I’ve had some questions about what I mean when I say a company sponsored a video so i thought I would clarify. Companies pay me a set amount for the video that is agreed upon before the video is made. I don’t get any compensation based on the performance of the video. I also don’t get any form of compensation from the amount of clicks or views or codes used or orders made from the video. Doing it this way helps keep me as unbiased as possible, though im sure I’m not perfect, as much as I try to be. But the beauty of cutting stuff in half is you can decide for yourself and I can’t hide anything. Also not taking “affiliate money” is the main reason the companies are willing to do discounts for viewers. Hopefully this clears it up! No one has been rude or accusatory about it, they are mostly just curious. It can be tricky doing sponsored content but I appreciate your support! It makes a huge difference in being able to do these videos. Most people don’t know RU-vid is still just my side project, most of my time is spent on the business/product side of Rose Anvil. Thanks again!
The sponsors do get an early viewing of the video to ensure I didn’t get anything factually wrong. They aren’t involved in the filming or editing process.
well it'd would be less biased to buy KOIO in store instead of having the company sponsor it, as you know they may send something of higher quality than what they sell. Hoping thats not the case here, I've had my CPs for 3 years and its still 8/10 condition, so im a happy camper nonetheless, don't think ill ever sway away from it, its just too clean of a sihlouette.
How is he debunking anything? If an instagramer likes/wears the shoes, this doesn't discredit that. Nobody makes you buy anything. All he's doing is making you feel better about not buying them(while making money off of it).
The fact that you can admit your wrongs and you're open to criticism makes you one of my favorite RU-vidrs. Hopefully one day you will be able to make a high end shoe. I'll be there to buy them.
Just leaving a coment here to help to algorithm. This year is going to be big for you, you're growing fast. The other day I was taking to a friend of a friend and we independently knew who you are ( we're both from Bulgaria 😂😂). All I'm trying to say is that your message is traveling the world pretty well and you should keep doing what you do! PS. We totally knew what you mean about the comon projects - they're fine but not at that price point.
I was literally hesitating between the CP and Koio for the past couple of months. Watched a lot of reviews from guys like The Kavalier. This video and the 15% sealed it for me. Just placed my order for Koio. Thanks for doing this bud. Cheers!
How is it on your heels? I walk 30-40 mins to work and I’m interested but as they are flat soled I wonder about the achilles and also if the back of shoe rubs against the heel
Yo man, just wanna say that your vids are really enjoyable to me. You're one of the few youtubers who just cut straight to the point, and every second is packed with entertaining info. Really love the style, keep it up!
Loved this one Wes! Thank you so much. I own several pairs of Koio’s and am so happy to know that what I am buying is quality for the price point. I was shouting: “Destroy it Wes!!” And you did. As always, thank you for taking the time to help us make the most of our hard earned dollar. Keep up the great work...I am not a cat lover, but I love seeing yours in your videos! Blessings.
Hey man loved the video. I think I preferred it when you cut the shoe totally in half then dissected it. Think it was abit more satisfying to watch, and allowed you to view the shoe in holistic way. Just a thought. 👍👍👍
I bought a pair of Jak shoes and returned them for a pair of greats. They seemed noticeably cheaper than Greats. I still haven’t tried Koio but those are on my wishlist
It's confirmation bias I agree with you nothing is worst than the frugalmalefashionreddit. I overpay for shoes all the time more than what they are worth the difference is I'm not out here thinking Jordan's make a superior product
Wow. The removable insole is particularly surprising; I can see that being a big factor for a lot of people. (I hope some day you start taking on heels and other shoes designed for female-oriented fashion; this channel is going to become an invaluable shopping resource, and it would be awesome if it stretched to that area of shoes.)
The problem with sponsored shoes is they could send you a "modified" shoe with better materials since they know you will tear them apart. Better buy them with your own money you earn from the channel. Keep going.
If they did send a modified shoe I suspect that it would be noticeable. Often even when people modify things to be taken apart they don't even understand what to upgrade fix so I doubt it would change much
I've heard about quality control problems with them. The only reason that I would buy their sneaker is to get their GAT sneaker as a cheaper alternative to the Margiela Replica sneakers. Even then I might prefer to just go with the Scarosso GAT sneakers.
Simply wow. Just shows the power of marketing, word of mouth and cool factor that will have you spend more money when the quality is the same to another brand.
I've been on the fence about getting Koio Sneakers for a long time. I've never really understood the different factors that determined the value of the shoe, especially at such a high price point. It's nice hearing the thoughts and opinions of a shoe expert explained in a way that someone who is mildly interested can understand. I hope that this series will get many views and encourage companies to make fair priced sneakers. I love your content. Keep it up! :)
Can you do the Gucci Ace's? They have them in all white with a grey heel detail, which I would still categorize as a white sneaker, and they retail for $590.
