By now, you know who AVE is. Anthony Van Englen FA/Hockey put out Dancing on Thin Ice. He has a SOTY worthy part on Propeller. He’s been on DC and was on Alien Workshop. But, apart from this man/machine’s ability to skate, the shoe itself is out there. It features a no seem rapidweld upper, a Waffle Cup outsole (apparently it only comes in a transparent blue color), and an inner sock liner-thingy that is more than just a tongue centering strap that makes the shoe fit like a sock. But apart from this, the shoe itself is the most expensive in the Skateboarding line for Vans.

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Fit/Comfort

The shoe, as previously stated, fits more like a sock. It is a bit of a tighter fit and didn’t allow me to throw in an aftermarket insole, which sucked because there wasn’t any arch support on the insole itself. However, I don’t recommend sizing up. The shoe is supposed to fit away, and sizing up would take away from that. The AVE pro is a cupsole, and it was relatively stiff. I did some walking around for a few months before, and when I got to skating, it had broken in. However, it isn’t as cushioned or supporting as the Berle shoe.

Boardfeel

As for boardfeel, for a Vans shoe, there wasn’t much at first, and that changed as the shoe started breaking in. Once broken in, the boardfeel was solid, and the shoe flicked great the entire time. It gripped well even into a flatspot.

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Durability

I think this is the biggest seller of the shoe. This shoe is a tank. It held up to walking and a ton of shimming as I got ready for tricks. I started getting consistent with kick and heelflips, and those wore the shoe out. Sadly the one weakness of this tank is the heelflip area. The shoe started splitting up, and the foam came exposed and worn down in the area. But, the toe area held up well. As the sidewall built a groove the Duracap was exposed. But I didn’t feel the transition.

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Summary

To sum it all up, I liked this shoe a lot. If I didn’t have more shoes to skate through, I would’ve skated these to the dust. My only gripes are being unable to swap the insole in the shoes as there wasn’t enough space in the slimmer shoe. The board felt great, the shoe was mildly cushioned, and the shoe skated very well. Flicking was a dream, and the grip was fantastic.