The 10 Worst Performance Shoe Gimmicks On The Market Right Now

What's up, Zach here, and these are the top 10 worst performance shoe gimmicks on the market right now. And while all of them do have utility and while a lot of them can benefit you in some way, a lot of them are overutilized, overhyped, overmarketed. And I think people place a lot of faith in some of these. You should just know what they actually are designed for, what the limitations are and what they could actually do for you before you go out and just go to buy them because you just see the name in the shoe. So let's get into it. All right. First gimmick, carbon fiber plates. Now, don't get me wrong. Carbon fiber plates do tremendous work in running shoes. And gram for gram, they are just a ridiculously strong material to make a shank out of. But in the last, I'd say, 10 years, they have just increasingly become overutilized, misused, just overmarketed to the point of almost becoming a meme. Now, carbon fiber plates, when they're used correctly, don't really allow a lot of flexibility in the shoe. Now, what that does is it decreases the proprioception, which means your feel on court. It decreases the amount of degrees of freedom the shoe has, and therefore your foot. So it does not allow your foot to feel or interact with the ground as much as a shoe maybe had some more flexibility in it, especially when that carbon fiber plate goes into the forefoot. That's really where I think the gimmick is with the carbon fiber plates is in court shoes or even some running shoes when that carbon fiber shank or that plate is going all the way up into the forefoot. Now, it doesn't just decrease the flexibility in the shoe to the point of decreasing the feel and the movement and the flexibility of your foot, but it also bypasses all those joints in your foot, which leads right up to where? Your Achilles tendon. So actually, long carbon fiber plates in shoes actually lead to overload of the Achilles. And while, no, it's not going to just automatically cause a rupture, ruptures are multifactorial in the Achilles. It can increase your risk. Like I said, it's just putting so much more force and overload into that Achilles over a shorter period of time or over a shorter gait cycle, relatively. Because like I said, that force is not being driven through the different joints in your foot. It's just going straight up into your ankle, into the Achilles. And yeah, a lot of you will say, well, that's the point. It's creating a diving board effect. I almost cracked a little bit. But it creates a diving board effect in your foot. And while, yeah, that is true. And in running, when you're going for a time, right? And you have very consistent strike, you're more of an elite runner. Then, yes, that's great. But we need that flexibility when you're back stepping or negative stepping, hessy stepping, you know, trying to explode from basically just standing around. That's where this becomes, I think, the gimmick. And that's where I think other cheaper materials, honestly, and other cheaper configurations sometimes can do a better job in the in the whole of a lot of, you know, more court sports or even sometimes just in casual jogging and running. All right. Gimmick number two, data driven outsoles. Now, I've said for a while now, with the newer rubber outsole compounds that are coming out, as well as other materials people are using for outsoles now, it does not matter what the outsole tread is, what shape it is, as long as it is multidirectional. Because you've seen shoes like the Dilo One, which is this Waldorf pattern going all the way through it, right? LeBron 19 with just little crowns the whole way down the shoe. The way of Wade 11, right? I mean, it's got two different outsoles on each shoe. And they all grip pretty well. All of them have their good days and all of them have their bad days. It really comes down to the compound. And as long as it is multidirectional. My favorite traction is just simple geometric shapes, right? Like they're either hexagons or octagons on the New Balance Fresh Foam BBV2. And then the BBV3 came out. Everyone likes that traction more. And it's totally different. So you can produce traction with pretty much any pattern. Those data driven outsoles, to me, they honestly take out some of the outliers out there because they're getting, you know, the most common strike patterns of people. Whereas the general buying audience, the general playing audience, especially in tennis, basketball, pickleball, volleyball, our feet are going everywhere. We're striking down at all different places. Our feet are all different shapes and different flexibility levels. So to me, you could just put herringbone in every shoe from now to Kingdom Come and they'd probably be still just fine with the rubber compound. So we're looking for a shoe. As long as it's multidirectional, the rubber compound's not garbage. You'll be just fine. All right. Giving number three. I'm probably going to get some flack for this one. And that is Nike Zoom X. Now, in a shoe just meant for one thing, speed, speed, speed, speed, speed. Nike's Pebex based Zoom X is, yeah, it's awesome. And yeah, it's light. It's got a ton of energy return. It's durable. I mean, it's just as durable as foam's, you know, magnitudes of order more dense than it. The other thing about Zoom X is, is it's incredibly unstable and unpredictable. And Nike has been trying to put it in more and more basketball shoes because people have been clamoring for them to get up to the level of companies. I don't have it with me. The company is like Way of Wade, right? Or Anta 361, who are putting in newer thermoplastic Pebex based foams, nylon based foams. And they've just got you know, they've got great feel. They've got great, you know, bounce height scores, all this other stuff. And so Nike is throwing Zoom X and a lot of their basketball shoes now are some of them, a lot of them. But the way Zoom X is tuned, it's way too unstable and unpredictable for