I just read about a product called Springbak Soles, which are an extremely thin insole that goes under your regular insole, and reduces leg fatigue, helps vertical jump, etc. The USA Men's Olympic team uses them, along with several other teams worldwide. Here is a site that sells them: www.kineticfootwear.com Here is a review: http://volleyball.about.com/library/Reviews/aaprspringbak.htm As well, some people on a forum I visit have tried them and found them to be beneficial in terms of fatigue. I can imagine that they would be quite beneficial in badminton. I think I might order a pair, since I can use them for multiple sports. This appears to be the same type of technology Yonex markets as the Power Cushion. On this note, does anyone find the Power Cushion to work? And has anyone tried to drop an egg from 1m into the shoe? Phil
don't forget USPS will charge you 20% duty (what our government charges them) when you recieve the package. You might get lucky though... i hear about half of the people aren't asked to pay duty so it's mostly luck.
I've ordered a pair too. Definitely an interesting concept and I could use all the extra juice possible since my legs feel like match sticks sometimes.
Received them today, took about 2 weeks. I think they've added about 2 to 3 inches to my vertical jump. I'm currently doing Air Alert, so I have a chart set up to measure. My legs weren't as fatigued as they usually are after the AA workout today. Right after I finished, I went and measured on the chart again and I could reach about 3 inches or so above the lowest point on the chart. Normally right after I can't even reach the chart. Will have to do further testing and see how they perform during the badminton season. From what I've experienced so far though, they should be a great addition to a badminton player's court shoes. They are like the Yonex Power Cushion technology, except I can't feel the PC in my SHB-55's. Man, I got like a souped-up court shoe now. I already had Dr. Scholl's ball of foot gel cushions to absorb the shock. Phil
I received my pair yesterday and just on initial playing around with it, it's a little difficult to tell if I do have any kind of improvement. I'll be trying them out at badminton tonight though, so I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow.
sounds like magic. something that can increase my air by 2-3 inches? i look forward to reading the in court reviews...... and as i have been destroying one insole every few months, i am also interested in knowing how durable it is also..
I tried my Springbak Soles on the courts last night but I didn't want to take out my inner sole since I had just bought the shoes and they were glued down. While it was on top of the shoe, it was pretty good and I wasn't fatigued as much although I didn't notice any different in my jumping height. My movement definitely was more explosive though and my recovery steps felt much easier to do. I took out the inner soles on my shoes now and I've placed the SpringBak sole on the bottom of my shoe and placed my Spenco sole on top of that (since my original sole is totally chewed up from being glued). I hope it will give me better performance now, because my comfort level in my shoes has dropped since the Spenco sole is not fitted exactly to my shoe. Since you put it under the insole, the durability is perfectly fine. It's very very thin so it's not meant to be a replacement sole. I'll see how it is on the courts again now that it's sitting as it should be in the shoe.
I placed the Springbak soles over the ball of foot cushions for two reasons: a) the ball of foot cushions are glued in by the adhesive that comes with them, and it would be a pain to rip them out and clean it b) if the ball of foot cushion was above the springbak sole it would be sliding around in there Scientific Diagram attached shows what my shoe looks like. It is not a replacement insole, it is to be placed UNDER a full insole such as the one that comes with your shoe. Had my first day of volleyball camp today, and my legs arent fatigued at all, and thats after playing two more hours of basketball when I got home out in the sun. I can't wait 'till the badminton season to see how well they will affect me. Phil
UNIVERSITIES AND TEAMS USING SPRINGBAK SPRINGSOLES IN THEIR PROGRAMS: Canterbury Crusaders - World Rugby League Champions 2002 Season Sydney Kings - #1 Pro Team Australia - Basketball Australia National Basketball (women) - 2000 Olympic Silver Medalists University of Nebraska - Volleyball Women - 2000 NCAA Champions USA OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL - Men NEW ZEALAND OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL - Men GREAT BRITAIN OLYMPIC BASKETBALL - Men BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY- Football; Volleyball (Men 1999 & 2001 NCAA Champion); Tennis (Men and Women) UCLA-BASKETBALL - (Men 11 NCAA Championships); Volleyball (Men 17 NCAA Championships and Women) STANFORD- Volleyball (Women) 2001 National Champions PEPPERDINE- Volleyball (Women) LOYOLA-MARYMOUNT/L.A. - Basketball and Volleyball (Men and Women) LONG BEACH STATE- Volleyball (Women 1999 NCAA Champion) UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA - Basketball (Men) and Volleyball (Women) UC SANTA BARBARA - Basketball (Men) and Volleyball (Women) UC IRVINE- Basketball and Volleyball (Men and Women) UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA/FAIRBANKS- Basketball (Men) and Volleyball (Women) WHITMAN COLLEGE/WASHINGTON- Basketball (Men) CONCORDIA COLLEGE/PORTLAND- Basketball (Men) USC- Volleyball (Men) & (Women 2002 National Champions) UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII - Volleyball (Women) Phil
It's really NICE... really nice indeed. I could feel the extra height and bounce when I jumped and moved. My lunges were faster for recovery. And also because of that extra inch or two in height, my smashes are going down at a better trajectory. I'm sure that this isn't psychological. I'd recommend these soles for sure, but it sure was a pain to get out my previous insoles from my shoes.
Haha okie. I can't wait for mine to arrived and test it out. I'll probably just place it between the original insole (cos it's real thin and glued down) and my LP gel insole. Thanks.
You won't get as much performance out of it... and the SpringBak Sole isn't as durable as you'd think it is. The one time when I placed it on top of my insole, it was wearing off at the sides. Best to perform surgery on your shoes...
Got my SpringBak Sole today and was surprised to find a cap in the package since on the site it says you only get the cap when you order 2 pairs and I only ordered 1. It's already sitting where it should be now in my shoes, can't wait to test it out tomorrow. Too bad it only arrived after my training session today. Would love to test it out during training.
You're supposed to get a cap if you buy two... Somehow I don't feel ripped off though because I don't think I'd end up wearing a cap to play badminton on the courts anyhow.
