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CHAMP Spikes Challenge Review Thread

SuperStroke
Very thorough and informative video pmoa!
 
Nice start pmoa! Really interested in how the Zarma's perform.
 
Nice updates, videos, and pica everyone. Mine have yet to arrive. Hopefully they will get here tomorrow, I was wanting to try them out on a couple of courses in Arizona.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
 
My Nike Air Zoom's came with the Stinger spikes as original equipment. What I found was:

They were very stable and provided plenty of grip in the wet, dry and in between. Never spun out or slipped with Stingers in my shoes. They certainly offer nearly as much traction and grip as spikes used to.

They were the cleanest golf cleats I have owned. They never seemed to clog up or pick up lots of stuff and anything they did pick up brushed right off.

The Stingers are durable too. I never broke any part off of them off and they seemed to wear well even when walking on paved cart paths. Like someone above posted I did think they wore a little quickly at first but the level of grip never seemed to go away.

It is really easy to tell when they are worn out. When the C in the center disappears its time for a new set.

No problem taking them out when worn. They retain enough strength and rigidity they don't come apart or rip when you are taking them out. Make sure you get the wrench all the way in to the backer and they come out just fine.

The only problem I had with the Zoom/Scorpion set up was I didn't like the shoes all that much.

The Stinger cleats though I would recommend to anyone.
 
Great updates guys! Sounds like these are really working well so far


^^^^^^ I Tapped That.....On My iPad ^^^^^^
 
I had my 9 hole league tonight and got to try the Stingers out for the first time on the course today:

First off, let me say that I did not play well. I was all over the place. Which actually makes this review more interesting. I got to see how these performed from a MULTITUDE of lies. Fariway, check. Rough, check. Pine straw, check. Leaves, check. Bunkers, check. Green, check.

At the first tee, I noticed how much more "grounded" I felt. As you can see from my previous pics, my spikes were SEVERELY worn, and these new stingers really felt a LOT more grippy than even the new FootJoy spikes were - they are a bit sturdier, and have a bit more spike to grip with. Of course, off of the tee box and the fairway, I had zero slipping issues.

Now here comes the very good part for me - off of horrendous lies, these things did not budge. I hit a couple drives left and into the woods, where I encountered pine straw and leaves that I had to stand on in order to perform my next shot. These are shots I've been accustomed to slipping a bit, and I was VERY surprised at the traction of these spikes. Perhaps it is because I've been playing with such worn spikes lately, however I never truly noticed the stability of my shoes before, even when I had purchased them I didn't feel like I was that grounded. Out of the sand (which I found at least three bunkers today) the same stability welcomed me: when I dug in for my shot, I felt that I could not slide my feet at all in any way.

These are my first impressions from the Scorpion Stingers after my first round with them. My next testing will come on Saturday morning when I tee it up with fellow tester Buckjob, who has the Zarmas. Should be an interesting testing.
 
When the stock cleats on my ATV Tour 360's wear out, I am going to have to give these a shot. I'll be following along to see which model I should go with. Good stuff.
 
Great reviews so far guys. Especially like the comments about how these don't mark up the greens despite them being a little more aggressive in design. Them stating a little cleaner than other spikes is a nice bonus too, hate digging all the loose grass out of cleats after or during a round.

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Tapatalk2
 
SW said:
Great reviews so far guys. Especially like the comments about how these don't mark up the greens despite them being a little more aggressive in design. Them stating a little cleaner than other spikes is a nice bonus too, hate digging all the loose grass out of cleats after or during a round.

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Tapatalk2
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Yes, how could I forget! The Stingers didn't mark up the greens for me either...I was almost positive that they would after feeling them in hand, but I was very surprised at how gentle these were on the greens. And even these didn't get CLOSE to as dirty as my previous spikes did after the round - very minimal loose grass.
 
SW said:
Great reviews so far guys. Especially like the comments about how these don't mark up the greens despite them being a little more aggressive in design. Them stating a little cleaner than other spikes is a nice bonus too, hate digging all the loose grass out of cleats after or during a round.

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Tapatalk2
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As I stated when I posted this picture, the Stingers are the spikes I was using before being selected to test the Zarma's. This pic is of my Footjoy SYNR-G's with about 20 rounds on the spikes. I did nothing but bang the bottoms of these shoes together after my last round and there is really no grass and dirt to speak of trapped on the Stingers. I hope the Zarma's perform as well.

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DawgDaddy said:
As I stated when I posted this picture, the Stingers are the spikes I was using before being selected to test the Zarma's. This pic is of my Footjoy SYNR-G's with about 20 rounds on the spikes. I did nothing but bang the bottoms of these shoes together after my last round and there is really no grass and dirt to speak of trapped on the Stingers. I hope the Zarma's perform as well.
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Looking forward to hearing some stuff about the Zarmas!
 
DawgDaddy said:
As I stated when I posted this picture, the Stingers are the spikes I was using before being selected to test the Zarma's. This pic is of my Footjoy SYNR-G's with about 20 rounds on the spikes. I did nothing but bang the bottoms of these shoes together after my last round and there is really no grass and dirt to speak of trapped on the Stingers. I hope the Zarma's perform as well.
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If my memory is right the zarma is the comfort cleats right? Coming from the stingers you should have good insight on the difference over a few rounds.

