Hi everyone, I'm a returning player after goodness knows how many years. I've been slowly updating/replacing my gear that I got rid of when I stopped, and I've gotten to the shoes. Definitely need replacing since they're giving me blisters. Currently, I'm torn between the Victor Sanji's (A.K.A Victor A670), the Li Ning JF-01 (AYAS012) and the Yonex 65Z3 (probably the white tiger ones because fashion lol). I, unfortunately, don't really know anything about my feet (arch height, tread, etc.) except I'm a 39.5/40 EU/6.5 UK with a wide foot. So was looking to see what peoples' experiences were on the aforementioned shoes and if anyone could give a recommendation? I plan to get gait tested so I can find out more information to help me make an informed decision, but right now the man-child in me is screaming go for the fashion shoes and that feels like a stupid choice to go by. Any and all help is appreciated!
Victor’s p9200 series is a good shoe if you don’t get any further information with those other brands.
my suggestion is that you go to sport center and try the shoes by yourself i agree with cheung, you can try p9200 series or go to comfort Z i heard that 65z3 doesnt support wide feet well so try victor a970 instead but, you really need try the shoes by yourself first only you can confirm that shoes fit u well or not
As much as I would love to (and having worked in the shoe industry myself), I completely agree. However, for whatever reason, badminton shoes aren't sold very much here where I am, much less the ability to try such a wide range. Hell, 2 of the 3 shoes I mentioned in my OP aren't even available in my country
then i think u should try victor p9200 series or A970 series u can try to read review first in badminton central forum but if you want to try victor you should try to identify your feet shape coz victor has U-shape and V-shape and there are many size for each shape, like 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, etc hope u get your ideal shoes soon
The 65z3 have the wide version (in blue color only, fortunately or unfortunately). I had been struggling with finding shoes that will support my comically wife feet (11.9cm at the widest end) and found the blue 65z3 to be a good fit for me. Can't speak on the non-wide 65z3 or any victor shoes since they don't make one in my size US13/EU47
So I happened to have a friend who got me the Sanji shoes because they were in Hong Kong and found them cheap. Turns out that whilst the length is fine, my wide-ass feet have trouble fitting in them since they pinch at the ball of my feet. Probably a bad idea, but they seem to fit a lot more comfy without the insole in, but I worry about my feet sliding about with the insoles removed
Insole are also part of cushioning that protect your foot & Sanji are A series shoes which is allrounder, so it had ok cushioning but as you remove the insole, it would reduce the cushioning. If you are fine with the less cushioning then its fine, or you might want to look a heel insole. Its not full length insole but only the heel area.
It's probably my non-existent footwork, but I nearly rolled my ankle today and the fit just generally isn't good so I'm going to have to shift my Sanjis Do you know how the P9200II fit? I've got my eye on those, since Cheung recommended them. Otherwise I may just ask my local store to let me try on the wide fit 65Z3
I own A950 before. Never tried Sanji but as its also A series & close price range, i would assume it wont be far to it. Now i use P9200CC. Compare to A950, its obvious heavier if you wear it both at the same times (left & right) but wont be noticable when you use it both. It had better stability & cushioning which are expected from P series. Thing to know are its somewhat stuffy inside like it hung your feet hard. But as you play, you wouldnt notice it & as time goes where the foam getting weardown, its not quite stuffy but still compare to A950, its hung your feet stronger.
I am using 65z3 the wide version (in blue color) for the past 6 months and it's an amazing feel, comfort & light. Feels very confident while on court footwork movement. I see the inner sole which comes by default may need to be replaced after 6 months of use (5 to 6 hours per week playing). Very difficult to get good comfortable shoes if you have wide feet.
For some reason, I have quite an aversion to Yonex. Probably because I like diversity in the market X] Whilst it's good to know that there is a wide fit 65Z3 available, I would really like to try something I haven't tried before (namely brand, i.e Victor). Especially given the overwhelming positive reviews for the P9200, I'd like to try a pair but they're the same fit as the Sanjis I bought so I'm worried about encountering the same issue, even if I buy half a size up. One full size up would definitely be too long for me at that point :/
I only have experience buying Yonex shoes, so here goes. I am UK like you. I first tried some Nike running shoes as court shoes and NO. Don't do that. The grip underneath came off in chunks and it was a big waste. Next thing I did was buy some Yonex shoes, possibly from directbadminton website. As per the instructions I went 1 size up (I'm about a six and a half uk size, so bought 7.5). Took some getting used to, but it did the job. Think I started with power cushion 35's. Years later, I have gone through a lot of shoes and by going up a whole shoe size in Yonex ones, I have always had ones that fit me. I have flexible flat feet too. My favourite shoe has been the Aerus 3. Fit very well and the only negative was that the insoles wore out super quickly (I play on average 12 hrs a week. Wore through part of the left one within 100 hrs of playtime). Try decathalon. I ordered one pair of shoes through them when direct badminton were all out of my shoe size. If you look at Yonex shoes, the model number has a "W" in it which denotes WIDE. Other brands might do the same.
Having not looked at Yonex shoes for a while, it's good to know that anything with a W in it is for wide feet such as ours. I've ordered the Victor P9600, which Victor say are their wide-fit shoes. If those really aren't it, then I'll go take a look around BadmintonHQ (my local store). Thank you for the information though! Unfortunately, my last search on Decathlon didn't yield anything for me so it seems they're a no go.
They are good people. I met Stuart from there when I went to a Paul Stewart coaching weekend this year
Has anyone had any luck with any of those Wide fitting top end shoes? Its hard to get the 65z3 wide version in the UK. How were the P9600? thank you
Uh, to be honest I'm not experienced with shoes (and I kind of forget about this forum, to be honest) so I wouldn't know what to say/write. They're comfy shoes, cushioning seems to feel nice. They definitely fit true to size, and well for wide feet. I don't know about weight or responsiveness as the shoes I used to play in as a kid were either treated poorly, or I didn't know what I was looking to feel with them. One thing I will say about my P9600 is that I feel like the soles have lost all their grip. Granted, I have temporarily moved to a new country for work. But no matter how much I try and clean them (old toothbrush head on an ultrasonic toothbrush handle. Just room temp water, nothing else), the soles just don't feel like they grip at all. But again, I can't tell if it's the court surface (since other people tend not to have the same issues as me) or if it's the shoes themselves. I also find myself falling over/rolling (but not injuring, despite doing so once already) my ankles in these shoes, which I've never done before. I imagine it's due to my crappy footwork, but I can feel the sort of, outside side edge catch the floor every now and then, which throws my footing off, causing me to fall over. TL;DR: comfy shoes, fits wide feet well. Soles seem to have lost all/most of their grip.