http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Tec-Squash-Unisex-Trainer-Trainers/dp/B000ZJYD0Y/ I saw this cheap shoe and pretty good reviews on Amazon. What do you think?
Personally wouldn't bother - save your money on anything better. I bought a pair a few years ago on a clearance. Cost me $25, I thought a fantastic deal at the time. The shoe is very old school styling, and durable enough. But the insole was paper thin, and had very little inner support/cushion - so got stiff and sore knees. I tried different insoles to help it, but there was very limited room inside the shoe, nothing seemed to work to make the shoe any better. I wound up using as a general purpose shoe - but never used them again on the court.
From the picture, we can find that the midsole is made of open-cell foam: http://www2.estrellamountain.edu/academics/physed/wellness/Proper_Footwear.html I think at the similar price range you could find shoes which are bouncier and with better cushioning
Lately here in Vancouver there has been a new brand that has crept up. Called Kumpoo (yes - you have to get past that name first!), with an entire line of low priced racquets, shoes and clothing. Shoes start from $50CAD here, so maybe with a bit of searching you might find lower priced sources. The racquets surprisingly aren't that bad considering some of them are around $55 to $80. Here is link to the local shop: http://www.toplinesports.ca/Kumpoo-KH-21-Badminton-Shoes_p_227.html Those Hi_Tec's aren't particularly bad shoes - maybe for the intended squash market, but definitely the type of court movement and pounding won't provide any long term support or comfort for badminton. I have to admit they are really old school badminton - almost circa 1970'ish design. Current badminton shoes have ore improved design and materials that will handle the type of punishment on court movement.
I was close to buying that pair in neon green, a couple months ago. Fit was nice, and ASICS have always been a decent grip and cushion. What canceled my enthusiasm was a nagging bump on the outside of foot on both shoes. If you take a look at the image of the shoe - where the second set of swoop occurs, the stitching inside bunches up and I felt that bump on both feet. Otherwise a terrific fit, but as I was wearing them on in the store, just kept getting that nudge on the outsides of both feet. So I would have been bothered on court if I had bought them. They even let me try 3 different pairs, and all of them had the same stitch bump. I wound up with the Adidas BT Feather in yellow.
i believe Kumpoo is a Thai brand and they have sponsored some of the pro badminton players. too bad i didn't get anything from them when i was in thailand.
Kumpoo is a Japanese brand. They claim to be number two badminton brand in Japan. They only focus on badminton. They had high profile in Thailand a few years ago as the Kumpoo distributor spent alot of money on marketing and sponsorship. Boonsak Ponsana was one of those sponsored back then together with a few other national team players like saralee and sudhket.