Lotto Raptor Syn Pulse Tennis Shoe Review

The footwear choice of ATP Tour Professionals David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gaston Gaudio, the Lotto Raptor Syn Pulse offers optimal performance, with comfort and cushioning to match.

Using an innovative technology of elliptical cushioning units in the midsole, which Lotto calls the Syn Pulse System, these shoes offer an improved return of energy for quicker, more efficient movement. The ellipses not only provide good cushioning, but the elliptical form follows the heel's curve to offer forward propulsion.

For improved court feel during competitive play each pair of Raptor Syn Pulses comes with an additional set of insoles. One set of insoles offers a soft ride for training, while a second set for competition offers improved cushioning and a more responsive ride.

Would the Raptor Syn Pulse offer Raptor-like performance? Our playtest team laced up their Lotto test shoes and headed out to prey on some opposition.

Comfort

Our testers put the innovative cushioning system of the Raptor Syn Pulse shoes to the test by hitting the hard courts. Thrilled with the comfort and cushioning was Danny. "I thought the comfort was awesome in these shoes! The cushioning felt nicely spread throughout the shoes. I liked the thick midsoles. This would be a great shoe for those tennis players who like lots of heel cushioning." Ryan S preferred the competition insole while testing the shoes. "These shoes were very comfortable, especially in the heel area. The Syn Pulse system worked great. I did have a bad experience with the training insoles. After an hour, I almost had blisters on the balls of my feet. However, when I switched to the competition insoles, which had a lot more cushioning, especially in the toe area, my problems went away and I never had another problem with the comfort of the shoes."

Enjoying the comfort he found in the shoes was Chris. "Right out of the box I was impressed by the comfortable ride I found in these shoes. The Syn Pulse cushioning system offered a very plush, yet responsive ride. I was very impressed with the overall level of cushioning and shock absorption I was finding. Once the shoes started to open up, I found the fit a tad roomy. Due to the wider fit I had some issues with my feet sliding into the front of the shoes on sudden stops, causing some discomfort." Spencer was impressed with the cushioning technology. "I found instant comfort from the initial lace-up in these shoes. I was a bit skeptical of the Syn Pulse cushioning, but found it to be very effective when it came to comfort and protection from impact. There was no pinching or areas that caused any discomfort in these shoes. I found no need to break in the shoes. However, after logging some court time on these shoes I found the forefoot fit was widening quite a bit, causing some sliding inside the shoes - both when moving laterally and front to back. The sliding inside the shoes caused some obvious discomfort."

Arch Support

For the most part, our testers found plenty of arch support in the Raptor Syn Pulse shoes. Pleased with the height and support for his flattening arches was Spencer. "I enjoyed the medium feeling arch as my arches have started to flatten. The little extra arch support was nice." Danny thought the height of the arches was ideal. "The arch support was just right for me. It seemed like a medium to high arch."

Chris liked the support provided in the arches. "The arch support felt great. I felt like I was getting all the support I could want for my medium height arches. I had no strains or discomfort in this area of the shoe and never had to worry about any undue stress to my feet." In search of more support in the arch was Ryan S. "The arch was too low for me. Though the description states it has a medium to high arch, they seemed a tad low for my 'regular' arches."

Foot Support/Stability

Our entire team was impressed with the torsional stability of the Raptor Syn Pulse shoes. However, after break-in, some testers found the shoes to open up too much and become too roomy - sacrificing a supportive fit. Having an assured feeling of stability when playing in the shoes was Ryan S. "At first glance, I thought it would be easy to turn or roll an ankle in these shoes as the midsoles felt so soft and springlike. However, after wearing them, that thought couldn't be further from reality. I didn't have one single issue with the stability of the shoe. I gave it a 4.5 though, because the toe box was too roomy for me and my foot slid around a little bit, which was annoying. But not annoying in a way that compromised the stability of the shoe or the support." Chris was pleased with the stability. "I was very impressed by the stability of these shoes. They seemed to flex in all the right places, yet be stiff where needed. The flex point was perfect and the shoes provided a very stable ride. Once the shoes opened up I had to switch to wearing two pairs of socks to get a supportive fit. Otherwise, my feet were sliding inside the shoes. This is not an uncommon issue for me and I quite often have to double bag with my socks due to my narrow feet. With these shoes, I had to double up my socks and lace the shoes as tightly as possible."

Movement and sliding inside the shoes hampered Danny's mobility. "The foot support/stability was good, but not great. My feet were slightly sliding during starting and stopping movements. I was never worried about rolling my foot over, but I think my foot speed could be faster if I wasn't slipping inside the shoes." Spencer had similar sentiments. "At the beginning of the playtest the support was grand as the shoes hugged my feet. The technology offered in the Raptor Syn Pulse was up to par, offering good stability. Once the shoes 'opened up' though, the support waned, thus skewing the support/stability less favorably."

