Tosh Townend #3.

Stop for Emerica.

Tosh floats the ever popular frontside kickflip down a hefty chunk of real estate.

I skated a pair of Emerica Gammas this summer. I hadn't worn Emericas since the 1990s. I really liked the original Gama from 1997 so I jumped on the nostalgia train when I needed a new pair of kicks.

The soles took a long time to break in. They didn't grip great until they were broken in. The break in period was about six or seven weeks before the shoes felt fully comfortable. I skateboard every day so you can see what I mean when I say it took a while.

The uppers were kind of oddly thin. They wore out quickly, too. I didn't like how the toes were on the pointy side, but that eventually squared away. However, the Gamma reached a point where the wear wasn't getting worse and you were left rocking a beat up pair of skate shoes that were mostly fine. They held up from a lot of punishment. I retired the sneakers after this weekend. The soles were too worn out. It's always a bit of a downer when the time comes to toss the shoes you skated all summer.

Notes: The first version of the shoe was spelled Gama and the modern version is Gamma. They added an extra M the second time around. The photos are from September. They look way worse now.

Skateboarder - September 2001 Volume 11 Number 1