shoes....i know this has been gone over before

[fencingfoolfour]

i am kinda confused
i was planning to get a pauir of pretty chep star- fighter fencing shoes...but are the addidas ones better??

if they are a lot better i would rather throw in a lot more money but get a much better shoe

on the other hand i have heard a lot of guys talk about wrestling shoes....how have those held up in your past experiences??...i know they are pretty cheap.

if anyone could help me find the perfect shoe at the perfect price it would be greatly appreciated

***u know...fencing and this message board are both kind of addictive

[sabreuse]

I've only been wearing "real" fencing shoes for about a year so I'm probably no expert. However, here is the benefit of my limited experience. I bought some cheapy fencing shoes about a year ago. At first they were a great improvement over the cross-trainers I had been wearing. They were much lighter and felt more nimble. However, since they were cheap, they stretched out of shape fairly quickly. No matter how I laced them, by the end of a night of fencing or a tournament, my toes ended up all jammed in the front. Makes for black and blue toe-nails and mandatory toe-nail polish all summer. A few months ago I bought a pair of the Adidas D'Artagnons and they are wonderful. The front is really stiff so my feet stay put in the shoes. Before I plunked down the C-note for these, I did try on some Adidas indoor soccer shoes and did some footwork and lunges in the shoe store (I ignored the funny looks). They felt too flat across my toes.

[neevel]

Folks I know who owned Starfighters found they didn't hold up very well under frequent use (but one of them was on the Yale WE team and was getting them for $25 per pair and so didn't mind). I'd say the Adidas D'Artagnans would be worth the cost over Starfighters. Adidas shoes are clearly worth it if you're going to be on metal pistes a lot-- the soles hold up to that much better.

Wrestling shoes are designed for use on mats-- they have almost no cushioning or support. The consensus I've found is that squash/badminton shoes seem to be the best lower-cost alternative to fencing shoes. You may need to hunt a bit to find them (or have a shoe store order a pair).

-Dave

[big poppa]

Iv'e used Starfighter shoes for about five year with no problems and Iv'e used them on metal strips.My problem is finding them in my size (13).

[Mergs]

I agree with Poppa. Been using the Starfighters for several years. The only problem I had was when I went to fencing 7 days a week on a concrete floor. They wore completely out in about 3 months (they were about two years old before that). Six of one......

[Lumberg]

I would like to add a little opinion. Get the shoes that feel comfortable. I buy Adidas. They are relatively expensive compared to other athletic shoes and they wear out with normal usage. But, think about other sports. Basketball players are always getting more than one pair of basketball shoes a season and each pair are over $100. Serious runners go through a couple pairs of shoes a year and they don't get the cheap shoes if they want proper cushioning. My sister is a marathon runner.
So, if your fencing shoes don't last one fencing season, just get another pair.

------------------
Lumberg.
"...ahhh, we have sort of a problem here... yeah, you apparently didn't put one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report"

[Lordy]

I have used Star Fighters for two and a half years and recently purchased the new Adidas shoes and they are out of this world in comparison. Star Fighters are garbage. The adidas shoes are worth the investment. Two things a fencer should invest in no matter what the cost is an FIE mask and a good pair of shoes.

[Bugaboo]

My alternative is soccer shoes. Really, I took a few weeks and looked all over the metro area at every sports shoe I could find on hand. I was reluctant to order anything by mail if I couldn't try it on first. The soccer shoes I found were light, had a good amount of support and a fairly thin sole, and almost no extra material around the edges. At first glance, they look remarkably similar to "official" fencing shoes. Two pair over three years -- the only problem has been stretching a couple of lacing eyelets out of shape from lunging. Adidas, I think.

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[DarkTransient]

I find crosstraining shoes superior.. by farrrr.

And even basketball shoes kicks S .


[This message has been edited by DarkTransient (edited 03-08-2001).]