Kswiss Ascendor SLT Shoe Review

When it comes to performance tennis shoes, K-Swiss has always gone for a relatively conservative look, in stark contrast to the brand's popular and more youthfully styled casual shoes.

K-Swiss casual shoes have long been popular in the hip hop scene. With various musical artists sporting K-Swiss shoes in music videos, the popularity seen in the hip hop circles soon transcended to widespread popularity. However, K-Swiss tennis shoes followed a more meat and potatoes approach to styling.

That was, until the introduction of the Ascendor SLT. A flagship performance tennis shoe for K-Swiss, the Ascendor SLT broke away from the predominantly white leather, conservative styling of K-Swiss tennis shoes. With a high-tech synthetic upper in both a royal blue and white offering, the Ascendor SLTs fuse together trendy casual styling with the performance and comfort features that have made K-Swiss a go-to choice for many tennis players.

To see if the youthful looks have successfully merged with K-Swiss' heritage performance, we hit the courts for an extended playtest of the Ascendor SLTs.

Comfort

Our team found the Ascendor SLTs to offer plenty of comfort both on and off the court. Finding them ready for play out of the box was Jon W. "I found these shoes really comfortable. They were surprisingly comfortable the first few hours of the playtest. I was really impressed with the overall comfort of the shoes for the duration of the test." Finding impressive comfort after a brief break-in was Danny - "After about a two hour break-in period, I thought the comfort was top notch. I experienced no poking or pinching from the shoes at all."

Chris was ready to hit the courts in the Ascendor SLTs after two days of casual wear. "I wore the Ascendor SLTs around for a couple of days to get them broken in. After that, they felt very comfortable both on-court and during casual wear. I thought the level of cushioning was great. There was plenty of cushioning to keep me protected from the hard courts, yet not so much that I felt elevated. The shoes fit my feet very well and I never felt constricted, or that the shoes had too much room. Once the shoes were broken in, I never had any rubbing issues from the uppers." Granville enjoyed the cushioned ride offered by the shoes. "The shoes offered good cushioning right out of the box. I could really feel the cushioning right under the balls of my feet. The level of cushioning was not too cushy or deep, just enough to dampen any shock. There was also a nice fit all around my feet with no pinching." Also finding a high level of cushioning was Paul. "I thought the shoes offered excellent cushioning! I am a big fan of the Shockspring cushioning design. I do mean big. We're talking 250 lbs. I found these shoes to offer plush comfort and effective cushioning - what more could a player want?"

Arch Support

The Ascendor SLTs offer a medium-height arch, which most playtesters found just right. Chris was adequately supported in the Ascendor SLTs. "My arches felt like they were getting enough support. I wouldn't say the support was as substantial as an Adidas Barricade 3 or IV, but it was enough that I did not have any concerns in that area of the shoe." Danny needed a little time to settle into the Ascendor SLTs, offering, "I would say that my arch is low, and it took my feet about 2 hours to adapt to the medium-high arch. This wasn't a real problem for me, but just took a little time to get used to." For Granville, no news was good news. I didn't really feel the arch support, which is how I like it. No issues here." Paul customized the Ascendor SLTs after a week to maximize support. "The arch support felt great at first, but after about a week they flattened out a bit and became too low for my feet. I took out the stock KSwiss insole and added my SOFSOLE insole. The SOFSOLE is much heavier than the stock insole, but with the light weight of the Ascendor SLTs, it was still a very manageable weight. This modification made these shoes extremely comfortable."

Foot Support and Stability

For lightweight, mesh-constructed shoes, the Ascendor SLTs offered impressive support for most of our playtesters. Chris liked their supportive fit most. "I would call the Ascendor SLTs supportive shoes rather than ultra stable. While the midfoot stability is excellent, it was more the supportive fit of the uppers that held my feet securely in the forefoot and heel. With their mesh style uppers, the shoes do not look especially supportive, but the upper material is actually very supportive - one of the reasons I found the shoes to require a brief break-in." Jon W. felt confident playing in the Ascendor SLTs. "My ankles were not going to rollover by any means. I did slide a bit, but it didn't hurt or anything. The shoes had good hold, just not amazing." Danny gave a qualified thumbs-up, explaining, "Foot support and stability were good. The Ascendor SLTs firmly held my feet in place, so there was no sliding around. However, I didn't have complete confidence in the shoes' ability to support my ankles. Although I never rolled over, their low cut caused me some concern on aggressive directional changes."

Paul offered, "The Ascendor SLTs felt pretty stable. I didn't feel any threat of an ankle roll-over or anything of that nature. My feet did slip around a little bit inside these shoes when I was really scrambling. Fortunately, no blisters formed, and the minor skin irritation went away by the end of the evening that same day."Granville was very satisfied with the Ascendor SLTs' overall performance. "The Ascendor SLTs are good, solid shoes an all counts. The fit was good, perhaps not as contoured as some of the $100+ shoes, but snug in all corners. Low to the ground and firm around the periphery of the outsole/midsole radius, I felt I could run, pivot and split step without any reservations."

Outsole Durability

The Ascendor SLTs feature K-Swiss' durable Aosta 7.0 outsole. Despite being lightweight shoes, which typically aren't associated with durability, our playtesters were impressed with the Ascendor SLTs' toughness. Chris clocked the most hours on-court. "I was very impressed by the outsole durability. I put a lot of hours on the shoes and hardly made a dent in the outsoles. Even the areas that usually first exhibit wear looked healthy and full of tread at the end of the test." Jon W. agreed, offering, "Very good durability. I usually do not wear shoes out super quickly, but the sole of this shoe really lasted well, especially in certain places that have broken down early for me (toes/front of the sole)."

