Hi-Tec Infinity Flare Review

I haven't used this blog in a long time but I really wanted to write a blog post about these shoes somewhere on the interwebs, so here it is.

This is a review about the Hi-Tec Infinity Flare shoes and SportsShoes.com an online retail store based somewhere in UK.

Disclaimer: I don't work for either Hi-Tec or SportsShoes, neither am I affiliated with them in any way. Any products I mention in this review were bought with my own hard earned cash. I also play squash about 3-4 times a week both friendly and local league matches at B level.

[UPDATE NOV 13, 2013: BACK IN MARCH 2013, I HAD REVIEWED THESE SHOES SOMEWHAT POSITIVELY. BARELY 6 MONTHS OF USE PLAYING 1-2 TIMES A WEEK, AND THE SHOE HAS LITERALLY FALLEN APART. FOUND LITTLE PIECES OF BLUE FOAM ALL OVER THE COURT WHEN PLAYING TWO DAYS AGO. UPON CLOSE INSPECTION THE BOTTOM SOLE IS ALSO COMING OFF. NO STITCHING TO BE FOUND, SEEMS TO BE GLUED. SO IN POINT #2 OF ORIGINAL ARTICLE, SHOES FAIL HORRIBLY AND ARE NOT RELIABLE]

So talking about the shoes first, this is what these babies look like:


I live in in a suburb of Toronto, Canada and I had been looking for new squash shoes ever since some subpar experiences with Puma shoes. But that's my fault I didn't do enough research back then. Once I knew I was sticking with the sport this time, I started looking for better shoes, especially since everyone at the Gym, random strangers on the street and my neighbour's dog started telling me that I would end up hurting my foot with what I was wearing.

So the shoe that I kept getting referred to was the Asics Gel Blast 4 in this funky green. The problem was they are about $200 after tax and all, even online. I am sure they are probably a great shoe; then again maybe not, I will never know.

Then I came across these squash videos by Nick Matthews on youtube, and at first I didn't pay much attention to his shoes that he was promoting but thought the tips were nicely done in compact little videos. Somehow a few weeks ago, I ended up looking this squash shoe up and basically everything that came up about this shoe were either semi-positive reviews (not overwhelmingly positive reivews) by shoe shops/website that were actually selling the shoe - so there goes that credibility. On the other hand I came across some very pissed off customers on some online forums. This is what they were mostly complaining about:

1. Nick Matthews endorses, yet doesn't wear it himself. (True (see update below); there is some ridiculous explanation somewhere that they arrived in UK late and he couldn't get them in time - whatever - I'm sure Hi-Tec hooked him up with a pair when they were making all those Ads).

[UPDATE - Not true anymore. Nick Matthews was wearing these shoes in the Swedish Open 2013 against Gaultier. What a game btw! Heated with some great rallies.]

2. They fall apart quickly.

3. They are uncomfortable; will cut your toes; steal your wife and kids, etc.

I'm not sure why there was so much hate, but it really made me think twice. Still, not sure why exactly, maybe it was the pretty blue and green, I ended up buying these along with a pair of Adidas Feather Replique from SportsShoes.com (more on that in the next post).

Note that Hi-Tec does its shoe sizes a little different than other brands. E.g. I am a US 11, and for most shoe companies that equates to a UK 10.5. With Hi-Tec it is a UK 10 (at least for these shoes) . SportsShoes is kind enough to include a sizing chart on every product detail page and something you should really check before ordering to avoid disappointment. For the Adidas Feather I got a UK 10.5 as I should have.

Once I got the shoes, I thought the Adidas would fit better and the Hi-Tec would be a hit and miss. To my surprise, the Adidas were actually pretty snug, I almost want to say tight (turns out the shoe they sent me looked considerably different than the one on the site - but SportsShoes totally recovered from it; next post).  On the other hand, the Hi-Tec fit perfectly. They weren't tight and they weren't lose where my foot would flop around. They left just enough room in the toe area so when you make a hard stop or turn or lunge, your big toe doesn't cuss you out. So, point 1, great fit IF you look up the sizing chart and make sure to order the correct conversion.

I also found that the shoe was actually quite comfortable. The padding on the rear is pretty cushiony and my feet did not feel stiff or hurt excessively other than what a normal game of squash would. Point 2, no shoe/break in fatigue.

Now about falling apart, I have only owned this shoe for about a couple of weeks. I don't know if they will fall apart 6 months from now, a year, or 2 years. But I think they will last me at least a good year, possibly more from what I have seen so far. Mind you, I am not too crazy on my shoes. I don't drag my feet (as much as I should anyways). So if you go through shoes fairly quickly, you may go through these quickly too. But I can't say. I will update this post in 6 months or a year unless they fall apart sooner. Point 3, feel sturdy.

So in conclusion, I actually really like these shoes. So much so that I bought another pair in black. SportsShoes price matched it to 29 GBP (visit Nick Matthews' page on FB for link). That's a pretty good deal. For the first pair along with Adidas I paid 54GBP for Hi-Tecs. BTW, SportsShoes does ship worldwide including Canada. I had some family coming from UK so I had it delivered it locally next day for 8GBP.

I don't know why Nick Matthews doesn't wear them; but I personally don't care. I'm not exactly a Nick Matthews groupie, so I couldn't care less if he endorsed them or not, and I also don't think he had any meaningful input in the shoe. But these are good shoes, and I would buy them again.

There it is. I hope it helps someone else out there. And if the shoe does cut your toes and steal your wife, don't complain to me about it. Write a blog post about it ;)