Skateboard Gear

Skateboard shoe Weartest – Emerica Figgy Dose

The Emerica Figgy Dose skate shoe weartested

And we’re back, for the second of our new Weartest features taking some of the best skate shoes of 2018 out for a spin.
This time around the skateboard shoe in question is the Emerica Justin Figueroa Dose pro shoe, his second from Emerica. Given his propensity for flinging himself at and down the craziest shit imaginable, you’d be forgiven for expecting Figgy’s Emerica shoe to err on the bulky side – what you get instead is a fully suede, low profile, low-top but with the added bonus of a breathable sock liner for extra support.
Anyway, onto the specifics.

Fresh out of the box.

The Emerica Figgy Dose is Justin ‘Figgy’ Figueroa’s second pro skate shoe for Emerica, with this model also being designed by the big man himself. The Figgy Dose is fully suede and features a new rubber compound design from Emerica, one which they call the ‘Formula G’, and claim will give more grip and be more hardwearing than the standard rubber formula.

Six weeks later.

This one is designed, as you might expect, to be shredded on all terrain given that Figgy is just at home on big rails as he is in concrete bowls. Other notable features include breathable media mesh quarter panels, perforated spandex fit system, a full length eva midsole for heavy impacts, triangle tread with ‘flex channel’ technology, and a one piece toe cap to aid durability.

Before

After

The boardfeel was good straight out of the box although not mind blowing, whereas the grip was excellent and stayed consistent throughout our time skating the shoe. The fit felt a bit narrow to begin with, (although that could be down to our weirdly shaped feet), but after a couple of sessions the shoes felt nice and snug as the suede allowed them to stretch out a bit to give a lived-in feel to the fit.
The sock liner is an excellent idea and provided the perfect amount of stability and security which is always nice. No chance of losing this one, even if you don’t Rambo the laces.

Sole straight out the box

Sole after six weeks of daily skating. It held up well until the hole appeared on the pushing foot. The grip stayed reliable though.

In terms of durability, the suede upper held up really well, particularly considering they had a new board and brand new griptape to contend with halfway through the Weartest. Once the rubber around the toe had worn in, it felt very consistent and remained that way for the whole of the weartest. The sole remained pretty much intact for the whole time, though once it was starting to wear down it did begin to deteriorate a little more quickly. The shoe lost its shape somewhat, but once you’re used to them this is only an aesthetic issue. Overall the shoes were good, consistent grip and acceptably durable.