Skate shoes and sneakers

Your skate shoes and sneakers are fully packed with technological features and innovations. But what exactly is behind the technical names of each brand individually? Learn more about the technologies in the world of skate shoes and sneakers and click through all the different manufacturers.

You can find more information about different footwear, cuts and fits as well as care instructions and more in our skate shoe and sneakers Wiki.

Everything about skate shoes and sneakers – the skatedeluxe skate shoe wiki


1. Nike SB

Lunarlon Sole, Hyperfeel, Hyperfuse & Flyknit – What’s behind the Nike SB technologies?

Lightweight, soft, highly reactive – the Nike SB Lunarlon Sole. This technology uses specially designed foams with different densities, which guarantee sports-specific dampening for a soft and resilient feel. The Lunarlon technology works to counteract heavy impacts.

The Lunarlon midsole damping system consists of two parts. On the one hand, it features a lightweight foam core and on the other hand, the sole consists partially of a rigid foam sheath, which secures the soft core and bounces back into place.


Have you always wondered what’s behind the Nike Zoom technology? Wonder no more! In principle, it’s a lightweight and stable damping system developed by Nike. It’s very thin and allows your foot to be closer to your board, which maximises boardfeel. The Zoom elements are basically tightly tensioned fibres inside the pressurised air pad. After impact, these fibres quickly spring back into their original shape, providing a comfortable and elastic feel.

This effectively dampens the heavy impacts of skateboarding. The Zoom Pad also makes your shoes lighter without compromising performance. Furthermore, soles with the Nike Zoom technology are extremely hard-wearing since it’s continually offsetting the constant impact, which works to protect your feet, ankles and even certain parts of the shoes.


Nike SB skate shoes and sneakers with Zoom technology

The Hyperfeel technology integrates the Nike Lunarlon midsole. This is thinner toward the toes, which will increase the boardfeel where you need it most. In the heel area, the sole is thicker and equipped with an additional Nike Zoom Air Pad to reduce high impact. The goal of Hyperfeel technology is to make you feel like you’re barefoot on your board.


Nike SB skate shoes and sneakers with Hyperfeel technology

For the Hyperfuse innovation, three different material layers are joined together by a special melting process. This creates an extraordinary mix of materials that is both robust and breathable. Thanks to Hyperfuse, the shoe gets a better fit and makes having seams in the upper material practically obsolete. This gives the shoe a clean look as well as a seamless toe cap. The Nike Hyperfuse provides good air circulation with its breathable mesh in the heat-intensive zones in the middle area of the shoes. Another advantage of the Nike Hyperfuse its durability thanks to the 3-layer upper material. The heat-sealed multi-layered fabric makes the shoe particularly robust.


With the Flyknit, Nike introduced a lighter and virtually seamless, firm and durable upper material to the market. With Nike SB, you’ll find the Flyknit material at the sock-like extension of the shank of the Nike SB Koston 3 shoe. The Flyknit technology enhances the support of your foot in the shoe while protecting your ankles and helps you better control your board. Flyknit is made of ultralight TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), which is processed into a robust fabric that tightly encloses your ankle area. Thanks to the high upper and the inner sock, you feel completely connected to the shoe and you get the feeling of full control over your shoes on your board.


Nike SB Koston 3 Flyknit Wear Test at skatedeluxe

React describes a special foam that Nike originally developed for running shoes. In addition to its light weight, the React material is very reactive and designed to prevent injuries from heavy impact.


Nike SB Bruin React Wear Test

2. Vans

With Ultracush, the Wafflecup and Duracap, Vans has some great technology to offer. But what’s the difference between the individual features?

ULTRACUSH is Vans’ in-house flexible, lightweight and resistant insoles. These give you a balance between boardfeel and damping. However, they not only ensure great cushioning but also reduce the weight of the shoe since the rubber parts of the sole are reduced.


What’s the secret behind the Vans WAFFLECUP construction? Boardfeel and a firm hold in your shoe. The Vans Wafflecup technology combines grip and feel in the forefoot area. It’s reminiscent of the classic vulcanised shoe that’s been equipped with more stability and support in the entire sole area.


The DURACAP Material from Vans protects and strengthens all the particularly strained parts of your skate shoe. Thanks to long-lasting rubber layers, the reinforcements can withstand even the toughest demands.


The LuxLiner is a comfortable extension of the Vans shoe tongue. It’s located underneath the upper in the front area of the shoe. Because the liner moves independently from the upper, it stabilizes your feet inside the shoe, providing a snug fit and responsive boardfeel. The material of the liner is also very breathable, which ensures a good ventilation of your feet.