As cool as they are, they aren't a minimalist white sneaker. It's a brand pop, look at me white sneaker. Different market. Saint laurent's white sneaker might be closer.
99% of Gucci products are a ripoff. You're paying for the name, not the materials. It's not really worth tearing apart as no materials would warrant that price tag. Hand made shoes wouldn't even cost that much often times.
TheGreatChrisB Gucci isn’t a rip-off in general, it’s just a very certain look. Their high fashion peices are super interesting & if you get the more out there Gucci stuff there really isn’t anything else like it out there. You aren’t paying for the quality you’re paying for the design, which is fine. Getting white sneakers from Gucci is definitely a “look at me I have cash” move though
As someone who watched your video on the common projects and actually listened, I just want to say you have nothing to apologize for nor clarify. I think it was very obvious that you weren’t saying the common projects sneaker was bad because of the leather tanning process used by the company. You even mentioned how some of your favorite shoes use the same process. Your review for common projects overall was informative and positive, the take away from that video for anybody who paid attention was that the shoes were pretty good, but not worth the 400 dollar price. Again you have nothing to apologize for and I hope your staying safe and enjoy your day.
Once in a while RU-vid drops a gem in front of me. Koio’s sure has nothing to lose letting you cut that in half! I always thought they were pretty much the same quality for half the price. That was super interesting and well done. Subscribed
You should do Golden Goose. They have pretty basic models and when I went to buy ones they told me they had this special structure that was meant to protect from cold weather. I don't know if that's true, but it would be great to see you review it!
Yes love to see more designer shoes on your channel- thats where people spend the big bucks so it would be great to see what one is getting for the price! The Balenciaga video was very cool. Thanks for the reviews.
I understand how sponsors are necessary given some shoes like the CP can be expensive but I'm also afraid they might send a better sample (like an early prototype) than what it's available for consumers
He also gets money from each sale, even if he says he doesn't? Doesn't make sense that he has a code and gets no ref money. Very biased in his videos now
@@Undecided_ Kind of hard to be biased when you're literally tearing everything apart and showing it. I guess for people who don't understand the terms it may be biased, but this channel originally started off of artisan products so we all know what he is talking about.
second this, I own CP and KOIO as well. Still breaking the artisan lab in but would be interested to see if any difference. Also Oliver Cabell or Svennson.
Agree. Been looking at Artisan Lab as well, wondering how good it actually is compared to KOIO and CP. Actually it'd be great if you could dissect 3-4 different white sneakers and do comparison. That will help a lot of people in deciding which one offers the best quality for the price
You should check out this Japanese fashion label called Hender Scheme. They are known for their recreation of popular shoes like the Nike Air force 1 or Adidas NMD in premiumn leather. Would love a review on them!
The clarifications were really nice, since a lot of us don't know how much leather is really worth. Also, it's really nice to see how you respond to the community around your channel. I'm really enjoying what you do 🔥
Been looking at these vs the common projects for the last couple of month. Finally pulled the trigger on the Koios after watching this video. The discount code definitely helps too!
I like this. I think everyone who buys expensive articles of clothing know that they aren't necessarily buying the full price worth of quality, but rather the brand image/value as well as the prestige and exclusivity that comes along with it. But for those living right in between those who only buy the expensive or cheap brands-where you're conscious of your style and don't mind paying extra to get the brand name and quality but don't want to pay more than the objective quality just for clout, this type of content is really helpful and great
Props for clarifying your points from the CP video! That video certainly got some traction and definitely showed that CP have a loyal following Btw is Toaster's fur got patchier or something? Not too familiar with devon rex breed
Devon rexes only have one layer of fur (the under layer), which is why it looks all curly, whereas most cats have two layers. Sometimes having only one layer can make it look a bit patchy depending on the angle, because you can see their skin through.
Koio and Greats have both abandoned Margom soles. I have to say I am not pleased with the non-margom soles. I would love to get your thoughts on Koio Capri 2.0.
Big Snack Cakes I own several pair. I love them, I hope you do too. Wes just solidified it for me. But I cannot see where you will be disappointed. Blessings.
I’m both super excited and super scared to see you tear apart the Stan Smiths, they’ve been a staple in my closet for the past 3 years and I love them to death
I don't think you're getting a better white sneaker for the price tbh. Especially on sale. Stan smiths pretty much own their tier of white sneakers. Air force 1's are white and are sneakers, but definitely don't fit the wear with everything look.
