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The moment I saw these shoes advertised by Sanwei I was hooked by the lace-free system. After regularly getting annoyed by shoelaces coming undone and then needing to double knot them, there was a certain level of appeal in not needing to fuss with laces anymore.
I also really liked the design of the shoe from the placement of the design accents to the way the various upper panels are laid out. I picked out a size 42 from Sanwei's website, added my payment and address details, and completed my order - then it was time to wait.... Time between ordering from the website to delivery was about a week or so. Not too long consider how far it is travelling.
You can choose whether you want simple packaging or gift box packaging - I chose simple packaging, which simply means the shoes come in a fairly nondescript cardbox box.
The white coral colourway is quite striking to behold in person. Photos don’t really do this product justice in terms of how the various design elements come together in a complete package – particularly because there’s a subtle shine throughout the upper of the shoe. That’s possibly how Sanwei decided on naming this variant the FireFlash! 😊
The build quality is pleasingly high. When you hold it, you feel like you’re holding a premium table tennis shoe. The non-marking sole is reassuringly firm with a good amount of flex and the sole pattern suggests a very grippy level of performance in match play. The insole is replaceable, which is handy since it's one part of the shoe that could wear out first.
Sanwei has included a carbon fibre plate at the base for added stability and overall, the shoes felt light – an important consideration in a sport which often requires lightning-quick reflexes. I've weighed them at 283g each shoe.
*A friend saw me trying the shoes and immediately wanted a pair for himself. He chose the SkyStrike blue colourway though there was a bit of a delivery problem which I’ll cover at the end since I faced no issues myself, but I felt it’s still worth mentioning.
So how does it perform?
Putting on and removing the shoes was a breeze thanks to the lace rotation system. Just pop the disc out to loosen for removal or press it in and rotate it to start tightening the nylon laces to the desired level. The nylon laces felt great to tighten and feel secure if though they looked pretty flimsy at first!
I enjoyed the ability to fine tune the level of tightness “to every millimetre” and get it ‘just right’ for me. Nice and snug is the goal and the new lace rotation system helps me achieve that in seconds.
A couple of quick steps and side-to-side shuffles later, I could indeed confirm that the “micro adjusted” fit was nice and snug. I was fully confident I couldn’t blame losing a point to an ill-fitted shoe 😆 (hmmm... I might be missing a trick here!)
I felt great moving around in the Sanwei FireFlash table tennis shoes and was confident of getting in position quickly to make and receive shots. Springing into action was easy (well, after a suitable warm up of course since I’m no longer 18! 🤣) and the grip was reassuringly firm both indoors AND outdoors.
After a long indoor session, the built-in ventilation helped ensure my feet didn’t experience a sauna-effect, so, that was good! The mesh in the upper is designed in such a way that air can easily travel through the shoe but you don't feel like the shoes are full of holes (even though you wouldn't walk through deep puddles in them!)
Final thoughts
I’ve used these shoes for a year now and they’ve held up very well. The structure remains solid and the shoes retain the same elasticity as when I first got them.
This is a premium table tennis shoe for under $100/£100 that doesn’t compromise on looks or performance.
*Note: My friend ordered it twice but the delivery company Sanwei used for the UK, Relay, delivered to the same wrong address, TWICE. That address wasn’t even listed on the package and was on the next street.
This happened even after I stepped in to help and contacted Relay to report it and resupply the correct address. Sanwei very helpfully tried to help by shipping out new pairs each time.
Eventually, Sanwei and I settled on a solution where the shoes would be shipped to me instead then I’d pass them on to my friend. The whole Relay fiasco took several months to sort out, including time for me to investigate the root cause, which kind of dampened the experience for my friend but at least he has them in hand now and is enjoying using them.
I also really liked the design of the shoe from the placement of the design accents to the way the various upper panels are laid out. I picked out a size 42 from Sanwei's website, added my payment and address details, and completed my order - then it was time to wait.... Time between ordering from the website to delivery was about a week or so. Not too long consider how far it is travelling.
You can choose whether you want simple packaging or gift box packaging - I chose simple packaging, which simply means the shoes come in a fairly nondescript cardbox box.
The white coral colourway is quite striking to behold in person. Photos don’t really do this product justice in terms of how the various design elements come together in a complete package – particularly because there’s a subtle shine throughout the upper of the shoe. That’s possibly how Sanwei decided on naming this variant the FireFlash! 😊
The build quality is pleasingly high. When you hold it, you feel like you’re holding a premium table tennis shoe. The non-marking sole is reassuringly firm with a good amount of flex and the sole pattern suggests a very grippy level of performance in match play. The insole is replaceable, which is handy since it's one part of the shoe that could wear out first.
Sanwei has included a carbon fibre plate at the base for added stability and overall, the shoes felt light – an important consideration in a sport which often requires lightning-quick reflexes. I've weighed them at 283g each shoe.
*A friend saw me trying the shoes and immediately wanted a pair for himself. He chose the SkyStrike blue colourway though there was a bit of a delivery problem which I’ll cover at the end since I faced no issues myself, but I felt it’s still worth mentioning.
So how does it perform?
Putting on and removing the shoes was a breeze thanks to the lace rotation system. Just pop the disc out to loosen for removal or press it in and rotate it to start tightening the nylon laces to the desired level. The nylon laces felt great to tighten and feel secure if though they looked pretty flimsy at first!
I enjoyed the ability to fine tune the level of tightness “to every millimetre” and get it ‘just right’ for me. Nice and snug is the goal and the new lace rotation system helps me achieve that in seconds.
A couple of quick steps and side-to-side shuffles later, I could indeed confirm that the “micro adjusted” fit was nice and snug. I was fully confident I couldn’t blame losing a point to an ill-fitted shoe 😆 (hmmm... I might be missing a trick here!)
I felt great moving around in the Sanwei FireFlash table tennis shoes and was confident of getting in position quickly to make and receive shots. Springing into action was easy (well, after a suitable warm up of course since I’m no longer 18! 🤣) and the grip was reassuringly firm both indoors AND outdoors.
After a long indoor session, the built-in ventilation helped ensure my feet didn’t experience a sauna-effect, so, that was good! The mesh in the upper is designed in such a way that air can easily travel through the shoe but you don't feel like the shoes are full of holes (even though you wouldn't walk through deep puddles in them!)
Final thoughts
I’ve used these shoes for a year now and they’ve held up very well. The structure remains solid and the shoes retain the same elasticity as when I first got them.
This is a premium table tennis shoe for under $100/£100 that doesn’t compromise on looks or performance.
*Note: My friend ordered it twice but the delivery company Sanwei used for the UK, Relay, delivered to the same wrong address, TWICE. That address wasn’t even listed on the package and was on the next street.
This happened even after I stepped in to help and contacted Relay to report it and resupply the correct address. Sanwei very helpfully tried to help by shipping out new pairs each time.
Eventually, Sanwei and I settled on a solution where the shoes would be shipped to me instead then I’d pass them on to my friend. The whole Relay fiasco took several months to sort out, including time for me to investigate the root cause, which kind of dampened the experience for my friend but at least he has them in hand now and is enjoying using them.
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