The new WaffleControl construction from Vans is basically a cup sole with a special feature in the heel area. The rear part of the sole has deep recesses while the waffle pattern in the area around the front foot and the big toe has been condensed. Thanks to those features, the sole promises durability and impact protection in the necessary areas.


The UltimateWaffle sole is a cupsole construction by Vans with improved boardfeel and extra flexibility. This is realized by a internal shank on the sole’s inside.


The RapidWeld technology from Vans doesn’t connect skate shoe uppers with seams, but by heat-bonding them instead. The welded panels become almost inseperable and guarantee the upper’s high durability.

The PopCush insoles from Vans are quite similar in construction to previous “Ultracush” technology. The foamed PopCush soles are preshaped, have more material on the heel for cushioning and become slightly thinner towards the forefoot to maximize board feel.

Vans calls one of their advanced rubber compounds for their outsoles on pro skate shoes sickSTICK. This material has been designed for improved grip, flexibility, and even better durability.


Check out all the Vans Skate Shoes & Sneakers

3. DC Shoes

Learn more about the Unilite and Impact-I Technology from DC Shoes!

Unilite is DC Shoes’ ultra-light and flexible midsole. Thanks to the Unilite design, DC drastically reduces the weight of your shoes and offers exceptional performance and comfort.


DC Shoes with Unilite technology

With the Impact-I technology, DC has found an effective way to save your bones and joints while skating. The technology has rubber cones inwardly directed with a low durometer, which compresses the impact during the landing. The Impact-I technology protects your feet from hard hits.


DC Shoes with Impact-I technology

The Dynamic Grip Technology (DGT) from DC Shoes describes a special construction of the outsole. To improve grip and durability of the sole, this technology uses three types of rubber in different durometers: soft rubber for control & boardfeel, medium-hard rubber for sufficient grip & hard rubber for extended durability. The special feature of the sole is that each area gets the most suitable material. Thus, the durability on high wear areas of the outsole is increased, and on other parts, grip & boardfeel are optimized.


DC Shoes with Dynamic Grip technology

The Dual Density Unilite midsole is an upgrade to the regular Unilite midsole from DC Shoes. Thanks to perfectly combined materials with different densities, this type of midsole ensures low weight, loads of comfort and additional impact support.


DC Shoes with Dual Density Unilite technology

4. adidas Skateboarding

adidas Skateboarding is putting out skate shoes with Boost and ADV Technology into the market. What’s it all about?

adidas presents an innovative cushioning system for running shoes with their BOOST technology, which provides a completely new running feeling. In cooperation with BASF (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, a German chemistry company), the brand developed an entirely new production process. In this case, solid TPU granules (thermoplastic polyurethane) are “blown up” and broken down into capsules. 2,500 of these capsules are them compacted to create a midsole. This results in a new damping element with its own cell structure that efficiently stores energy and gives it back with every step. Bernd Wahler, head of innovation at adidas, claims: “BOOST sets a new standard not only for running shoes, but for the entire industry and all products going forward.” Thanks to the features mentioned, the BOOST technology is successfully implemented in adidas Skateboarding skate shoe models.


adidas Skateboarding shoes with Boost technology

The abbreviation ADV behind some of adidas Skatboarding’s shoe models stands for “Advanced” and describes the improvements to the features of the shoes to meet the requirements of skating. The adidas Skateboarding Busenitz Vulc ADV shoe is the perfect example of how the optimal skate shoe can be created from classic adidas models.


adidas Skateboarding ADV shoes

The adidas Pivot Point can be found on a lot of the brands’ shoes right in the area of the ball of foot. The technology of the concentric circles has been proven itself over the years, which is why it’s part of a lot of adidas sports shoes. By contact with the ground, the openings provide a much better rotation to the foot, or rather let you position your foot a lot easier despite having maximum grip.


to the adidas Skateboarding shop

Primeknit is adidas’ name for the knit-like material used in some of their shoes, i.e. in the adidas Skateboarding Lucas Premiere Primeknit. This material doesn’t need any seams and is extraordinarily breathable, light and flexible. The only downside is that it’s not as durable as leather. Make sure that high-wear areas like the Ollie area or toe cap are reinforced with another material if you want to skate in adidas Primeknit shoes.


