hi everyone, well i've been reading HEAPS of threads about shoes, because i've been playing in old runners, and i know thats a really bad idea. Problem is, i live in australia (where we can't really buy baddy stuff easily) and i'm also not that good (so i don't want to spend hundreds of dollars if i can help it, though i'm not going to be stingy). so i went to my local sportsmart (which is one of the only places that has court shoes at all) and they only had about 7 models, one of which was a badminton-specific shoe (a Yonex something, but it didn't fit me well). i ended up getting some Prince court shoes - they were wide enough (i don't have narrow feet, the Mizuno court shoes were a bit squishy) and they are court shoes which is obviously better than runners. is there any way to tell if they'll be good or not? since its my first pair i don't know what to look for, but they fit well and are quite comfy. I had to pay AU$100 which is about $75US but that was the 2nd cheapest pair as well!!! here's a photo of them, don't know if you can tell anything about them from it, but i'm feeling a little insecure that i may have bought bad ones! I wish i could order over the net but i think without trying them on its a bit foolish. thanks a LOT! - stu
these looks just fine espeically if u r just switching from runners a good pair of normal court shoe should get the job done. It should give u the proper grip and the sole is lower reducing yr risk to sprint an ankle. As u graduatly improve and the sport is getting more and more intense u will naturally want more outta the shoe and u will know when's a right time to invest in a more hardcore badminton shoes.. Just like how ppl will gear toward more advanced rackets in time. But i believe these one will serve u well for a good long time
hi guys, thanks for the replies. i actually just swapped them for some SHB-68's. the reason is that while those ones DID fit pretty well and seem ok, i thought it's probably better to get a badminton-specific shoe if i can, and i found a little racquetsports shop that had 4 models, and the 68s fit well (and were only $70 instead of the $100 i had spent). but thanks anyway. (i guess there won't be a review for these after all!).