Shoe Review

When Converse announced two years ago that it would be doing another line of skate shoes, I was excited. For starters, Chuck Taylors are one of my favorite sneakers to wear when I'm not skating. Simple and clean, these are a shoe that will remain classics forever. I was also excited when I heard that Anthony Pappalardo would be on the team. He has been a favorite of mine ever since the Photosynthesis days, and no matter how little coverage he gets, I will always respect his accomplishments in skateboarding.

The shoes Converse make for skating tend to just be improvements upon shoes, like the Chuck Taylors, which became the CTS OX. Anthony Pappalardo's pro shoe, is just a padded version of the Converse One Stars, that Guy Mariano brought to fame in his part in Girl's classic video, Mouse. The Converse style can be described as simple and timeless. There is never anything unnecessary and the colors are always simple.

The shoes I am reviewing are the Converse CTS OX. I was lucky enough to get a free pair from a friend who gets packages from a Converse sales rep. I got these shoes three weeks ago on that first beautiful weekend, and have been using them every time I skate. I normally wear a size 11 but in the Converse skate shoe line I have to wear a size 10.5. The reason for this being, once they begin to wear in, they become extremely loose, and a size 11 starts to feel very uncomfortable. The padding in these shoes make it possible to skate off stairs and gaps, but at the same time allow you to feel your board. My only complaint with these shoes, would be that they take a few days of breaking in. In other skate shoes like the Nike Dunks, I find myself at ease as soon as I put them on. I would give the CTS OX an 8 out of 10 and would recommend them to anybody looking for a comfortable and stylish skate shoe.