Skate shoes in general are not comfortable or well cushioned compared to a technical running shoe for example.
As an older skater I get a lot of foot injuries and I’m after a good shoe. We take a lot of abuse to our feet in bails, falls, etc. I always wear down a hole in the sole of my lead foot and this is a common wear spot for most skaters. I’ve had injury in the ball of my lead foot. It is definitely a pressure point.
I’ve tried most shoes from Vans, Nike SB, Emerica, Etnies and currently Adidas. Like an old man I’ve started to replace the insole of my skate shoes with a thicker, gel padded one. This helps but it’s still not great.
What are your opinions for comfort?
I like comfort, but I’ve had insoles that have full cushion air in them, and it’s too much. I can’t feel the board and my foot feels like it’s rocking around, less stable.
Since eS made it’s comeback, I’ve been skating in the Accel Slim, so that’s all I’ve skated in the last 6 years. I do use an older insole, as it seems like they cut back at some point and put a really cheap insole in them, so I just used the old one. The look like they’ve gone back to the good one again now though. Before eS, I’ve been skating in Vans HalfCab with a super slim Emerica insole for probably 10 years before that. I don’t think I’ve worn a technical/thicker shoe since early 2000’s DVS.
I’m 46, so I’m not jumping down anything. Still get bruised feet from primo landed flips etc and I’ve got something weird going on with the ball of my pushing/back foot that won’t let me stretch the big toe properly, but that’s part of skateboarding. I think boardfeel is more important than comfort for me.
100% any Nike SB with a Free sole unit. So:
- Nike SB Free Premium (or ‘PRM’)
- Nike SB Nyjah Free
The Nyjah was the last one released IIRC but I’ve had 2x or the PRMs before and they are the most incredibly comfortable ones I’ve ever had. And that’s across 30+ years of skating. If I see any in my size and in a non-horrific colourway I’ll def be getting some more. Nyjahs can be found in sale now so might be able to get pick some up cheap. As far as I remember the PRMs fit true to size.
I had a set of the Gamechanger insoles, where you stick them in microwave and let them set to your feet but I found them too chunky with less boardfeel than I like.
I use these , they’ve been a game changer
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Thanks for the suggestions.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone with the foot ailments.
I was going to say, Footprint insoles have made a massive difference to me. Well worth the money. depending on how much you skate they last from around five months to a year, but don’t buy the fancy ones you put in the oven or anything like that. Just get the more basic ones, which if you click on that link should be the first insoles you see. Seriously, everyone should be using them. I’ve told young guys to start wearing them as they could potentially add years onto your skating. They changed things for me quite dramatically.
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this was intresting as i was thinking about this earlier as i don’t have skateboarding shoes but have running shoes, which i wear alot for running and walking or hiking.when i was messing about on my skateboard i had my running shoes on. i think the skateboarding shoes are very flat but good for grip and landing, it might feel a bit strange to me for a while as i wear running shoes alot .
going off your post history im assuming you havent skated in a while. skate shoes are basically in 2 categories; vulcanized and cupsole. vulcs are something like a pair of Vans etc where the sole is glued to the uppers, and then a layer of foxing tape (basically rubber) is heat wrapped around it. for the most part this results in more board feel at the expense of the shoe feeling a lot thinner, offering less impact protection.
cupsoles are a bit harder to explain but they’re usually glued or stitched onto the uppers (they tend to “cup” the uppers in the production process as per the name). they tend to be thicker, use eva foam, offer more cushioning etc - cupsoles are more than likely what was in the mix when you were first skating.
i dont know too much about running shoes, but i’d imagine compared to skate shoes they’re a lot lighter and probably use a lot of foam for cushioning etc. wouldn’t recommend skating in those as imo the amount of cushioning would be too much, not to mention you’d prolly blow them apart within a week.
from what i remember vulcs seemed to stronghold the market from the late 00s onwards with stuff like the lakai manchester, nike sb janoskis etc. luckily these days you’ll be very hard pressed to find a shoe that doesn’t work for you. i’d probably recommend a cupsole from new balances numeric line, something like a 440 or 1010 etc. once broken in i’d more than likely put the 440s up there as the comfiest i’ve skated. i’m sure some of the older fellas here could give some better recommendations shoe wise.
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Yeah, running shoes tend to be stacked pretty high so it’s not really advisable to use them for skating, too easy to roll your ankle.
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If you’re a runner you might have used the Nike free run sole, which is my absolute favourite.
Nike also use this on skate shoes and they are hands down the lightest, comfiest shoes I’ve ever skated (8n nearly 40 years of skating).
Haven’t had a pair in about 4 years but I think the latest Nike Nyjah SB Free 2 shoes use it. If it’s a Nike SB shoe and ‘free’ is in the name you’re probably good to go.
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thanks, yeah i think i’ll think about getting skate shoes at some stage 
i think skateboarding has got popular recently i’m seeing lot’s of people on skateboards around town. i remember catching the train to plymouth to go to small skate shop upstairs back when you could buy 411 vhs skate videos, that was year’s ago but i used to love going in skate shops for a quick browse.
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Randomly saw those Nyjahs on sale for 50 quid, might get some
https://www.hanon-shop.com/collections/sale/products/nike-sb-nyjah-free-2-t-cu9220101
In my local outlet. Still say ‘Nyjah’ on them. Imagine somebody asking who that was? Or imagine somebody knew who it was? Not for me.
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If you could realistically unpick the Nigel stitching without making the shoe look weird
