Ryka Influence is my favorite shoe ever!
The Ryka Influence shoe fits like it was made for me personally! Amazing shoes! I have a medium width foot, wider at across at the little toe joint and narrow at heal. I also have high arch. I have these shoes in every color I can get my hands on in case Ryka phases out the style since the thick sole look is currently trending. The best thing about RYKA’s are in the details. The tell you the heal to toe rise. They have sole types based on your activity. They are made specifically for women.The Influence model has a low heel rise of 8 mm so my foot is not thrown forward. It has a circular area or pivot point on the sole under the big toe. Didn’t realize how useful that was until I had to do 3 months of PT. This model is marketing for use with activities like aerobics and Zumba but I wear my RYKA’s all the time. I first saw them when taking my husband for medical treatments at the hospital and a lot of nurses were wearing them several years ago. The first two pair I ordered, I ordered in my usual size 8. The fit was exactly spot on and allowed for thin footies or socks. I only wore them to the gym at that time. Three years later, I found I needed to go up to a thicker cushioned sock and the shoes felt a little tight at the toe so I purchased 8.5 size. Perfect!!!I now live in these shoes. I damaged both knees in a recent fall and these shoes help keep me aligned so I can wear them all day without pain or discomfort. I wear them to the gym and PT with no problem and they’ve held up very well. Admittedly, I don’t do hardcore activities in them but I am hard on shoes. I wish I’d had sense enough to wear them while I was still teaching!Ryka has a wide variety of styles, both lace up and slip on. I highly recommend the brand and so glad they have a store on Amazon now!!
✔ Verified Purchase
Great Shoes For Zumba
I purchased these shoes after my Zumba instructor suggested I get shoes specifically for Zumba. Get the right shoe for the right activity, she said. I had told her how my knees had been hurting and that is why I didn't do some of the higher impact moves, and she said the right shoes should help. I was a bit skeptical, and almost didn't get these shoes especially because of the price point, but I am so glad I did. I wear 6 1/2 or 7, and have a fairly wide foot in the toe box area, but not so much in my heel, which ironically is how these shoes are designed, for a women's foot, Made "For Women, By Women", and the size 7 fit me perfectly. First thing I noticed is how lightweight, yet at the same time still very supportive, and surprisingly stable feeling they were. The real test was at my next Zumba class, and they passed with flying colors!!!! My skepticism quickly disappeared when I was doing the high impact moves that I wouldn't even attempt before because of knee pain. I did a whole one hour class with no knee pain at all and worked out much harder than ever before since I was pain free. The lightweightedness of the shoe helped make kicks, and jumps much easier. And the spin spot on the bottom of the shoe made turns much smoother as well. As a result I am getting a much more intense workout, and becoming better at: "Zumba-ing"! I would also like to mention Amazon delivered before the projected delivery date, which was an awesome surprise to receive them so quick. Kudos to Ryka for making such a great shoe! This was my first experience with Ryka shoes and I will try some of their other shoes as well in the future.
✔ Verified Purchase
V
Virgina Ilkhan
October 10, 2025
Pretty Good
Very pretty shoe. It is also comfortable. I sized up half a size based on the recommendation and they fit. Warning, this shoe DOES NOT HAVE ARCH SUPPORT. It has a soft insert giving the illusion of arch support, that will eventually flatten with weight and wear. I can remove it and add orthotics but then that makes the shoe tight. So I added just a gel arch support and that works.
✔ Verified Purchase
S
Suzanne D. Moore
January 08, 2026
Great fitting shoes!
Most comfortable shoes ever!
✔ Verified Purchase
Good quality shoe, but not for me.
I bought these for doing cross-training workouts as I couldn’t balance/transition well in my running shoes.I don’t think these are a bad shoe but after 2 weeks I have decided not to wear them anymore. For transparency purposes I will list my “situation” then the pros and cons:Transparency: I have narrow feet with high arches, a bit of a wonky left knee from an injury a year ago, and I tend to pronate on my right foot.Pros:- Affordable price-point- Lightweight, you can really feel your footing while doing jumps/squats/balancing, etc.- Breathable- Not overly wideCons:- Very little arch support, my high arches were starting to hurt after working out in these- A tad too wide for narrow feet but would be a good fit for slightly narrow or normal width.- No stability for pronation (it doesn’t say it’s a stability shoe, but be warned that there’s really no support at all...none). Some other reviewers say that it has a bit of decent stability and this just isn’t true. This is coming from someone who generally thrives in a neutral shoe.- I ordered a 9.5 (as I wear in other athletic shoe brands) and these were a smidge larger than expected.- Could use a bit more cushionOverall, my left knee started hurting in these and my knee hadn’t hurt while working out in my other shoes in months. I think it had to do with the lack of cushion and stability as the knee pain remedied with a different pair of neutral cross-training shoes.I would definitely veer away from these if you gave high arches, narrow feet and/or knee issues.However, if none of the above, try them out because they are definitely a decent shoe for the price.
✔ Verified Purchase
C
christine
October 11, 2025
Comfortable shoes, but run small
Nice shoes, perfect for fitness classes on a wood studio floor. Very comfortable and nice looking. They did run small, though. I normally wear a 8 wide in New Balance. Ended up returning the first pair and getting the 8.5W instead, which fit me perfectly.
✔ Verified Purchase
