A little over a year ago, Ride Concepts launched their new Vice (with a little help from Kyle Strait). With classic skate shoe styling and hidden technical features, the Vice was a great addition to the Ride Concepts lineup. Now, they’ve partnered with another freeride legend on a new shoe with a bit more protection – the Vice Mid.
Working closely with Andreu Lacondeguy and other RC athletes, the goal was to create a mid-top shoe with the added protection that comes with that. But the shoe also had to retain excellent feel at the pedal and look the part.
The result is the new Vice Mid. It’s a very similar shoe to the standard Vice, but the addition of the mid-top makes a big difference when it comes to fit and protection. Like the Vice, the Vice Mid is constructed with a suede upper which is not only durable, but feels instantly comfortable right out of the box. There’s almost no break in period on these shoes so you’re ready to rip right away.
Continuing their use of proprietary Rubber Kinetics for the outsole, the Vice Mid uses a DST 6.0 High Grip rubber compound to keep your feet glued to the pedals. The outsole tread features a “sloped-angle inverse hexagon” pattern with hexagons that vary from 9mm in diameter at the toe and heel to 7mm at the pedal contact area. The result is an outsole where you can directly feel the pedal underneath – in a good way.
Continuing their use of D30 in the high impact zones of the insoles, this tech makes a surprising difference in the impact transferred to your feel on bails and big hits.
First Impressions
I liked the original Vice, but I’ve always preferred mid-top designs for most flat pedal use. In addition to the added protection offered by the higher top, the added lacing allows you to run the shoes tight, or loose without feeling like they’re going to fall off your feet. The Vice Mid is unique in that it feels like a slim, relatively light weight skate shoe, yet also feels very protective.
It also feels incredibly responsive in terms of pedal feel, just like Ride Concepts claims. The outsole just hugs the pedal and transmits every little detail so that you can make micro-adjustments on the pedals without losing your grip. And yet, somehow the shoe feels more supportive than my classic Vans and other shoes with sensitive soles. This is definitely my favorite Ride Concepts shoe yet, and one of my favorite ‘skate’ shoes, period.
Colors, Sizing & Pricing
You have two choices when it comes to color for the Vice Mid. Either classic Black & white, or the Andreu Lacondeguy signature color of Charcoal & Black. Offered in full and half sizes from 7-13 U.S., it’s worth noting that like the Vice, these seem to run about a half size bigger than Ride Concepts’ other shoes. I went down a half size on these to a 41.5 (which is what I wear in most clipless shoes), and the fit is just about perfect.
Priced at $120, the Vice Mid is available now.