Danny found impressive outsole durability for the duration of the test. "The first signs of wear showed in the forefoot region of the shoes. However, the outsole held up very well during the playtest period and I had plenty of tread and traction left at the end of the test period." Granville was very impressed with the durable outsoles. "These shoes have remarkably durable outsoles! I I gave these shoes top marks in this category. Looking at the shoes at the end of the test, I see very minimal outsole wear over the entire tread."

Toe Durability

The Ascendor SLTs feature K-Swiss' DragGuard toe cap, along with a DuraWrap LT toe guard. While the DragGuard toe cap was effective, the DuraWrap LT showed visible wear for most playtesters in the form of "fluff" or "fuzz" (see image at left). However, none reported wearing through the DuraWrap LT. Chris explains, "The toe bumper is made of an interesting material. It quickly showed wear, but the amount of wear never seemed excessive. At first I thought I was going to blaze through the toe of the shoes long before I made any impact on the outsoles. After the first few outings to the courts, the toes started to fluff up a little. I've never had a toe bumper exhibit this kind of wear, and while it initially looked substantial, closer inspection revealed the toes of the shoes to be in good shape - even at the end of the test." Danny also found impressive toe durability despite initial surface fraying. "With these shoes I found the toe wear to look worse than it was. I think the toe guard is thick and durable, however, if you toe drag, you will notice that the upper mesh area will start to fray and fluff up, but there's still lots of material underneath to protect the toe area." Granville found a similar level of toe durability compared to our other testers. "As noted above, the Ascendor SLTs feature a very durable outsole. For those players who may drag over the toe cap, onto the top of the shoe, you may find the black/silver 'mesh' material to scuff and fray a bit. However, other than it looking a bit tattered at the end of the test, I did not wear through this material."

Traction

The Ascendor SLTs feature a modified herringbone tread pattern that worked well during our hard court playtest. Chris was very impressed with the level of traction he found in the shoes. "I thought the level of traction was very impressive. I never slipped or lost traction when taking off or quickly stopping. The outsoles offered a very impressive level of grip both when moving forward and when making aggressive lateral cuts. I was so impressed, I gave the shoes top marks in this category." Equally well impressed was Jon W. "The shoes were really good in this area as well. I felt like I could push off and trust that the shoes would not slide out from under me. Left to right movement was superb as well."

Danny found the level of traction to be trouble free. "I had no troubles with traction at all. There was no slipping or sliding for the duration of the test. The Ascendor SLTs are good shoes for traction on hard courts." Granville continued to be impressed by the performance of the Ascendor SLTs. "Again, the outsole is very impressive. I found I had excellent traction. They felt very sticky when needed, and I could let up a bit when necessary to slide in the most extreme circumstances." Paul moved confidently during match play in the Ascendor SLTs. "The Ascendor SLTs demonstrated pretty good traction. Definitely good enough to feel like I could rely on them during matches. I experienced no slips on foot plants or changes of direction."

Weight

Our team found the Ascendor SLTs to feel light and maneuverable on the court. Finding the shoes good for both competitive play and casual wear was Jon W. "This shoe felt very light on my feet. They were really easy to wear, feeling light and comfortable both on and off the court." Danny found himself moving with his usual quick foot speed in the Ascendor SLTs. "The shoes play light. I found them to feel maneuverable and easy to operate." Chris also found himself covering the court well in the shoes. "I thought the shoes offered a good weight. I felt like I could move to the best of my ability and never felt slowed down. The shoes also seemed to be substantial enough for impressive support and durability."

Paul was very impressed with the weight of the shoes. "I thought the light weight of the Ascendor SLTs was one of their best characteristics. I found the synthetic upper to be very light, comfortable and form-fitting." Granville was impressed with the performance to weight ratio of the Ascendor SLTs. "I'd put this shoe in the light category, a testament to their good overall stability and traction."

Overall

The Ascendor SLTs offer a very unique style compared to other current K-Swiss shoes. While the Ascendor SLTs hit the courts with a different look, we're glad to report they bring the same impressive on court performance we've come to expect from K-Swiss. We found both outsole durability and hard court traction to be excellent. The shoes also offered an impressive blend of comfort and support. While the toes of the shoes exhibited some fraying, our testers found them to be durable. With a supportive ride, impressive durability and fresh styling, we found the Ascendor SLTs a welcome addition to the K-Swiss line.

Kswiss Ascendor SLT Summary Sheet
The Up Side	The Down Side	Play Test Scores
Traction Light weight Cushioning Outsole Durability	Toe bumper looks scruffy after toe dragging	Comfort 4.3 Arch Support 4.1 Foot Support/Stability 4.0 Overall Sole Durability 4.2 Toe Durability 3.7 Traction 4.3 Weight 4.4 Overall 4.2 Scores (1-Horrible 2-Poor 3-Average 4-Good 5-Tremendous)

Playtesters' Foot Types: Chris - narrow width/medium arch, Danny - medium/medium arch, Granville - Narrow/low arch, Paul Medium/Medium arch, Jon W. - medium width/medium arch.

Review date: August, 2006. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2006 Tennis Warehouse.