Lakai MJ-2 “Tales Of A Mountain Man” Edition Shoe Review 
Features:
[LIST]
[*]Limited Edition, designed and tested by Marc Johnson
[*]Flexible vulcanized construction
[*]Tacky rubber outsole
[*]Full-length shock-absorbing insole
[*]Form fitting upper for increased board feel
[*]Soft pebble leather upper
[*]Sizes: 5-13[/list]
Price
These shoes aren’t too pricy. Most places you can find them for $55-60. Online stores may have them cheaper if on sale.
Where To Buy?
Local skate shops will most likely supply them. If not, online shops are always a convenient option. A few online stores include…
www.ccs.com
www.utilityboardsupply.com
www.buyskateshoes.com
First Thoughts/Impressions
When I first saw them, I was more eager to purchase them for the colorway than for their actual looks. Once trying them on, and getting a feel for them, I was pleased that they were slim, but not too slim. They had enough padding around my foot that it didn’t take too long to get used to, which was nice.
Comfort
At first, these were pretty comfortable, almost felt like there wasn’t going to be any break-in time necassary. Well, after a week or so of wearing/skating them, the back panel for the heel would sometimes give my heel a little poke, and I would need to adjust my foot in the shoe. Which was a little inconvient when skating. From the picture on the right, you can see the heel collar has minimal padding making it a little uncomfortable at times. Overall though it wasn’t too big of a deal. It could have been better, but it wasn’t bad enough to make me stop skating them.
Boardfeel
These shoes are vulcanized, so they’re going to have more boardfeel than a cupsole. I was expecting the same amount of boardfeel that I got with my Koston Selects as I did with these shoes, and it turned out to be about the same. It’s enough to feel your board when first skating them, but after a month or so you start to feel every rock you step on. It can get annoying at times, but the boardfeel is very good by this time.
Lace Protection
These shoes do not have lace loops, lace flaps, or lace savers on the shoe. But for the average time it takes me to rip laces on a shoe that doesn’t have these features(about a 1 week), it took me a few days longer to rip these suckers. About 10 days for the first lace to rip. Very pleased, but they could’ve definitely put in some sort of lace guard or something.
Impact
Lakai Select models come with Lakai’s patent “Equaform” shock-absorbing heel pad. At first, it is very stiff, and feels like a rock or something when landing. But after about a week or so, it gets a little softer, and protects your foot better. Although, as the pad gets beter, the sole gets thinner, meaning you can feel your landings more, so it balances out in the end. Nothing too bad, but they could definitely make some thicker insoles as well to help protect your foot from heel bruises.
Grip
These shoes had exceptionally good grip. Usually, the best grip you can get is a gum-soled vulc shoe. Now, even though this sole was maroon/burgundy it gave gum soles a run for their money. And it lasted too. I skated/wore these shoes for a straight month, then switched off bewtween shoes for another month, and there still weren’t any major flat areas on the sole. Lakai impressed me with how well they made their threads last longer than most other companies.
Durability
Surprised? I’m not at all. Lakai is a very reliable, strong company when making skateboard shoes. So I had no doubt in my mind these would last awhile, since my Koston Selects held up nicely. The first significant signs of wear/tear weren’t for a full week of at least 1 hour of skating them. After about 2 weeks when the black suede started turning that blueish indigo color, it stayed that way for a good week of skating of at least 1 hour a day. Notice their is only a little bit of Shoe-Goo on my left shoe. I finally decided to put a bit on there after the hole started really getting big, which was at about 4-5 weeks.
Also, look how the leather is barely scratched, and how the suede toebox hasn’t had any noticable rips/tears. I was pleased to see I didn’t have to worry about this part of the shoe. Now, once the stitchings in the toe box ripped, the tongue, and toebox separated, making my foot closer to the grip, making it uncomfortable at times when doing heelflip variations.
Overall
A little misleading maybe. But, I’m the type of skater who likes boardfeel, grippy soles, and a nice clean suede toe piece. I had a very pleasing time skating in these shoes since they were better than I was expecting they would be. Note, that since this is a vulcanized shoe it’s a shoe someone would buy from personal preference. If you want good foot protection, and something that might last you longer, you most likely won’t be buying this shoe. But, if you like boardfeel, and grip then you will probably enjoy this shoe.
