Some specifics: Waxed them with Otter Wax on Day 1 Cut a hole in the tongue to thread the laces through and better keep said tongue in place Mowed the lawn in them once (didn't wanna have to keep cleaning off grass stains) Went for 2 separate two-mile runs Hiked the Nomambo Mountain Bike Trail (easy) and Clark Creek Trail (moderate) Went on countless bike rides Skateboarded a lot Beyond all that, I wore these shoes almost every day and they were my most used pair of shoes by far for the duration of the thunderdome. I wore them in rainy weather no problem, and the wax helped shrug that off. A lot of their time was spent in office environments since I work for a library. That said, these things were my goto for work or play, and they're even great driving shoes since my car's a stick-shift. They've been fun, versatile, amd sporty. The Clark Creek Trail (also known as Tunica Falls) was a bit much for them however. They survived, but I definitely pushed them past their limit with mud and whatnot. I would not do that or any moderately serious hiking trail again in sneakers.
For being some unknown suede that's backed with canvas, they've held up amazingly. I don't know how much of that is due to the waxing, but this makes me curious about waxy commander leathers. I think canvas-backed suede in any cheap, simple sneaker is like.... delightfully cheap. It's cheap and cheerful, and yeah, it's no roughout or waxed flesh or whatever, but it's genuinely very solid for what it is in that there's no break-in time, it ages nicely, breathes well, and can be easily maintained/customized with wax or whatever other leather/fabric products you have around. The suede hasn't worn down anywhere to the canvas lining, and the wax has made some parts so shiny and smooth that you'd be forgiven for thinking it wasn't suede. My jeans have also transferred a lot of indigo onto them for a really cool effect, so it's like I've gotten all the benefits of a smooth and textured leather in one. The waxing was an experiment that turned out great!
Some of the stitching has come undone a bit, and I remember parts of it looking a little sloppy even when I first got them, but it was also in places that no one would see, and hardly mattered, like along the inside of the tongue. This stitching was mostly decorative anyway, as far as I can tell, and it's still there, just a little messy now. My only real complaint is that the tongue should've come with a hole pre-cut into it along the center to better keep it in place. They have that classic Chuck Taylor Hi-Top problem of the tongue sliding to one side and exposing your sock. It wasn't that big of a deal cause I ended up just cutting a hole in myself, but still. I'm a big fan of the pull-tab on the back. I love pull-tabs in general, but this one is especially nice cause it sits rather flush along the back of the sneaker rather than jutting out from the top. Other Hi-Tops should take note. After all this time, I've only seen any kind of noticeable chipping on one of the eyelets since they're painted grey, which I find rather inpressive. Beyond all that, I'd say these are probably finished about as well as any other $50-100 sneaker, if not slightly higher. They'de kind of a sleeper!
These are vulcanized sneakers, so as soon as the soles go, they're done. I'd consider their breaking point to be whenever I step in a puddle, and my feet get wet from the bottom. I'd expect the soles to go before any blowouts in the upper honestly, but all that being said: the soles have held up remarkly well! They're dirty and stained, sure, but they still have plenty of traction and grip! They're not even smooth anywhere! In the beginning, they felt a bit more "sticky" and made a bit of a noise when walking, but it never was enough to bother me, and you actually want that "sticky" feeling for skateboarding since it helps you feel like you've got a grip on the board. They've been remarkably comfortable in a natural, sort of barefoot kind of way where there's tons of ground feel, and even a slightly wider toe box than most mainstream sneakers. All in all, really solid soles, no complaints. They even look nice with a classic silhouette.
I don't know if these are my favorite shoes of all-time, but they're certainly up there and blow every pair of Chuck Taylors I've ever had out of the water. It's like they're everything you could ever want out of a classic hi-top including being affordable, but well-made. The affordability of these really makes them feel cheap and cheerful. Like yeah, you can spend $200 and up on a more premium sneaker and it'll probably be way better, but that misses the point. Part of why they're great is because they're so affordable and so solid for that price. Like, they're as good for a kid in elementary school as they are for a grown adult in grad school, and there's just something so charming about that.