WILSON TRANCE ALL COURT
For the past 3 weeks I have been wearing the Wilson Trance All Court. For some background information, I have a rather wide, E-width foot with a higher arch and a lot of volume trough the middle--a very rectangular shape and admittedly hard foot to fit. For comparison's sake, I currently wear the Yonex SHT-305 in the same size as the Trance All Court. I am a 4.0 player who plays both singles and doubles.
Initial Impressions
I slipped into the Trance AC before playing to test the initial fit. These shoes are stiff out of the box. The leather is tight and not very forgiving at first. After wearing around the house for about two hours the leather did soften a bit, and the next day when I revisited the shoe they felt more comfortable. The leather is not as soft as some, which may be good for durability, but it does take some time to break in.
Fit
During the break-in period, I had trouble with the heel slipping more than I'm accustomed to. I would attribute this to the lacing system and a generous fit in the heel; near the upper part of the lacing pattern there seems to be less holes than other shoes I'm used to. I found that I really had to crank down the laces to stop the heal from slipping. For my wide foot, the forefoot fit was surprisingly good. I would call this a hair wider than a normal "D" width; it was definitely tight, but not pinched--some more break-in during play would later loosen it a bit more. Certainly wider than most Nike's I've tried recently, yet less wide than Yonex and some K-Swiss shoes. I usually dismiss shoes instantly because of the forefoot width, but these I was able to wear. Fit through the middle of the shoe is medium. The shoe has good volume throughout and fit my chunky foot well. Even after 2 weeks I still felt the heel was slipping slightly, but it was manageable if the laces were really tight. The forefoot did loosen up a bit by the end of my test, however I noticed that the wraparound sole on the forefoot probably impeded it from opening up more. The front sole wraps up the side of the forefoot on both medial and lateral sides. While it is great for stability, it also narrows the fit a bit. Again though, for a person with normal D width feet, this probably wouldn't be an issue.
Cushioning and Arch support
This is an area I have a split decision on the Trance AC. The heel is well padded; I felt like the DST Foam did its job and the shoe felt comfortable. The forefoot cushioning on the other hand, is virtually non-existent. I felt as though there was very little to no cushioning up front, and having to live with a former toe injury, I could certainly feel it. I don't know if I've worn a shoe with as little forefoot cushioning as the Trance AC. They do feel low to the ground, but that does not outweigh the lack of cushioning. Arch support is somewhat low. I was unable to feel any real support, whereas on some shoes with medium support, I can feel it working--depending on your foot, this is good or bad obviously.
Traction and Outsole
The Trance AC has a full length herringbone, but the ridges are flattened rather than sharp, a design decision I think lends itself more to hard courts than clay. The outsole is very "sticky" which translated into to very good traction. I had no trouble getting around a hard court in these shoes. However, the rubber on the outsole felt very stiff, causing the shoe to carry a stiff feeling during flex. This may have affected my opinion cushioning as well. On the positive side, with stiffness tends to come durability, and I would bet this is a durable shoe. I rarely wear through outsoles, so it would take a long time for me to comment on durability; however after a number of sessions, the Trance AC maintained its original sticky outsole and good traction. With 3 weeks on them, they are showing virtually no wear.
Stability & Weight
I had very little issue with stability in this shoe, it does its job well. I felt well planted while moving around the court in the Trance All Court. As mentioned before, the wraparound sole in the forefoot can be felt and aided stability. The wraparound plastic throughout the midfoot felt secure. Again, with minor heel slippage, the shoe felt a bit sloppy at times, but that could be as much my foot type than the shoe design. Weight felt good around the court. I wouldn't call this a speed shoe, but it certainly felt light for a stability shoe. Never did I feel weighed down, nor did they feel clunky. Some heavier shoes just give a plodding feeling; this is not the case in the Trance AC. Being almost all leather, the Trance felt a little warm...might not be a shoe I'd select if I always played on 90+ degree days. In the 50s during my tests, my feet were getting warm, which doesn't bode well for summer. If you like the secure feeling of leather though and don't mind the heat, this shouldn't be an issue.
Final Thoughts
I had mixed feelings about the Trance All Court. If you have a medium width foot and are looking for a stable, solid, and durable shoe with good traction that doesn't have the weight normally associated with that type of shoe, you probably will like this shoe. That being said, if you love straight out of the box comfort and need your shoes to feel like mesh slippers riding on pillows of air, keep looking. It is hard to strike a balance between support and comfort, and Wilson certainly put their money into durability and stability on this one. My final opinion of the Trance All Court is that they are an average shoe with a few bright spots if you know what you're looking for.
