With the weather starting to turn, a lot of pickleballers are moving to the indoor courts for the winter. Moving indoors is simple enough, but there’s one very important piece of gear that is affected: your shoes.
Indoor and outdoor court shoes have several key differences, and it’s important to pick the right one for the right surface. Durability, support, weight, and responsiveness all need to be taken into consideration, and it’s not just pickleballers who play their court sports indoors. Squash, volleyball, and badminton are also played on indoor court surfaces. Today, we’re going to talk you through the specific differences between indoor and outdoor court shoes so you can figure out which one is right for you.
Indoor vs. Outdoor Courts
Before we actually get into any of the characteristics that separate the shoes, we first need to explain the difference between “indoor” and “outdoor”. While it might seem obvious, it’s actually not, and that’s because whether you’re playing indoors or outdoors is actually completely irrelevant.
Makes sense, right? Obviously not, but let me explain.
The only thing that matters in determining what type of shoe you should get is the type of court material you are playing on.
Indoor court shoes are made for use on hardwood court materials, whereas outdoor court shoes are made for use on asphalt or hard court material. Generally speaking, hardwood courts are found indoors and hard courts are outdoors, but that is not always the case. Especially in places like Vancouver, where winter hits particularly hard, you will find plenty of hard courts indoors or surrounded by a temporary bubble. As confusing as it is, you would not use an indoor court shoe on these courts — you would stick to your outdoor shoes.
Another thing we need to address is that there are, of course, different types of outdoor surfaces. Tennis is played on hard courts, grass, and clay, and while you can play with the same shoe on each surface, it’s not ideal. Most parts of the shoes are the same like the upper, midsole, heel counter, and even things like cushioning, but the tread is usually very different.
Clay court shoes have a much more aggressive — usually herringbone — pattern that is designed to dig into the clay and improve traction on an otherwise slippery surface. Grass court shoes have little nubs (like turf cleats, but much smaller) that are also there to improve traction.
So once again, whether you’re playing indoors or outdoors is irrelevant — pick your shoes based off the court you are playing on. Now that we’ve established that, let’s talk about the differences between these shoes.
Indoor vs. Outdoor Court Shoe Characteristics
Soles
The biggest difference between indoor and outdoor court shoes is their sole. The sole of an indoor court shoe is usually made from a soft, organic gum rubber, whereas outdoor shoes are made from a much stiffer synthetic rubber. The indoor shoe’s gum rubber heats up under friction to provide very solid grip on hardwood floors, and that softer material also provides an extra layer of plushness for ground contact.
The more robust synthetic rubber of an outdoor shoe is more solid and durable than gum rubber. This is important because outdoor courts are more abrasive than indoor courts, but also because the main sport to be played on an outdoor court is tennis. Tennis involves more aggressive movement than pickleball, badminton, and squash (indoor court sports), so a more solid and stable outsole is required. Of course, the extra durability of a synthetic rubber is also crucial for players who slide on hard courts.
Tread & Traction
While the different sole materials are undoubtedly the most important and visually obvious differences between indoor and outdoor court shoes, they are not the only ones.
There is an important difference between the tread patterns and therefore traction between indoor and outdoor court shoes. Outdoor court shoes often come with larger tread patterns with quite angular shapes, like a herringbone pattern. These are designed to provide good lateral stability as well as proper grip on all types of surfaces.
Comparatively, the soles of indoor shoes often have circular flat spots on them, which provide an efficient suction-like grip on smooth, flat surfaces. This is not nearly as effective on an outdoor court because they need that slick, glossy surface to create that suction effect.
Cushioning, Support, and Comfort
Because outdoor court shoes are primarily intended for tennis, and tennis involves so many long lateral movements and runs to and from the net, they need more stability and more cushioning. The shoes feature extra stabilization elements like rubberized lateral sidewalls and reinforced uppers. As far as cushioning goes, brands like Nike and Asics will strategically add foam or gel inserts into the midsoles of their shoes to help alleviate stress on the joints during aggressive movements.
