what inner-sole to use?

[kwun]

Hi,

so i've managed to destroy the inner-sole of my shoes recently. i wonder if anyone has suggestion on good replacement? are there "good" inner-soles for badminton? or is the normal generic foamy stuff enough for the purpose?

cheers.

[May]

I daresay that the usual foamy is good enough. Damn, I keep having double vision.

[Don]

Dr. Sholes.. I think that is what they're called.

[kwun]

yeah. i saw those in the pharmacies, but which one? they have all those fancy ones. should i just get the simplest foamy one?

has anyone experimented on them?

[Cheung]

Is it for foot odour? Hahahaha

Used to use sorbathane for foot cushioning, only the small one for heels. Don't seem to have the same problem in HK, I think the quality of shoes has got better over the years or better variety available in Asia. UK only had limited number of shoes.

[AF]

Hi,

You need replacement insoles. I suggest you go try out SUPERFEET, they are a little expensive but they provide lots of support and cushioning to your feet. There are mainly 2 kinds and they work in all types of shoes, your everyday/casual/work/dress shoes. There is the green, which is used on shoes which can have the original insole taken out. Then light blue ones are thinner and designed to go into shoes that the insoles are not removable. I have the greens in all my shoes and my feet are not as tired, even after a day of standing at work.

www.superfeet.com, I think that is their website.

Regards,
AF

[g2k]

I tried one those Dr. Scholl's All-Purpose Work and Sport Insoles. There're extremely comfortable and lasted about couple months. I wouldn't recommand the foamy ones cause I tried them and they tend to slip, and only lasted about a week. Spend the extra money, it's worth it.

[Brett]

I've been happy using Sorbathane insoles on several of my shoes, including the ASICS indoor court shoes I use for badminton.

[cooler]

yeah, i think after market replacement sole are worth it.

[kwun]

thanks all. i will try one out and let you know. meanwhile, i need to deal with that hole... erm.. i am sure you guys don't want to know all the details. :)

[kwun]

got one of those insoles yesterday. quite expensive at US$13.. but the construction is nice, some fluffy top layer with rubberly/foamly lower layer and extra soft cushioning at various points. the whole thing is contoured and find that the fit is great for me.

i used it today in the gym. i didn't notice anything bad about them. they are just there and doing its job. and that's what it should do.

i was also looking at the Dr. Scholl's All Purpose and Sports insole that g2k suggested, but upon comparing that with the Advantage Sports, the AS has thinner padding on the heel, which is better for badminton, i believe.

try them out if your current insoles has become the "see through" type. :)

[viver]

I'm wearing the Superfeet for a year and they are still good. I play only once a week so probably that's why they are still wearable. Before it I tried many other types (foamy type - 1 week; sorbothane - 2 months, etc). The Superfeet seems to suit me the best. I paid Cad 30 for a pair and it's worth it.

[kwun]

well, almost two years later, my Dr. Scholl's Advantage Sport inner soles has been used in 3 pairs of shoes and the right side finally became "see through". a hole big enough to fit my thumb through developed and it got so uncomfortable i had to replace it.

the good thing is that the left side is still intact.

oh. also, the top cloth layer dis-integrated pretty early on. that part won't hold. but the rest of the inner-sole does hold a long time.

base on my experience with it, i do recommend this inner sole. quite comfortable and does its job.

and i think it is a US$13 well spent considering that it does last a very long time.

[Yodums]

Try Dr. Scholl's Gel massage cushioning. I felt it at the pharmacy and it felt real good.

The air cushion may wear out alot faster than gel ones do.

Yodums

[kwun]

considering how the AS disintegrated, i think Gel will disintegrate even faster.

also, the over-softness of Gel will not be good for badminton, i don't want my feet sliding around in my shoes, and i need to "feel the floor".

[Yodums]

Originally posted by kwun
considering how the AS disintegrated, i think Gel will disintegrate even faster.

also, the over-softness of Gel will not be good for badminton, i don't want my feet sliding around in my shoes, and i need to "feel the floor".

Hmm, you mentioned it was 13 bucks for 2 years of soles! Your feet shouldn't be sliding around, especially with gel as it acts like rubber where it will keep your feet in place.

[kwun]

the gel sole is *much* softer than rubber. imagine walking on wobbling gello. and i am especiallly worried about lateral movement.

[Yodums]

It isn't -that- thick to feel like jello! :D Have you tried feeling it? It is fairly thin.

Yodums

[Pre-emptive]

I am using Sof Arch plus in my SHB-95. It gives good support but stain my socks red. I also tried Sorbothane Ultra Graphite Arch Insole but found it too slippery.

[stantan]

When I buy shoes I buy a size bigger than normal then I place SOF Sports Insoles (blue color) in them. Then I will replace the stock insole and wear double socks. Im overweight and getting older =)

The SOF soles are the best I can find here in Manila

[Yodums]

Seems like us badminton players are rather picky about everything related with badminton huh? :) Who'd ever thought it would come down to the soles of a shoe...

