Emerica Herman G6 By: Walter Engelhardt www.allthingsskateboarding.blogspot.com Ever since last summer/fall Emerica has been using “Higher Quality” as their slogan. Using it to show the people their unending dedication to creating some of the best shoes for skateboarding. I have not really felt a strong belief in the slogan within the skateboard scene until the release of the Emerica G6 was coming closer. When pictures, and the technical features of the G6 were leaked to the public, the hype began. Everybody was excited about the possibility of an amazing shoe to be released. The question is: ‘does this new Herman pro model really live up to Emerica’s notion of “Higher Quality.” That question was the exact one that I wanted to answer with this review. This review was done over 17 hours. Breathability: 9.5 One of the main focuses of this shoe was on breathability. The new “Cold Air Intake” technology is debuted on this shoe. The “Cold Air Intake” is a panel consisting of a double layer of mesh that has foam reinforcement in between the two layers. These panels are located on the interior panel of the shoe along with the lower half of the tongue. The placement of these panels gives both the sides, and the tops of your feet optimum breathability, without putting the panels in a space where abrasion may occur. This new technology really works. You can literally feel the air rushing into the shoe when walking around or skating. Not once have my feet been sweaty and overheated. This gets rid of any distractions and lets you focus on skating rather than your sweaty feet. Overall the cold air intake really works. “Cold Air Intake” Panels
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Emerica Herman G6 By: Walter Engelhardt www.allthingsskateboarding.blogspot.com Ever since last summer/fall Emerica has been using “Higher Quality” as their slogan. Using it to show the people their unending dedication to creating some of the best shoes for skateboarding. I have not really felt a strong belief in the slogan within the skateboard scene until the release of the Emerica G6 was coming closer. When pictures, and the technical features of the G6 were leaked to the public, the hype began. Everybody was excited about the possibility of an amazing shoe to be released. The question is: ‘does this new Herman pro model really live up to Emerica’s notion of “Higher Quality.” That question was the exact one that I wanted to answer with this review. This review was done over 17 hours. Breathability: 9.5 One of the main focuses of this shoe was on breathability. The new “Cold Air Intake” technology is debuted on this shoe. The “Cold Air Intake” is a panel consisting of a double layer of mesh that has foam reinforcement in between the two layers. These panels are located on the interior panel of the shoe along with the lower half of the tongue. The placement of these panels gives both the sides, and the tops of your feet optimum breathability, without putting the panels in a space where abrasion may occur. This new technology really works. You can literally feel the air rushing into the shoe when walking around or skating. Not once have my feet been sweaty and overheated. This gets rid of any distractions and lets you focus on skating rather than your sweaty feet. Overall the cold air intake really works.
“Cold Air Intake” Panels
Durability: 9.5 I was blown away on how durable this shoe is. After 16 hours of skating the shoe looks brand new with the exceptions of the discolored suede. The durability is made possible by the one piece upper. Which decreases the amount of stitching to rip, therefore increasing the longevity of the Herman G6. The rubber on the toe is very hard too. It does not wear down easily. Usually when rubber is this hard the flick is not the best, in this case the flick is incredibly smooth and makes flip tricks so easy. Another contributing factor to the excellent flick is the raised toe. We experienced more control on our flicks due to the elevation of the toe. The suede did not show any tearing, ripping, or blowing out. Instead it just turns a whitish color when abrasion occurs. I usually rip laces quite often. Not once did I rip a lace during the review process. This is due to how far the laces are from the flicking area. The collar is slightly frayed due to heel flips. However this did not present a problem. The excellent durability is a clear indicator of high quality materials. For a skate shoe, this is as good as it gets in terms of durability.
The shoe after 17 hours, little to no wear is present.
Fit/Shape: 9.0 The fit of this new Herman pro model is nothing shy of perfect. The G6 fits true to size. The overall shape of the shoe is very form fitting and fits like a glove right out of the box. There isn’t one part of the shoe that feels too big or too tight. The shape of
the toe is not that pointy or too broad. It is sure to accommodate a wide or narrow foot. This results in excellent flick. The elastic centering straps and the padded tongue achieves a tight fit on top of the foot. The interior mesh feels soft on your foot, and the minimally stitched upper eradicates pressure points that cause annoyance. Emerica has created a great formula for the fit, and overall shape of this shoe.
