RIPPED LACES VS. THE EDGAR BY JEREMY LUGO

I've been anticipating the Edgar review for some time now. It was going to be a great follow-up article to our éS First Blood review. We mainly did the First Blood review based on our love for Bobby, and I use "love" in the sense of hood terminology. You know, unspoken love? Like "you get out of jail and I'm there to pick you up because I didn't forget about you." Yeah, that kind of love.

I've always been a huge Bobby Worrest fan since first noticing his talent as a young flow-bro on REAL. Now a household name on Krooked, Bobby has the respect and tattoos of an aged veteran pro who's ready to throw in the towel but clearly that's not the case. Bobby continues to reappear every so often and surprises us with an amazing video part or ad. I'd like to consider him the "Batman" of skateboarding. He'd do switch tres on the way to the crime scene, only to charge the innocent citizens after heroically saving them.

So I wasn't going to do an Edgar review but suddenly, Bobby aka Batman, came to the rescue and thankfully released this part. Now, I can release this product review and let you know how much you need this shoe in your life and on your feet. But, before I can do that, I must give you my introduction to the shoe. On Thursday, Sept 22nd, after a long day of work, I came home to find a hefty box on my doorstep. Immediately, I jumped out of my car and ran towards my doorstep as if I were a little girl with her period for the the first time. There they were, The Edgar. As I approached my doorstep, I noticed that my phone was still blasting music due to the fact that I use it as my car stereo. At the time it was on shuffle and as I opened the box from éS, my phone played R. Kelly's Half on a Baby. This was destiny. Clearly, someone out there wanted me to do an Edgar review and I was not about to let them, Bobby, or R. Kelly down.

Some time ago, I remember Bobby stating that he wanted to rename the shoe the Tyson because of how amazingly tough it is. I haven't skated the Edgar yet but can without a doubt tell you, they're amazingly durable based on some of it's subtle features. Let's check em out.

The Edgar features and carries over traits from Bobby's popular 1st shoe, the First Blood. In my eyes, the Edgar is a performance enhanced version of the First Blood. They both have similar silhouettes but the details within the shoe entirely separate them. The First Blood was a very traditional and simple skate shoe for your "out the box & skate" needs. With the Edgar, it's a shoe I'd recommend breaking in. It isn't extremely stiff but because of it's enhance protection and materials, I'd give it 1-2 days at most before comfortably skating them. Go to movies, hit on some girls, or just help grandma out with some grocery shopping. The sooner you break them in, the faster you'll be skating them.

The side panels of the Edgar are similar but superior than the First Blood because they're pushed back even further to prevent any abrasion or wear on the upper of the shoe. With this small, yet vital change, the one piece toe cap is always going to be the main target when skating The Edgar. Now, because the sliding and abrasion is mainly concentrated on the one piece toe cap, it obviously must be strong. The toe cap has a hidden rubber piece for reinforced protection and durability. By the look and feel of this technology, the Edgar should be able to last way more than a month. To add to the hidden toe cap durability, is the double wrapped vulcanized construction from éS. This will complement the shoe and extend its skate life remarkably. The 400 NBS outsole ain't too shabby either. It's the hardest grade of rubber for skating and feels incredibly grippy on the board. Regardless of it's high grade, you won't lose any board feel. If anything you might gain more and more as you skate the shoe. It even has a throwback tread pattern similar to the infamous Accel. Classick! Okay, so now that you're up to speed and you know this shoe is tough get your parents credit card. Just kidding, that can wait a few more minutes. I've got more info to let you in on.

The interior of the Edgar features minimal protection and goes by the guidelines of "less is more." It has a leather lined interior throughout the back of the shoe for easily sliding your foot right in. It's got thin padding around the tongue and collar of the shoe but overall has a nice feel to it. After walking around in them, I noticed that they don't pierce the back of my foot so you'll have no worries about blistering. Surprisingly enough, the shoe's leather lining and mold keep your foot in place while walking and skating to prevent any unwanted slippage. As you should know, STI is the real deal. They've been testing and perfecting insoles for years just so you can continually abuse your body whenever you want. They've now introduced a "DTTF Pro 2" insole. This technology stands for "Down To The Floor" and it's the insole the pros look for when they want incredible boardfeel and optimal protection. The DTTF Pro 2 features a Double Down gel in the heel for increased protection and also happens to be a PU foam that goes from thick to thin. It's thickness measures just under an inch in height in the heel and substantially thins out around the footbed where you'll need all the board feel. Even though the insole is from high to low, there is no distraction or awkward feeling at all in the shoe during walking or skating. The insole alone completely saves the shoe from being considered another above average model, leaving The Edgar in a class of it's own. Truthfully, you'll tear the crap out of any shoe but at least with The Edgar you can continue to use its features and this insole anytime you want.

Because éS is behind this beast, you can expect some amazing quality and durability from The Edgar. If you're still not convinced, press replay on his video or just wait for my extended review on the éS Edgar. I'm going to go in-depth and let you know how well the shoe performs during our skating / testing. Keep an eye out for it. For now, go to Ripped Laces to see how I prepared to face The Edgar, man to man. Pretty scary shit.

Oh and don't forget to continue to send in your submissions to rippedlaces@gmail.com to become the next shoe reviewer for a chance to be on the Aberrican Times. Peace!

Watch Bobby vs. The Edgar

Jeremy Lugo works for 2nd Nature Skateshop in Mamaroneck, NY and runs Ripped Laces in his free time. See more at the Ripped Laces site and follow Ripped Laces on twitter.