So what exactly are skateboarding shoes and why do I need them? Aren't my basketball high tops good enough?
Well, technically, you can skateboard in any shoe. Just like with any other sport, you can play in just about anything, but a professional football player would never dream of stepping on a muddy football field with basketball shoes and a basketball player would never dream of stepping on the court in golf shoes. Virtually every sport relies on good footwork and skateboarding is not different. Without the proper skateboarding shoes, you will never be able to control the skateboard and your body the way you want to. To make it worse, you could get hurt for no good reason.
Well, technically, you can skateboard in any shoe. Just like with any other sport, you can play in just about anything, but a professional football player would never dream of stepping on a muddy football field with basketball shoes and a basketball player would never dream of stepping on the court in golf shoes. Virtually every sport relies on good footwork and skateboarding is not different. Without the proper skateboarding shoes, you will never be able to control the skateboard and your body the way you want to. To make it worse, you could get hurt for no good reason.
So what makes a good skateboarding shoe you might ask?
First a skateboarding shoe has flat, grippy soles that are usually wider than normal shoes. Sometimes, skateboarding shoes will have extra padding on the side and on the tongue to protect your feet when you are doing tricks. Sometimes, skateboarding shoes will be thin and flexible to allow you to have better feel with your feet. This type of skateboarding shoe will still have a flat bottom to give you maximum area to control the board with. Some other features that skaters might want like include reinforced sides to protect the shoes when doing ollies or extra padding on the heels to protect your foot and cushion the impact of landing after a jump. While it may not seem like it, there is a lot of research and design that goes into making a skateboarding shoe.
So who makes good skateboarding shoes?
There are a lot of companies that make skateboarding shoes. Some of them are The professional skateboarding teams and companies. Some shoes are made by the big name shoe companies like Nike. No one shoe or one company is best for everybody. Once you get the basic features you need like a flat bottom and the amount of support and padding you want, go with a shoe that feels good. Every foot is different and many times, the shoes from one company or the other will fit your specific foot and feel much better than shoes that are more expensive with a different company. Sometimes, the best fit is the most expensive too, but when a shoe is expensive it will probably last longer than cheaper shoes and feel better too. One last thing to consider is image. Make sure you will be proud to wear the shoe you choose and look good wearing it.
Etnies Skateboarding Shoes
One company that has been making skateboarding shoes for a long time is Etnies. They have done a lot of research on making the best shoes possible and are commonly considered to have the best shock absorbing device for skateboarding shoes as well as snowboard boots. Etnies Men's Miter shoe
This shoe comes in 5 different colors and may different sizes. It has a padded tongue and colar. It also has in sole heel support. Clcik here to buy the shoe shown above from Amazon.com.
(you can choose the color and the size after clicking on the link)
Etnies Drop-out shoes (women's)
This shoe comes in fourteen different colors and comes in a couple different sizes. Click here to buy the shoe shown above from Amazon.com.
Etnies Men's Calli-Vulc shoes
These Etnies shoes come in seversl colors, paterns, and sizes. Click here to buy Etnies Men's Calli-Vulc skate shoes from Amazon.com
Etnies Women's Vanah shoes
This shoes comes in three different colors and several sizes. Click here to buy Etnies Women's Vanah Shoe from Amazon.com.
Vans Skateboarding Shoes
Vans produces some high quality skate shoes, and has been around for a long time. They know what skaters want and when most people think of skateboarding shoes, they think of Vans. Vans TNT Mid Anti-Hero Men's shoes
These Vans shoes only come in one size and color. Click here to buy Vans TNT II Mid Anti-Hero from amazon.com.
Vans KVD Tru wht/blk Checkerboard Women's shoe
These shoes only come in one size and color. Click here to buy Vans Kvd True wht/blk Checkerboard shoe from Amazon.com.
Nike Skateboard Shoes
Nike is another company that makes a lot of shoes for every sport. While you might not consider Nike to make mainstream skateboarding shoes, they probably spend more money than any other shoe company in the world developing shoes and if they choose to make a skate shoe, you can be sure it has been tested and designed to be top quality. Nike Paul Rodriguez Zoom Air Elite Cinco De Mayo Edition
This shoe comes in one color, but comes in many different sizes. Click here to buy the shoe shown above from Amazon.com.
Nike SB Zoom Team Edition
These Nike SB shoes only come in one size and color. Click here to buy the Nike SB Zoom Team Edition shoe from Amazon.com.
Choose the Best Skateboard Shoe for You!
Regardless of what type of skateboarding shoes you want, make sure you try on several different types and find the one that fits you best. There is nothing worse than having bad shoes making you sore and keeping you off your skateboard. Don't forget to make sure they fit your style as you also don't want to be embarrassed to wear them.
Good luck in your search for the perfect skateboarding shoe!
Good luck in your search for the perfect skateboarding shoe!
Skateboarding links
If you liked this lens check out these other great lenses!
- Plan B skateboards
- Plan B is a skateboarding team that has some of the best pros, sweet boards, awesome videos, and tons of other sweet stuff!
- Element skateboards
- Check out how Element Skateboards got started, some stuff about their skaters, and some sweet videos!
- Birhouse skateboardfs
- Check out Birdhouse's skaters and some sweet videos of them here!
- DC shoes
- DC shoes is a huge company in skatebaording. They make some of the best shoes in skateboarding. They also have an awesome skate team!
- Alien Workshop skateboards
- Find out cool stuff about Alien Workshop and watch sweet videos here.
- Etnies shoes
- Watch sweet videos and find out cool stuff about Etnies' riders here!
- Almost skateboards
- Here you can find out awesome things about the Rodney Mullen and Daewon Song and the skaters of Almost.
- Baker skateboards
- Click here for cool videos and info on the skaters of Baker.
- Girl skateboards
- Check out the Girl skateboard team and watch cool videos here
More skateboarding links
- How to skateboard
- Skateboarding can be kinda tricky at first. But hopefuly with the help from this lens you won't have to go through all the pain and frustration of trying to learn tricks on your own!
- skateboard trucks
- Its important to get the type that best fits your style of skateboarding. Find out more here.
- Cheap skateboards
- Here you can find some great places to good skateboards but for really cheap!
- Skateboarding decks
- This lens will help you find the right deck for you.
- Skateboard wheels
- Find out cool stuff about skate wheels here!
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