As a parent, you always want to be educated with the most up to date information possible.
You want the best possible for your son or daughter.
Parents each year spend countless hours researching articles and videos to get the perfect-sized skateboard for their child. They scan tons of FAQs and skateboarding sites.
Parents ask the other local parents and skate instructors about the safest skateboards, safety equipment, helmet types..
But we have found the most overlooked question –skate shoes.
Skate shoes have one of the largest impacts on a child’s ability to learn to skate.
Improper skate shoes hinder progression.
Most parents simply do not have the knowledge needed to get their child the proper skate shoe.
That is, until now.
In this article we’re going to cover:
- The Importance of Proper Skate Shoes
- Skate Shoe Characteristics to Avoid
- Some of the Best Skate Shoe Companies
- Where to Buy Proper Skate Shoes for your Child
Let’s get to it shall we?
Proper Skate Shoes Make All The Difference
“There’s so many times a new skater will pull up to class with everything but won’t be wearing the proper skate shoes,”
– Ethan Allot. GOSKATE instructor from Raleigh, North Carolina.
“They [skaters] think something is wrong with their balance when in reality they just needed better shoes.”
Your Child’s Progression:
The truth of the matter is the wrong shoes will get in the way of your child’s progression. If you want to accelerate your child’s progression you need to stop shopping for shoes that are not from reputable skate companies. Just because a shoe is built for sports doesn’t mean it’s built for skateboarding. The most demanding sport of them all.
Your Child’s First Experience:
Your child’s first experience on a skateboard is a pretty big one. Having the wrong shoes might cause them to make mistakes, mistakes that could have been avoided if they were wearing the proper shoes. They might have trouble keeping their balance or find themselves unequipped to pedal, stop, or feel their board well enough.
Proper Safety:
At GOSKATE, everything we do from articles to our literal skate lessons, is to promote skateboarding the safest way possible. Wearing the proper skate shoes is one of the most important safety factors as a rolled ankle or a hurt foot is one of the most common skate injuries ever.
It’s All About Feel:
Even more so than most sports or crafts, skateboarding is all about feel. That’s why even something like your board or trucks being .2 millimeters larger can make or break your experience. The same is with skate shoes. Many new young skaters will have shoes provided by their parents, maybe air force ones or another shoe that has a huge cup soul or underfoot that completely disconnects the skater from their boardfeel. You want safe shoes but that doesn’t mean you want your child wearing combat boots. More on this below.
Shoe Characteristics to Avoid:
Made from Canvas Material
Canvas itself isn’t inherently bad, it’s just an unfortunate truth that this type of material isn’t built to last and usually is the easiest to rip and create holes in your shoes. Unless you want to drench your shoes in shoe glue, it’s generally a rule of thumb to avoid canvas shoes at all costs. Suede and even leather are more suitable for the demands of griptape but shoe companies have all types of non canvas shoes that do just fine.
Velcro or No Shoelaces
Just like with anything there are a few exceptions but shoes without shoe laces (especially for your child) is not going to be conducive to the demands of skateboarding. Tony Hawk famously said he used to tighten his shoe laces as tight as possible, so the shoe was literally as close to his footshape as can be. Some parents have kids so young they are still in velcro shoes and while your child might not be popping ollies, its a general rule of thumb if the shoes don’t have laces it doesn’t meet the criteria for a good skate shoe. Nike Sb and Vans do have some slip ons that skaters love but it’s generally for tech skaters who don’t jump down things and need a very intimate board feel. Like everything, give it a try and see what works. But the safest shoe is a shoe with shoelaces.
Lack of Board Feel
While lack of board feel is a bit more of an intermediate or advanced concern long term, new skaters or kids need shoes that provide a decent amount of board feel to meet the demands of mastering the foundations of skating. If your child has shoes with high rises or boot-like material, how can they find the pocket of their tail to pivot their skateboard on a quarter pipe? How can your child effectively push off the ground without being able to feel the tension between their toes and the floor? How can the skater produce a slide or a grind if they can’t feel the resistance a ledge or rail is pushing back on them? It’s all about being able to feel these pressures in order to manipulate your board. The shoes need to have not too thick of a sole. This important truth is why some skaters skate the same shoe for life.
Safety Concerns from Poor Quality
Like we spoke on before, your child’s safety is always our top priority and the guiding principles to the advice and tutorials we share online. Simply put, if your child isn’t equipped with proper skate shoes, they increase their chances of injury. Old shoes worn out from other sports fit this criteria or even shoes that don’t fit properly. This is why skaters have their “skate shoes” they ONLY skate in. This ensures the shape and quality of the shoe is only impacted by what they do while riding their skateboard. Integrity is at the core of this and we recommend shopping for a real skate shoe from a reputable skate company.
Bought from an Unreputable Source
We don’t mean to sound ambiguous here but it’s a good rule of thumb to avoid buying skate shoes at places like thrift stores or resale retail. You don’t want to skate in used shoes that have already molded to someone else’s foot. You also don’t want to shop at discount stores unless you’re really on a budget, where you might find overstock or functionally deficient shoes. It’s all about reputable brands. Which brings us to our next point.
Some of the best skate shoe companies
Here is a quick list of some of the most well known skate shoe companies that with a long standing commitment to skateboarding, provide your child with everything they need to skate safely. We do not endorse or promote any of these brands specifically but suggest this list to provide you with proper information.
Nike Sb
Vans
Adidas
Emerica
Converse
New Balance
Lakai
D.C. Shoes
Etnies
Where to get Proper Skate Shoes for Your Child:
Skate Shops are the best place to get any type of skate gear for your child. In addition to promoting a cultural community hub in your city, your child can try on the shoes and see how they feel. Skaters find this paramount and often reference this test as the “out-of-the-box” feel of a skate shoe. The only cons to a skate shop is you may be limited to their selection or you might not have access to one in your town. We advise you to check out your skateshop for back to school shopping where they sometimes have discounts on shoes.
Onlines Skate Outlets like CCS have been supplying skaters around the globe with proper skate shoes for decades. However, you won’t have the chance to try on the shoe beforehand and sometimes during long bouts of travel a shoe can lose a bit of its shape. Skaters call this “blowing out” and is a reference to less quality made shoes.
Discount Stores or Sports Retailers can sometimes be a viable source of proper skate shoes. When Audio footwear, Airwalk, and other long standing brands were bought out before going out of business, skaters could treasure hunt Ross and Tj Maxx for the last overstocks of these brands. Today you can sometimes get lucky on the shelves of a discount or sports retailer but often these shoes won’t be pro model shoes and you get what you pay for.
