Fore words
To be honest with you, I did not plan to do this at all. It is just so happened that I wore the Rigorer shoes (“R”) right before the CNY and then I finally got the D-1 (“D”) in right before the weekend. R was kind like an impulse buy because I saw the post of Jimmer Fredette and just really liked the colorway. I had a pair of different R shoes that I have reviewed maybe like a year ago and this one basically just replaced the upper. The first pair fits too small so I was like maybe I can give this one another shot with my right size of 47. D has a different story and I just like the simplicity of the design when I first saw it on Facebook. On top of that, after years of wearing shoes, I never had basketball shoes designed locally before, so thought I should at least support the local business a bit. It is going to be a long post since I have a lot of thoughts after wearing these two, so, sit down and enjoy it (hopefully, you all will enjoy the reading……).
–
Second try of R shoes
Like I said, the first one I got is not the right size, but it still fits ok, especially after a few games. This time, I got the 47 and thinking it should fit better. Well, yes and no, it ended up that 47 actually a bit too long and leaves some spaces right before my toes. I mean, it is still ok, but I did feel my foot sliding a bit inside when I tried to move. Not a big deal for a big and old guy like myself since I don’t do much movements on court anyway, but would be an issue if you are a quick guard. So, too sum up, sizing of the brand is bit strange just like many other Chinese brands.
The change of the upper is a big plus from the old one-piece booty design IMO. The shoes now has better support and gives me a more secured feeling. However, the shape of the upper, around the ankle was made a bit flat, so I had hard time lacing up the shoes in general and it felt like the tongue just going to pop out. The other problem is the round lace and I could never get the right fit and tie it all the way up. It would come loose easily during the game and the only solution on this is just get a double knots.
From the company pictures/diagrams, you can see the layers of the shoe design as well as the big torsional plate inside the midsole. Like I have mentioned before, it feels like R just stacks up all the techs available without looking deeply how to coordinate them better. On top of that, personally, I never believe having a big torsional plate is a must. I mean, it is good to have it, but without it at all, I really do not believe it will make much of a difference of our plays. After all, most of us are not professional players and we are not going to have that kind of huge forces to pull our muscles in those different directions that would hurt us. It is an overhyped piece of thing inside today’s shoes. Just IMO though.
Since it has the same bottom parts, insole, outsole, midsole and the torsional plate, the overall feel of the shoes is pretty much the same. It still feels bottom heave and the boost-like midsole is a bit firmer than the real boost midsole. However, with the better upper support, I do feel this pair is a better one overall all. One of the other thing that I found out this time is that the outsole has a pretty big outrigger. Maybe I mentioned it last time, but I just want to make sure I say it before I forget about it. If I had bought a size 46 instead of 47, I believe I would give it a much better review.
Now to the price, I paid around NTD 1200 including shipping from China. If you ask me, it is a surprising cost-performance buy for the money. I am not saying it is a great shoes for everyone, but for that price and if budget plays a big part during your decision process, hey, what not?
One last thing, the black fabric of the inner bootie would discolor after playing. It transferred a bit dye to my socks after I played a few games. Again, not a deal breaker, but should be fixed by the company.
–
D-1 with a lot of expectation, and?
My first impression when opening up the box were 1. wow, this shoes was made really wide 2. Hmm, this shoes was made kind cheap. The hang tag has the wording “Beyond Your Expectation”. We all have to agree looks have nothing to do with the performances. Even thought my first impression was not so positive, but I had to leave my final thoughts after I play in the shoes. Don’t get me wrong on this, I said it was made cheaply does not mean I do not like the look of it. In fact, I really like the simple design of the D and especially the use of navy blue and white blockings on the overall design. May not be your cup of tea, but I just like it.
My perfect size should be US size 12 wide, but I ordered a pair of 13 this time since I was not sure if they are truly having the wide foot construction. Well, I was so wrong, the shoes is really a great pair for the wide-footer and if you want a pair, make sure you order your true size (but, after the review, I doubt you would like to buy a pair……just read on……). The way I solve this issue is wearing two pairs of socks. It worked much better but I would prefer to have the size down if I had a chance. However, this is totally my fault.
One of the selling points of the D, is the super grippy insole. What is my verdict on this? I don’t like it at all. First of all, because of the sticky surface, I had trouble putting my foot in. Whenever I tried to put the shoes on, the grippy dots would just grab the bottom of my socks in the wrong spots and created a “stacked” layers of stocks underneath. I literally tried like 10 minutes to adjust and finally was able to put my foot in without that strange feeling. The other issue with the insole is that it was pretty stiff and lacks of cushioning. The D does not really have any advanced midsole tech and having a soft insole would help in this area but the company decided to go a different route. Yes, if you are a play who likes court feel, you might like the set up. However, for an old and casual player like myself, this makes no sense at all. Luckily, because of the double socks, I felt ok after the game.