To the adidas Skateboarding shop

The adidas Adituff technology is an abrasion-resistant material that is used in the toe area and/or on the inside of the front foot area. It is basically a toe cap and is mainly used to prevent excessive wear. Especially with flip tricks the front area of skate shoes wears out pretty quickly. That’s where adidas Adituff comes in. The abrasion-resistant material mixture is designed to prolong the life of the skate shoes and also provides a high level of protection for the feet.


To the adidas Skateboarding shop

The adidas AdiPRENE® is used in many adidas skateboarding skate shoes. It is an EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) based material which is incorporated in the heel area which absorbs impact forces and protects heels and joints from high loads. The adiPRENE® insert ensures long-term cushioning and pleasant wearing comfort.


To the adidas Skateboarding shop

Cloudfoam is an EVA-based foam compound used in the midsoles of adidas skateboarding shoes. The foam content provides impact protection and comfort during every session.


To the adidas Skateboarding shop

5. etnies

etnies relies on skate shoes with STI Evolution Foam, Pro Foam 1 und 400 NBS. What’s the secret behind this technologies?

With the STI Evolution Foam, etnies brings a lightweight, flexible and elastic midsole into the race. This gives the skate shoes a lot of damping in order to even counteract strong impacts. STI Evolution Foam centre soles are made of polyurethane, making them extremely durable. They also give you great boardfeel.


etnies skate shoes with STI Evolution Foam

The material that etnies uses for the insoles in many of their skate shoes is called Pro Foam 1. It’s a foamed polyurethane footbed that provides superior impact absorption and support in combination with the STI Evolution® Foam midsole.


Much like és, etnies uses a 400 NBS rubber lining for the running soles of the Marana and Helix models. NBS is a measure of the density and abrasion resistance of rubber. 400 NBS corresponds to the highest value of rubber that is still sufficiently flexible for an outsole without becoming brittle. In short: you get maximum resistance and reliable flexibility.


to the etnies shop

Michelin and etnies have teamed up to develop a special cup sole for the Marana, Veer and Joslin models. The Marana sole also uses etnies’ STI Evolution Foam, which provides plenty of cushioning and impact protection. The deep grooves in the tread pattern provide high traction, while the Michelin rubber compound offers remarkable durability on all surfaces. According to etnies the Marana sole is 3x more durable than its predecessor.


To the etnies shop

6. éS

What does és build into their skate shoes with their 400 NBS technology?

The technology behind the és 400 NBS is a rubberised outsole which is durable and resistant. NBS is a measure of the density of the rubber and its resistance to abrasion. The value 400 NBS is the highest value rubber can have to be flexible enough while keeping the rubber from becoming brittle.


Discover the és skate shoe at skatedeluxe

7. New Balance Numeric

What’s the secret behind the New Balance Numeric technologies?

When it comes to the New Balance Numeric, the N2 technology features damping technology in the heels of its skate and running shoes. New Balance Numeric uses a foam enriched with nitrogen to achieve increased cushioning, reduced weight, and stability.


New Balance Numeric 868 Shoes with the N2 damping

The insoles of the New Balance Numeric shoes consist of closed cell polyurethane. This means that the sole’s foam is very stable and durable. Support from day to day is guaranteed.


All New Balance Numeric shoes

New Balance Numeric uses a very abrasion-resistant and grippy rubber for their skate shoes. Hence, the play on words with the “N-durance®” outsoles.


All New Balance Numeric shoes

Some New Balance Numeric models come with a REVlite midsole. The special REVlite foam is 30% lighter than other foams that are equally as durable and responsive. For you, this means consistent support and less weight on your feet.




Many NBnumeric skate shoes have TPU reinforced uppers. That means the uppers have been bonded with thermoplastic polyurethane to increase the shoe’s durability. Imagine ironing some kind of plastic onto the leather to reinforce it.


New Balance Numeric 533 shoes with TPU

Some of the midsoles in the New Balance Numeric line have their signature C-CAP® technology. It uses a light, compression moulded EVA. The goal of the technology is to provide additional cushioning without sacrificing flexibility or board feel.


New Balance Numeric shoes with C-Cap®

Some New Balance Numerics, such as the 868, are equipped with Fantom Tape. This lightweight material is used to stabilize the areas of the shoe that are mainly made of mesh. Fantom Tape is attached to the shoe without any seams and ensures the stability and breathability of the shoe.


New Balance Numeric shoes with Fantom Tape

8. Emerica

Emerica equip their skate shoes with G6 technology. What does G6 even mean?

Emerica’s G6 technology describes their in-house cushioned foam soles. These are made of EVA, making them lightweight and giving you the cushioning and comfort you need when skating.


Emerica G6 skate shoes at a glance