Fencing Shoe Alternatives

[GreyHair]

Anybody have a recommendation for a good cross trainer or court shoe that doesn't cost a fortune?

[swordsen]

Some people really like volleyball shoes but I have no idea on the cost.
Of course if cost is the defining issue go with the BG Victory shoes.

[John Nguyen]

I've seen some people use the shoe I use. Its the Adidas Samba's

Classic black and white stripes. They are indoor soccer shoes, probably cost around 30 - 60, depending on the store. BUT most importantly, I would get a heel cup, or some sort of added protection. These shoes hold up pretty well, but Im also a heavy footwork person, so I land and jump pretty hard, thereforeI would suggest buying some additional SPORT insoles, NOT gel insoles.

[achilleus]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Helvetica, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Helvetica, Arial">Originally posted by GreyHair:
<strong>Anybody have a recommendation for a good cross trainer or court shoe that doesn't cost a fortune?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Helvetica, Arial">Just buy a court shoe.

Check out

<a href="http://www.pacificsports.com" target="_blank">www.pacificsports.com</a>

or

<a href="http://www.playpro.com" target="_blank">www.playpro.com</a>

or if you prefer Adidas volleyball shoes

<a href="http://www.eastbay.com" target="_blank">www.eastbay.com</a>

[achilleus]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Helvetica, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Helvetica, Arial">Originally posted by swordsen:
<strong>Some people really like volleyball shoes but I have no idea on the cost.
Of course if cost is the defining issue go with the BG Victory shoes.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Helvetica, Arial">A good court shoe is usually about $50. A little more expensive than the BG shoe, but offers much more support, and lasts much longer. So if cost is an issue, people go with a court shoe.

[foodle]

I've been using indoor court shoes for a while. Check out the Head C-Tech Sonic 1000 and the Hi-Tec line of squash shoes (there are a bunch of them). Currently I'm using some Hi-Tec Adrenalin Pro shoes and like them quite a bit.

Take a look at the Squash Talk equipment page for some vendor recommendations (<a href="http://www.squashtalk.com/html/vmall.htm">link</a>). It seems like squash is a much more popular sport in the UK and Europe than the US. So I had to order my shoes over the net. Also, check ebay. You might get lucky.

The shoes typically cost between $30-$60. Much less than the Adidas shoes. My primary motivation for using alternative shoes was that the Adidas shoe shape (long and narrow) was the exact opposite of my foot (short and wide). I placed foot comfort over having a "real" fencing shoe. Good hunting.

<small>[ 08-06-2002, 02:09 PM: Message edited by: foodle ]</small>

[slosher]

You could also check out wrestling shoes, the go for about 30-60. They offer a decent amount of ankle support and prevent that toe jam that happens to me a lot. You need to put in sport heel cups though since they have almost no padding in the heel.

[GreyHair]

Thanks for all the recommendations. My primary motivation was to find a shoe for my 11 year old son. Since he'll grow out of it in six months I didn't want to be paying big bucks for "real" fencing shoes.