Fencing shoes for narrow feet?

[Marauder]

First off, hello everyone! I'm new to the forums ^.^
So I have been looking for fencing specific shoes for some time now, since I have been using volleyball court shoes and they have worn out tremendously, to the point where I can't stand on strip without slipping. Time for new shoes.
I'm a young fencer, girl, and need these shoes for mostly high school tournaments on wooden floors. I fence 2 hours three times a week also on wooden floors.
I have some ankle problems, but I don't know about high tops...And narrow feet so from what I have heard, AF's are not for me. I would consider Adidas but they're DAMN expensive and they're not that good?
And any news on the Nike Ballestra? Opinions?

[Korts]

Eh. The D'Artagnan I and II were pretty good shoes for the narrow of foot, and they definitely were cheap. I'm not sure if you can still get them, I myself haven't been out shopping for shoes since the year before last. The PBT Fortuna is a pretty cheap and sturdy shoe as well, although I found them a little uncomfortable. Then there's the Hi-Tec Blade, although that's a bit more expensive, and for wider feet than the above mentioned shoes.

[Catseye]

I'm pretty narrow of foot myself and the Ballestras are just amazingly comfortable. I've been fencing in our dorm's dining room wooden floor lately and it performs nicely. I'd say its good traction for most surfaces I've been on. But there's the availability issue with those... Have you seen/thought about the Asics fencing sneakers? They've got a pretty sleek design, small, lightweight. Tried a pair on once in a store; they're pretty cozy and I've got three friends with them and they seem to be pretty happy. I imagine the shoes would be decently durable if you're only fencing about 2-3 times a week. Should be under Asics Fencing LA on Amazon.

[Marauder]

What about Hi-Tec's?

[phillipmj]

I have very narrow feet also, and Absolute Fencing's Elite II shoes fit me very well. Their previous line was too wide, but they saw the error of their ways.

They're very grippy, and only cost 60 bucks.

[Fenceguy]

My son likes the Absolute Fencing shoes. He has a narrow foot and they wear well. My son fences a heavy training schedule . . almost 4 hours a day and at least 5 nights a week. These AF shoes seem to last much longer than the Addidas D't and the High Techs mentioned. We just picked up another pair at Nationals for under $50. We will get the Nikes when they become available again (hopefully). For the money, fit, and durability we do like the AFs! Good luck.

[Eisley]

What about Hi-Tec's?

Stay away from the Leon Paul shoes, both Hi-Tec Blades & Scimitars, as they both run both wide and about half a size large. Also, those shoes are $119 / $159 respectively, so what do you mean Adidas are expensive? You can get most Adidas shoes for that price or less and their shoes tend to run narrow (Except maybe the D'Artagnan III's & Adistar Lo's running dead on normal)

[EldRick]

Unfortunately, the Asics Onitsuka Tiger LA 84 Fencing shoe has been dropped. A few vendors have a handful of sizes left, but that's it.

[K O'N]

Unfortunately, the Asics Onitsuka Tiger LA 84 Fencing shoe has been dropped. A few vendors have a handful of sizes left, but that's it.

The OT fencing shoe was just the OT running shoe with a rolled up sole on the heel, which did little or nothing to actually cushion your heel on a hard lunge. If you liked the fencing shoe try a pair of the Mexico 66 or similar OT running shoes, I bet you won't be able to tell the difference.

I like them a lot and wear them to fence in, but they wear pretty fast on the side if you drag your rear foot, and they don't have the gel cushion for a hard heel strike as the Nike Bs were designed to have. They are low, which is good, and light, which is good, and they do have a heel cushion, they're not wrestling shoes. They look to me like exactly what they were advertised to be, fencing shoes from 25 years ago.

K O'N

[chinbeard]

First off, hello everyone! I'm new to the forums ^.^
So I have been looking for fencing specific shoes for some time now, since I have been using volleyball court shoes and they have worn out tremendously, to the point where I can't stand on strip without slipping. Time for new shoes.
I'm a young fencer, girl, and need these shoes for mostly high school tournaments on wooden floors. I fence 2 hours three times a week also on wooden floors.
I have some ankle problems, but I don't know about high tops...And narrow feet so from what I have heard, AF's are not for me. I would consider Adidas but they're DAMN expensive and they're not that good?
And any news on the Nike Ballestra? Opinions?

Yeah, the Nike Ballestra is an inexpensive alternative to those damn expensive Adidas.

[yearsofwisdom]

its not a huge price difference when your willing to shelf out 160 for a pair of shoes

[fencerll]

I have narrow feet and the adidas en guards (~$100) have held up very well for me. I've had them for 10 months now (they are extremely worn, but i've been holding out getting new shoes until the ballestras become available in oct). I would highly recommend the en guards (and the ballestras, but i dont have any personal experience with them but have heard a lot fo good things).

[yearsofwisdom]

i have the en gardes as well. Quite hard to find now that its a discontinued item. you might as well as get a pair of court shoes like the ones Superscribe raves about and wait for the ballestras or just get the adistars which are great.