I consider myself a serious bowler and I moved up to Linds a long,long time ago(in a galaxy far,far away)---I guess I stick with them because they do the job for me.  Support and comfort is important to me-- I used the same pair on Linds for six years, bowling three nights a week--- they held up great (still very usable-- my son is now using them and he's a "casual" bowler).  I'm still using the "Classic" with the traditional buckskin sliding sole -- I have not tried any of the "high tech" stuff with the various soles ,etc, so I can't comment on those --- I would say save the high-tech stuff for advanced bowlers --- the novice has got enough things to learn without throwing lanes/sole-heel combinations into the equation.....I think it's a matter of personal choice --- I can recall fairly recently reading a post about Pete Weber and his using a pair of relatively inexpensive mid-range price shoes ---- certainly he could  pick and choose anything he wants......