GRAYS Cage AST

Looks

The responses I have heard on these shoes makes them seem pretty divisive (special shout out to the person who said they looked like hockey shoes in fishnet tights), but for me I think they look fantastic, the black and orange work really well together and I think the Cage system over the toe also gives them an interesting aesthetic too.   

 

Comfort

I have been running around in these shoes for a while now (I got my hands on a pair of them in early June) and I find them really comfy. I have for the past several seasons been wearing trail running shoes as I found hockey shoes were often to firm underfoot and would give me problems with my ankles and knees, but I haven't had any sort of issues with these shoes despite the sole being very firm. I will have to see if this is something that becomes a problem later on as the shoes get more worn, but from these past few months I haven't had any problem.  

 

Weight

I have posted pictures of me weighing my shoes online before and 708g is not the lightest of shoes in the world, but they feel light when they are on, or light enough that I didn't think about if they felt heavy while I was wearing them. I don't know what kind of trickery Grays have pulled with the weight distribution to achieve this but it clearly works. 

 

Protection

While I am yet to wear any sort of serious hit to the feet since I have been wearing these shoes (and it is only a matter of time), I have taken a few light knocks and while I was aware the ball had hit my foot, there wasn't any discomfort or pain from it. I don't know if this is something that could become a problem with the Cage system if the impact is very light you might not feel it at all, leading to arguing the decision with the umpire, but it gives me good confidence leading up to that first major hit.  

 

Grip

The grip from these shoes is superb. I am a giant of a man, 6 ft 3 and built like an orge, but I did not slide or slip once, even when I was playing on a water based pitch. Changing direction, spinning, sprinting at full pace, I didn't have a single moment where I felt like the shoe might lose grip or that my foot might move around inside the shoe throwing off my balance.   

 

Support

I found the Cage system of this shoe very good for holding your foot in place when changing direction. I have very wide feet and I have had issues with my foot sliding off the side of the shoe, leading to me rolling my ankle, but I haven't had this issue once while wearing the Cage AST shoes. The higher ankle collar is very comfortable, and sits just under my ankle cover for my shin pads. When I see these high ankles on shoes I always worry that they will have to go too high and have to go over my shin pads, no need to worry if you also have had this though..   

 

Other

I didn't like the way the shoes were laced originally, I found it a bit fiddly to get the laces tight enough to where I feel comfortable. I did some messing around, re-lacing the shoes a couple of times and I now have a setup I am happy with. This was all down to my personal preference, I don't think that this is something that everyone will think when they try them but if you do the issue is easily resolved by re-lacing the shoes.

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