DC has been through quite some changes over these years we’ve reviewed their products, but each change is a reflection of a new era, building upon their everlasting legacy as one of the staple core shoe brands in skateboarding. The era between 2010 – 2015 featured a whole new set of heavy hitters with pro models coming from Wes Kremer, Evan Smith, Chris Cole and even Mike Mo. Even more iconic were the days that Tiago Lemos was on DC and we even did an online ledge contest, along with a review, that you can reflect back on here. But nonetheless, there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Although DC has slimmed down their team to Josh Kalis, John Shanahan, Lucien Clarke and Thaynan Costa leading the pack, they’ve continued to do their thing and reissue nostalgic models from the past as well as new models promoted as a team shoe with individual pro color ways. No lie, it’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to try out some of the new stuff DC has been putting out. Thankfully, the homie Fabian Lang hooked us up with a pair of the Metric S, saying it was one of the most durable DC skate shoes out, packed with technology masked behind DC’s iconic design cues. We put that to the test; read on below to see how they performed
The DC Metric S fits true to size.
They weren’t lying. The Metric S showed exceptional durability in the 10 hour wear test. When observing the upper, it’s evident they put a lot of thought into the design. The first layer is a DC’s Super Suede material, and underneath the suede there’s two more layers of protection, including a hot melt underlay and then a mesh material. After 10 hours of skating, abrasion is minimal and hardly noticeable on the upper. The hot melt layer below the suede assures an even longer lifespan once the suede would eventually be worn down. Two positive impacts that prolonged the lifespan of the shoe were the lace protection and strap, which effectively protected the collar lining from ripping as well.
The reason for the low abrasion on the upper are the thick and rigid sidewalls of the sole. This area showed most signs of wear and worked as a first layer of defense that the griptape hit first. Surprisingly, the bottom sole didn’t show any areas of wear and the thread pattern was in good condition for a test duration of 10 hours, while sustaining its grip.
The Metric S provided also good cushioning in the heel area. As can be seen in the cross section cut, there is a height difference between the front and heel. The first third of the shoe doesn’t feature any major foam pieces – it only consists of the insole, a strobel board with a thin EVA layer and the white outsole. Within the midfoot and heel area, there’s a wedge shaped foam inlay (which is brown and can be also seen looking at the shoe from the side) which increases the sole’s thickness. This construction enables it to spread forces evenly throughout and absorb even tougher impacts that occur in the heel region. When bailing with impact to the forefoot, the contact is very direct and can be unpleasant, but it’s an unavoidable compromise, in favor of boardfeel.
The Metric S features a rather puffy silhouette, with the widest area around the midfoot area. The upper is very much embedded in the high outsole (in white) and the foam inlay. The toebox tapers to a nice pointy peak and offers outstanding flick and control when doing flip-tricks.
Since the sole was quite thin in the forefoot area, this lead to sole adapting and forming better to the concave of the board and led to a more direct contact between the foot and the board. The Metric S had good boardfeel for a cupsole but the board feel can’t be compared to vulcanized soles.
Similar to boardfeel, the grip needed a couple sessions to fully shine. The outsole was quite thick, so a few hours of skating were needed until the sole became more flexible and the shoe started to develop a solid grip.
When you first look at the shoe, you wouldn’t imagine an extremely comfortable fit. But after putting them on, the shoe was really lightweight and the padding helped create a soft feeling around the ankle and foot. One point to mention, the breathability of the shoe was weak. Despite using a lot of mesh material for breathability, a look to the cross-section pictures show that the inner lining blocks hot air from even leaving the shoe, so your feet essentially sit in a convection oven.
The heel reinforcements in combination with the strap do provide support and fits snugly with the feet. The whole heel is slightly bent towards the peak of the shoe and the high sidewall of the outsole creates a great heel lock. The upper with its multi material layers kept its stiffness and secure feeling throughout our 10 hour test.
We were hyped on getting a taste of DC’s newest product, the Metric S. The shoe was solid; it performed great in terms of durability, stability and also boardfeel, especially for a really stable cupsole model. The only thing that could be improved would be better breathability, to maximize the comfort of the shoe.
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Shawn Smith
May 30, 2024Thanks I was wondering about this shoe great insight