yes they are. if you play more than once a week then do not compromise on this, you need the cushioning for training on a gym floor. high end shoes, good coach/training, good shuttles, good stringer, mid range racket. ironically the racket is one of the few things in badminton you can get away with spending less on. see if you can find an end of range shoe model on sale (I just realised the original post is from a few years ago)
One problem I and others experience is the unsuitability of many court floors for matches in the UK. Often they aren't clean, and even sweeping doesn't improve grip much. I see Yonex have recently changed the grip pattern on the soles of some high-end shoes from their former hex pattern. It would be useful to read reviews of these with regards to traction compared with the others.
Dont expect to much on new tech stuff especially from Yonex. They are to good at marketing talk which makes nothing like complicated calculation & high tech improvement. Well, Yonex had their pattern, so does Victor, Lining, & Mizuno.
