like all the others mentioned.

the gunit is def not supportless what are you talking about

[Radek Deko]

Eric would you like to explain why Climas are so good? I dont see many people play in Climas

[Wasabi]

I play in Quantums, but for a couple of reasons. The Quantum03s I'm playing in now are black, and that's what I like about it. Everything else about the shoe... not so much.

Quantums may be readily playable out of the package, but in the version 1 and 2 models the mesh is unbelievably weak which I'm sure is undesireable for most footbaggers. The sole cracks after aggressive play, and sometimes the sole detaches from the rest of the shoe due to a poor foundation.

From my experience, the Rod Laver has a much better durability than the Quantum, and it is easily moddable if you take the time and patience to work on them.

[g00d33]

I like/play in climas because I love the semi-athletic look that they create from a distance. I learned to love them by watching andrew grant and erik chan videos.

They do unfortunately require a superfluous amount of modding, but it was fun in a way to do. As Matt said, lateral movement isn't always the best. I've fallen from it like two times but no damage was done. The limited availability thing is also pretty big. I only have them cause I got lucky by finding them on the clearance wall of an adidas outlet.

I also found that when I first used them, I was kicking myself alot. While the shoes are lighter, I think some parts are a bit larger. As I got used to the shoe, this lessened.

As a positive, the large toe and the good inside make for good stalling surfaces. Once I got used to the shoe, It performed exactly how I wanted.

Overall, while I think climas rock hardcore, lavers are the most reliable. I have two pairs waiting to be played in when my climas die.

[Muffinman]

Kyle, I haven't actually played in G-Units, so my bad for saying that they don't have good support if they do

I like Climas because they are crazy light; they are supportive (the sole is very thick (which is why there is that potential risk of rolling your ankle -- you're higher up (but like I said, I never have)); they seem to have close to no excess material (which makes foot breathability excellent (half of the bottom of the shoe is just SCREEN, so don't step in puddles...)); when modded they definitely have the best inside surface that I have ever used (you fill a gap with caulking, so you basically decide exactly what you want your inside surface to be like), and like mentioned the toe is, like, 2-3 times bigger than the other shoes'.

Also Tom Mosher did most of the mods for me, and he's pro, so there you go. Also Brian Dennis gave me great tips on the rest of the modding that I had to do on my own (it kind of IS a lot of work, but my shoes tend to last me many, many years (my first pair of Lavers went for 6 years (and even then didn't die))). I'm not abig fan of the look, but I have all blacks, so that helps. I don't like the look of running shoes.

I bought my Climas online having never tried them before. I bought 2 pairs for, like, $220 CAN after shipping and everything (expensive) in my regular Laver size and they fit perfectly. I doubt that I will ever need to use my second pair, as these aren't showing much wear (and I don't have much left in my game).



Climas don't really NEED modding, but they are pretty difficult to play in without the mods. But here is a video of me playing in my Climas for the very first time WITHOUT the inside caulking mod (and I don't think I'd removed the slippery plastics parts on the inside either):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_D9A2_L4UA[/youtube]

[Zac Miley]

I like my Units the best out of all of the shoes I've played in.

But I still voted for Quantums. My Q2's lasted over a year, which I don't think you can complain about. Longer than my first pair of lavers. The toe surface is incredible. The walls are perfect. The inside is great, without letting you get away with cheap stalls. The 3's aren't as good though. I hope 4's deliver or I'll have to switch back to lavers.

Anyways, I have a pattern where I have 2 sessions in quantums and one in units, so I hopefully won't have any form or style issues. That's the only reason I didn't vote for units - they can ruin style. I don't think you can deny that.