In order to provide good basis for comparing the available footbag shoes, it is important to understand what we should compare. Below you will read a somewhat technical interpretation of what it is to have a good footbag shoe, so that when you read about each model you will be given a fair metric to judge the shoes upon. Not all shoes are created equal, and not all players play in shoes equally. It is important to note that your body and style can try to adapt to shortcomings or downfalls of any model.

Simply from a mechanical standpoint, the best footbag shoe must support the movements we see in footbag. They can be the landing from a symposium whirl, the completely vertical force which is transferred through the rest of your body simply through the bones and muscle of that leg. It must support the horizontal forces from a drifter->spinning set, where your ankle is locked and twisted but the remaining sections of your body are twisting. The shoe must be light enough that while doing a quantum set you do not overextend your knee and have the effect of a ball and chain on your foot. These aspects of the shoe are very tightly correlated to the sole of the shoe, since it provides the damping of forces, the friction for giving you a good response, and often a large portion of the weight on your foot.

After you diagnose what makes the movement necessary for successfully playing footbag, you can realize that the interaction between the foot and the footbag is vitally important. The shoe needs to grab the bag, and give you the surfaces necessary to allow your body to direct it in seemingly unnatural directions. Between toe and clipper, the most used surfaces in today’s freestyle footbag, you must provide the perfect regions in which you can both catch and release the footbag. You must also provide the perfect amount of friction in order to properly release the bag without gripping too much.

1) Adidas Rod Laver

–The Rod Lavers are the standard for a footbag shoe. They are easily found, moderately priced, and with a few key modifications can be made into a very playable shoe.

–Players who wear Lavers (2010 World Champion Milan Benda, 2011 Female Circle World Champion Hania Mickiewicz, Serge Kaldany)

–Milan Benda says “I play in lavers, I like them because they are stable even if they are not broken in.”

–Serge Kaldany says “They are light and once broken in feel like a second skin.”

2) Quantum 1/2/3

–Extremely light, but lacking any real foot support.

–Players who wear Quantums (2011 World Routine Champion Honza Weber,2011 Female World Champion Jana Sassakova)

–Honza Weber says “Quantums are light, flexible, and allow for optimum leg quickness”

3) Reebok G-Unit

–Heavier then all of their counterparts, but offers shock absorption that the others could only dream of.

4) Nucleus

–Made for use in Freestyle Footbag, including a pre-made toe box that allows for excellent toe-stalling right out of the box. The clipper catching area is not optimum, but it will force you to gain excellent clipper form.

5) Adidas Clima Cool