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Tapatalk2
 
Fedex dropped mine off later this afternoon.

First impressions are the Champ Stingers seemed to be slightly deeper than the orginal spikes on my FootJoys GreenJoys, but it was hard to tell for sure because they were in such need of replacement.

The material the Stingers are made of does seem to be a little more rigid than the original spikes. I got mine all replaced and they will get their first test run at the Texas Tour Van Stop in Austin this weekend!!

Very classy of Champ to include the package of Fly Tees and the zippered pouch. I had actually been looking for a pouch to put my divot tool and ball markers in while in my golf bag, so this works out perfect.

Here are a few quick pics of the spikes and completed installation.

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Thanks again to THP and Champ for allowing me to be a part of this test!
 
I love how we have the same shoes, TBT.
 
TripleBogieTim said:
Does this mean I am fashionable??? :D
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It means I have to get some new shoes, LOL.

Nah, just means that we know how to shop for some well priced shoes!
 
Great reviews with a ton of info already hitting the board, well done everyone. My box arrived just before walking out the door for work this afternoon, so I will be breaking these out for their cameo and installation. At this point everyone has seen the setup, so I will wait and include those all in one with my initial testing and try to get this all posted up by Saturday.

One thing I will start with tonight is that I've been using the Champ Stinger spikes for quite some time now, (like the last 2 or 3 changes). The stingers have worked extremely well for me, so I was very excited to give the Zarma a go. Also, I'm just as excited to try out these "Fly" tee's. They look a lot heavier than the zero frictions I have been using and have the red depth markings for consistent height control. Thanks again to THP and Champ Spikes!
 
Jersey Nate said:
It means I have to get some new shoes, LOL.

Nah, just means that we know how to shop for some well priced shoes!
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Yeah, I think this pair was on sale for 39 bucks at GG when I bought them...LOL
 
As far as the wear indicator goes, champ created a nice way to say "buy more champ spikes" by having the C on the bottom of the spike turn a thick solid figure when they are worn down, I retrieved an old champ spike to show what I am talking about. This is clearly ingenious!

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From past experiences with the older champ spikes I noticed one thing that i hated-when rocks get into the two holes, it is impossible to remove the rocks to allow the prongs to fit in the holes for spike removal-this is probably due to so much wear since I play too much golf. Besides the problem with the old spikes-I was extremely happy with how fast the actual spike replacement process really was, so far I am impressed with champ and their product. Now on to the real test-the long term course wear!


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SW said:
If my memory is right the zarma is the comfort cleats right? Coming from the stingers you should have good insight on the difference over a few rounds.

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Tapatalk2
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Much softer in hand than the Stingers for sure. They will get a tough initial test today as I am teeing it up at The Goat Track with OG and his buddy Frank this a.m. I will be writing up my thoughts this afternoon.
 
Great updates by multiple testers in here and pmoa that was a greatly informative video. Job well done!!

Hoping that I am able to get my testing started when I return from the THP Austin trip this weekend.
 
Great reviews by all, the one thing that stands out the most to me about both Champ spikes is the color difference between standard cleats, it's amazing how much nicer and newer a pair of shoes looks with new colorful spikes.
 
I plan on getting my spikes in my shoes today so I will have some pictures of the old vs new later on today. Some great updates in here testers, I cant wait to see these in my shoes!
 
Got out today after swinging by Golf Galaxy to grab the new Nike Free Shoes (which also have CHAMP spikes in them) and went to play chip and putt to work on my short game. all holes are between 120-80 yards but it gave me a chance to wear both pairs of shoes quick and see any differences and get a better feel for how these will work when walking. i played the first 4 holes in my Nike Free Shoes. and the last 5 in my adidas adipures with the Zarmas, (im prob the only person in the history of chip and putt to change shoes mid way through real tiger moment there! lol) let me start off by saying both shoes were very comfortable when walking and both are very different type of shoes. also the big thing i noticed between the 2 is after i was done with both pair they both barely had any grass or mud on them again. i really think CHAMP spikes do a great job with this when the weather is decent the chip and putt was damp today and there was still moisture in the grass so i was expecting some grass and stuff but i didn't get barely anything after i was done. the zarmas actually had a little less then the Champ Spikes in the Frees. but both cleaned off with 2 smacks together and looked brand new. the big difference between the 2 spikes i saw was the Zarmas are a higher model spike IMO they have 3 layers and the spikes in the frees are just one piece it seems and i think the Zarmas offer more cushioning and grip compared to the other pair but i didn't have any slippage issues today, mind you i was playing chip and putt but was taking full swings with my wedges but still i think tomorrow at the course will be their first real test. but they both were very comfortable to walk in and i like i said i think the Zarmas are more cushioned and are really nice. So far the Champ Zarmas are everything that they advertise. some real testing will be coming up and im hoping to get out when its raining sometime soon when the opportunity arises to see how they perform when its really wet out.
 
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