Three years ago, I reviewed the Azza 15/14s and called them the new gold standard of fencing shoes. Unlike many product-review honeymoon periods, that assessment has held up remarkably well.

Three years later, the 15/14s remain my fencing shoe of choice. In fact, calling them my fencing shoes understates it. I wear Azzas while coaching, running errands, traveling, and doing pretty much anything that does not require formalwear or Crocs. They are stylish, they fit my feet perfectly, and I still have not found another fencing shoe that offers better heel and ankle support.

So, when Azza Besbes sent me a prototype of the company’s new Master shoe in March, the obvious question was whether it would replace the 15/14.

It does not. And it is not trying to.

The Master and the 15/14 are two very different shoes designed around two very different ideas of how a fencer should interact with the ground. The 15/14 cushions and protects you from the piste. The Master wants you to feel it.

The easiest way I can describe the difference is this:

The 15/14 is a pillow wrapped in armor. The Master removes some of the pillow and some of the armor so you can feel exactly what your feet are doing.

Whether that is an improvement depends entirely on your weapon, movement style, and priorities.

Design/Aesthetic

The black-and-gold version Azza sent me looks like Batman received a Notre Dame apparel deal.

That is a compliment.

It has a clean, nearly monochromatic black upper with muted gold branding on the tongue, lateral side, heel, and outsole. The design is athletic without becoming loud, and the sculpted heel counter gives the shoe a substantial, purposeful silhouette. It looks unmistakably like a premium athletic shoe rather than a generic court sneaker with “FENCING” slapped on the side in gigantic Comic Sans lettering.

That said, one of the things I have always loved most about the 15/14s is how flagrantly colorful they are. The marbleized tread, multicolored uppers, contrasting patterns, and even the messages Azza printed on certain editions gave the shoes a personality unlike anything else in fencing. They looked like they came from an actual designer with something to say, rather than from a goofy design intern terrified that athletes might notice their footwear.

The Master takes the opposite approach. Its black-and-gold palette is restrained, elegant, and easy to wear away from the club. I genuinely like the monochrome simplicity. But I also hope future iterations allow Azza to inject more of her colorful personality back into the shoe. The Master has a strong silhouette and plenty of interesting paneling to work with; I would love to see what happens when that canvas receives the same visual exuberance that made the 15/14s so distinctive.

The upper combines flexible mesh through the vamp with more structured material around the quarter and heel. Gold accents provide enough contrast to keep the shoe visually interesting without undermining its understated look.

Like the 15/14s, these are shoes I would comfortably wear away from the club. They look natural with everyday athletic clothing and have none of the awkward moon-boot profile fencing shoes sometimes fall into.

A Different Kind of Tread

The outsole is another visible departure from the 15/14. The older shoe uses a collection of fingerprint-like traction pods, with separate concentric patterns under the heel, forefoot, and perimeter. The Master retains Azza’s circular visual language but reorganizes it into broader, more continuous contour lines. Instead of several isolated grip islands, the tread reads like one topographical map carved across the whole sole.

That design changes the sensation underfoot. The 15/14 feels as though several discrete areas are biting into the piste. The Master feels more like the whole outsole is participating in the movement. It rolls more naturally from heel to forefoot, and the pressure transfer across the ball of the foot feels smoother and more immediate.

The grip itself remains excellent. I experienced no meaningful slippage during changes of direction, lunges, or rapid advances and retreats. But the tread complements the Master’s larger design philosophy: less isolation from the floor, more continuous feedback from it.

Function

Let us start with the scale.

My The Masters weigh 15.0 oz per shoe. That makes them the second-heaviest premium fencing shoe I have reviewed: 0.2 oz lighter than the PBT Fencera and 0.4 oz heavier than my 15/14s. In other words, they are roughly on par with the Fencera – not an outlier, but certainly not a featherweight.

Shoe	Weight per shoe
Octav	13.3 oz
Azza 15/14	14.6 oz
PBT Fencera	15.2 oz
Azza Master	15.0 oz

These are weights from the individual review pairs I measured and are not size-matched, so treat them as rough context rather than a controlled comparison.

