Fila U.S. Open 2004 Review

The US Open 2004 shoe continues fila's long association with the US Open. Available in versions for both men and women, the US Open 2004 shoes feature a host of performance technologies. With lightweight synthetic and mesh uppers, abrasion resistant toe-caps coupled with a 7-month durability guaranteed outsole, Fila's speed lacing system, 3 action lightweight cushioning and a multi-layered arch support shank, the US Open 2004 seems to have plenty to offer the serious player.

To see if all the technology in the Women's US Open 2004 shoes translated to performance on the courts, we hit the courts for a three-week playtest. Read on for the full report.

Comfort

The lightweight synthetic leather and mesh uppers of the Fila US Open 2004 are designed to offer a comfortable and supportive fit. The mesh tongue is provided to add comfort and ventilation through the lacing system. Finding the shoes ready to go out of the box was Gwen. "These shoes did not require any break-in. I went to a tournament without having worn them at all and played without getting any aches or soreness afterwards. They are really comfortable. However, the upper sides and back rubbed against my skin, making my feet feel compressed at times." Wendi and Erin also found some rubbing from the heel area of the US Open 2004 shoes. Wendi said, "the first time out I was definitely wearing the wrong socks. They were low-cut socks and I had big red marks on my Achilles from the heel rake. The next time out I wore quarter socks and I didn't get the rubbing sensation, but they still felt a little tight in that area. I also noticed that the shoes felt tight across the bridge of my foot, but fit well everywhere else. I considered going up a size, but since Fila doesn't make a 10 1/2 and the 11 was way too big, I was out of luck. I also noticed that they seemed a little stiff, and still do. They aren't softening up much. I also experienced some discomfort on my two big toes. They were sore after playing in these shoes." Erin offered, "these shoes were bulky, which I found a little uncomfortable. I wear no-show socks, and the shoes constantly pulled down my socks and rubbed against my heel. I felt some pinching on the front side of my feet. On the plus side, they did offer a lot of cushion."

Enjoying the generous fit in the forefoot of the US Open 2004 shoes was Helen. "I was experiencing some problems with my toes from a previous shoe, so the width of the US Open 2004 shoes felt absolutely great. I have a pretty wide foot and the shoe was very accommodating to that. I also found the cushioning to be very good. A minor problem occurred when I wore low socks, though. The back of the shoe would rub my heel, leaving it red. Wearing high socks solved this problem. I felt my feet sweat quite a bit more compared to my other shoes. Also, I have a pronated foot, and the US Open 2004 shoes seemed to exacerbate this problem. I found myself walking and running even more on the outsides of my feet." Eileen found the shoes to be very comfortable after a slight break-in. "I found lots of comfort all around in this shoe with only a 2-3 hour break-in period required. The only area that was uncomfortable was the outside of the ankle collar. It was almost too high, and was just too stiff for me."

Blythe found the shoes ready for play out of the box, but like our other testers, did notice some rubbing in the heel area. "These shoes did not really require any break-in. The first time I played in them they felt like they were ready to go. My foot was very comfortable and I had no aches or pains. However, I did develop a little blister on the back ankle of my foot. After that, I put a blister Band-Aid on before play and that worked just fine."

Arch Support

The US Open 2004 shoes feature a multi-layered shank for increased support in the arch area. Fitting at a medium height, the arch support was a hit with our team. Wendi said, "the arch support was just right. The key for me is if I don't feel my arches at all. This was the case with these shoes." Eileen agreed, finding good support during long hitting sessions. "The arch support in the Fila US Open 2004 shoes was just right. I played for hours and my feet felt great." Blythe said, "I have a medium height arch and these shoes fit my feet perfectly."

With her high arch, Gwen would have liked a slightly higher fit from the US Open 2004 shoes. "The arch was slightly low for me, but then again, I have a high arch. It would probably be perfect for people with low to medium arches." Finding a better fit were Erin and Helen. Erin said, "the arch was fine, I have a medium arch and found it to fit just right." Helen offered, "the support of the arch was good. My feet were well supported here and I never thought about it during play."

Foot Support and Stability

The Fila US Open 2004 features a sculpted CMR meshed 3 action unit in the rear foot for lightweight cushioning, increased stability and better response on take-off. Almost all of our team agreed - the US Open 2004 is one stable shoe. Erin said, "there was a lot of cushioning and I felt my ankles were being stabilized well. The shoe had a weighty feel and the uppers offered a secure fit. My feet did not slide around at all." Helen found a secure fit in the US Open 2004 shoes even during fast on court movement. "I felt safe chasing down the ball, and I never felt like my ankles were going to roll over. Like I mentioned before, I did feel that the outer sides of my feet had more pressure placed on them. Also, since the shoe is pretty wide, I had to tighten the laces a bit more to ensure a snug fit."

Also finding a secure fit was Gwen "My feet weren't going anywhere in these shoes. The shoes kept my feet secure. The snug and secure fit did cause some slight discomfort due to the tight fit. The two metal shoelace inserts were nice because I could loosen the toe space while keeping my midfoot secure. The toe box gave me great support and I could easily balance my weight forward when hitting. The shoes gave me great support and I could feel this in the pads of my feet (transferring the burden from my toes). Sometimes I slip forward in my tennis shoes and smash my toes against the toe tip. I did not have this problem with these shoes."

Wendi found a secure, but elevated feel from the US Open 2004 shoes. "I didn't get any slipping around inside these shoes. Instead, my feet felt a little trapped (possibly because I needed the 1/2 size bigger). I did have one ankle roll with these shoes, which isn't uncommon for me even with shoes I love. But what I noticed about this ankle roll was how much higher the sole seemed from the ground, making it harder to recover." Eileen offered, "on the whole, I felt the shoe gave me lots of support, lots of room and cushioning. Again, the ankle support was too stiff and bothered my ankles. It would have been a better fit for me if it hit lower on my ankle."

