Nothing can be more frustrating than using shoes that quickly become useless. Even so, nothing can be more miserly and uncomfortable to the foot than hanging on to a shoe too long and not replacing them as at when due.
Basketball shoes are not meant to be worn forever and they are expected to be replaced as frequently as at when necessary.
As with running shoes, basketball shoes should be replaced after about 70-100 hours of use. The reason being that the shoes receive and absorb a lot in jumps, sprints, twists, runs, and many more from players of the game.
These easily compromise the overall support, stability, and strength of these shoes. Persistent use can become an overuse, and such can cause ankle and feet injuries. However, there are hacks you can learn and deploy that can be useful to the durability and longevity of your shoes.
Are Basketball Shoes Designed to Last Long?
Generally, basketball shoes are not essentially designed to last long. They are made to be lightweight to effectively support a player’s foot.
What many brands do, however, is to ensure that the shoes are also durable by complementing with certain materials and support signifiers.
Interestingly, basketball shoes were sourced and entirely made from leather. That means the shoes lasted longer, but it affected the thrust of the game because it was heavy on the foot.
What newer brands have done is to make shoes mostly from synthetic mesh materials that provide users of the shoes with almost the same support as the leather basketball shoes gave, with lighter feeling to the foot.
The soles, on the other hand, are made of rubber because rubber has better grip on asphalt and wood courts. The material also makes the sole the first vulnerable place to wear out.
Ultimately, the materials are expected to give basic comfort, absorb shock, and keep the knees and ankles safe. That wears out at an average of 70 hours of frequent use.
As expected, the goal of basketball sneakers is not longevity but support. However, you can maximize the usage beyond the average hours from proper use and maintenance.
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Tricks To Extend Your Basketball Shoe’s Life
Playing basketball comes with its demand and expectations, coupled with individual player’s style of play, shoes suffer the consequence.
A player who plays with agility or power or aggressiveness charges hard on the shoe, same way a big dunker or high-flyer would.
In short, basketball sneakers are potentially at risk of not lasting because of the demand and nature of the game. But the following might work in extending the life of a shoe:
1. Prioritize Quality
You can’t think of durability and your first interest is to always run after cheap alternatives. One of the most effective ways to make your bball shoes to last much longer is to invest in quality products.
Basketball shoes of premium quality come with the right comfort and traction. You often find varied shoes with remarkable cushioning technology, with light and durable soles.
Priority is not just about the quality of soles but also the upper material. Basketball shoes with long-lasting mesh materials or synthetic leather are better shoes with superior comfortability and durability.
Quality also is about how the shoe fits and holds firmly to your foot. In all, ensure you have a shoe that is importantly versatile, very lightweight, and comfortable to put on your foot, and you are halfway, or perhaps meters ahead from halfway, to a longer use.
2. Ownership Of Two Pairs
This hack works for every type of shoe and it is not different for a basketball shoe. A consistent wear of a footwear easily wears it out over a short period. This is even more significant for a sport like basketball where players do a lot of workouts and trainings before main games.
Having two pairs, or multiple pairs, means you can spread use across owned shoes. You can buy alternative sneakers for different outdoor or indoor trainings and use.
Rotating your sneakers in view of your sporting schedules and personal engagements can double their duration and life.
3. Preference For Dry Cleaning
There is nothing remotely wrong with washing your shoes in a washing machine, but it is better to dry clean your shoes to wager on potential longevity.
Not many are skilled in the use of washing machine and are, therefore, tempted to leave their shoes in water longer than expected.
Soaking a shoe typically affects the sole, that is, it does not help the arch support structure. There are foaming cleansers for athletic shoes that are also useful resource for cleaning basketball shoes.
You can also employ the old plan of scrubbing surfaces with a toothbrush that is out of use. For inner parts, you get deodorizing products to clean off inner dirt and smelliness.
You can remove the insole and user a water and detergent mix to clean it. You can air dry your sneakers at a room temperature as opposed to drying in a machine or exposing it to direct sunlight.
Many shoes come with manufacturer instructions on how to handle this. Always refer to laid down advice on how to wash with a washing machine although many would strongly advise against doing so.
4. Store Them Right
People talk a lot about cleaning their shoes, but don’t know that where you keep them is just as important as how you clean them.
Don’t leave your basketball shoes out in air-tight spaces. Not a cramped room. Not your gym bag. Not pored over other shoes in your closet.
Leaving your shoes in such spaces can make them lose their proper shapes and put the seams on a lot of pressure. By not letting air out easily, the shoes also become a hold space of odor and other potential bacteria infections.
If you keep your basketball sneakers open spaces or closets, you allow enough airflow into them before putting them on. This eliminates sweaty, locked parts in the shoes, and they are rather dry enough for use the next time.