it to really do well on those shoes. Those shoes just crumple under you. And yeah, they're light and they're very comfortable. But to me, they're just ankle sprains or ankle breaks waiting to happen. And so unless they find a way to cage it better, make it more containing. But remember, Pebex or Peba, it's an incredibly versatile compound. So you can tune it to do pretty much whatever you want. You can actually tune it to be hard plastic on the sides of shoes, too, like in the LeBron line. So you can really do whatever you want with it. So hopefully in the future, Nike just tools it a little bit differently for their basketball, tennis, volleyball, pickleball shoes versus running. And I think maybe we can take that out of the gimmick category. All right. Number four, I had to throw this one in there because these are just awesome. And these are removable outsold shoes. Now, I know these are largely off the market. The engineering it took to make them was just out of this world. Even myself with just I mean, I don't move as fast as I used to anymore. Even me nowadays trying to use them, I can still feel that thing buckling under me and just the noises it makes all their stuff. And I've actually had people tell me that those were their favorite shoes ever and that I was when I did the video on them originally, that I was wrong and I was a hater and this and that. I'm not saying I hate the idea. I think the idea is fantastic. And I'm glad when companies do stuff like that to kind of push innovation. That's the only way we get better stuff. But that one was that was in the annals of the Gimmick Hall of Fame. All right. Number five. And the one that I think has the most people in a stranglehold right now. And those are on cloud tech pods. Now, just go literally anywhere. You'll see people wearing on shoes now. They are just the rage of all rages. And the thing with cloud tech pods is, number one, they wear too unevenly. I mean, I see this in my office constantly versus a solid foam midsole. The other thing is, is that in some of on shoes, they make the foam so dense and hard to hold them up that the shoe can become uncomfortable. And in some others, they make them soft and they wear down even faster. I think for runners that are doing hills a lot, the more dense foamed on shoes like the Cloud Monster, the Cloud Monster two, those are unreal. They're probably some of the best shoes at climbing hills. And people that replace their shoes often like runners that place their shoes often enough. And like I said, already didn't get up and over hills. Helion foam in and of itself, I think is great. I have no problem with Helion whatsoever. I think it's just for the casual market. I just I don't see it really being a benefit versus solid foam midsole shoe. All right. Number six, Skechers Archfit insoles. I think the problem is, is it's not necessarily that they are the gimmick. It's that what people think they're going to do for them is the gimmick. They feel like they're getting this custom arch support in a shoe. Whereas once you take that insole out, it's just a regular shoe. And that insole foam is is pretty low density, at least compared to like a midsole foam or an orthotic. And so as soon as you press that down and the shoe loses most of its arch support. So if you're buying a Skechers Archfit shoe, just remember that Archfit is just a standard and it's just an insole with a little bit more arch support, which in and of itself is fine. It's great. Nothing wrong with it. But don't expect it to be a custom orthotic or like a really good over the counter orthotic because it is an insole. All right. Number seven, Slipknot shoelace systems. Now, I've only seen a few of these out recently. But Asics does a lot of it with their shoes. There's some basketball shoes now have them. Basically, what happens is is the shoelaces toward the distal tip of the shoe toward the end of the shoe will go through a loop. And that loop is also attached to the other end of the shoes. When you tie the laces down, both ends of the shoe kind of tie down double. Now, that does increase lockdown a ton. But at the same time, it can really, really give you some nerve impingement down in the bottom of your foot. There's just people that cannot tolerate it. And then a lot of times you try to cut them. I know I think when one a case with the shoes, you try to cut it and then there's something else there to lace your shoes. You kind of have to use it. And so to me, if you're someone with a narrow foot, they're fine. I think they're good. But anybody else, they actually can induce a little bit of pain. I do like the idea. I would just like to see it to where if you don't like I know some shoes, you don't have to use it, but I would just like there to be an option. You can use it or you don't have to use it, because I think it just it just precludes a lot of the market. All right. Next one, I'm sticking with a six. Sorry. And that is a six gel. So the reason I say it's a gimmick is because the compound that a six gel is is it's so unstable. They even admitted it's unstable. And so they can only put a very little bit in the shoe. Now they put more in their running shoes. But in terms like a court shoe, a six flight foam and FF blast FF blast plus and eco are some of the best foams on the market. Bar not there is I mean, there's no question they're gel cumulus twenty seven in the running shoe. The foam structure of that shoe. I think I have three pairs of my wife's got two pairs. They're so good. Nothing has anything to do with the gel in them. Right. And the comfort and the performance, everything on these, I think to do with the gel, it's the overall construction of the shoe. Like I said, all the other a six shoes. I mean, I have I have a lot of a six shoes that I like a lot. And the reason I like them so much is because of the base carrier foams, not the gel. So, yeah, I know that it's an interesting thing. And the the actual gel itself is pretty cool. But to me, if you like a six