I bought a nice new pair of yonex cascade drive shoes on 24th June. It's now the 24th August and I have approximately 100 hours of court time with them. The left insole has a hole at the left big toe joint thing. It's big enough for me to fit my finger or thumb through. The rest of the shoe is absolutely fine. Is this a normal thing to happen? It's happened to my previous 4 pairs of shoes and only now did I work out it takes 2-3 months to happen. I use a smellwell bag in each shoe after playing to reduce moisture / sweat and leave them out in the open when I get home (not zipped up in my badminton bag). A club member suggested I go to a running shop and get a funny named gel insert. Is that a good idea to try?
My experience with yonex shoes is that the foam insoles are thin and flimsy. For some players this might be fine. For most players I suspect the insole fails before the shoe does. For me it is no longer a concern since I have to use correcting insoles so I switch out the yonex ones immediately. Getting gel insoles will last longer. Even just a thicker foam insole might be serviceable for many players, although if you go through the yonex ones in 2-3 months, you probably want to look at more durable options.
Gel insoles are solid as far as I know, so no rupturing or leaking. They are just made of more durable material than foam insoles. I don't wear gel insoles myself, so I can't give an exact lifespan. I have leather covered hard plastic insoles to correct overpronation. Good support but no shock absorption. They last a few years for me. However, in general gel insoles will last far longer than foam insoles. It's flexible plastic, which compared to the porous spongy foam, is more resistant to abrasion.
All the Yonex's shoes i have own, experienced the same issue. Insoles always end up replacing in short times. Other miscellaneous faults i have had, Aerus 3, part of the outsole heel area came apart wihin a couple of months minimum use (replaced under warranty). 65z2 red and black version, hole in the upper forefoot area (little toe side).
