CHAMP Spikes Challenge Review Thread

[JR]

Just stepped outside in my new spikes to hit a few balls. Spike definitely are soft. Very comfortable to wear. Obviously they are not going to be as comfy as tennis shoes or anything like that, but at least as comfy as any I have worn. I didn't do a whole lot of walking around, but for what I did do they seemed to move and flex well with the foot.

I hit off one of the Fly Tees, and it didn't break, so that's a plus. I will test them against my Epochs when I can get to the course.

 

[10YardDraw]

I just got done changing my spikes out and boy what a difference. My old spikes were so clogged up and missing legs on them, no wonder I was having slipping issues. I put them on and walked around in the back yard for a few and they felt nice and stable, really grippy as well in the longer grass. I can not wait to get on the course with these, I just have a feeling my footing is going to be much more stable with a lot less slipping if any at all. Once I got the old spikes out and cleaned my shoes up a bit the CHAMPS went in very easy, took about a minute per shoe to get them put in. Be warned I took quite a few pics just to show how nasty and clogged my old spikes were and how great the CHAMP scorpion stingers look in the FJ Contours. These are pretty low profile spikes IMO, I wonder if that will make a difference on the course in some way, they sit up in the shoe more than my old spikes, reminds me of the Adidas low profile spikes. Yes I know my shoes are pretty worn out, this is the 3rd season on them so go easy fellas lol. Most of my old spikes had very bad angles worn into the legs that I couldnt capture on camera. Without further rambling here are the pics, enjoy:blob:

Before Spike Change

Old Spikes Out

Mess From The First Shoe

Old Spikes Worn

CHAMP Scorpion Stingers In

UP Close CHAMP

Second Shoe Clogging

Second Shoe Clogging

Old Spike Missing Leg

Mess From The Second Shoe

Profile Shot

Finished Product

 

[Jersey Nate]

Good stuff guys!

 

[10YardDraw]

Good stuff guys!

The Stingers match my shoes perfectly lol. I know its on the bottom and nobody will really see them but I like the way the look.

 

[Damaikis]

Wow, that's really in-depth 10yard. Nice going. I also love the way those spikes go with your shoes, and the difference between the new spikes and the old ones is night and day.

 

[10YardDraw]

Wow, that's really in-depth 10yard. Nice going. I also love the way those spikes go with your shoes, and the difference between the new spikes and the old ones is night and day.

Thanks man, my spikes were done with. I ended up counting 5 that had broken legs, only one was completely off but 4 others were ripped so bad before I threw them away I just gave them a easy pull and they came off. Black and yellow matches perfect with the bottom of the contours. Im excited to see if these have less clogging than the old spikes did, I sure hope so.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Just got home from a round today with Old Gray and one of his buddies. I became aware of how soft the Zarma cleats are when walking across a paved parking lot, much softer feel than the Stingers I was previously using. This caused me some concern as I love the Stingers and how well they hold my feet secure in any golfing situation. I was afraid that the Zarma's would offer less treaction, especially on the hard pan that is so prevalent at OG's home course. I very quickly realized that my concerns were unfounded and had no traction problems on any of the different types of (or lack of) grass on the course. I had one shot from the sand and it was easy to dig my feet in and no sand was clogged in the cleats when I exited the sand.

When I took off my shoes before entering my car I looked at the bottom and there was no grass or mud caked in the cleats, I did bump my shoes together just to be sure nothing was caught up in the Zarma's and could find no evidence of any type of debris. I noted the wear and I would have to classify it as very minimal, I plan to post pictures after each 5 rounds of play to let everyone see how they stand up. I am impressed with the Zarmas so far, I know I get a lot of rounds on the Stinger's so if the wear is comprable the Zarmas will probably win out as my cleat of choice because of the increase in the comfort level.

 

[Jersey Nate]

Very nice, DD! I was wondering about the grippy-ness of the Zarmas vs. the Stingers. Good to hear that they gave you no slippage issues.

 

[10YardDraw]

Very nice, DD! I was wondering about the grippy-ness of the Zarmas vs. the Stingers. Good to hear that they gave you no slippage issues.

I was wondering that as well, nice update DD.

 

[overkil2]

All the great reviews got me excited and so I ordered the scorpion stingers from Amazon.com. They should be here today. Looking forward to wearing them tomorrow. Thanks guys.

 

[SW]

Great updates everyone, really good pictures 10yd. These cleats look a little taller than some of the other cleats on the market, any issue with that from anyone?

Dawg, good to hear the Zarmas worked well for you at the goat track.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Great updates everyone, really good pictures 10yd. These cleats look a little taller than some of the other cleats on the market, any issue with that from anyone?

Dawg, good to hear the Zarmas worked well for you at the goat track.

Danny check out the last picture in my post from yesterday, it is pretty surprising as the Stinger is on the left and the Zarma on the right. I personally did not have any issues with the slightly taller cleats.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...eview-Thread&p=1395554&viewfull=1#post1395554

 

[Jersey Nate]

Great updates everyone, really good pictures 10yd. These cleats look a little taller than some of the other cleats on the market, any issue with that from anyone?

