Feedback on the new Leon Paul Blade shoes made by Hi-Tech.

[Barry Paul]

After voting can you let me know what is good what is bad about these new shoes. What would you change?

[Gav]

Hi Barry,

I've been very happy with the Blades however over time I have come across some things that I think could be tweaked.

In general the shoes work well. I like the fact that they:

Come with a good insole. Although I will say to those who read this, that if they intend to install some sorbothanes, ensure that you have adequate room (unlike me) as I found that there wasn't enough vertical space.

Give good traction (see following). In general I have not found any major problems with traction that I haven't had with other shoes. They seem to give superb grip on proper wooden floors and metallic pistes. There is a caveat. The hall that I train in has very dusty floors and the grips seems to hoover this up. I can't say whether this is due to the nature of the grip pattern, and D'arts suffer from the same problem (for different reasons), or whether if I am just unlucky because of the hall I fence in. Either way I frequently find myself 'skating'. When doing footwork it is difficult to maintain a lung position or recover if you feet are moving in different directions.
Are quite broad. I have broad feet and wearing D'arts is the equivalent of Chinese foot binding to me. The alternative is to get D'arts so big that it feels like I am wearing clown shoes.

Some obeserved criticisms:

Don't roll your feet in these shoes. I suppose you could say "Don't roll your feet" however considering that even some who are at the top do so this may be a little misleading. I have seen a couple of pairs where the side of the shoe has worn away quite quickly. Of course the Hi Tecs are not alone in this.

The colour scheme isn't very nice. Well, I don't like the modern silver fashion - who decided that that was fashionable?

The top of the upper's rubs against the inside of my ankle. I know I am not the only one who has come across this. I have a solution - don't use the last eyelet. This allows that part of the shoe to curl away and so I don't have permanently hobbled ankles.

In general: good shoes. I think that they are a step in the right direction.

[kmak_577]

Well they are the 1st proper fencing shoes i have had and i like them but iam 14 and am growing fast so may have to need some new ones in about 1 year !!!!!!

Kmak_577

[Cerian]

I found them to be too heavy/bulky for my taste. THey also felt a little stiff and I had the same problem Gav mentions with the jabbing into the ankle and rolling the foot wearing away the side. I sold them to a friend though and he likes them a lot.

[oso97]

Highly favorable review.

Stable and lightwieght. The overall consenus from my students is "it feels perfect." Excellent traction on a wide variety surfaces. No personal observation of the wearing out that someone mentioned, in fact, they seem more durable and strong than anything else I've tried.

Oh and we love the color scheme! Not too loud, and not boring, they go well with other high quality gear.

I'd love to see a hightop version, Barry...

[shango]

Overall very nice, good traction on wooden floors and good fit, unlike the Adidas shoes, but no one I know knows what the protection zone with the little button really does...

[dramamine]

I got mine 3-4 weeks ago. At first I had a bit of difficulty getting used to them, and I noticed they felt a bit "clompy" for lack of a better word. I guess the shoe was just stiffer than my d'arts had ever been. I have to say though after 3 weeks of fencing in them they feel great, no "clompiness" and although I have only ever used the d'artagnan 1 and 2's I can say these are so far the best fencing shoe I have had.

Grip much better on wood floors for training as well. Overall very good.

[Dee EffEll]

Need women's sizes.

[Artisan]

Originally Posted by Barry Paul

After voting can you let me know what is good what is bad about these new shoes. What would you change?

I am very pleased with them. I have used the top of the line Adidas; the Asymetrical ones, the new ones (Adistar) which really sucked and fell apart right away. I've used a slew of other cheaper ones, Post, chinese ones, etc. None have held up adequately for more than 6 months without needing patching, repair, or some form of first aid.

The Hi-tek shoes are the best I've worn at any price. They felt great from the first day, and required no break-in or adjustment period, caused no blisters - in fact, my calusses have improved in that they are larger but less thick, meaning that the shoes are transferring forces to feet and vice versa more effectively. In fact, I was able to go from two socks to one without a problem. They are wearing well with no signs of faults or areas of weakness. I did have an incident where the insole of the back foot started to shift, but I put some double sided tape under it and it has stayed put. I feel the traction has been good on the three floors I've tried: a Sport court plastic floor at my club, painted wood at another, and a rubbery floor in the fencing room at U.Penn. I'll try them on metal at the NAC C in Pittsburg next month, where I expect the traction to be fine; and will see how they hold up to the cheese-grater effect of the aluminum pistes.

