‘’ Maybe it was colour-specific?’’
Just saw this as I was posting my previous reply. It looks as though we may have reached the same conclusion . As I’m typing this the idea that the different colourways had or didn’t have the rubber ollie thing is beginning to ring bells.
There’s footage of me in the wheat/black on this board, but I’d have bought that board on sale, so that was probably mid-1995.
I feel like this is something which you won’t ever get to the bottom of…
Going from a little experience - the archives at Sole Tech just don’t really exist. Unlike other brands, when you need old catalogues, ads, photos or footage you need to reach out to the original people or collectors.
They just haven’t really any organised archives beyond some unmarked palettes of brown boxes at the warehouse.
It’s kinda mad. And frustrating.
I should imagine a lot of the blanks on the éS history website are filled in by Don Brown and he wouldn’t be spending time researching. It’d be more “Oh, I think '96” and that is it. It is commited to the web archive as fact. So, it would likely be full of errors.
The Sal shoe was 100% etnies first and a year later, was released under the éS label as you lot know.
I should imagine there is a lot of confusion over timelines not just because of the chaos of the lack of archives but also that internally there has always been a bit of push and pull over which brand should have the Sal shoe between etnies (Pierre) and éS (Don) and why his shoe design came out on both brands within a year of one another.
That isn’t limited to the original release, either.
It has come back a few times with each brand and even the current reissue (with Sal fully involved for the first time), it got held back by a few years as etnies crew were waiting on éS as they always talked up the shoe coming back in line meetings, only to get to the point of printing catalogues and all of a sudden it has disappeared from chat. etnies gang had to basically steamroll to get it done.
The first drop of Etnies Sals were completely diferent because they had the extra suede side panel. It wasn’t a colourway specific thing having the rubber, it was just the first run that didn’t have it.
They obviously didn’t change the branding to E’s until after the tweaks to the design had been done as there seem to be loads of Etnies branded versions about.
I’m literally on the way home with a pair. Couldn’t decide what I thought about them so I tried some on. Very snug and elasticy to put on (I had to use a shoe horn) but they feel great once they’re on. Thin under your foot for great board feel but very firm heel support. I’ve not had a full session in them yet - just rode down the road to the station. But so far so good.
I don’t think that it’s quite as cut and dried as that because my black Etnies Sals had neither that extra suede side panel or the rubber strip. I remember seeing a pair with the rubber strip and thinking at the time, ‘well that looks a bit shit’. But, as both @Londonskater and I said, it’s unlikely we’re ever getting to the bottom of the SLB shoe enigma.
Yeah I had all three colourway of the first run (first job, money to burn) and none of them had the rubber.
It’s wasn’t too long until it started popping up though. I want to say on the navy first.
It’s because it was a great show but without the rubber bit the little suede part went within a day and flapped about. The suede below wasn’t a continuous bit so your little toe was exposed quickly, a bit like Airwalk Jims.
It can’t have been long before it was picked upon and a quick solution of rubber was plonked on. The stitching for the rubber bit wrecked my little toe though and I tried accels, which had a kevlar triangle patch for a little while.
I didn’t have too much bother with adverse wear to the side where the rubber bit ended up being introduced. A bit of tactical supergluing did the job. The front buffer / toe piece was really good. It was a sandwich of suede/rubber/suede which again required some dabs of superglue now and again but even with me 360 flipping every other trick it was still pretty sturdy although in the end that is where the shoe eventually called it quits. The rubber strip did make the shoe feel narrower even if it wasn’t and it felt more pinchy on my little toe like you said. Ironically I went back to shelltoes after the Sals, (narrow fitting, rubberised toe area shoes 
), until a couple of severe ankle tweaks made me fuck those off for good.
Are these versions the pre-release, in 1994? With the standard Etnies sole?
That’s the first version with no rubber tab and the extra suede panel. Same as Sal is wearing in the first ad up there and same as those used ones I posted.
Oh actually it seems to have gum sole so yeah you might be right 
Same next/day? Different tee?
I think that’s from the comp run on July 31st, the previous shot taken at the warm up day on the 30th?
Usefully timestamped footage here: https://youtu.be/bztCWi0pmrI?t=179
That’s my mate Adam with the element chick tee on, next to Wonger. I’ve known Adam since ‘92, still skates.
Anyone on here in the background?
‘46 unread posts in the shoe thread, I wonder what new shoe everyone’s talking about?’
Oh right
Really tickled me. Cyber knucks 
If you haven’t seen it he Did the artwork for this Aesop Rock album too