and you like the feel of them and you like, you know, if you're a fan of them, you like them for the base foams, not the gel. All right, before I move on, I do want to do two, I'd say perceived gimmicks, one in that people think it's terrible, but I actually think it's a really good concept. Another one that people think is amazing that I think has just kind of basic value. We'll start with, well, let's do both at the same time. One is flow foam. The other one is the Reebok pump. Now, flow foam, everybody moans and complains about that. It's either too tacky, not tacky enough. And yeah, it does pick up dust. And yeah, it can lose traction. Yeah, it's not super durable. But I do think, sorry to say that. I do think the concept is just phenomenal. And I think flow foam itself is one of the best foams in the court shoe space. It has some of the best properties of thermoplastics like Pebex, nylon, but also of EVA. So I think in terms of the actual compound of it, I think it's one of the best. And I think if Under Armour or Curry Brand would just start doing hybrid rubber and flow foam outsoles, I think they would have the best shoes on the market bar none. So, well, nickel's worth of free advice there. I've been giving it like every single video and not taking it yet. They probably won't take it now. The next one, though, is the Reebok pump. And that is because so many people think this is just like the pinnacle of everything. And here, I love Reebok pumps. I got the Match Day pump right here, the Court Victory pump right here. Like, I love it. I love Reebok tennis. The thing is, though, is it's the same technology in a fracture boot, right? All you do is pump this up to inflate this little bag in there to give you a little bit of a better fit. The other thing is, is the pouches tend to crack, right? So it's like one more point of failure. And if the shoe fits well enough, like, do you really need it? I mean, put it this way. I like Reebok pump. I just think that over the years, people have conflated it to be more than it really is. Good concept. I think over-marketed. This one is another phenomenally or maybe not even over-marketed, but just over-talked about, you know, people think it does more than it really does. And then Flo-Foam. I think it's amazing, but maybe not utilized to its fullest potential and maybe hated a little bit too much. All right. This next one kind of hurts me in the heart to put in. But if I'm being honest with myself, it is just a gimmick. And that is zippers and shrouds. Now, I've always said if there is something in a shoe that can aid in lockdown, it is not the laces. So a dorsal retention strap like a Velcro strap or elastic bands across the shoes, I think that's great because you're not just relying on the tie down of the laces for lockdown. It's one more point of failure. And yeah, a shroud and a zipper technically does do that. So I do like that it can protect the laces. It's just that people see these high top shrouds, right? Or these zippers that go up and make these high tops or just in case the shoe. And then they think that that's adding just so much more containment when in reality, a lot of times that zipper is like falling down. It's unzipping. It's not going all the way. I mean, let's just call it for what it is. It's window dressing if you like it. And I do. That's great. Good for you and good for me. But if I'm being honest with myself, is it really doing much? Probably not. All right. And lastly, but probably the most egregious gimmick on this list are slipper tongues, booty liners, sock liners or one piece tongues. I hate these. Some companies like Adidas, I think, do a pretty good job of giving you a hybrid slipper tongue as well as traditional three piece tongue. Now, a slipper tongue is or a booty line or a sock liner is is where the entire entry of the shoe is continuous. There's no breaks for the laces. Now, they say that gives you a glove like fit, more flexibility, all this other nonsense. What it's really doing is it's just saving a lot of material. And what happens is, is the laces then don't really tie down anything. What ends up happening is, is, yeah, the shoe might feel a little bit more slide. It might feel a little more intimately contact in your foot. But the containment to me just goes way down. I see way more ankle sprains, way more ankle breaks in those types of shoes. Yeah. Harden line where it's hybrid. I think that's the best of both worlds. The Asics Cord FF2 and 3, I think they do a fantastic job of giving you, like I said, the best of both worlds. But a lot of the other ones out there, like I said, to me are just it's not enough containment for the type of movement that modern day court sports have. It also sometimes does not allow the tongue to be padded enough so you can get dorsal neuritis or nerve pain on top of there. So anytime you see these really flimsy one piece tongues in there, yeah, they might feel a little more glove like and a little bit lighter. But either go with the hybrids or just go traditional three piece tongue. There's a reason why we've been doing it for so long. We keep doing it through a traditional three piece tongue. It's because they work. All right. So I'd love to hear what your biggest gimmicks are, which ones you think are the biggest gimmicks on the market. And if there's any of these here that you actually love, you think I'm dead wrong about, let me know in the comments down below. Like I said, all of them have utility. All of them have great things about them. It's just that either from a marketing standpoint or from a buyer standpoint, misunderstanding, miscommunication kind of gotten blown out of proportion throughout the years. And if you want to talk about a real miscommunication, if you want to know what I think the five biggest lies, misconceptions and myths are about low top shoes, because there's a lot of them going around right now. Make sure you click into this video right here. Subscribe down below. I'll see you in that one.