As Jerry Garcia once said to his devoted followers, “What a long strange trip it’s been”. Such is the trail that True Linkswear has followed from the early day’s of the comfy Clown Shoes through outdoorsy Chukkas to the overly zesty Millenals $99 collection and now back to something more refined for the True walking demographic.

For our review we focus on two next generation shoes in the 2015 True Linkswear line-the Game Changer Hybrid and Game Changer Pro.

True Game Changer Hybrid:

The Game Changer Hybrid is a very clean presentation of the spikeless walking shoe we have come to know and love from True Linkswear. Not a whole lot of external adornment gives a distinguished look to a shoe with all the functionality we expect in our Trues.

Full Two-Year Waterproof Warranty on a shoe with True Barefoot Spikeless Performanace Tread, Zero-Drop sole and roomy toe chamber keeping you connected to the ground , sock-fit elastic cuff for snug fit, and integrated P-Motion for max comfort and flexibility. More than enough room inside to accommodate orthotics or other foot issue support aids.

At a retail of $150, the color offerings of Black/Charcoal, White/Grey, Cool Grey/Charcoal, and White/Burnt Orange give you plenty of options to accessorize smartly your collection of Dockers.

True Game Changer Pro:

For a firm that from the beginning had sworn off soft spikes for nubbed bottoms the Pro is a pretty bold introduction from the True lab coat crew. Trying to address what some people consider a trade-off in traction with a spikeless shoe True have used very clever innovation to add a replaceable Champ Zarma soft spike to the same platform as the Hybrid described above.

The key is that they have recessed the back two spikes to maintain the integrity of the Zero-Drop signature feature of all their True Linkswear shoes. Whether walking on pavement or the turf you still get that comfortable heel to toe transition that walkers and runners have found so endearing.

This shoe has all the goodies of it’s Hybrid cousin described above. The leather upper is distinctly more sporty so the color combinations of Black/White, White/Grey, Grey/Gold, and White/Red may not fit all tastes. But Ryan Moore has brandished these effectively against his wardrobe of grey-on-grey on the overseeded Bermuda during this year’s Florida swing.

In our testing on the wet and soggy spring turf left behind in the East now that the winter glacier’s have receded we found that the soft spikes do provide a distinct improvement in traction in these kinds of conditions. On heavy dew mornings or when there is harrowing low pressure system in the forecast the Pro’s are a go-to alternative to have at your disposal.

You are paying a little more for the integrated soft spike design but at $170 they still represent a solid value for a full featured walking shoe.

As with last year’s True Lyt’s and the True Stealth’s before them, these two models move seamlessly from practice tee mats to the course to the bragging bar after the round, but as Jerry has warned the faithful just watch your speed.

March, 2015

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