Dawg, good to hear the Zarmas worked well for you at the goat track.

No issues so far with the Stingers for me after my first 9 holes. My feet felt great and they gripped so well.

 

[InHartWeTrust]

Just got home from a round today with Old Gray and one of his buddies. I became aware of how soft the Zarma cleats are when walking across a paved parking lot, much softer feel than the Stingers I was previously using. This caused me some concern as I love the Stingers and how well they hold my feet secure in any golfing situation. I was aftaid that the Zarma's would offer less treaction, especially on the hard pan that is so prevalent at OG's home course. I very quickly realized that my concerns were unfounded and had no traction problems on any of the different types of (or lack of) grass on the course. I had one shot from the sand and it was easy to dig my feet in and no sand was clogged in the cleats when I exited the sand.

When I took off my shoes before entering my car I looked at the bottom and there was no grass or mud caked in the cleats, I did bump my shoes together just to be sure nothing was caught up in the Zarma's and could find no evidence of any type of debris. I noted the wear and I would have to classify it as very minimal, I plan to post pictures after each 5 rounds of play to let everyone see how they stand up. I am impressed with the Zarmas so far, I know I get a lot of rounds on the Stinger's so if the wear is comprable the Zarmas will probably win out as my cleat of choice because of the increase in the comfort level.

Nice review, DD. I'll be following along with the wear test as the Zarmas are the one that have piqued my interest the most.

 

[SW]

Danny check out the last picture in my post from yesterday, it is pretty surprising as the Stinger is on the left and the Zarma on the right. I personally did not have any issues with the slightly taller cleats.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...eview-Thread&p=1395554&viewfull=1#post1395554

No issues so far with the Stingers for me after my first 9 holes. My feet felt great and they gripped so well.

Thanks Dawg, I missed that picture yesterday as I was on Tapatalk. Reckon I need to get on over to the store tomorrow and get a set for my adidas. With wet season here I don't want to be slipping and sliding around.

 

[10YardDraw]

Thanks Dawg, I missed that picture yesterday as I was on Tapatalk. Reckon I need to get on over to the store tomorrow and get a set for my adidas. With wet season here I don't want to be slipping and sliding around.

In the shoe these are actually a little shorter/lower profile than my previous spikes. My course is always wet so I think these will be great digging in since they feel like a pretty firm spike.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

For being the tougher spikes of the two they still felt soft on the putting green today. The stability for chipping and pitching was fine as well. One thing I've noticed so far is that its easier to keep me lower body weight from rolling outward since the spikes give some good traction with the ground. I have yet to go to my normal rough course with all the rocks and nasty lies. We shall see how the stingers perform there.

I'm really liking that champ sent me the wrong ones, these stingers are killer so far. I may buy some Zarmas when these wear down since I tend to go through spikes like beers, too much golf lol

 

[Wake]

Well it looks like I received the wrong spikes, I received spikes for FJ shoes. I do have an older pair of FJ shoes that I wear very seldom. These will go in those, and I will wear them more frequently I guess.

Tapin for bird

 

[10YardDraw]

Well it looks like I received the wrong spikes, I received spikes for FJ shoes. I do have an older pair of FJ shoes that I wear very seldom. These will go in those, and I will wear them more frequently I guess.

Tapin for bird

That stinks man, what shoes were they suppose to go in?

 

[DawgDaddy]

In the shoe these are actually a little shorter/lower profile than my previous spikes. My course is always wet so I think these will be great digging in since they feel like a pretty firm spike.

I did not take a before profile pic but the Zarma's have a fairly high profile IMO. Here is the picture I took after installing the new cleats.

 

[J4U]

My spikes were ready to be replaced and went ahead and grabbed a set of the stingers. Only used them on the range yesterday, but the ground was moist after a big storm and they performed exactly as I wanted them to. Great feel and comfort with no concern that I would slip. They gripped so well that the turf was being removed gradually after several balls. Would have to adjust my position from time to time. The big win for me is when I left the range and removed the shoes, little to no range taken with me.

Glad I also purchased their tool for inserting/removing various types of spikes. Made the removal of the old beat up spikes a breeze!

 

[10YardDraw]

I did not take a before profile pic but the Zarma's have a fairly high profile IMO. Here is the picture I took after installing the new cleats.

Maybe my old spikes were just big compared to these lol. I have the stingers of course but to me they look and feel like they are lower profile than the Black Widow Tours I had before.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Maybe my old spikes were just big compared to these lol. I have the stingers of course but to me they look and feel like they are lower profile than the Black Widow Tours I had before.

I did post earlier that to my surprise the Zarma's are of a higher profile than the Stinger's so maybe that is the difference. I posted pics comparing the two a couple of pages back.

 

[10YardDraw]

I did post earlier that to my surprise the Zarma's are of a higher profile than the Stinger's so maybe that is the difference. I posted pics comparing the two a couple of pages back.

Ahh I didnt see that pic, I will check it out.

 

[10YardDraw]

Ahh I didnt see that pic, I will check it out.

Wow DD they are quite a bit taller than the stingers are, thats very surprising to me.