The best shoe I've found for pickleball and racquetball
I'm a longtime racquetball player, and have always favored NFS (natural foot shape) court shoes... NFS shoes are so quick to move forward without the added (useless) "point" that most shoes have (NFS shoes just have a squared off toe box, not the typical pointed/rounded shape). Let's realize for a moment that most shoes don't reflect our actual foot shape... not sure why anyone needs a pointed/rounded toebox.To my dismay, Prince stopped making my favorite NFS shoe for racquetball (the same shoe was marketed by Ektelon but was made in vinyl, which broke down quickly). To my further dismay, nobody seems to be making NFS shoes at the moment. I get it... they look weird and don't sell. They're a niche product.So I started reading reviews and searching for a new shoe. I bought the Asics Rocket and it was simply terrible... my foot was swimming around in this shoe and I could feel it slowing me down. I felt clumsy in this shoe. Can't believe they get such good reviews.I next tried the New Balance Freeze V2 indoor lacrosse shoe, which was better and almost good, but still felt a bit heavy and dull. A big part of my love for racquetball is to move quickly... I guess I'm known for making impossible returns, and that has transferred to pickleball. I love to scramble – that's my favorite part of either game (not necessarily an asset in pickleball btw, which is very much a face-forward strategic and defensive game). I must be a dog at heart because I love the feeling of my body reacting and getting to the ball. The worst part of the New Balance shoe is that it hurt my big toe by pushing it inward (never had this pain in any other shoe... especially New Balance, making me wonder if these were legit NB shoes). It would take days for the pain to go away.So I kept searching. I considered the Salming Kobra Mid 2, but couldn't bring myself to spend $175 on a shoe that is reportedly a bit frail and breaks down with hard use (hard to argue with user photos, and I'm probably harder on shoes than those folk).Kept searching and this shoe came up. More than I wanted to spend, but less than I spend on running shoes. Great reviews. Okay, worth a shot.My first impression wasn't favorable... the toe box seemed to push on my big toe, much like the New Balance. Very synthetic feeling. And there's an extra length to them... I wear a size 9 in high-end Nike shoes (which perfectly fit my foot) but these feel like a 9-1/2 (if you're a cusp size, I'd recommend going smaller).The first time I played in them took away any worries... this is an exceptional shoe. There's a cage that surrounds an incredibly supple inner shape. They adjusted to my feet – no big toe pain. Quite the opposite in fact – my feet felt well secured at the ankle and very free at the toe. Kind of amazing, given that they felt like they might impinge on my big toe at first.They felt light and responsive. They held my ankles well (two lace holes just for the ankles!), absorbed my abrupt moves and moved with me perfectly. Even the long snout of the toe didn't seem to matter... I could move at will, any direction, with speed and force. I felt a perfect cushioning and rebound as well (there's some sort of deep rebound/shock absorption that happens but only for an instant... no slop... you only feel it in hard moves).This is an intelligent shoe.Better than my favorite Prince/Ektelon shoes... way better in fact. This is a perfect racquetball/pickleball/court shoe even if it runs a bit long. It somehow manages to adapt to your feet (I normally order wide in other brands when available but these feel fine). They brace your ankles, cushion the shock and move with you as quickly as you could hope.It made me feel alive on the court, and I got to balls that I wouldn't have in my other recent shoes. It kept up with me.A definite new favorite. I'm thinking best ever. Hope they last awhile.I'll post updates as time goes on, but these shoes are instant love when wearing (not necessarily when first putting on).EDIT: Felt a little big toe pain after playing pickleball 4.5 hours twice in three days (we love to keep going until we can't). But to be honest, the rest of my body felt pain as well (I'm not a young man) and these aren't advertised as wide, unlike the New Balance. I also have a mild Morton's Neuroma that seemed to get aggravated by the end of the day, but it's doing fine here the next day. The shoes definitely help me move... still favorites, but I'll keep updating.