I'm gonna be honest, I haven't had this much fun taking pictures of a shoe in a while 😂. I really appreciate you sending these over @johnbouquet . I've been a big fan of Hal over the years & really respect the product they put out, so when they reached out I was stoked. When these came in & I pulled them out of the box, they lowkey reminded me of cyclops bc of the red stripes within each strap & on feet, I personally think they look a lot better than in a photo online

Materials: the base layer of these is a smoke grey mesh w/ a dark 🩶 underlay beneath it. Starting at the mudguard, there's a synthetic ⚫ pebbled leather that continues thru the toe box & up the eye stay. Midway through the toe box, there's a 🔵 zig-zag embroidery & as you move to the stripes, it becomes a 🟤 synthetic, tumbled leather. On the first stripes, you'll find Hal's signature placement of the Asics A logo in 🟡. As you move to the back heel, you'll find HAL on the ⬅️ heel & SDS on the ➡️ pair which stands for Hal Studios. My favorite part is on the medial side bc it has a 🟡 rope lace that is used to hold the straps. The 🟡 lace transitions to the red cuts on the 🟤 leather straps that genuinely reminds me of cyclops, which is kinda sick lol. Lastly, for branding, there's an A logo at the top of the tongue & leather insoles with Asics & Hal branding. 

Comfort/Sizing: the Kayano 20 is similar to the 14, but imo, more squishy & a little more forgiving from a width & length perspective. Now with that being said, go tts as well, even for the wide footers.

Overall Opinion: This concept in itself is what Hal has always stood for. Their design language has been to take a product & make it their own & that's what I've always appreciated about John & Hal. When you look at their 1130, they took a gr product, that usually has tpu panels & elevated it by giving it premium materials that no one has really done in that way. I will say, I was thrown off by the straps at first, but when I put them on feet, it honestly made the shoe come full circle & I personally really like the design the more I wear them.