Try saying that name five times fast.  This second Vans Syndicate release this year, at first glance, looks like your typical camo-print upper.  But it’s actually constructed of a premium fabric called “Multicam” by Crye Precision.  This particular material is super durable and is used in army uniforms!  This is a cool development, but makes me wonder what took so long, especially for skate shoes?  The gum sole, tan laces, and net like inner round out the whole military motif.  More pics after the jump…

Available at CaliRoots.

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It looks like someone finally got the scoop on some vegan Asics Onitsuka Tigers.  Okay, it wasn’t me, but one of my awesome readers who showed me the way.  Man, I want to thank all of you guys who have been reading and commenting and making this blog what it is.  My goal is to ultimately make this more of a community, and incorporate social networking into this, so we can all share what we know.  What is that age old adage – two heads are better than one?  With more than two heads imagine what we can accomplish!

Anyway, you know the drill.  Looks like Zappos smarted up and listed the vegan models of the Ultimate 81.  Well, they sorta did.  You actually cant find it if you search “vegan” on their site, but if you just look at the Ultimate 81, there is a line in the description explaining which colorways are vegan. I’m still thankful though, since my last failed attempt at trying to explain what Asics Onitsuka Tiger’s were vegan was incoherent and uninformed.  So I hope this helps.

According to them, it looks like there are four vegan colorways available at Zappos: (Red/Lemon Yellow), (Navy/Lime), (Cocoa/White/Orange), (White/Jet Black).  More Pics after the jump!

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I’ve mentioned the Vans 106 a few other times, but it’s time to dedicate a full post (thanks again, Ty).  Here we have a simple low done up in a variety of tasteful yet fun colorways.  I really like how Vans uses the white contrast stitching on the darker colors without overdoing it.  Oh yes these are all canvas uppers + vulcanized sole.  More pics after the jump.

Grey colorway is available in the UK at Nucleus.

All colorways available at Zappos

If you prefer Hemp click here.

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Thanks Ty for giving me the scoop on the Vans Ferris in black and purple, with white contrast stitching.  This new colorway is only available across the Atlantic as far as I know.  You can check them out at my favorite UK skate shop, Nucleus.

If you live in the States, you can check out men’s in grey/black, and women’s in light blue, purple, and pink.

The PF Flyers Sumfun Lo is a classic that was originally released in 1947, and is now being released in five new colorways this spring – including sky blue, kelly green, navy, natural, and black.  Uppers are all canvas.  More pics after the jump!

Available at Zappos

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For Earth Day, I am going to post nothing about shoes.  I was originally going to write something on “eco-friendly” kicks or some crap like that, but I realized I would be keeping it more real if I just spread the message of “JUST STOP SHOPPING FOR ONE DAY IN OUR LIVES.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love buying crap as much as the next person, and I love a fresh pair of kicks.  I wouldn’t have this blog if neither of those things were true.  But let us look at ourselves for a minute.   It is undisputed that the earth would be better off if we consumed less.  You could buy a Prius, and feel all happy that you’re “green,” but really, you would be more green if you bought a used car or didn’t buy a car at all!  Similarly, you can feel “responsible” by buying Simple shoes made out of recycled curtains or whatever, but at least some of those materials had to be dug up at some destitute nation, manufactured in some environmentally damaging way, and flown halfway around the world, then mailed to the store or to your house, those vehicles spewing greenhouse gases all the while and creating a waste stream that will last until after we all die.  Whew…

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I am pleased to finally be featuring New Balance.  As many of you know, this company  isn’t exactly fond of using alternative materials, and it is kinda hard to distinguish between the synthetic and non-synthetic sometimes.  Nevertheless, these re-released New Balance CM 1600 are vegetarian, meaning the upper is synthetic leather.  They are probably not vegan, since New Balance apparently does not know what factories use what glues, so they can’t guarantee anything.  Whatever.

Recreated in its original colorway, the CM 1600 has a synthetic and nylon upper for breathability and durability.  As for performance features, it has the long used TPU stabilizer as well as a side ABZORB unit for cushioning.  For reference, these were originally released in the mid 90′s.  Plus, plus, they are made in the USA!  More pictures after the jump…

As of now I don’t know where you can get these.  Look for them to come out soon though, sorry.

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Today, April 20th,  is a cult holiday celebrated by devoted followers of a certain recreational drug.  People all over the country, the world perhaps, gather with their friends, loved ones, and strangers, in their homes, at parties, sitting around in circles, standing in line, and smoke some marijuana.  It is self indulgent, and many would say irresponsible, but hey, these people are just taking one day to enjoy something they like, and to relax… isn’t that what holidays are about?

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FINALLY, a Vans Chukka Low that is non-leather.  This one is a collaboration with Zumiez, the big chain “extreme” sports retailer.  However you feel about the store, you can’t hate on these.  The upper is black waxed cotton and ripstop, atop of a gray vulcanized sole.

Available at Zumiez.  Original scoop via Nice Kicks.

After the previous post, I knew I had to follow up with my favorite silhouette from The Hundreds – the Valenzuela Low. It follows the classic Converse Chucks style but cleans it up a bit. The thing I’ve always hated about Chucks is the darn plastic toecap that makes them look like clown shoes. Fortunately, The Hundreds fixed this problem by removing the toecap and just keeping the tip of the shoe simple. These particular colorways are from the new summer line  and it’s nice to know they are made with faux-leather, confirmed in this post.

The white pair above is my favorite from this batch. Check out the black and purple pairs after the jump. These have already started popping up at The Hundreds retailers so go pick up a pair!

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