The lion is a beautiful leather beginner's shoe that fits well around the ankle. The shoe provides a lot of freedom of movement and has a soft lip. This makes this skate a nice challenge for the novice skater; the low shoe provides less stability than a skate with a soft boot, but on the other hand offers more opportunities for learning good skating technique. The lion once came out on top in the ANWB test for low shoes.
The V4 is made from a single piece of durable and lightweight aluminum. In the early 1990s (before the clap skate), Falco Zandstra became World Champion on a similar Raps product (the flyer). The hardness (the harder, the less often you need to sharpen) is 60 HrC. In terms of quality, weight and hardness, there is no comparable skate blade on the market.