Azza describes the Master as its speed-and-reactivity model and markets it as a lighter construction. On my scale, the Master lands toward the heavy end of the premium shoes I have tested. But that number overstates how heavy it feels in motion.

The Masters do not necessarily move like 15-ounce shoes. Their flexible forefoot and closer-to-the-piste feel allow the shoe to articulate more naturally than the number suggests, and the weight is distributed evenly enough that they feel more nimble in motion than they look on the scale.

If you obsess over shaving every possible ounce from your equipment, you are not going to mistake these for the Octavs. Otherwise, I would not let the scale alone scare you off.

A Much More Flexible Vamp

The most important functional difference between the Master and the 15/14 is the vamp.

The 15/14 has a firm protective shell across the top of the foot. That rigidity provides substantial protection, but it also limits how freely the forefoot bends. The shoe naturally rewards a more orthodox position in which the heel remains closer to the ground and movement progresses more distinctly from heel to toe.

For me, that was never a problem. I liked the rigidity because it gave the foot a feeling of structure and security. But not every fencer moves that way, and not every foot fits that shell as comfortably.

The 15/14 also hugged the outside of the metatarsals pretty aggressively. That fit my feet beautifully, but it was a frequent complaint among wider-footed fencers. The Master is noticeably more forgiving through the forefoot. It does not clamp down on the outside of the foot in the same way, and I think it is a much better option for fencers with wide feet.

The Master’s vamp is significantly more flexible. It bends naturally through the forefoot and allows a fencer to remain higher on the balls of the feet without fighting against the shoe. For fencers who keep their back foot at something closer to a 45-degree angle, use shorter explosive steps, or maintain a spring-loaded position through the forefoot, the Master accommodates that style far better than the 15/14.

The 15/14 encourages your heel toward the floor. The Master lets you stay on your toes.

This is likely to appeal most to foilists and sabre fencers whose footwork emphasizes frequent accelerations, short braking actions, and rapid changes between forward and backward pressure.

Feeling the Piste

The Master also sits closer to the piste, both physically and perceptually.

The 15/14’s heel cushioning is one of its defining features. Wearing them feels like walking on pillows. Hard landings, repetitive bouncing, and forceful recoveries are softened by the thick cushioning underneath the heel.

You do not get that same sensation in the Master.

Even with the softest heel configuration installed, the Master transmits considerably more information from the floor. You feel when your heel lands. You feel the pressure shift through your foot. You feel the precise moment the outsole grips when you brake or change direction.

Some fencers will absolutely love that.

There is a reason many athletes prefer shoes with greater “ground feel.” More feedback can mean more precise adjustments, particularly for fencers whose footwork depends on subtle changes in pressure rather than repeatedly leaving and returning to the ground.

But feedback and cushioning exist in tension. You cannot simultaneously feel every contour of the piste and remain completely insulated from it.

The 15/14 protects you from the ground. The Master communicates with it.

The Adaptive Heel System

The coolest innovation in the Master is something I have never encountered in another fencing shoe: swappable heel inserts.

The shoe comes with three heel pads: Soft, Medium, and Hard that allow the wearer to adjust the rebound and rigidity underneath the heel. Soft prioritizes cushioning, Hard provides the firmest and most reactive feel, and Medium occupies the middle ground.

It is a genuinely smart idea.

Shoes are normally sold with one permanent assumption about how much heel cushioning every wearer wants. The Master lets the fencer modify that assumption without changing shoes or replacing the full insole.

A fencer might choose the softer insert during a long training day, switch to the harder one for a competition, or simply experiment until finding the configuration that best matches their movement. The inserts are easy enough to swap and secure firmly once installed. They do not feel like a loose aftermarket accessory sliding around underneath the heel.

But the system does not transform the Master into a 15/14.

Even using the soft option, the Master remains a lower, more direct shoe. The inserts allow you to customize the Master’s underlying philosophy; they do not change that philosophy.

Still, this is a meaningful innovation rather than a proprietary acronym invented so someone could add another bullet point to the product page. I would love to see more fencing-shoe manufacturers explore this kind of modularity.

Let Us Talk About Protection

Here is where I need to state my conclusion outright:

I do not think the Master was really designed for Epeeists.

