The Jinx is one of two vegan skateboard shoe from Emerica for the Holiday 2012 season. Though thankfully this is one heck of a shoe. Combining a mix of the Reynolds 3 and the Leo, The Jinx comes in a 20oz Canvas upper with a traditional skate shoe style and some rasta flair.
The Jinx has been around for several years now, and has almost always come in a Vegan color way. This seasons 20oz Canvas is similar to the kind used in the Hsu 2 Vegan Skate Blog reviewed earlier this year.
One of the most notable features of the Jinx is the collar and tongue. The tongue has a medium level of padding. Not so much that you’re going to loose all feeling in your toes, and not so little that you’re going to worry about slamming the tops of your feet. Its perfectly balanced. The Emerica Logo tag, (you can see the back of it on the tongue) pins back some of that upper padding. Accidental perhaps, but it makes for a snug and comfortable fit. The collar is also well balanced. The beaded padding on top is nice and stiff. So while you may have a hard time jamming these shoes on, the result is well worth the trade off. That stiffness in the heal cap and padded collar make the shoe cup the heal. So when you pop a trick off, the whole shoe follows.
The vulcanized soles on the Jinx are dense. Grippy and dense. Check out the chunkiness on the toes and foxing tape. I took the shoes out for a skate the same day they showed up. No break in, I laced them and went out on the streets to rip. This resulted in some of the unsure footing. Break these suckers in, at least a mile or two walking will do it. Second day with the shoes at Logan Square skatepark and the they felt great and sure footed.
This is the spot we’ll revisit. No wear, freshly laced out of the box and ready to go. The toe caps are nice and smooth going way back to the middle of the shoe. The lacing strips are stitched under the toe caps which is a genius solution to a spot that is going to see some significant wear.
A quick look after a session (not including the one that a cab ran over my board) and the shoe is looking good. The Jinx feels great. I wear a size 10, and these are neither snug nor loose. The toes don’t feel cramped and after a very brief break in they are performing well on the board. VSB will revisit the shoe in a few weeks. If you want to go grab a pair right now check the links.
Emerica size 5-14 $59.99 (no 6.5)
CCS size 7-13 $59.99 (order before sunday, use IPCC2R56 and save 25%)
