Badminton Shoes

If there is one piece of advice i can give you it is this- always buy the best badminton shoes you can afford. Do not buy cheap shoes, you will pay for this if you do, with blisters, aches and pains. A good pair of shoes are the first thing you should spend money on, period. Forget the flashy badminton racket, you need to protect your feet, or you will not be able to play.

I currently use the Yonex SHB100 LTD shoes. These are probably the most expensive on the market at the time of writing this, i got mine for £60 i think, but they are worth every penny. Before this i actually used squash shoes, the Prince NFS 2 in black. I thought that if they were good enough for Peter Nicol they were good enough for me. Squash has very similar movements to badminton, i mean have you seen a top flight squash match? The top players feet take some real punishment just like badminton players. I love squash, it's a great game, even though i am just learning it i get the same buzz out of it that i get out of badminton.

The best makers of badminton shoes are Yonex. There are quites a few to choose from in their range, but as a rule, go for the most expensive, your feet will thank you for it. I also like the look of the Asics gel series too. I have not used these but the gel sensei look like they could be a good alternative to Yonex. If any of you use them i would be very interested on what you think of them. The price is around £60, and i know that Asics have a great reputation for making running shoes, so i expect the badminton shoes will be top notch too.

A good pair of shoes will give you maximum support, comfort and durability. They should be re-inforced at the toe area, as this is where most of the wear and tear will occur. If you buy a cheap pair you will see how quickly they wear down as you drag your non racket foot when lunging. My Yonex shoes look like good quality. There is good support for your feet all round, and they have a power cushion sole, and inside they have a kind of ribbed insole which helps to cushion your feet. They are also very light. To be honest with you, when i first tried them out, i could immediately feel the difference, compared to my old Prince shoes. The Prince one's felt heavier. The good thing with the Yonex SHB100 is that i just put them on and played, there was no rubbing at all on my feet, no "bedding them in period". This is the sign of a quality shoe.

My shoe wearing history goes something like this:- first pair i used was the HiTec squash, then the Aliph shoes. These were the top choice quite a few years back, very very light but not much comfort and support, so i just put some more cushioned insloes in them. Next was the HiTec adrenalin pro, a great shoe that i used for a good few years, and then the Prince NFS, which i used for many years, and finally the Yonex SHB100 which i currently use. All i can say is the Yonex are the best by a mile, so thankyou to Yonex for making such a great product. Christ, i sound like an advert for Yonex here.

Please do not ever try to play badminton in your running shoes. They are not designed for it, and there is a good chance you will twist your ankle, and also wreck them after about one hour of play. I see this so many times at the sports centre when beginners play badminton, it is a recipe for disaster. If your gonna take up badminton please, please, please, get the right kind of shoes.