Build a shoe rack or box to keep the shoes and not sprawled on floors in vulnerable places, making them easier to be stamped on, kicked about, or tripped over.
5. Protect The Soles
The soles of a basketball shoe is different from random shoes, but like every shoe, the sole is always the first casualty part of a shoe that wears out.
Some shoes use sticky sole protectors, mostly removable, but that’s not a luxury basketball shoes can indulge.
A basketball player needs the freedom the basketball shoe gives and the ability to slide through the court with it.
The grip is the protective edge of a basketball shoe. There are different ways to tighten that grip and ultimately prolong the usage of the shoe as well as protect the soles.
For instance, bball shoes pick up dirt. Attracting dust without cleaning immediately or every time means that the grip on the shoe is reduced.
A basketball shoe without a good grip is as good as dead and that lessens how far your basketball shoe lasts.
Another way to protect the soles might actually be to buy a new one. Replacing your basketball shoe’s soles with another, equally good one, can allow you to have more time to use the shoe.
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6. Limit Place Of Use
How you use your basketball sneakers will also determine how far they survive.
Do not wear outside your basketball shoes that are meant for the court. Basketball shoes are like fragile wears, even when there are designs that don’t appear so.
They lose their traction, design, and color quickly. The less exposure to the outdoor elements, the longer their ability to survive for a while.
Another usefulness of keeping your shoes in the court is like they are more likely to be in that cleaner shape and state, and that means less dabbing with water and wearing off agents. Better to maintain, also, and that translates to longer use.
7. Use Wooden Shoe Tree Or Clones
The motivation for this is so that your shoe can be stretched to their original size and the shoe won’t crease.
No doubt, the shoe tree is more common with leather shoes to allow for breathability. It is also good for absorbing sweat or moisture that can cause your shoe to age quickly or smell badly.
The clones are better way to make your sneakers experience what your leather shoes can.
There are several clone models made from other materials aside wood. Some are foams, some are iron-fashioned, and some others simply use newspapers as alternatives. They stuff their basketball shoes to make it stand fitting for its original makeup size.
8. Buying Shoes That Fit
Basketball sneakers come in different mold and shape, different features, and intended use. You must weigh guardedly and buy a new pair of shoes that fit you if you want to use it a little longer.
For example, your body type is a signature consideration for the kind of shoe you would use as a footballer. Body types differ, and that is why the kind of shoes a Steph Curry would wear would differ from what a Shaquille O’Neal would during his playing days.
Your kind of play also matters on the type of shoe you should buy. A big, aggressive player needs a shoe with lots of cushioning, and one who depends more on speed needs a shoe that is lightweight enough to give him the speed he needs.
All these play their part on whether your preferred shoe would be a low-top, mid-top, or high-top upper. Buying a shoe that doesn’t fit you is a recipe for the shoe’s early death.
9. Don’t Be Quick To Untie
Think about it. Do you notice that forceful removal of shoes from your feet puts a strain on the edges and shape of your new pair of shoes? When you stretch them too much, bend them too deeply, you are impacting how far your shoes can survive.
There are proper techniques for shoe removal starting with untying your laces for basketball shoes with one.
There are innovations that are probably gradually phasing out basketball shoes with laces, but there are still many shoes out there with laces. They are the ones in the majority right now and with popular purchases.
Meaning that, you are going to have to learn this as an owner of one. Take time to understand what your shoelace looks like and learn how to navigate it well. Don’t get trapped up in untied laces, nor jack a shoe off your foot without spacing up.
Is Lengthy Use A Proof Of Efficiency?
Not so, neither should it be a proof of an effective one. How often you play the game of basketball would affect how often you replace your shoes.
The factors discussed above are more about your shoes lasting just as long as it ought to be, even if rotated with another pair.
Your sole will lose its grip at some point. The shoe will be slippery at some point. To insist on using will be an invitation to injuries you should be avoiding not indulging as a player.
In fact, professional players of the game typically replace their shoes every now and then, depending on pre-game trainings and practice, and the number of games they play within certain amount of time.
Once your basketball shoe becomes the basis for aches and pains on your foot, you ought to be worried about replacing not longevity.
The beautiful truth is that before smells, stains, and other inadvertent damages happen to your shoe, you can be positioned to avoid all that by deploying some of the factors or steps mentioned above.
Final Word
Making your basketball sneakers last longer is quite an easy thing to do and pretty important in view of the pattern and way of playing the game.
So, when you play hard and well, your shoes are doing just about the same. Ensuring that you keep your shoe clean and well taken care of makes it possible for you to enjoy them for a very long time.
