I had pretty much the same experience with factions, I too have high arches and 272 mondo and struggled with either foot pain from being too flat, or toe pain and instability from raising my heel too much to compensate. I really enjoyed my time with them and I was able to learn tons of tricks but I never felt super connected to the boot, and no matter what even trying 5 different liners I would end up with pain somewhere. It was a never ending battle, then I impulse bought some razor SLs and I've been able to skate pain free right away with myfit fatboy and intuition premium liners (depending if I want a performance fit, or a super flexy fit) and my feet never hurt. It sucks because I really love my factions, they look way better, clark is awesome, I spent a lot of money on them between all the different liners so its hard to walk away from it but being able to skate without any food pain is just so much better than jumping through hoops to try make a boot work for me that just isn't working. The V1 soul plates are for sure better, but another issue is that they are thicker than the V2 soul plates and the frame doesn't sit into the soul as deep. So to me the ride height difference was shocking, and I struggled really hard to get boot down. Meanwhile first session on my SL's I got boot down over and over again because the frame sits so deep into the soul it just makes everything easier. Feels like the factions try to compensate for this by having a super flexible cuff but as a beginner that made it hard for me to feel what my boot was doing. I feel like I have so much more control over where I place my foot now with my SLs
Yeah, that Stealth plate is weird, I love the silhouette, but the groove is totally wrong for most people out here. I would love a combination of the V1 groove with the Stealth shape. Sizing is such an individual thing, right? I'm usually a 10.5 shoe, about 283 mondo. I went down to the 9-10 shell, it's broken in perfectly for me (but took time), I chase a performance fit though, and the 10.5 shell would have been too big for me! I like a flexi skate (I miss Remz!), but I need support on these old ankles, so I ride with Intuition Premium liners including the shock pad, with a 3/4 cut-down superfeet insole (cut down because I need the toe box room). This combo gives me all the support and response, while still making grinds pretty easy. It took time for everything to break in and for me to find my ideal customisation for the skates though.
Try out the V1 soul plate if you don’t like the Stealth plate. Backslide groove is more centered and is killer. Faction is a vibe for sure and hope the skates continue to break in for you! 🫡
I had pretty much the same experience with factions, I too have high arches and 272 mondo and struggled with either foot pain from being too flat, or toe pain and instability from raising my heel too much to compensate. I really enjoyed my time with them and I was able to learn tons of tricks but I never felt super connected to the boot, and no matter what even trying 5 different liners I would end up with pain somewhere. It was a never ending battle, then I impulse bought some razor SLs and I've been able to skate pain free right away with myfit fatboy and intuition premium liners (depending if I want a performance fit, or a super flexy fit) and my feet never hurt. It sucks because I really love my factions, they look way better, clark is awesome, I spent a lot of money on them between all the different liners so its hard to walk away from it but being able to skate without any food pain is just so much better than jumping through hoops to try make a boot work for me that just isn't working.
The V1 soul plates are for sure better, but another issue is that they are thicker than the V2 soul plates and the frame doesn't sit into the soul as deep. So to me the ride height difference was shocking, and I struggled really hard to get boot down. Meanwhile first session on my SL's I got boot down over and over again because the frame sits so deep into the soul it just makes everything easier. Feels like the factions try to compensate for this by having a super flexible cuff but as a beginner that made it hard for me to feel what my boot was doing. I feel like I have so much more control over where I place my foot now with my SLs
@@inlineonline yeah if it fits your foot well the sl is a hard one to beat
Yeah, that Stealth plate is weird, I love the silhouette, but the groove is totally wrong for most people out here. I would love a combination of the V1 groove with the Stealth shape.
Sizing is such an individual thing, right? I'm usually a 10.5 shoe, about 283 mondo. I went down to the 9-10 shell, it's broken in perfectly for me (but took time), I chase a performance fit though, and the 10.5 shell would have been too big for me!
I like a flexi skate (I miss Remz!), but I need support on these old ankles, so I ride with Intuition Premium liners including the shock pad, with a 3/4 cut-down superfeet insole (cut down because I need the toe box room). This combo gives me all the support and response, while still making grinds pretty easy. It took time for everything to break in and for me to find my ideal customisation for the skates though.
@@lachlanhayes6364 nice yeah i agree about the soul plates for sure
Try out the V1 soul plate if you don’t like the Stealth plate. Backslide groove is more centered and is killer. Faction is a vibe for sure and hope the skates continue to break in for you! 🫡
Thanks man yeah the v1 soul is definitely the move imo
@@kordel_alcorn_white yeah the way you described what you did with the Stealth I think you will love the V1. Nice deep pocket locks in like 🧈