What are the best badminton shoes?

When you are choosing badminton shoes normally people go for: top brands, the most advertised, most expensive or just being trendy. This isn't always the best decision, as you have been led to buy them due to marketing. Out of all the equipment you have, shoes are the most important followed closely by rackets.

Choosing the wrong shoes could make you slower on court. This could be due to not gripping aswell as other shoes. All trainers present a different technology on how they grip your foot, including the material they use. This could also mean the shoe doesn't cushion your foot properly on impact, making it harder to stop. This will cause injury to your legs as it doesn't have sufficient padding for your foot.

 The size of the shoes differ in what brand you choose. If you go for a brand from Asia (Yonex, Li Ning, Apac etc.) these brands are longer in the shoe but also narrow due to their market they sell to. Lots of people I coach find that they need to go up half a size or a whole size up to what they normally do.

If you are choosing a more European brand (Ashaway, Black Knight, Calton etc.) the shoes are wider and offer more room. This doesn't fit everyone as everyone is different. My advice to this would be, trying the shoes on to get a "snug fit" the whole way round your foot, that is a perfect fit. After a couple of weeks the shoes will loosen up due to wear. If you can walk in the shoes and there is movement at the back and sides, they are too big! When you walk in the shoes, if they are squeezing on your toes and compressed to your foot, they are too small. 

The best possible way to decide on what badminton shoes that suit you, go to a shop and try them all on! Don't pick ones that look "pretty". You need to find the ones that suit you.