The Emerica Herman G6 is a shoe that’s been promised to consumers for a long time. This conversation between consumer and production has needed a mediator in order to get the message across, but thankfully, consumer feedback was listened to, and the end product is everything we asked for. Skaters said, “make a deeper outsole!” and they gave us the triangular “E” outsole, “get better materials!” Emerica looked into a higher quality of suede and played with different oils to treat their suede, “Don’t make thin, lame, vulcanized shoes!” in turn, they made a 3 piece midsole cupsole for us to abuse and fucking shred.
The end result after all this back and forth is the Herman G6, and it couldn’t possibly be any better. It’s everything we asked for from Emerica and was released months earlier instead of its original 2013 release.
- Vulc Construction
- G6 Foam Insole For Ultimate Comfort
- Vulcanized Construction
- G6 Foam Polyurethane Insole
- FULL CUPSOLE WITH TRIANGLE TREAD
- PERFORATED EVA INSOLE WITH ARCH SUPPORT
- CUPSOLE CONSTRUCTION
- POUR IN G6 MIDSOLE AND INSOLE
- Vulcanized Construction
- G6 Foam Insoles
- Rienforced One-Piece Vamp
- Molded And Sewn-In Rubber Ollie Panel
- reinforced one-piece vamp
- molded and sewn-in rubber ollie panel
- Pour-In G6 Foam Midsole
- Full Cupsole With Triangle Tread
- VULCANIZED CONSTRUCTION
- G6 FOAM POLYURETHANE INSOLE
- G6 Foam Insole for impact protection
- Double Wrapped Vulcanized Construction
Review information:
- The seamless toe offers durability for kickflips while low-key padding offers a lightweight fit.
The review was done using our month-long format and the shoe was skated for a total of 20 hours. Check below after each section to view the grading system. We base our ratings on 1-10. 10 being the best and 1 being the absolute worst. Enjoy.
Sizing:
As usual, most of you can rest easy knowing that the G6 does fit True to Size. There are no annoying spaces or gaps in the shoe, and the G6 has some of the better form-fitting action we’ve seen from Emerica in recent years. It’ll slip on perfectly and be ready to shred within minutes.
Comfort & Cushion:
As if you didn’t guess already, this 3 piece of midsole has some of the best quality in comfort we’ve ever seen, not just from Emerica; we’re talking in general. With the first session, you can expect to feel a massive difference in flexibility and overall feel due to its thin feeling insole. The G6 breaks in so easily for a cupsole, many of you will be left confused as to how it isn’t labeled a Vulc shoe.
Another element adding to its comfort and cushioning is the high rebound impact material Emerica used in their 3-piece midsole. Of the 3 pieces, two are made up of a high-density impact material that constantly bounces back, and the third is the base layer, which essentially is your strength and weight-bearing outsole.
With so much thought into this impact system, you can bet your ass that it’s the best quality you’ll find in a supporting impact system. Our fears of it falling apart are diminished, considering we put it through 20 hours of skating on a new board with a fresh grip and saw no deterioration in the three-piece sole. All the materials involved are unbelievably light and thin, which is what ultimately explains the shoe’s remarkable comfort performance.
Comfort Grading: 10. From our experience with the three-piece midsole, another number isn’t as fitting as this one. The comfort is incredible.
Cushioning Grading: 10. The G6 isn’t covered in memory foam or any fancy materials but it manages to have all the right padding and proportions in the right places. With this perfect chemistry in place, your foot will feel snug but not overwhelmed or sweaty.
Boardfeel & Grip
With everything explained in the comfort and cushion section, we’re sure you won’t be surprised to find out that we love the board feel and grip of the G6. First of all, before all the good comes from the shoe, you MUST kick around in it to remove the silicone lining at the bottom of the outsole. This goes for some shoes but especially the G6s. It would probably be best to get a fresh deck with this shoe because you’ll be able to break in the grip where you want it, both on the board and the shoes.
The triangular outsole is deep in-depth, so you can imagine how well the board feel performs. Also, because of this depth, it explains why the shoes are broken-in with the insertion of your foot and some simple footsteps. The grip is accelerated once you get rid of that slippery lining, which should only take an hour of skating. Once that’s done, you’ll then start to feel the chemistry between the flex grooves and tread pattern. It’s a perfect combination that allows you to adjust your foot however you like, virtually making certain flip tricks, if not all, easier.
Boardfeel Grading: 9. It’s a cupsole but you manage to have the ability to mangle your foot in whatever position you want without the risk of injury and without the fear of the shoe prematurely falling apart.
Grip Grading: 10. After you get past the silicone lining, shit get’s real, real quick. The flex grooves, along with the triangular tread, are a perfect combination. The Triangular grip pattern, along with the primo guard and heel drag piece, makes up the perfect outsole for skating.
Durability
Having seen different degrees of durability from Emerica, we’re beyond blown away by the G6’s durability. Not only is it impressive, but it’s a testament to Emerica’s newly found “Higher Quality” campaign. They delivered the goods, and the G6s appear to be able to last well beyond 20 hours of skating. Not to take away from the toe or upper’s performance, as you can tell, it’s amazing, but our favorite aspect of the G6 was the intricate outsole. All it takes is a glance at the outsole, and you can tell how much work and thought went into it. Further, into that same glance, you’ll also be able to tell how much more life the shoe has.
The G6’s durability is also made possible because of the height of the toe and the grade of the suede. Its slick suede grazes right off the board and allows anyone to skate them with great ease. The height of the toe doesn’t take too much adjusting and, in fact, helps add precision to most of our tricks. This might explain why Herman is so unbelievably good.
Durability Grading: 10. The G6’s performance was beyond stellar and it managed to stay in one piece throughout 20 hours of skating. Now, we’re just wondering how much longer they’ll last…?
Summary:
As stated before, we’ve never seen anything like this from Emerica, and it’s such a breath of fresh air compared to everything currently offered in the skate market. Its offerings are beyond exceptional and certainly keep up with the standard in durability; if not, they’re setting a new standard with the addition of the G6.
They managed to produce a durable capsule that doesn’t take a number of days to break in and keep the design straightforward and appealing in the process. They left out any crazy bells and whistles that you might’ve been expecting and put out a shoe that we’ll more than likely continue skating despite having other reviews to do.
Thanks to all the guys at Emerica for making this review possible.
Stay Gold and have a Happy New Year.