Under The Palms

They also have a smooth surface where the stripe should be.
C'mon Vans...

oooooo, I didnt notice that until you said something, there has to be a better reason for them changing the midsole, maybe its cheaper to produce this way.

the Wtaps series have never had a foxing stipe. Thats not different from the other Wtaps only different from other releases and GR's

atleast the bones series never had a stipe

They didnt have a contrasting foxing stripe, but it is there, its white on white or black on black. These dont seem to have it at all, just flat.

it was only a bump where the foxing stripe was. not a seperate strip like all other foxing stipes.

FTHATIMFAMOUS wrote:They didnt have a contrasting foxing stripe, but it is there, its white on white or black on black. These dont seem to have it at all, just flat.

Exactly! That's what I meant.

wolfstrice09 wrote:it was only a bump where the foxing stripe was. not a seperate strip like all other foxing stipes.

But still, I think that they shouldn't have changed them that much.

Wtap is always unique no matter what they're releasing. The only thing that scares me is other vans tend to take things from wtap down the line, maybe 6 months or so. . .

This new type of vulcanized midsole, is like skinny tongues to Dunk SB guys, hehe.

Yeah. That's the way I thought of it too.

SUPER SICK!!!!!! Give me them!!

for the sake of discussion---

l to r:
upcoming w)taps sk8 mid sole (sample)
half cab pro from last season (newest ones have the duracap)
luke meier sole

I know the hcp is hardly anything worthy of comparison, but you can see both the most recent syndicate releases are much much thicker. Its not the way it used to be, but they skate amazing....and i think thats what syndicate is all about...updated/hybrid versions of classic silhouettes that are made to perform under the strictest conditions.

I would search out vault + cali classic reissues for what are hopefully great shoes using traditional methods, but always keep in mind syndicate is trying to look beyond that.

nice silo. this is a great comparison!

Nice, so basically because it's thicker, they don't want to overlap the sidewall. It just makes for some ugly sidewalls, but if it means more durability, then it's worth giving a chance. Most Vans do shread up fairly easily.

Cool. Thanks!

Actually, when I first got some Rudeez, I thought the lack of the overlap was pretty cool. I think it's just a unique design element that sets it apart from the rest. Same goes with the foxing stripe. Now, if they started putting out GR's like that all the time, I'd be a little upset. But for syndicate and vault releases and especially collabs, I think that's just a unique twist they can add. However, I think it's more noticeable and a little bothersome when they do it on a classic model rather than something new like the rudeez, zero's, OTW series, or even greaserz (pretty sure there's no overlap on those, too).

I don't think any of it is to cut costs. If anything, trimming the foxing so it fits exactly probably requires more craftsmanship than just chopping it and allowing it to overlap (which, could actually be seen as bad craftsmanship, even though I'm a big fan of it myself).

Overall, I just hope that they retain the classic elements with the classic models, especially for GR's. For their limited releases, it can be a nice touch depending on what else is going on.