The last is a bit wider than Adidas, and if they stretch with age I may have to go with a thicker insole to take up the width, buts that's been the case for all my shoes. They are lighter than the Asymmetrics, but heavier than the Adistar.

People have asked me what the Button shaped disk is on the top of the toes is for. Any ideas?

Leon Paul has done it again. I'd definitely add their shoes to the list of excellent fencing equipment innovations like the epee body cord plug, the sheetmetal blade, the comfort fit and saber exchange masks...

If you change them or discontinue them, let me know so I can buy extras to stock up.

[LUDICROUS]

Hmmm, is it legal to make the shoe very slick and streamlined, so there's less chances of epee hits registering?

That would be pretty cool.

[Li'l Bebe]

I voted "good". At first, they seemed awesome, and they did really help prevent feet problems. However, as time has gone on, the wear spot I have is right on the seam between the rubber and the shoe nylon, so I have to reinforce it with super glue. I have also had some tendon problems since, but whether they result because of the shoe or not, I'm not sure. Good for the price though

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by LUDICROUS

Hmmm, is it legal to make the shoe very slick and streamlined, so there's less chances of epee hits registering?

That would be pretty cool.

I think you'd be better off devising some sort of metalic covering that grounds to the strip so that a toe touch doesn't register... ideally with some sort of toe-switch so it will register a hit they test.*


*I don't actually advocate cheating

[Boo Boo]

Originally Posted by Dee EffEll

Need women's sizes.

Very true - I can't wait to try them, but need a smaller size (the UK6 - which is the size I take in Adiddas fencing shoes - in the LP shoes was WAY too big for me)...

...either that or I need to grow my feet (not desirable!).

Boo

[misha]

I bought them, tried a couple of times....
if anyone is interested in size 10.5 I will sell for $50 plus shipping

Note: I fence epee

1) Upper is not breathable at all.
Looks like it is build from material for a firefighter suit.
I guess it is logical step from Lexan mask to full body epee lame
2) Heel of the front foot is too stiff for my lunges.
3) Protection on the side of the back foot is in the wrong place
(Not high enough)
4) I have wide feet, but this thing is sooo wide that my foot
moves from side to side, which gives weird feeling while fencing.
(I want more control)
5) One good feature I want to mention is the wide "stability bar",
but I guess it causes 4)....

I would get Adidas Asymmetrics any day over this shoe.
Too bad they are not making it anymore...



.

[OROD]

Originally Posted by misha

I bought them, tried a couple of times....

1) Upper is not breathable at all.
Looks like it is build from material for a firefighter suit.
I guess it is logical step from Lexan mask to full body epee lame

I got a pair just recently and I noticed exactly that, my feet felt a lot warmer than normal. I was a bit confused at first since the shoes have those nice holes all over them... I thought, "what good design, they already have plenty of ventilation holes in them!" Unfortunately upon closer inspection you see that beneath the holes there's some completely impermeable material... so you're out of luck.

So anyway, I thought I'd use them a bit more and if they still feel too warm then I'm going to take my Dremel tool and start making some ventilation of my own... I mean, they added all those nice little holes telling me exactly where to drill!




.

[Basquet]

Nice shoe, but way too wide for a fencer with even a somewhat narrow foot.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

I'm also having some trouble in the realm of wear and tear on the back foot in between the rubber and the nylon, a hole has already started to develop. Besides that though they're great.

p.s. I too was wondering what the button on the shoe was.

[Gav]

Originally Posted by Basquet

Nice shoe, but way too wide for a fencer with even a somewhat narrow foot.

Makes a pleasant change for those of us with normal width feet!

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Personally, the shoes are too wide for me. My feet are too wide for the adidas stabils, but the LP shoes are too wide for my feet!

[shlepzig]

I found the shoe to be mostly comfortable but the beam construction through the sole I found to be too stiff. I fenced a couple of nights in the Blades to see what they were like.

I like to lift my heel and fence on the ball of my back foot. The stiff sole made this position uncomfortable. The idea may have been to increase power transfer from the leg to the back foot, but I did not get used to the feeling.

They are also not as light as my regular shoe. The weight was a little ponderous with my footwork, but I did get used to it after a bit of time.

The traction and fit were very good. My feet were in pretty good shape after fencing. I had no problems with traction, footing or balance in these shoes. I did not notice my feet getting too hot that night, but if I were fencing in a hotter venue I may have noticed more.

My son has been using these shoes regularly for some time, and they are wearing well.

On a purely aesthetic note, the color choices are not my favorite.

I typically fence with the Onitsuka Tigers which are very light and flexible (and offer little support to the feet).

Shlep