A person as gnar as Rowley needs a shoe that will take a beating, but at the same time have board feel and steez. A few weeks back I picked up a pair of Style 99s to give them a little test run, and right out of the box I was feeling them with their two tone classic vibe, so style...check. They have the feel of the legendary Vans shoe the Era, but with the reinforcement to handle the skating of someone like Rowley.
They can take a beating, believe me I put in a few sessions and never even ripped a lace, and since there's no stitchting in the critical skate areas there was no ripping what-so-ever. The fact that these shoes can hold up doesn't mean they're bulky puffo kook shoes with no board feel. They have a slimmer outline and an amazingly flexible sole. I'm telling you, you can just bend these things in half and they just pop right back
As far as the cushioning goes, they have it, but not too much. The Vans I'm used to skating are the Chukka lows, and these certainly have more cushioning, but not overboard to point I couldn't feel my board. Flexibly and board feel are about the only things I look for in a skate shoe (besides style of course), and these shoes have it. They're ideal for someone who likes how the Era and the Chukka Low skate, but just needs a little more cushion, especially when it's time to jump down some man size stair sets.
Anyway, check out the before and after pics below. It should be pretty obvious that these shoes hold up pretty well. All the photos were taken with my Droid, so they're not perfect.
A bird's eye view of freshness.
How they look fresh with a fresh pair of Stone Age khakis.
After a few good sessions. Notice no holes or ripped laces.
How they look broken in with a pair of broken in Stone Age jeans.
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