Good insoles for badminton

s_mair · Apr 12, 2022

Razor-BladE said: ↑

So I've only had 3 sessions with them so far and doubles only, but here's my impressions so far.

The Sorbothane Double Strike that I mentioned buying previously isn't in fact the Double Strike, for some reason I thought that's the one I bought. Whilst looking for the prices, I in fact bought the Spenco Cross Trainer a few years ago, probably based on a recommendation here

First thing to say is I have fairly flat and somewhat wide feet so what may work for me, may not work for you. And what I'm looking for mostly is something fairly thin so I'm close to the ground, and also comfortable enough to accommodate my flat feet (and good value for money).

Scholl Gel Activ Work - £10.99
Despite saying it will fit sizes 7-12, it was fairly short, maybe a good cm off the original Asics Gel Blade insoles (size UK 11.5). I could have sent it back but thought I will try it, as I can still give a good review and comparison of it for anyone else. Decent cushiony heel, maybe borderline too thick, but the quality of the forefoot part is thin and lacking in quality even compared to it's Sport brother which you can pick up for the same price. Pretty comfortable though, just not for me due to it not being large enough and thin forefoot material.

Scholl Gel Activ Sport - £16.99 (You can buy these for £10/11 but I bought the 'new' version as there's a mixup in description on the old page on Amazon so wasn't sure if it was the right size)
Like the Work version, it comes up a bit short on the length although just a little bit longer than the Work version. Thinnest on the heel of all the insoles but has a decent thickness on the forefoot bit which is fairly important in the longevity as that's where I wear out first. General quality is much better than the Work version. Despite it being slightly short, I didn't really feel my toes go over the front edge like I did with the Work version. The downside to this one is that it has a plastic moulding for arch support and because I have flat feet it was slightly digging into the 'arch' of my foot. After the first session I flattened this plastic support as much as I could by bending it/leaving something heavy on it for a couple of days to flatten it. It actually worked to some degree and a lot more comfortable the second time round. Due to being low to the ground I like this one especially for the price. It could be a little wider in size though (as well as longer).

Sorbothane Sorbo Pro - £22.67
Very decent quality. A big plus on this insole is that it's oversized, so I needed to trim a little from the top and side to fit my shoes. So even if you have wide shoes, you shouldn't have an issue with this fitting once you spend a bit of time to cut it down correctly. Decently low to the ground, not as much as the Scholl Sport, but I don't feel significantly high. Comfortable ish. The only thing I didn't like with this insole is that it does have arch support, and has a fairly 'aggressive' cupping to the heel, which again, being flat footed took away some of that comfort.

Spenco Cross Trainer - £18.99
Decent quality. Very comfortable due to having the most cushioning out of all of the insoles I tried, plus it has a flat profile so good for my flat feet. Downside is that it's just way too much cushioning and puts me up too high off the ground and therefore lose lateral stability on changes of direction.

Enertor Performance Sport - £30
The quality of this insole is excellent, and easily the best compared to the others. I was a bit hesitant at first because the images of it looks like the arch support is quite high, but it's not actually that high and can't really feel it when in use. Really easy put into the shoe and I didn't need to trim anything, it's almost exactly the same shape as the original insole. Feet in and instantly comfortable.

The ONLY thing, is that for me it's just a smidge too thick. I was thinking if there was a version of this but thinner, I'd be sold. I looked at the Enertor Comfort again and lo and behold it's back in stock. From the pictures it looks thinner than the Performance Sport version? So I bought it, and well, I'm glad I did.

Enertor Comfort - £24.99
Same excellent quality as the Performance Sport, but without the arch support. Much thinner heel (second thinnest here) but with a fairly decent forefoot thickness, and a super flat foot profile, so excellent for those with flat feet. No trimming needed (this one is a little narrow than the Performance Sport, but no issue), instant comfort. And even cheaper than the Performance Sport. Even though this is one of the more expensive ones, it's definitely worth the price, especially if you want something low profile, and have flat feet.