The traction is another funky part of the shoes. However, I am still not sure what actually happened. I played on a clean indoor wooden floor and right before my play time, there was a college scrimmage went on the same place, so I assume the floor was cleaned. When I played, most of the time, the traction was good; however, I slipped to the right like twice during the games and it happened when I was not doing sharp moves. Kind strange. The shoes does come with the outrigger as well, as you can see in the picture.
The overall fit is great, other than I ordered the wrong size, once the laces were tightening up all the way, the shoes does feel secure on my feet. The flat and fat laces do help a lot in this area as well and I really appreciate the simple yet functional laces that you do not often see in this day and age.
Issues, the way I see it, with Deux
1. First of all, pricing – the shoes is priced at NTD 3,480, with the early bird purchase price, I paid NTD 2,480. Do I think it is worth with I had paid? Not really. I mean, it is not bad, but I would be more than happy to pay if the price is around NTD 1,500 to NTD 1,800. The overall build quality is just ok, but they have a long way to go if the brand wants to achieve to the top. For their pricing, it is hard to compete with all those Chinese brands, which constantly bring out really good products with low prices. I did not pay even close to NTD 3,480 for all my Klay shoes and they are in general good performer. If this Deux is not designed by Taiwan team, I would never buy it simply looking at the price tag only.
2. Secondly, production schedule – the shoes was originally having a delivery schedule around December last year, but I did not receive mine until 2/18. Of course, they kept me fully informed that they ran into issues with quality control and also delay in the custom process due to CNY and I really appreciate the effort. However, the problem is, my anticipation of wearing the shoes late last year in the games never happened and it kind put out my passion for trying it. Of course, along the way, to show their appreciation, they did send me free basketball and socks, kind saying they are sorry. I got that, but I do believe if they are planning a next release, they have to consider all possible delays and factors to make things more professional.
3. Thirdly, do things right and make people feel treated right – this kind goes back to the point two. I mentioned they give me free stuff because of the delay. Ok, that sound good. However, I really do not need that ball and the other freebies because the quality of those are just sub-par. Don’t get me wrong, they are not bad, but they are not also good either. I ended up giving those away to my friends because I know for sure I would not use those at all. On the other hand, I personally feel instead of giving me these, why don’t you just give me a partial refund on the shoes? With the refund money, I can go buy a pair really nice socks that I would actually wear. On this part, it also goes back to the pricing strategy of the brand, I just don’t see the value of paying the full price tag for the product.
4. Lastly, market the product with wrong youtuber
There are not many reviews on the youtube and I could only find a handful of those and I watched them all. Out of all those films, I can clean see most of them are either paid or sponsored by the company. Why? Because these people reviewed the shoes when it was still under the production stage. For those reviews, I have no problem with them at all. I mean, shoes are personal stuff and it is hard to say why you like and dislike certain things. However, I really have issue with the reviewer, who is famous for reviewing fashion and trendy stuff in the past. He did not wear the shoes at all on court, yet got his film out to promote the product. I can feel he basically just read the scripts provided by the company and that is just wrong. I mean, if you are serious about a piece of performance product, you have to cut out these nonsenses.
After thoughts
Can Deux fixes these issues I have mentioned? I don’t know and I also don’t even sure if the brand sees the same things the way I have seen. I am not expert on all things and I also don’t believe others have to agree with me. However, I do hope they can be successful and making a new shoes in the near future. After all, designed in Taiwan is not often seen and I wish I had a chance to do this again.
Sometimes, I feel the sporting good market is kind like watch market (collecting watch is my other hobby, and feel free to contact me on that ), they are all fully saturated by a few giants. When buying watches, most of the people only want to get Rolex, PP, AP and Panerai, because those are the brands that are easily recognized by others. However, for the same, or even way less money, I can have a Parmigiani on my wrist and no one would recognize it (well, I am too far away from the topic……). Shoes are the same, I have heard from too many people that they only wear Nike and refuse to try any Chinese brands because they still believe those shoes are cheaply made and would never perform well. Some of my other friends are even refusing to wear UA shoes for the similar reasons. I mean, you are entitled to your own opinions and it is your money to spend, but you have to at least try one time to make your own call. On the other hand, if you are not willing to step outside the box and try something different, you are just missing out on things.
What I see Deux can do, is they really have to figure out the priority of making the product and defining who is the target client group. The market in Taiwan is really small and I don’t see a young brand can step out of the local market at the first try. For this reason, grabbing a piece of the pie locally should be the key. Based on that, most of the people playing balls in Taiwan are casual players like myself, so cushioning would a key feature of the shoes and this is the brand lacking on their first try. I am not saying they should not do the grippy insole, it is just that instead of giving me free stuff, they should use that fund to add another replaceable insole with better cushioning in the package. That way, I would have a chance to ditch the current insole and might have a better playing experience.
I am not sure if the management of Deux would ever see this review and I don’t even know if they would contact me directly if they do read this long piece of work. However, I really hope they do. My words might be very harsh on the brand, but that is based on the points that I wish them do well in the future.
I hope that is the case.