MY FIRST ARIAKES
HONORABLY RETIRED IN MAY IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2009

As you can see, no shoe will indefinitely sustain the kind of abuse the urban environment can deal out. My first pair of Ariakes performed better than any other shoe I'd worn. The rubber coating around the front half of the shoe holds up remarkably well against the coarseness of sidewalk concrete and brick walls.
 
RIGHT LEFT
The outside view shows my left shoe has sustained great wear from rolls on asphalt and concrete.
The outside of my left foot contacts the ground as I tuck my left leg and roll up into a running position.
 
The inside view shows very little wear on either shoe.
  
From the top view, you can see the plastic strip has broken and pulled away from the leather of the right shoe.
 
The front view shows wear from wall runs and corner runs on buildings.
  
The bottom view shows the area which receives the most wear, the toe.
This occurs in every step as our feet leave the ground and in every wall climb and cat leap.


This final bottom view shows the toe wear in all its glory.