A TL;DR version:
Easily the Enertor Comfort insole is the one for me, low and flat profile and super comfortable.
The Scholl Sport, despite being short in length for my shoe size, is comfortable and I would take it over the Scholl Work if you don't have flat feet.
Same issue of not really being made for peope with flat feet with the Sorbothane Sorbo Pro due to it's arch support and heel cupping.
Enertor Performance Sport has the same excellent comfort as the Comfort version and if I needed more cushioning this would probably be my choice of insole, but this one and the Spenco Cross Training and just about the Scholl Work, is too thick for me.
The Scholl Work I would avoid anyway because, although not bad, lacks the quality of the others, even compared to the same price Scholl Sport (if arch support agrees with you). However having said that, if you did have flat feet, have shoe size 10 or under, and wanted something a bit more cushiony and cheap and cheerful, it would be great for that.

Heel Thickness Thinnest First
Scholl Sport - Enertor Comfort - Sorbo Pro - Scholl Work - Enertor Performance - Spenco Cross Trainer

Forefoot Thickness Thinnest First
Scholl Work - Sorbo Pro - Enertor Comfort - Scholl Sport - Enertor Performance - Spenco Cross Trainer

Overall Quality
Enertor (Both) > Spenco Cross Trainer = Sorbo Pro > Scholl Sport > Scholl Work

Comfort
Enertor (Both) > Spenco Cross Trainer > Scholl Work > Scholl Sport > Sorbo Pro

My Preference
Enertor Comfort > Scholl Sport > Sorbo Pro = Enertor Performance > Scholl Work = Spenco Cross Trainer
Click to expand...

Great review, thanks a lot! Haven't noticed those Enertors anywhere yet. Not cheap, but if the quality and performance fits the price, then so be it. And interesting that the cheap Scholl Sport come in second place in your personal ranking.

Razor-BladE · Apr 13, 2022

s_mair said: ↑

Great review, thanks a lot! Haven't noticed those Enertors anywhere yet. Not cheap, but if the quality and performance fits the price, then so be it. And interesting that the cheap Scholl Sport come in second place in your personal ranking.
Click to expand...

Yeah well for me, having something thin enough trumps everything else so in my eyes, the only viable ones are the Enertor Comfort, Scholl Sport and Sorbothane Sorbo Pro. The Scholl Sport is surprisly decent for a £10 insole, but not the same level as Enertor and I'm happy to pay extra for that. If the Scholl Sport had a flat profile and was actually big enough for my shoes I would probably rank it first especially given the price. The Sorbo Pro is the least comfortable of the 3 because of the profile.

I'll try and use the Enertor Comfort and Scholl Sport equally but I guess it'll be a while to see how they hold up long term. The Enertor *should* last longer because of the material but we'll see.

BadmintonDave · Apr 13, 2022

Razor-BladE said: ↑

Enertor Comfort - £24.99
Same excellent quality as the Performance Sport, but without the arch support. Much thinner heel (second thinnest here) but with a fairly decent forefoot thickness, and a super flat foot profile, so excellent for those with flat feet. No trimming needed (this one is a little narrow than the Performance Sport, but no issue), instant comfort. And even cheaper than the Performance Sport. Even though this is one of the more expensive ones, it's definitely worth the price, especially if you want something low profile, and have flat feet.
Click to expand...

thank you, I will be looking to try a pair of these next month

Raju · Aug 27, 2022

Razor-BladE said: ↑

So I've only had 3 sessions with them so far and doubles only, but here's my impressions so far.

The Sorbothane Double Strike that I mentioned buying previously isn't in fact the Double Strike, for some reason I thought that's the one I bought. Whilst looking for the prices, I in fact bought the Spenco Cross Trainer a few years ago, probably based on a recommendation here

First thing to say is I have fairly flat and somewhat wide feet so what may work for me, may not work for you. And what I'm looking for mostly is something fairly thin so I'm close to the ground, and also comfortable enough to accommodate my flat feet (and good value for money).

