Every skate shoe has a number of specific features that differentiate it from sneakers and traditional street shoes. Often referred to by the layman as a "skater shoe", the skate shoe is the first point of contact between your board and your feet. You can shop the very best skate shoes from top brands like adidas,
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Skate Shoes
Every skate shoe has a number of specific features that differentiate it from sneakers and traditional street shoes. Often referred to by the layman as a "skater shoe", the skate shoe is the first point of contact between your board and your feet. You can shop the very best skate shoes from top brands like adidas, Nike SB, Emerica, Vans and many more in our skatedeluxe online shop.
What sets skate shoes apart from sneakers?
Often stylishly camouflaged, skate shoes come with a whole range of technology and features. To skate at top performance, you need to find the right shoe to suit your needs. It’s crucial to find a functional mix of style, comfort, feel, taste, and durability. Various brands strive to master this balancing act in their own way.
Brands like adidas and Nike SB have years of experience producing all sorts of sports shoes and have set their sights on high-performance skate shoes. Skater-owned brands like Lakai and Emerica have staking in their cores and rely on their own experience on the streets, skate parks and skateboarding community.
The most important features and characteristics of a skate shoe
Skate shoes have to meet very high demands and last a long time. For this reason, you have countless variations of soles, and diverse outer materials and upholstery.
The Soles
Skate shoes need a particularly well-cushioned sole to prevent injuries. The two types used here are Vulc Soles and Cup Soles.
Vulc Soles
For shoes with a vulcanised sole, the individual rubber components of the sole are glued together and secured to the shoe with a rubber strip. This ensures minimal weight.
However, this means that abrasion does more damage to the shoe and the sole wears down faster. Additionally, due to the softer sole, the cushioning is not as good as a skate shoe with a Cup sole. However, you get more flexibility and boardfeel with vulcanised soles. Generally, the time needed to break in skate shoes with a Vulc sole is very short, if at all necessary. You can normally skate them right out of the box.
Cup Soles
Contrary to vulcanised soles, cup soles are comprised of one piece. The outsole is not only glued to the sole, it’s also sewn into it. The midsole is made of highly elastic foam, which provides stability and cushioning and truly proves its worth when skating sets and gaps.
Due to the thicker sole, shoes with cup soles are slightly heavier and less flexible than shoes with a Vulc sole and take longer to be broken in. However, the tradeoff for which is that they usually last longer.
The Outer Material
The durability of your shoes is a topic that simply can’t be avoided when it comes to skating. Therefore, the outer material of your skate shoe is one of the most important features.
Suede
Suede is the most commonly used outer material for skate shoes. Suede leather is particularly robust and stretchy. In addition, it softens with frequent use, giving you good control when flipping without having to sacrifice durability.
Smooth Leather
Smooth leather is produced from the top, grain side of leather and is usually thinner and less resistant than suede. To compensate for this, smooth leather often comes with an artificial coating and a paint job. Nubuck leather is created by roughening up a smooth leather.
Canvas
Inherently not as abrasion-resistant as leather, shoe manufacturers are always coming up with techniques to make canvas shoes more resistant to wear and tear. Advantages of skate shoes made of textile materials include their reduced weight and the high breathability.
Additional Features
In addition to a good sole and the corresponding outer material, there are still some features that only a skate shoe can offer. The Ollie area is often double-stitched, rubberised or reinforced with a pad to make it last as long as possible.
To allow for as many kickflips as possible without putting holes in the shoe, there are skate shoes with a rubberized toe cap. Moreover, seams are often reinforced to ensure that the skate shoe lasts a long time.
Technological Wonders and Classics
There are also technological wonders, like the Nike SB Nyjah Free, which features a built-in neoprene bootie, Flywire cable, and injected sole material for lightweight, flexible cushioning.
Another highly developed skate shoe is the adidas 3ST.001 with Geoflex Tread and Torsion system for optimal mid-foot joint protection.
For those who like it a little simpler but still want to take advantage of the technology, there are variants such as the badminton-inspired Converse Cons Jack Purcell, in classic low-cut silhouette with the toe cap, or the Vans Slip On Pro, with DURACAP rubber reinforcement in the most stressed areas and a fortified heel area.
Haven’t quite made up your mind yet and still need help choosing your new skate shoe? We’ve put together the following for you to help you make the best-informed decision: