Looking for a good price on Fencing Shoes

[ben2e]

I've been using indoor soccer shoes for a while but they're coming apart. I've seen volleyball shoes in the local stores but at $70, they're not that much cheaper then the $100 or so for Adidas D'Artagnan II's. Several people mentioned in the equipment reviews that they got a great deal on Adidas Fencing shoes. Where do you get those great deals ?

Also, has anyone tried the Triplette shoes ? They don't look pretty from the picture but perhaps they're good shoes.

Thanks,

Ben

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

try wrestling shoes. They work quite well.

[tsalyards]

I would not recommend wrestling shoes for fencing. They do not offer the appropriate amount of heel and arch support; this will do bad things to your feet, especially if you are heavy footed.

If you are looking for a lower cost alternative, forego the fencing shoe designation all together and find a cross training shoe with good heel and arch support. The most important thing is that you have a shoe that works well for fencing, not that you have a fencing shoe. These two are not always the same thing.

[prototoast]

The shoes triplette sells are just the pbt shoes.
Indoor soccer shoes are probably better than most other non-fencing specific shoes (give or take individual variety within the categories). Ultimately, your best bet for real fencing shoes, in terms of both price and selection is at a NAC, where you can easily compare vendors and try some on.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Originally Posted by tsalyards

I would not recommend wrestling shoes for fencing. They do not offer the appropriate amount of heel and arch support; this will do bad things to your feet, especially if you are heavy footed.

If you are looking for a lower cost alternative, forego the fencing shoe designation all together and find a cross training shoe with good heel and arch support. The most important thing is that you have a shoe that works well for fencing, not that you have a fencing shoe. These two are not always the same thing.

I disagree, wrestling shoes are quite stiff, light, and provide amazingly good traction. They give alot of support, and the only thing they need is some extra padding, like one of those little gel inserts.

[Portela]

i suggest you try the Blade NO1's. they work well for me and i got em for around 80 bucks.

[shango]

while we're on the subject of shoes, whats the cheapest price of D'Artagnan II's at where?

[CvilleFencer]

Ah, fencing shoes and the fact that no one, including me, wants to pay for them. Below are some vendors to check out that have cheap shoes:

http://www.blue-gauntlet.com/cgi-bin...=9695030.22669

http://www.thefencingpost.com/shoes.htm

Some places overseas that have very good deals on shoes:

http://www.uhlmann-fechtsport.de/inhalt_katalog_e.htm

http://www.duellist.com/UK/fencing.cgi?product=Footwear

I have heard some bad things about the blade shoes and since they are as much as Adidas anyway I would not recommend them. The La Ning shoes sold by the Fencing Post seem to be some of the best of the Chinese shoes that I have seen so far. The PBT/TCA/Cartel shoes are not bad but nothing special and the gum soles wear very quickly if you are on metal pistes much. You can find some great deals on shoes from Duelist if you are in the "odd" size catagorie of very small or freakin huge but they will hit you with like a 30 or 40 dollar shipping and customs charge so factor that in before you decide they are a great deal.

In my experiance the best place to luck up on deals on good fencing shoes is E-bay, but you might go months before you find a good deal in your size. I tend to by shoes when and where I find them. I will use them eventually and my feet are not hopefully going to grow! I have a pair of Darts in the clostet just waiting for my Adidas Atlantas to give up the ghost! Best of luck in your shoe search. Hope some of the links help.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by D+F+P=Hadouken!

try wrestling shoes. They work quite well.

NO NO NO!

Wrestling shoes are designed to be used when competing on a big, 2" thick mat that absorbs all the impact.

Given that most fencing at the club level and at tournaments involves fencing on a tile or cement floow, wearing wrestling shoes is a recipe for lots of back pain and compressed joints, not to mention foot problems from all the heel impacts.

If you don't want fencing shoes, look for good cross-trainers, volleyball shoes or the like. Anything designed to be low to the ground, get traction on a gym floor and have good shock absorbtion built into the shoe design.

[CvilleFencer]

Their is a pair of Dartagan II new fencing shoes on Ebay at the moment in size 11 for $80. The sale ends in about 21 hours so this might be a great option for someone in that size as the new Darts are very nice...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

[telkanuru]

I got my D'Art II's from Uhlmann for ~55 euro, whatever that exchange rate works to. Gotta love team orders...

[foilz]

You wrestle. Get wrestling shoes. You box. Get boxing shoes. You run. Get running shoes. You fence ...

[aisha]

Hi everyone,

I am going to continue this thread, because I have tried several of the suggestions and they did not work. I have gone through the following (and I wear orthotics for over-pronation-this means that I replace the insoles w/the orthotics)-I do not have strange feet, or trouble finding shoes for any other sport. We have an excellent shoe store in town which specializes in fitting feet for sports.

women's indoor soccer shoes-after 2 months my feet began to pour over the soles-pronating again. they just don't have strength.

indoor volleyball-amazing-after 2 months my feet are actually hanging over (supinating). They were much sturdier than the soccer shoes, but I also got a stress fracture wearing them in a saber clinic. I'm thinking that for drills I should wear a cardio shoe.

None of these shoes were 'cheap'.

So now what to do? I started fencing in cross trainers (shredded-the toe of the shoe just cannot take the forward/backwards motion). I have seen the wrestling shoes-ok for the 95 lb young man with no foot probs. I have been warned that fencing shoes do not offer support. One of our coaches recommends these Adidas fencing hi tops (real ugly)-that means ordering w/out trying them on.

Anyway, it seems that other sports (there are over a dozen women's indoor volleyball shoe models) have so many kinds of shoes, w/all the latest research, and all fencers have are Adidas or some cheap Chinese knock offs. So I am ready to pay for a good fencing shoe-but it had better be good! Can anyone out there tell me if they use the hi-tops or wear fencing shoes w/orthotics? Thank you!


Best,

Aisha

[sabreur]

I've worn the Adidas high tops--went back to the regular cut.

My orthotics won't fit into any of the Adidas fencing shoes.

I have been wearing volleyball shoes (Reeboks, I think) which have held up pretty well, but aren't ideal--in particular, the forefoot isn't shaped correctly for fencing or for my feet.

I have a pair of Ripostes that I only wear for tournaments, but they are worn out now. I would estimate that I have only worn them maybe twenty days or so in the last three years--I think they are great shoes, but they wear out in no time.

I have a pair of brand-new Adistars (old style) and I'm thinking about getting a pair of the new AdiStars, which I have to say look very stable and well made.

Bottom line: I've done the volleyball shoe thing, but I'm coming around to the perspective that fencing shoes are best.

MR

[Welted 24/7]

Agreed with sabreur. Just shell it out for a good pair of fencing shoes and you won't have to keep buying substitutes every so often.

[counter riposte]

Hi Aisha,

I wear orthodics too. The fencing shoe even though it is an expensive investment is worth the money. The Dart IIs are not particularly great with an orthodic, so avoid them. The Adidas Asymmetrical low tops are compatible with the orthodic assuming that it is relatively low profile orthodic device. (I use the Adidas) The Chinese Lin-Lis are actually a really good shoe which is sold by the fencing post. It's used by the Chinese national team, but once again, it's not all that orthodic friendly. An orthodic WILL fit in the Chinese shoes, but fencing in them might be problematic.

If you are concerned about fit, you may wish to wait until summer nationals or an NAC, that way you can try these shoes on and make sure they work out before you make your purchase.

Good Luck.

[achilleus]

Originally Posted by aisha

Hi everyone,

I am going to continue this thread, because I have tried several of the suggestions and they did not work. I have gone through the following (and I wear orthotics for over-pronation-this means that I replace the insoles w/the orthotics)-I do not have strange feet, or trouble finding shoes for any other sport. We have an excellent shoe store in town which specializes in fitting feet for sports.

women's indoor soccer shoes-after 2 months my feet began to pour over the soles-pronating again. they just don't have strength.

indoor volleyball-amazing-after 2 months my feet are actually hanging over (supinating). They were much sturdier than the soccer shoes, but I also got a stress fracture wearing them in a saber clinic. I'm thinking that for drills I should wear a cardio shoe.

