Emerica The Reynolds

The Reynolds is finally available in a vegan colorway! Andrew “The Boss” Reynolds mid-top features some of Emerica’s newest technologies in a durable polyurethane coated canvas upper.  The Reynolds is a clean mid-top with minimal stitch lines and lots of collar padding. The G6 sole provides some big time impact protection too! Emerica has been moving back towards cupsole skate shoes, with a majority of the pro-line falling into this category. The design or the typical puffy cupsole we knew in the 90s-2000s has changed significantly and for the better. For years the slim vulcanized shoes seemed to be flooding the skate market, and not with out cause. The control from a slimmer, deconstructed skate shoe that did away with layering along toe caps meant a smoother wear and less ripping. .  Slimming the shoes toe where flick and board control are centered was a crucial response to the technical skating that has exploded in the last 10 years.

This left a lot of skateboarders wanting something more out of a shoe; good collar and tongue padding, a cushioned sole, but something light that wouldn’t make your feet clunky or turn into a sweat factory. The Reynolds along with several of the other newest Emerica models (The Heritic X Templeton and Herman G6 which we review next)  have bridged a gap between comfort, form and function in the new era of cupsole skateboard shoes.The Reynolds fresh out of the box look smooth. The minimal stitch lines are clear of the high wear ollie area eliminating pre-mature blow out (where the upper meets the soles sidewall). Internal stitching hides the seam line, so when the threading does breakdown the panels aren’t going anywhere.Without the laces you can see the large perforations in the puffy tongue.  Just part of the super breathable and lightweight construction.A look inside the shoe reveals the internal padding along with the red sock liner. This keeps the tongue centered, but also makes for a snug fit.  One thing that is sure with The Reynolds, the shoe stays put. The inner side panel is a partially opened mesh, making The Reynolds light and super airy. The padded collar outer is a durable synthetic-nubuck (same material as the as the top of the embossed tongue) with a super soft nylon liner. The sloped angle makes ankle movement comfortable with out the kind of abrasive wear you’d get with a straight cut.The back paneling add a stiff contrast to those soft collars, locking the heel of the foot firmly in place. The Reynolds uses a similar material as the PU coated Tempster mid-tops. The shape and stiffness of the toe cap feels similar to an internally protected shoe, like the Heritic X Tempster of Etnies Jefferson. However this is just the effect of the construction. Other then the sock liner, its just a layer of polyurethane coated canvas between your feet and the grip tape. The little red triangle on the heel is the G6, the technology that makes The Reynolds and several other models full of impact protection but super flexible and bouncy. The white heel and outer toe panels are excellent for giving a little extra wear time for foot drag and skidding! Keeping the rest of the shoe gripping on the Emerica triangle tread!The Reynolds after a week and a half of skating. The wear pattern is a great example of smart design. The lines completely envelop the abrasion areas in one single piece. Around the laces, between the 4th and 5th whole, what seems like a skipped eyelet is a clever way to save shoe laces. (Just make sure you go for the over-under pattern)Close up, an ollie spot is well on its way. It seems to be coming through a bit higher then normal in our test wear, perhaps the effect of the higher profile of the cupsole design.  A little earlier then we’d like to see, this is a combined wear of 4 hours on the skateboard. Compared against the Tempter mid-top, it took about 10 hours to get the same ollie wear. If you aren’t Shoe-Goo averse, then this would be the time to slather some in the spot. The Reynolds is an interesting design. If you take a look at the Baker/Deathwish line up, you’ve got a majority of the team either on Emerica or Supra. The Reynolds looks likes Emerica’s answer to the Supra SW1. Style-wise its just different from what we’ve seen from  Sole-Tech in the past, but its clean and a nice break from shoes that can only be differentiated by a few lines of stitching.   We’re still waiting on The Reynolds Low to drop in a Vegan colorway.

More then a solid shoe, even with the early wear, The Reynolds is far from coming apart and feels sturdy. Slipping the shoe on, its instantly comfortable but you’re going to need a full day or more of breaking in time before going for a serious skate session.  This is a bit of a departure, considering several of the Emerica models we have reviewed are instant skaters.  It’s a strange feeling because the shoe is light, but with padding comes a little bulk. This could take some getting used to, especially if your previous shoes are much slimmer.

With all the protection, cushioning, and smoothness to The Reynolds, you may notice a bit of a squeeze in the toe. While the overall fit of the size 10 we reviewed was spot on, a combination of the insole, the sock liner, and tapered toe put a bit of a squeeze on our tootsies. If you have wide feet this could be uncomfortable and might try a half size up.  Another way to go, which seemed to remedy the squeeze was to remove the insole.  This drops the footbed down and reduces the toe squeeze a bit. The trade off, a little ruff riding and some heel slippage. The price tag is a bit higher then we’ve seen in the past which may be an issue for some. If the next version featured a synthetic leather like we saw in The Heritic X Tempster, this shoe would be unstoppable.Our favorite new tag, that you may just find hanging on your next pair of Emerica’s!  Check back for an update with some more wear and durability photos.

Emerica Grey/Black sizes 6-14 $89.99