Due to the shoes' wide fit, Blythe found her feet wandering inside the US Open 2004 shoes. "This was the main problem I had with these shoes, I felt that I could never get them tight enough to make my feet feel secure. The top part of the shoe fits almost like a skate shoe, and it was very wide at the lace system. I tried to tie the shoes tight, but I always felt a little uncomfortable sprinting from side to side because I felt as if I didn't have enough ankle support."

Overall Sole Durability

The US Open 2004 shoes feature a 7-month durability guaranteed Evergrind outsole. Our team found them more than up to the task of handling the California hard courts. Blythe said, "I'm not sure if I worked the shoes enough to notice any major durability problems, but as of right now I'm still really impressed with how the shoes have held up. Usually, I'm pretty rough on my shoes and these seem to be holding up very nicely." The durable outsoles also left Wendi wondering if she worked the US Open 2004 shoes hard enough. "I didn't experience much wear at all. The first area to go on my shoes is usually the traction, but the sole of this shoe looks completely intact, other than being a little dirty. These Fila shoes seems to be quite durable, but I'm not too hard on shoes and therefore may not be the best to judge durability."

Gwen found the shoes to continue to offer good traction even after many hours of use. "The shoe started to show some slight wear at the heel and toe (the usual wear spots for me). I still feel a good amount of traction and can't feel any difference from when they were new. The toe really gripped well when split-stepping, so it helped that these shoes still had a great amount of tread." Erin found the outsole material to be durable. "The outsoles of the shoes were very thick and didn't wear down much at all. Most shoes I wear will wear down in the ball of the foot from me being up on my toes, but these shoes held up well." Noticing some wear in the heel area of the US Open 2004 shoes was Helen. "Both of my heels looked a bit more worn after all the hours of play. But the sides, where I normally wear shoes, still looked great." Eileen, who admits she's pretty tough on her tennis shoes, also found the US Open 2004 shoes to offer good durability. "I didn't see much wear at all during the playtest, even after 20 hours of play. That was a good sign since I'm pretty tough on shoes. I usually wear through the ball of the foot, but there was barely any wear in this area."

Toe Durability

The US Open 2004 shoes feature a high abrasion toe tip for increased durability. With the exception of Blythe, our team found the toe area of the shoes to still look relatively new at the end of the test. Blythe said, "I am a toe dragger and I do see a tiny bit of wear on the toe of the shoe. The shoe doesn't have a beefed-up toe guard. I usually try to wear shoes that do have that extra toe protection because that is what usually wears out first."

Traction

The durable outsoles feature a herringbone pattern for traction on all surfaces. Our team found plenty of grip when hitting the hard courts. Gwen found good grip when up on her toes. "I didn't have any trouble stopping and starting when playing in this shoe. Again, the toe really gripped well when split-stepping." Wendi thought the traction offered by the US Open 2004 shoes was up to the task of match play. "The traction of this shoe was great. I had no problems with sliding on side to side movements or when coming to net. When changing direction at the last moment, I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this shoe."

Erin found the traction of the US Open 2004 shoes to work with her game. Eileen agreed. She said, "These shoes were very comfortable and gripped well through intense drilling sessions with lots of starting and stopping. I noticed a little more room in the toe than I'm used to, but I'm sure this is in part to my long, narrow foot. It was very easy to work hard on the court with these shoes." Also finding great traction was Helen. "The traction on this shoe worked great for me. It was easy to 'take off' when I had to chase down balls. Moving side to side felt easy and smooth. The shoe felt balanced." Blythe found good traction as well, even when making aggressive lateral cuts. "This shoe had good traction, and I had no problem with changing directions or getting up to the net quickly. I felt like the shoe not only stayed with my feet, but held on for the ride."

Weight

At 13.2 ounces (size 8.5) the US Open 2004 leans to the lighter end of the scale for a durability guaranteed shoe. Most of our team found the weight of the shoe fitting with its performance, durability and stability qualities. Eileen said, "the weight is ideal for me. It's very light, but very durable. I felt the shoe was solid." Wendi found the weight of the shoe to be spot on. "The weight didn't seem to be a factor for me. I didn't think they were heavy or light, but just right. They did seem bulky, not in weight but size."

Blythe said, "These shoes were a good weight. They were light enough to feel like I could move, but not too light where I thought they were going to compromise durability." Gwen felt that most of the shoe's weight was noticeable from the midsole down. "When I first saw these shoes I thought they looked bulky and there was no way I'd be able to play sets in them. When putting them on, they did not feel too heavy, but after running and playing for about an hour the weight was more noticeable and slowed down my footwork. The outsole/midsole felt very heavy compared to the upper and I did not get used to the bottom heavy feel." Erin also found the US Open 2004 shoes to feel a little weighty. "I found the weight of the shoe to be too heavy. The overall feel was that it was heavy, stiff and bulky. I found the weight to be restrictive on starting, stopping, and changing directions." Helen felt the weight of the shoes was justifiable given its performance. "Even though it felt like the shoe was a bit heavy, the comfort made up for it. It felt and looked a bit bulky, but it really wasn't an issue during play."

Overall

The Fila US Open 2004 is a very durable shoe and a solid choice for the player who logs a lot of court time. Our team found them to be well cushioned, and the ride to be very stable. Those who wore the popular no-show socks had problems with the socks getting pulled down during play.

Playtesters' Foot Types: Gwen- Narrow width with a high arch, Blythe- Medium width with a medium height arch, Eileen- Narrow width with a medium height arch, Erin- Narrow width with a medium height arch, Helen- wide width with a medium height arch, Wendi- Medium width with a high arch and bridge.

Review date: September, 2004. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2004 Tennis Warehouse.