I also do not think it was designed for fencers who drag their back foot during the lunge.

That does not mean no Epeeist will enjoy it. An Epeeist who stays on the balls of the feet, wants maximum piste feedback, does not bounce extensively, and rarely drags the rear foot may love the Master.

But the shoe gives up two things that matter disproportionately in Epee: protection from toe touches and protection during the lunge.

I Felt Every Bit of That Toe Touch

During testing, I took an Epee toe touch directly to the right side of the vamp.

I winced.

I did not merely register that an opponent’s point had arrived. I felt the point drive through the flexible upper and transfer nearly every bit of its force into my foot.

The Master’s flexible vamp is excellent for articulation. It is considerably less excellent when someone launches a metal rod at your toes.

The same touch in the 15/14 would have been little more than a haptic notification. The hard shell on top of that shoe absorbed the force so effectively that moderately hard toe touches feel like almost nothing.

That protection is not an incidental perk for Epeeists. The foot is target. Toe touches are part of the weapon. A shoe that exposes the top and sides of the foot to more impact is making a meaningful tradeoff. So the key to wearing the Masters as an Epeeist is to not get hit in the toe.

The Master gives you flexibility. The 15/14 gives you armor.

After taking that touch, I was reminded very clearly which one I prefer when fencing Epee.

Much Thinner Lunge Protection

The other major tradeoff is the lunge protection on the inside of the rear foot.

One of the best features of the 15/14 is the thick layer of rubber rising from the outsole and wrapping around the shoe’s inner side. It protects the foot and the underlying material when the rear ankle rolls inward or drags across the metallic piste.

When I originally tested the 15/14s, I literally struck that area with a hammer.

I felt nothing.

That layer is comically substantial. It is the part of the shoe most likely to contact the piste during an imperfect or aggressive lunge, and Azza armored it accordingly.

The Master’s lunge protection is dramatically thinner. You do not need a hammer to discover the difference. Run your finger across it and you can feel the structure underneath.

For fencers with clean rear-foot mechanics who keep the shoe off the ground, this may never become an issue.

But if your back foot leaves silver streaks across every metallic piste you encounter, the Master would not be my recommendation. Repeated dragging will place considerably more stress on both the shoe and your foot than it would in the 15/14.

The same is true for fencers who roll the rear ankle heavily during the lunge. The Master provides less material between you and the piste at precisely the moment that area makes contact.

The Master is not a next-generation 15/14.

It is the other branch of the family tree.

Pricing/Availability

As of August 2026, Azza’s direct site lists the Master in black-and-gold and white-and-gold at €175. The USA Fencing Store lists the U.S. offering at $200. That places it squarely within the premium fencing-shoe market.

The price is not insignificant, but neither is it out of line with the Fencera, 15/14, Kempa, or Nike Ballestra. Unlike certain aesthetically pleasing turds that occupy this price range, the Master is unquestionably a real fencing shoe built around actual fencing movements.

Whether it is worth the premium depends less on its overall quality than on whether its specific design matches your style.

Verdict

The Azza Master is a well-built, attractive, highly responsive fencing shoe with one genuinely novel customization feature.

It is also on the heavier side, comparatively unforgiving, less protective against toe touches, and ill-suited for anyone who drags the rear foot during the lunge.

Those statements are not contradictory. They describe a specialized shoe rather than a universal one.

For foilists and sabre fencers who stay on the balls of their feet, value forefoot flexibility, and want to feel every pressure change against the piste, the Master may be exactly what they have been looking for. The adaptive heel system gives those fencers a degree of personalization I have never seen offered in another fencing shoe.

For Epeeists who bounce extensively, take frequent toe touches, or depend on maximum protection during deep lunges, I would stick with the 15/14.

And personally, that is what I will continue doing.

Three years later, the 15/14 remains my shoe. It fits my feet, my weapon, and the way I move. The heel cushioning remains unmatched, the upper protects me from toe shots, and the lunge protection is built like someone expected the shoe to survive trench warfare.

But the Master was not designed to dethrone it.

It gives Azza something the company did not previously have: a lower, more flexible, more customizable shoe for fencers who want less insulation and more immediate feedback.