It is review time again! This time we are taking a look at two global brands that have established themselves as top producers of the best sneakers in the world.
Feiyue and Vans may be companies established and based in different parts of the world but their products have gone round the world.
Feiyue, which loosely translates to “to leap”, is a footwear company established in Shanghai. This company is known to produce canvas sneakers that are light in weight and are flexible and very comfortable.
Vans, on the other hand, started as a company that manufactures strictly skateboarding shoes and apparel, but along the line, shoes from the company became more versatile and people adopted them as fashion shoes.
What is the major difference between Feiyue and Vans?
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These two companies share a lot of similarities that you would ever imagine but what separates them is basically the public perception, or should I say usage, of the shoes from both companies.
In short, Feiyue is seen as the brand that caters to monks and martial artists, while Vans caters to athletic persons.
Sneakers from the Feiyue brand have majorly been used by Shaolin monks and for martial arts. This is not to say that the shoes from this company can be worn for fashion purposes, it has just become some sort of a stereotype that when people need shoes to do martial arts training, they think of Feiyue.
For Vans, the company started out as one that makes skateboarding shoes, and even though they now have diversified shoes, people still regard the brand as one that makes athletic shoes.
Feiyue vs Vans: Which is a better brand?
Choosing which of the two companies is better than the other will be a difficult decision to make because both of them are excellent at what they do.
However, since I do not have a choice but to pick between them, I will go for Vans being the better brand.
Quite frankly, we can all agree that Vans is a bigger brand when compared with Feiyue. Vans currently occupy five percent (5%) of the US footwear market, and although there is no official statistics to account for that of Feiyue, we can unanimously agree that the company will be having a much lesser market percentage.
In addition, Vans is more popular around the world than Feiyue. This is evident by looking at the social media following of both companies, Instagram especially.
We can see Vans having over 17 million followers while Feiyue manages to have over 60,000.
Of course, popularity and market share do not mean shoes from Vans are better than that of Feiyue, but you will agree that if Vans had terrible products they will not be anywhere near the figures they currently control.
So, in a way, we can conclude that Vans has manufactured great shoes that a lot of people love which makes them a better brand than Feiyue.
Why Vans is a better brand to Feiyue
Even though my choice of Vans over Feiyue is basically down to personal preference, there are still some hard evidence that supports it.
Sales and Popularity
In a 2018 survey undertaken by Piper Jaffray, it was revealed that Vans is the next most popular and favorite footwear brand among teens after Nike. The survey also showed how the sales of Vans shoes have been steadily rising.
There may be no data about Feiyue’s sales and popularity, but from the information available online, we know that more teens and pre-adults find Vans to be a better brand.
Design
In terms of design, functionality, and general acceptance, Vans has manufactured products that embody these three features more than Feiyue. Products from the Vans brand have become popular because they are athleisure.
Athleisure shoes are simply shoes that are perfect for athletic activities or exercises and also for casual everyday wear. People love Vans shoes because they can wear it fashionably and still look athletic while at it.
Another reason for the love for Vans shoes is the way the company brought about the resurgence of retro and vintage styles. In the survey by Piper Jaffray, we discover that more people are beginning to have a personal preference for vintage and retro-designed footwear.
The cause of this is relatively unknown, however, we do know that Vans has latched on to that trend and won more customers and lovers for itself.
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Are these shoes similar?
Asides from both companies being two of the biggest sneakers producing companies in the world, they also share a lot of similarities, especially in these areas:
- Sole
- Canvas Material
- Removable Insole
- Country of Production
Soles
It may interest you to know that rubber is the main raw material used by both companies for their soles, although, the rubber sole of Feiyue shoes comes with minimal padding.
In fact, lovers of the Feiyuw brand and its product say they love the soles of the shoes because it allows them to adapt to the ground.
Shoes from this company have soles that are very thin, hence ensuring that the wearer gets a sufficient amount of sensitivity even through the rubber.
Martial artists particularly love Feiyue shoes because of the reduced padding that comes with its rubber soles.
Vans also use rubber to make the soles of its shoes, and this rubber comes from factories in California.
Canvas Material
Another similarity that these two brands share is their use of canvas in the making of their respective shoes. The Vans brand makes use of cotton canvas as a shoe lining in all its shoes, while Feiyue instead, uses a rather thin canvas which gives more ankle flexibility to its shoes.
Vans uses canvas for the upper of its shoes because synthetic materials like EVA foam and nylon tend to melt during the vulcanizing process.
This is why you will find the upper of Vans shoes to be made of canvas or suede because they are the fabric that can withstand the high heat of the manufacturing process.
On the other hand, Feiyue simply uses thin canvas because of the flexibility it offers.
Removable Insole
A common feature you will find in Feiyue and Vans shoes is the removable insole.
Vans make all of their shoes, especially the Vans Slip-On Pro, come with an insole that you can remove or even replace. This insole is, however, not a sock liner that wraps your ankle.
Feiyue, as a brand, has recently changed all the insole in all of its shoes to a more advanced EVA material that you can as well remove or replace.
Country of Production
You may be shocked to know that both Feiyue and Vans have the majority of their shoes made in China.
It is not surprising that Feiyue makes its shoes in China because it is actually a Chinese company, but what many people may not understand is why Vans – which is an American-owned and established company – makes its shoes in China.
In a bid to stay competitive with rivals who make and sell their shoes for lesser prices, Vans decided to shut down its California factories and move all manufacturing operations to Asia, China especially.
Other differences between Vans and Feiyue
I earlier stated that these two brands share a lot of similarities and very few features or details separate them. Some of the differences between shoes from both brands are;
- Usage
- Durability
- Customization
Usage
What I think is arguably the biggest difference between these two brands is the usage of their shoes. Vans are predominantly used by young people and for casual everyday wear, unlike Feiyue shoes that are majorly worn by monks and martial artists.
Feiyue shoes became famous when they were worn by performers at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
That was the moment that brought the brand to the limelight. However, when people are looking for something fashionable and casual, they would rather wear Vans than Feiyue.
Durability
As much as products from both brands are regarded to be of high quality, one of the edges the other in terms of durability.
Shoes from Feiyue are lightweight, very comfortable, and have excellent breathable features. As amazing as these features are, Feiyue shoes do not provide any arch support and the shoes are not durable.
Between these two footwear companies, you are more likely to get a durable shoe from Vans than from Feiyue
Customization
Do you know that you can get a custom-made shoe from Vans? Well, yes it is true. This is another feature that sets Vans apart from Feiyue.
With Vans, you can go on to the website and create your own style of shoe. You get to pick the style, colors, patterns, even laces, and many more. T
he best part is that the shoe you customized will be manufactured by the company and sent to you in not more than 6 weeks. This is an effort by Vans to make their customers a part of the creative process.
In contrast, Feiyue does not provide this service to its customers.
Conclusion
There are many companies in the world manufacturing sneaker shoes, and if you are to list the best ones, these two companies will surely make the list.
They may be serving different types of clients and demography, but they do that very well. Both brands have picked their niche and they are loved by many.
This comparison does not, in any way, shed a bad light on any brand. Rather, it brings to your notice their uniqueness.
No matter the type of sneakers you want, I am sure you will find what you are looking for from any of the two brands.
YOU CAN ALSO SHOP YOUR FAVORITE FEIYUE ONLINE TOO
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