Aggressive support and cushioning are less important for indoor court sports, simply because these sports don’t involve the same level of aggressive movement. Badminton, squash, and pickleball are all played on much smaller courts, so sharper, livelier movement is more important, and the shoes are designed with that in mind. They have more flexible outsoles and uppers, which help you pivot more efficiently, and they’re also usually much lighter than outdoor court shoes. They also have less cushioning because too much can make shoes feel less responsive.
Also, indoor courts tend to get a bit stuffier and warmer than outdoor courts, so indoor court shoes are designed to be thin and breathable to allow heat to escape.
Which Do You Pick?
The rule of thumb here is, again, pick your shoes based off the court you’re playing on. That’s quite straightforward for tennis, squash, badminton, and volleyball, but it gets a bit more confusing for pickleball.
During the summer, pickleball is mainly played outdoors, on an outdoor court. During the winter, a lot of players turn to the indoor courts; however, not all indoor pickleball courts are made from hardwood. In fact, with the exponential growth pickleball has seen recently, most indoor facilities are using hard courts because they are better for pickleball. Hardwood gyms were used as a stopgap during the early years of the sport but are becoming far less common nowadays. Because of that, if you are a pickleballer and only want one pair of shoes, I would highly recommend opting for an outdoor court shoe. Ninety per cent of your time will be spent on an outdoor court, and even if you do sometimes play on hardwood, outdoor court shoes are more than alright.
This is also why many brands have started labelling hard-court outdoor court shoes “all-court shoes.” They are not perfect on every court, but they are much better than indoor court shoes would be on an outdoor court, grass shoes would be on a hard court, and clay shoes would be on hard as well. And for those of you who may be worried — they have non-marking soles, just like indoor court shoes.
So, for a quick recap of which shoe you should use for which sport:
- Tennis — Outdoor court shoe (hard, clay, or grass)
- Pickleball — Outdoor court shoe (unless you spend the majority of your time playing on a hardwood floor)
- Badminton — Indoor court shoe
- Squash — Indoor court shoe
- Volleyball — Indoor court shoe
Now let’s run through some of our favourite options in each category. Of course, nothing beats trying on the shoe to make sure it fits, so please don’t hesitate to come visit us in-store. If you don’t live in Vancouver, you can also check out our Tennis & Pickleball YouTube channels to get a little bit more information about the shoes before you buy them.
Outdoor Court Shoe Options
Asics Gel Resolution X: The Resolution has been a staple for many years, and the latest version is a little beefier than the last couple. It’s one of the best support and stability shoes on the market, so if that’s your priority, this is a great place to start.
asics Resolution X All-Court
women's
New Balance 996 V6: Ever since New Balance started designing the 996 to be as comfortable as possible, the line has soared in popularity. This shoe is wide, the upper is buttery soft, and the outsole has a solid amount of cushioning, making it the perfect option for players who prioritize comfort over anything else.
Jet Mach 3: If a light shoe is what you want, then look no further than the Jet Mach 3. This is the lightest outdoor court shoe at the store, but it still manages to provide very good lateral stability, despite its thin mesh upper. Because of its low weight, this shoe is extremely popular among pickleballers, especially on the pro tour.
K-Swiss Rublo: Comfort, support, lockdown, and durability — the Rublo has it all. This is one of the best shoes I’ve tested in a while, and while I don’t like making generalizations about “fit,” this last has a history of fitting a ton of different foot types.
Indoor Court Options
Asics Powerbreak FF: The Powerbreak is quick and nimble but also stays true to Asics and provides exceptional support and stability. It’s one of the more robust indoor shoes we carry, so it’s also more durable than average.
Kanso Dragonfly 2: The Dragonfly is one of the fastest indoor court shoes we carry at the store. It’s low to the ground, minimally cushioned, and very lightweight. The Kanso also uses a super-critical foam (Speedlight Foam), which is extremely responsive with very high energy return.
Asics Gel-Rocket 12: While not an elite performer in any one category, the Gel-Rocket represents exceptional value because it is very well-rounded and has historically worked for most of the players who try it on.
Find What’s Right for You
If you are on the hunt for a new pair of indoor court shoes, check out our selection of men’s and women’s. If outdoor court shoes sound right for you, you can also check out our men’s and women’s. These shoes come in a variety of styles.
If you’re not sure which shoe is right for you, pop into our Oak St. store and let our fit experts help find you the perfect match.