3 Part Midsole
I have decided to merge the Cushion, and Sole (board feel, grip, and durability) sections and present them in a category about the “3 Part Midsole” technology Emerica brought to the table.
Photo Credit: Emerica and SoleTech G6 High Rebound Foam: 9.25 The G6 features a new midsole foam that can be seen through the triangular window on the outsole. This midsole foam has a very bouncy feel to it. It also dampens impacts very well. Not once did my feet feel fatigued, or sore. Neither did my knees after I was done skating. This is a very common problem for me when skating other shoes. This is a clear sign of excellent impact protection. The foam does not flatten out, or loose its bounce. This is yet another sign of quality materials and manufacturing.
People may get the idea that board feel is lost. This isn’t the case. Since the sole (and the foam) gets thinner towards the forefoot area. Promoting board feel. Plastic Stabilizing Carriage: 9.0 The stabilizing carriage does its job by preventing instability during high impact. When your foot pushes midsole foam in upon impact your heel could roll to one side, also as the sole begins to taper your foot might rock side to side causing pain and a possible foot injury. Emerica prevented this by placing the carriage in the sole. It is made out of a hard plastic material that ensures durability and stability. From what we can tell it works. Our foot felt very locked into place during impacts and even when pushing around. There were a few places of abrasion on the carriage that were from heelflips. It doesn’t contribute any significant damage to the shoe.
View of the rear end of the shoe. Carriage can be seen as the black plastic on top of the gum sole Outsole: 10 People have been complaining about the poor durability of Emerica vulcanized, and cupsole shoes. Emerica came up with a new triangle pattern that consists of very deep treads. The durability of the sole is incredible. Even with a sheet of fresh griptape the outsole shows little to no wear after 17 hours. This outsole is so grippy. Probably the grippiest a cupsole can get. The many triangles provide excellent traction while the solid heel drag panel towards the back prevents wear. The only complaint about the grip is that you MUST wear the shiny layer of oily material left from manufacturing before receiving the most grip possible.
Black and Gum rubber cupsole w/ deep triangle “Non-‐Slip Grip” tread pattern. Flex Grooves can be seen near Emerica Branding. Primo Pad towards the middle, and red “G6 Foam” and Solid heel drag pad are present towards the back.
When learning a few new tricks I went primo quite a bit. The primo pad dampened the impact on my feet and made me a little less scared to try new tricks. Another great feature is the flex grooves on the forefoot area. This makes the break in time no more that 10-‐15 minutes (which is incredible for a cupsole). Even after the break in period it helps with the forefoot flexibility. The depth of the treads makes the sole very flexible as well as durable. As seen in the picture above the sole shows little wear. Even the decorative treads on the Emerica Logo are still present in some spots. Usually shoes that have very hard soles have great durability, but not the best grip, and shoes that have soft soles offer great grip but at the expense of the durability of the sole. With the G6 you really get the best of both worlds, paired with awesome flexibility and all of this featured on a cupsole. I’m not sure what more you could want. Overall: 9.5 Emerica’s “Higher Quality” slogan is truly what it is claiming to be. The well thought out design, and exceptional materials fulfill Emerica’s promise to skateboarders. It is a quality shoe that is perfect for anything from sets to ledges. The G6 is not too thin, and not too thick, and with a market that revolved around vulcanized shoes Emerica did a great job of creating a lightweight and technical cupsole that is easy to transition into. One Sentence Summery: The Emerica G6 meets the essential needs of a skater (such as boardfeel, impact absorption, durability, and support) with original and non-‐conventional technologies like the “3 Part Midsole” and “Cold Air Intake”.
The Emerica Herman G6 sits at around 85$ It is on the expensive side but they will last a long time. These could have been skated for another 17 hours if not more. The Black/Gum colorway is available now. Many new colorways will be introduced throughout 2013.
Thanks to: I want to thank Robert Brink from Emerica for being generous enough to make this review possible. I also want to congratulate the designers, and everyone at Emerica on this well thought out shoe.