Scholl Gel Activ Work - £10.99
Despite saying it will fit sizes 7-12, it was fairly short, maybe a good cm off the original Asics Gel Blade insoles (size UK 11.5). I could have sent it back but thought I will try it, as I can still give a good review and comparison of it for anyone else. Decent cushiony heel, maybe borderline too thick, but the quality of the forefoot part is thin and lacking in quality even compared to it's Sport brother which you can pick up for the same price. Pretty comfortable though, just not for me due to it not being large enough and thin forefoot material.

Scholl Gel Activ Sport - £16.99 (You can buy these for £10/11 but I bought the 'new' version as there's a mixup in description on the old page on Amazon so wasn't sure if it was the right size)
Like the Work version, it comes up a bit short on the length although just a little bit longer than the Work version. Thinnest on the heel of all the insoles but has a decent thickness on the forefoot bit which is fairly important in the longevity as that's where I wear out first. General quality is much better than the Work version. Despite it being slightly short, I didn't really feel my toes go over the front edge like I did with the Work version. The downside to this one is that it has a plastic moulding for arch support and because I have flat feet it was slightly digging into the 'arch' of my foot. After the first session I flattened this plastic support as much as I could by bending it/leaving something heavy on it for a couple of days to flatten it. It actually worked to some degree and a lot more comfortable the second time round. Due to being low to the ground I like this one especially for the price. It could be a little wider in size though (as well as longer).

Sorbothane Sorbo Pro - £22.67
Very decent quality. A big plus on this insole is that it's oversized, so I needed to trim a little from the top and side to fit my shoes. So even if you have wide shoes, you shouldn't have an issue with this fitting once you spend a bit of time to cut it down correctly. Decently low to the ground, not as much as the Scholl Sport, but I don't feel significantly high. Comfortable ish. The only thing I didn't like with this insole is that it does have arch support, and has a fairly 'aggressive' cupping to the heel, which again, being flat footed took away some of that comfort.

Spenco Cross Trainer - £18.99
Decent quality. Very comfortable due to having the most cushioning out of all of the insoles I tried, plus it has a flat profile so good for my flat feet. Downside is that it's just way too much cushioning and puts me up too high off the ground and therefore lose lateral stability on changes of direction.

Enertor Performance Sport - £30
The quality of this insole is excellent, and easily the best compared to the others. I was a bit hesitant at first because the images of it looks like the arch support is quite high, but it's not actually that high and can't really feel it when in use. Really easy put into the shoe and I didn't need to trim anything, it's almost exactly the same shape as the original insole. Feet in and instantly comfortable.

The ONLY thing, is that for me it's just a smidge too thick. I was thinking if there was a version of this but thinner, I'd be sold. I looked at the Enertor Comfort again and lo and behold it's back in stock. From the pictures it looks thinner than the Performance Sport version? So I bought it, and well, I'm glad I did.

Enertor Comfort - £24.99
Same excellent quality as the Performance Sport, but without the arch support. Much thinner heel (second thinnest here) but with a fairly decent forefoot thickness, and a super flat foot profile, so excellent for those with flat feet. No trimming needed (this one is a little narrow than the Performance Sport, but no issue), instant comfort. And even cheaper than the Performance Sport. Even though this is one of the more expensive ones, it's definitely worth the price, especially if you want something low profile, and have flat feet.

A TL;DR version:
Easily the Enertor Comfort insole is the one for me, low and flat profile and super comfortable.
The Scholl Sport, despite being short in length for my shoe size, is comfortable and I would take it over the Scholl Work if you don't have flat feet.
Same issue of not really being made for peope with flat feet with the Sorbothane Sorbo Pro due to it's arch support and heel cupping.
Enertor Performance Sport has the same excellent comfort as the Comfort version and if I needed more cushioning this would probably be my choice of insole, but this one and the Spenco Cross Training and just about the Scholl Work, is too thick for me.
The Scholl Work I would avoid anyway because, although not bad, lacks the quality of the others, even compared to the same price Scholl Sport (if arch support agrees with you). However having said that, if you did have flat feet, have shoe size 10 or under, and wanted something a bit more cushiony and cheap and cheerful, it would be great for that.

