Ok, so in all honesty...these are not the best looking shoe ever. But, they're built for the wrestling mats and not looks, right?  We purchased the basic black with velcro for my 7 year old son, for ease of taking off and on. In reality, they're very flexible and very lightweight. My son says they're very comfy. Since he'll only wrestle in them, we're hoping they'll last through the season.