Thank you for doing this! I would love to see Crown Northampton, Oliver Cabell and Svensson teardowns in the coming weeks! I'm also glad you cleared up the veg-tan vs. chrome tan distinction. Too many people interpreted it as "chrome tan = bad". Common Projects were around the same price as Koio when they first came out, and as you said, chrome tan is absolutely fine at that price range. Their popularity drove prices up over the last 15 years, so they're by no means worth the money in 2020 if we're buying strictly based on value. Nick from Stridewise also pointed out in his recent video that virtually every minimalist sneaker company except one uses chrome tan in their sneakers. I think it's more of a case where companies are just choosing leathers that are optimal for sneakers than them trying to cheat us. At least now we know that we should avoid $400+ unless we know we're getting veg-tan or if we're going after branding specifically.
It's still a Chrome tanned leather with unfinished edges. I got a pair of the white ones to try and all the edges on the outside are unfinished with that blue hue color. I couldn't stand it personally.
You gotta do a Gucci Ace sneaker. I highly doubt they'd sponsor though, but they are so popular and the price has skyrocketed and I suspect they are just so-so in terms of materials.
Weston, this is a great channel. I've been watching you videos for a couple of months now and went through a bunch of older videos to catch up. I love what you do and how you explain what you find--you are an educator and entertainer at the same time, with no BS filler stuff. Best wishes for continued success!
I love this series a lot and enjoy you being honest about everything. It’s crazy how much companies will charge compared to others for the same shoe. I’m glad I didn’t buy the common projects when the KOIO shoe is just as good and cheaper. You saved me $200 😂
Mad props ! Love this video, very keen to find out how the Stan smiths and CP/Koio hold up in terms of the differences between the construction and price points. Looks like you’re blowing the top of all the hype brands that have been ripping the arse out of it
I first started watching your channel when i got into leather working. super cool to see you blow up with these CUT IN HALF reviews over the last 6 months. keep up the good and please slip some leather working content in from time to time for us OG's!
FINALLY!!! A comparison video that really goes into the shoes’ literal quality. While I appreciate reviews from bloggers, it’s nice knowing about the shoes’ quality by letting the materials tell the story themselves. Can’t wait ‘till you review a pair of Svensson sneakers. PS: you just cemented my decision for going for Koios over CPs; nothing justifies the almost $200 premium CP is asking over Koio
I would love to see this guy take apart a pair of the Greats Royale - they’re roughly 60-90 dollars cheaper than koio’s, but I’ve heard really good things about em.
What keeps me from getting Koios is The branding on the heel (a logo could look fine but that huge lettering is too much) And the 100 bucks shipping to Europe
if it makes you feel better, it's pretty hard to see the branding unless you're up close. but you're right, it is there. i would argue it's less visible than the gold letters on the side of the CP's though
I think the greats and the other tiers of Stan Smith's would be good. Not sure which version of Stan's you have but I think there's three different versions with different quality leather and soles.
You forgot to cut the grain to determine if it’s truly a full grain leather and compare the grain to the CP to see if your conclusion of top grain leather was correct.
You should’ve dissected the opposite side shoes and then tried wearing two different shoes to check for comfort. That would’ve been a neat added comparison. Other than that I enjoyed it. PS. I’ve bought a few common projects for under $100 when they go on sale. Never the standard white or yearly colors but seasonal ones and for that price they’re great.
It would be fun to see you cut apart the Raf Simons Adidas Stan Smith. They are supposedly the top model of the Stan Smith with better leather etc. Love your videos man, keep it up!
This actually makes a lot of sense that they're pretty much designed to be near equals because I'm pretty sure when Common Projects were first released they were also around the same price point, and was further driven up due to popularity and demand. I guess paying for that label really matters to some
Not a white sneaker but I'd love to see the a Wolf and Shepherd dress shoe cut in half. They claim to be similarly constructed to a running shoe with a focus on comfort.
The comparison between the two shoes at 09:55 is awesome. Should keep that up longer, it fades so quick I had to pause the video. Thanks a lot for this video.
What’s up man! When I was in the market for a white minimalist sneaker I purchased a pair of Wings+Horns Classic Low. Although they fell at a higher price point than the Common Projects they were surprisingly beefier and superior in terms of quality and craftsmanship. I would love you see you dissect the W+H’s in an upcoming video!
The price difference is literally just wholesale margin. Common projects are more because they sell them in multi-brand stores, where Koio sells direct. I bet the first cost of the shoes is exactly the same.
I like my koios a lot. I got the canvas version and it’s a real thick canvas. I got them on sale for 95. They are very comfortable. They feel really stable and durable. I really like that the sole is stitched because that was the failure point on my previous go to shoe.
