I play mostly on wooden floor as the hall our club uses has it. Today was mat though. But I think that it doesn't really matter if the sole wears down this fast. Even if it is wooden flood, 3 months is just too fast (and I even switch between these and a Yonex pair, which I mentioned earlier). I've never experienced anything like this before.
Clarificatian.. . you mean cushioning wearing fast, not sole, right? Yeah, it doesn't have much cushion to begin with.
mini-review A few weeks in now - some thoughts. Note: stock insoles replace with Poly Sorb Total Support. Looks - 9.5/10 Put simply, the best-looking badminton shoe I've seen so far. The white and candy-apple red is a fanstastic base, and that flash of silver on the side breaks things up nicely. If the red had been carried all the way around the instep (which is a bit boring with white alone) it would have got 10. Fit - lengthways -10/10; lateral 9/10 I was told this would be a narrow fit, but my feet aren't especially narrow and I've encountered no problems. I went for US10 coming from US10.5 Yonexes, and the length-ways fit is spot on. There's a nice touch on the back: a little patch "one way" fabric - like pool table nap - on the Achilles area that stops the heel lifting out of the shoe. Support - lengthways - 9/10; lateral 9/10 I hated the old Victor TalonGuard - it felt like somebody was sticking a drawing pin in the outside of my foot. These, though, give very unobtrusive support that only chimes in when needed. My feet don't move around at all in these things, but they don't feel constricted - perfect compromise. Cushioning - 8/10 I'd expected such a low and fast shoe to skimp on comfort, but it doesn't. Granted, it's not like having your feet stuck in marshmallows like some, but you're not going to come off court with aching soles. Bear in mind, I'm 185 lb bouncing around on size nines... Grip - 8/10 (now...) My first session was nearly a disaster, like I had bowling shoes on - no traction whatsoever. After a couple of hours, though, the grip just switched on out of nowhere - seems I had to burn through some factory leftovers to get to the good rubber. They don't grip quite as well as my former 101 LTD, but the issue comes up very rarely, and not at all if the court has been dusted. Can't comment on durabilty yet, but I will say that the red area has "sunk" slightly - become concave - around the little toe. Doesn't detract from the performance at all. Price - 6.5/10 (UK); 7.5/10 (overseas) Retailers (or, rather, the retailer) here sell them for around a hundred quid - would I pay that? No, but I wouldn't pay a huindred quid for any brand's badminton shoes. You can have them imported for around £80, which is a bit more like it, but IMO £70 would be the threshold of fairness. Overall, an excellent looking and performing shoe.
nice review! I'm trying to purchase the SH-9000 online and sizing is such a pain to determine. what YY shoes did you wear before? I'm wearing a YY SHB-102MX US size 9 and the fit is a bit too big on the front so I had to put half an insole on front to make a better fit. I managed to try a Victor SH-810 in a local shop here (SH-9000 is unfortunately not available in US size 9 in the shop I visited) and the fit was more "snug" compared to my current shoe. Do you recommend going down half a size as well?
Mark: Good review and totally agree! I have the same exact shoe and size, with Spenco Total Support Max insoles. The suggestion to clean the new outsoles with window cleaner was spot on for removing the slightly greasy slippery material leftover from manufacturing.
I'd suggest staying with the same size and playing around with socks of different thickness to fine tune your ultimate fit.
The rule of thumb is to get Yonex shoes half a size bigger than your street shoes, but IME you don't have to do this with Victor. I came from US10.5 SHB-101, and my street size is between US10 and US10.5.
Thanks. I do wear size 8.5 dress shoes but my running shoes are size 9. Main problem with YY is they have size variations between models. I had an SHB-58 before and the fit was snug, the SHB-102 I'm wearing right now is at least 1/2 size larger. I hope Victor doesn't have this problem.
What if you try SH9000Ace in the retailer around your area, after you are sure about your size, you just order it online.
Retailers here usually do not stock shoes in various sizes. I'll have to pre-order a specific model/size and wait several days for it to arrive. (situation is the same for 4-5 shops I visited) I'm too ashamed to ask them to get the SH-9000 in my preferred size with no intention to buy them. I have no choice but to fit what's available on the store at hand.
Ask them for the shoes in your size, and when they arrive and don't fit, say they don't fit. It's their job to get you the size you need, and as they ship stuff both ways all the time (to/from Victor and other companies) it shouldn't be any trouble for them to send them back should they not fit. I would recommend going half a size smaller than the high end Yonex. These shoes widen, so if they're just a bit uncomfortable at first, they should be a great fit after a week or so.
hi, any1 can recommend me a shop who can offer a good price for 9000 ace red white color in malaysia kl area?may i know wat is the price?inbox me, thx
Culture is really quite different here and even if I say they don't fit, they would get the other size you need (may it be smaller or bigger) and would expect you to buy them. I know it sounds bollocks but sales person would even TELL you what size you need regardless of how comfortable the shoe (or clothes) feel... I made a blind buy and went for the size 270 (same as my SHB-102). Fortunately, I got lucky and got correct size, otherwise, I would've gone through the trouble of trying to sell it on order to buy the correct size. The fit is considerably better (no need to add any extra insole nor extra thick socks). The SHB-102 may have been extra big/loose to begin with. I'm still going by the "+1/2 size to street shoe" size convention though. I have not considered any increase in the width either. I'm hoping thicker socks will do the trick (if necessary). While the support from this shoe is quite good, it tends to be on the heavy side. My size 270 SH-9000 seems heavier than my friend's SH-A850.
Yep, that's what I use. But be warned that this shoe is 20% cushioning, 80% speed, whereas other shoes like SC5EX is 80% cushioning, 20% speed. So if you have bad knees like me, you'll need to change to a thicker insole.
Seconded. Had a singles tournament yesterday (5 matches, one of them around the 40min mark) and by the end of it, my feet were rather sore, same this morning. In training today, everything was fine again (though my everything from my elbow to my shoulder blade wasn't ). Heel is dampened decently, I don't get real heel pain (I sometimes do in most Yonex), but it's a bit hard on the feet and legs (depending on what problems you're prone to have - shins, knees, even hips...).
Mark, would you mind measuring your foot for me? I wear a size 9.5 yonex (86EX) and I was wondering what the Victor equivalent would be. My foot is 10.25 inches or 26 cm in length.
