I need some shoes like asics gel blade 3 that have good protection on the highlighted area - above ball of big toe (for non racket foot). are there any alternatives? I find yonex are not very durable there!
Yeah... My SC5EX is really worn down to a hole there from my dragging foot after only 1 year. I've heard and checked out the Victor 9000 is quite sturdy there.
I had looked for that but can't see it on sale in uk/euro. I think you refer to sh9000, not the V 9000 aka 827-9000 = widefit version (http://www.centralsports.co.uk/products/victor-827-9000-widefit-footwear)
Hey - keep an eye out of the next couple of weeks as hopefully SH9000ACE will be reappearing - if this is the shoe you mean!
I have the same problem. It's because of sliding the foot while moving to the net, right? I just can tell you that Yonex SHB-102 lasted almost one year only in this area. Now I have Victor SHB-8500. They seem to be worse in this area. I already can see some abrasion after a few weeks only! I wonder how long these shoes will last. But I think they won't last longer than the yonex.