Heel Thickness Thinnest First
Scholl Sport - Enertor Comfort - Sorbo Pro - Scholl Work - Enertor Performance - Spenco Cross Trainer

Forefoot Thickness Thinnest First
Scholl Work - Sorbo Pro - Enertor Comfort - Scholl Sport - Enertor Performance - Spenco Cross Trainer

Overall Quality
Enertor (Both) > Spenco Cross Trainer = Sorbo Pro > Scholl Sport > Scholl Work

Comfort
Enertor (Both) > Spenco Cross Trainer > Scholl Work > Scholl Sport > Sorbo Pro

My Preference
Enertor Comfort > Scholl Sport > Sorbo Pro = Enertor Performance > Scholl Work = Spenco Cross Trainer
Click to expand...

Thank you for this information. I am looking for insoles with great cushioning and arch support as well. Which one would you recommend out these?
I currently use Victor P8510 shoes and never replaced insoles till now. They were great untill they became flat. I replaced them with victor VT-XD10 and even after proper stretching and less intense games over the week I start to get posterior shin splints, which are really annoying.

ucantseeme · Aug 27, 2022

Raju said: ↑

Thank you for this information. I am looking for insoles with great cushioning and arch support as well. Which one would you recommend out these?
I currently use Victor P8510 shoes and never replaced insoles till now. They were great untill they became flat. I replaced them with victor VT-XD10 and even after proper stretching and less intense games over the week I start to get posterior shin splints, which are really annoying.
Click to expand...

I quote myself from the previous page. Bought a douzen insoles until I made this. I will never buy any "walmart" sole for everyone anymore. One will work for others perfect, for others not. We are all different, have a different body, different feet. Highly recommend to go for customs. Don't be afraid of the high price. It's worth every penny and made all my pain go away. I noticed that I trained my feet with them that the flat arch is also no use, when I walk with socks, barefoot.

ucantseeme said: ↑

After a long journey with various insoles which you can buy, I personally decided to get custom orthopedics a few weeks ago. Motion analystics, feet analystics, correction, several appointments, tailoring for my badminton shoes later, I payed 100€ for sensomotoric insoles due flat arch which help to built up muscles in my feet to correct them.

The center for orthopedic technology I visited have only insoles, were specialized for sports, and have various pros in soccer and basketball as clients. They have a huge impact in my motions beeing more balanced, notice that my motions are more fluent, more stable and natural. I will never play without. I can really recommend to do this step, because buying spencos, and so on are a great value for money if you just want to replace the stocks, but if you have any feet issues like me, I highly recommend to go this step and never forget 50% is always the right shoe. change them if the cushion is worn out even if the look quite new. Never be cheap, because you can't replace your body.
Click to expand...

Raju · Aug 27, 2022

ucantseeme said: ↑

I quote myself from the previous page. Bought a douzen insoles until I made this. I will never buy any "walmart" sole for everyone anymore. One will work for others perfect, for others not. We are all different, have a different body, different feet. Highly recommend to go for customs. Don't be afraid of the high price. It's worth every penny and made all my pain go away. I noticed that I trained my feet with them that the flat arch is also no use, when I walk with socks, barefoot.
Click to expand...

I would love to, but the options for custom stuff are very rare where I live and I am sure it will cost 5x more.

alternat0 · Sep 9, 2022

Victor is campaigning their mid-sole, sounds amazing. Do they sell insoles?

Budi · Sep 9, 2022

alternat0 said: ↑

Victor is campaigning their mid-sole, sounds amazing. Do they sell insoles?
Click to expand...

Yes they sell insole.
XD-8, XD-10, XD-11.
Not sure whats the difference between the 3.

Raju · Sep 9, 2022

alternat0 said: ↑

Victor is campaigning their mid-sole, sounds amazing. Do they sell insoles?
Click to expand...

I am also looking for them, but i havent seen them anywhere online yet.
Technology looks good and wraps all around your foot.

Good insoles for badminton

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