None of these shoes were 'cheap'.

So now what to do? I started fencing in cross trainers (shredded-the toe of the shoe just cannot take the forward/backwards motion). I have seen the wrestling shoes-ok for the 95 lb young man with no foot probs. I have been warned that fencing shoes do not offer support. One of our coaches recommends these Adidas fencing hi tops (real ugly)-that means ordering w/out trying them on.

Anyway, it seems that other sports (there are over a dozen women's indoor volleyball shoe models) have so many kinds of shoes, w/all the latest research, and all fencers have are Adidas or some cheap Chinese knock offs. So I am ready to pay for a good fencing shoe-but it had better be good! Can anyone out there tell me if they use the hi-tops or wear fencing shoes w/orthotics? Thank you!


Best,

Aisha

I've experimented with a lot of shoes, and here's what I've found.

1) Fencing shoes, especially they newer ones (assymetrics and '04 Adistars), aren't all bad. The older styles provide no support or cushion, especially dangerous if you fence NAC's. The new styles are a little better, but are really expensive.

2) Shoes don't last forever. A podiatrist warned me about fencing in volleyball and basketball shoes saying that they break down quickly. I've read reports that basketball shoes start to lose their support in 20 hours of continuous play (of basketball). Roughly translates to 3-5 months if you play twice a week before you need to buy new shoes. Volleyball shoes have even less durability. Fencing shoes (assymetrics) are designed to break down in 6-9 months.

3) High tops are useless. They provide so little benefit, that their not worth the money.

4) What's comfortable, and what you're willing to pay are the most important things.

Personally, I refuse to pay $150 for a pair of shoes that last 6 months (I'm hard on my fencing shoes.) I find it cheaper and easier for me to find closeout volleyball shoes. Buy 3-4 pairs for $80-$100 and I'm set for a year and a half of serious fencing.

Recently I noticed that when I play basketball, my feet don't hurt, however when I fence they did. I started looking for shoes similar to my basketball shoes. Which means, stiff with that hard plastic piece on the bottom. After earching, I found some. My feet don't hurt anymore, and the durabilty has been great. The downside has been the weight of the shoes, but I can fence pain free for much longer.

I've noticed that the best place to find these kind of shoes with toe drag are tennis shoes. High end ones. Of course, you can always find discontinued models cheap.

If you would like some suggested models, I can provide them.

Good luck.

[aisha]

Hi Achilleus,

If you could give the names of a few models, that would be great. My two sons also fence (12 & 14) and wear mens' shoes and orthotics as well! I got the 12 yr. old an indoor racquetball shoe based on our shop owner's advice 3 mos. ago. At first they looked so big and beefy on him, but they lasted, his feet didn't hurt, and now of course they look awful-even though he only uses them for fencing. Time to buy more shoes! Thank you.

Best,


Aisha

[Inquartata]

I wore raquetball shoes for years---in fact I only retired the pair I had because the rubber soles had glazed and turned rock-hard.

Then I got a pair of fencing shoes, high tops, the ones that Blue Gauntlet used to sell ( Starfighters or something like that ). The soles on them are still fine but the sides have ripped out and I keep mending them ( because I'm cheap ).

As for padding and support I cannot say, since I have always had to put in foam inserts, arch supports and heel cups no matter what I wore.

The high-top feature has not seemed to me to be any great advantage, but then I see a lot of people wearing low-tops and ankle braces, and I have had no ankle problems, so perhaps it helps after all...

[Insipiens]

If you want ankle support but a good shoe for fencing, you can end up buying both fencing shoes and a separate support. I cannot imagine fencing in boots or hi-tops.
I have seen people recommend the Air Sport ankle brace from this site: www.physioroom.com
but then you are paying for that on top of a shoe.

Viktoria also make fencing shoes but I understand they don't last very long either.

My Addidas D'artagnans lasted a long time, but I am going to need to get an insert for more cushioining I think.