[kwun]

Originally posted by Yodums
It isn't -that- thick to feel like jello! :D Have you tried feeling it? It is fairly thin.

Yodums

i went to the pharmacy and checked it out again. my feeling is that it will definitely shift laterally when under badminton play situation.

the gel at the bottom of the insole are little short sticks that are really soft gel like. i'd say the top of the insole are around 3mm thick and the little sticks are 3mm long.

as a result, the insole will slide laterally on impact.

these insoles are designed to absorb vertical impact, the stress exerted on these insoles under badminton situations are very different IMHO.

[kwun]

Originally posted by Yodums
Seems like us badminton players are rather picky about everything related with badminton huh? :) Who'd ever thought it would come down to the soles of a shoe...

actually, it is much harder to find a pair of good shoes than finding a good racket.

[Pecheur]

Originally posted by kwun
i went to the pharmacy and checked it out again. my feeling is that it will definitely shift laterally when under badminton play situation.

as a result, the insole will slide laterally on impact.

these insoles are designed to absorb vertical impact, the stress exerted on these insoles under badminton situations are very different IMHO.

Laterally? Meaning side to side on impact? Having had a think about this, I don't believe there's a single situation that you should land with your foot perpendicular to the direction of travel. There's a couple of situations where you take off with your non-racquet leg moving laterally, but that's about it.

Every other situation going foward or sideways where there is the majority of high impact loading (unless I've missed one) you should always land with toe pointing in the direction of travel (if you've had really traditional training I think the coach woold tell you so that you shouldn't be able to see your toes because your knee should be in line), so therefore the only forces you should apply would be front - back.

Going backwards, virtually all the loading should be vertical since you want to be moving foward into your shot.

Of course I could've totally misinterpreted kwun's meaning ;)

[kwun]

i am talking about lateral. so either sideways, or forward/backwards.

i can see many badminton movement that require lateral forces. i was doing a drill the other in which we are hopping from sideline to sideline with both legs for doubles court coverage. landing on each hop on gel and slides will definitely be potential cause of injury....

[Pecheur]

Originally posted by kwun
i am talking about lateral. so either sideways, or forward/backwards.

i can see many badminton movement that require lateral forces. i was doing a drill the other in which we are hopping from sideline to sideline with both legs for doubles court coverage. landing on each hop on gel and slides will definitely be potential cause of injury....

Interestingly that picture is almost exactly how I used to do it, I had been told off repeatedly by various coaches since trying to stop like that is a really good way of rolling your ankle and otherwise causing massive strains on the knees.

Keeping the toe forward meant that all the stopping is done by the muscles, not the joints or ligaments, so much less likelihood of injury. That's how I've been taught anyway.

[kwun]

Originally posted by Pecheur
Interestingly that picture is almost exactly how I used to do it, I had been told off repeatedly by various coaches since trying to stop like that is a really good way of rolling your ankle and otherwise causing massive strains on the knees.

Keeping the toe forward meant that all the stopping is done by the muscles, not the joints or ligaments, so much less likelihood of injury. That's how I've been taught anyway.

while you have good points, i also like to point out that when you are in the court playing a real game, sometimes there may be situation in which you are not aware of, and i am sure the Chinese player in the picture also was taught not to stop sideways. anyway, if such a situation happens, you do want to have an insole that gives good lateral support instead of the soft gel one, which is like stepping on a small banana skin.

[kwun]

well, another two months on my second pair of Dr. Scholl's Sports Advantage. the experience i have with this pair is quite different. the right foot side heel of the insole started to disintegrate and developed a hole.

the difference between now and the past couple of years is that i have been fixing up my footwork and started to land on my heel instead. perhaps that is the difference that explains why the heel broke so easily. now i am not sure if i'd get the same insole again. $13 every two months is a fair bit of expense..

[Pre-emptive]

After my ankle injury, I have tried a few insoles. This is the best I have found so far.

http://yoursole.com/index.htm

A custom orthotic that fits into the shape of your feet for just $40. Just heat it in the oven for 2+ minutes and mold them to your feet. It gives me a maximum contact surface under my feet with no pressure spots. The control, fit and comfort is excellent. Other features include:

1. Poron layer which outperforms and outlasts other damping material.
2. Choice of 2 cushion thickness, regualr for performance and ultra for comfort. ( I recommend ultra cushioning. )
3. 2 year warranty on Poron.
4. 90-day refund policy

Not sure about the fit for flat-feeted though.

I was also interested in archcrafter but was so happy with the Sole that I didn't bother to try them.

http://www.archcrafters.com

[Pointfore.Ca]

I managed to chew up my insoles for my badminton shoes as well a few months ago. The regular Dr. Scholls just don't cut it for badminton and don't give you the shock absorption and durability that you would want for lateral movement.

I'd recommend getting a pair of SuperFeet footbeds (cheesy name I know) which have given my shoes a few more years of life I hope! Definitely comfortable and don't slide around in my shoes.

I know you can get them in Canada at SportChek (http://www.sportchek.ca/article.jhtml?id=12600028).