Overall Sole Durability

The majority of our testers found impressive durability from the outsoles of the Raptor Syn Pulse shoes. Being pleasantly surprised with the durability was Danny. "I didn't see that many signs of wear from the hours of playtesting with these shoes. I was surprised by the durability of the shoes. The shoes were comfortable, and some comfortable shoes that I playtest aren't that durable due to their softness. The Raptor Syn Pulse was an exception, being forgiving, yet also durable." Ryan S was impressed with the durability. "My pair of shoes didn't wear out very fast at all. There wasn't much sign of wear, even on the ball of the foot area that I wear out really fast."

Happy with how the outsoles held up was Spencer. "The outsoles held up very well for me. No excessive signs of wear in the ball of the foot, where I usually wear out the tread. Though there was no sole guarantee offered, I was happy with the wear." Noticing more wear than usual was Chris. "The durability of the outsoles was OK, but not as impressive as I've found with previous Lotto offerings. At the end of the test my Raptor Syn Pulse shoes where showing quite a bit of wear in the forefoot regions. The most wear was under the big toe on my right shoe. This is where I'm the hardest on shoes so I expect some wear, but I was also seeing more wear than usual under the balls of my feet."

Toe Durability

The Raptor Syn Pulse shoes offer a reinforced toe-cap for increased durability. Giving passing marks on his toe bumper test was Chris. "The toe bumper offered pretty good protection on both shoes. I had a lot of scuff marks to both toe tips at the end of the test, but there was still lots of bumper material left. Judging by the level of wear I had at the toes, I think they would last the life of the shoes for me, with the outsole being the first element to expire." Danny was satisfied with the toe durability. "The toe held up surprisingly well. It didn't seem like there was much toe guard, however, I didn't see any noticeable signs of wear there." Traction

Our testers put the modified herringbone patterned outsoles to the test on hard courts. Danny liked the traction but felt his movement was affected by the sliding of his feet inside the shoe. "The traction was decent. I didn't experience any sliding on the tennis court at all. My foot speed was slightly slow, but that wasn't because of the traction. It was because of the foot support." Ryan S agreed. "Traction was very decent. Not the best, but very good. Stopping was a little more of a problem for me because of the sliding of my feet inside the shoes."

Having some issues with traction was Spencer. "I was a bit disappointed with the traction offered in the Syn Pulse. At the beginning of the playtest my starts and stops, as well as lateral cuts, were very sticky and efficient, though it quickly began to decline from there. I found myself laid out on the court on more than a couple of occasions when having to make a quick change of direction. (I'll have to attribute some of that to the directional prowess of my hitting partner). As the playtest went on the sliding of my feet inside the shoes also hurt the efficiency of my changes in direction." Also having issues with traction during aggressive cuts was Chris. "I did have several instances where I lost traction in these shoes. I noticed it mostly when changing directions laterally, but I also had the occasional slip when trying to stop quickly. Overall, the level of traction was OK - not great, but not terrible, either."

Weight

At 16.3 ounces for a size 10.5, our team found the Raptor Syn Pulse shoes to be well weighted. Chris felt the weight to be appropriate with the performance level of the shoes. "The shoes never felt heavy or light and flimsy. I thought the weight was in perfect alignment with the performance aspects of the shoes. Again, I felt like I was moving well in these shoes - especially with the fit sorted out with two pairs of socks." Enjoying the feel of the weight was Danny. "I found the shoes very lightweight and maneuverable. I think they played lighter than the listed spec."

Ryan S was satisfied with the weight of the shoes. "I didn't notice the weight of the shoes more than once. Maybe they could lose a little bit of weight to be that preferable game day shoe, but not much. The shoes felt really solid the way they were." Feeling this shoe had a nice stability to weight ratio was Spencer. "I was very comfortable in this weight of shoe. I don't feel they hindered my speed or movement. I prefer a shoe with a little weight, for stability, that doesn't feel heavy, and the Raptor Syn Pulse was just that."

Overall Our playtest team found the Lotto Raptor Syn Pulse to be a solid performing, technically sound shoe. The ellipse cushioning proved successful with our crew, providing a soft yet supportive ride. From the initial lace-up, the Raptor Syn Pulse had the feel of a shoe you could hit with on a daily basis as the comfort, support, and cushioning, as well as the stability, seemed to work in harmony. However, as the hours of play began to tally up on these shoes, each of our playtesters noted the fit in the forefoot expanded slightly and ultimately resulted in some movement and slipping inside the shoes. Once this occurred, the shoes lost some of their excellent support and mobility.

Lotto Raptor Syn Pulse Scores
The Up Side	The Down Side	Play Test Scores
Cushioning Comfort Styling	Forefoot opens up too wide for medium and narrow width feet after break-in.	Comfort 4.2 Arch Support 4.1 Foot Support/Stability 3.8 Overall Sole Durability 3.8 Toe Durability 3.9 Traction 4.0 Weight 4.3 Overall 4.0 Scores (1-Horrible 2-Poor 3-Average 4-Good 5-Tremendous)

Playtesters' Foot Types: Chris - Narrow width/Medium arch, Danny - Medium/Medium arch, Spencer - Medium/Medium arch, Ryan - narrow width/medium arch

Review date: Dec, 2007. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse.