Paintball shoes business

[jamtheman188]

Hi,

I am starting a business making shoes spacificaly for paintball.
They will be better looking and cheaper than the the current competitors Dye and JT.
I am going over some aspects of the shoe, but i need input from paintballers.

Should the shoes be engineered for sprinting? which means light materials..or should it be made from more durable heavier materials.
Do you prefer bladed, studs, or sprinting spikes?

ANY input will be greatly recieved! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Cheers.

 

[Rosie]

Should the shoes be engineered for sprinting? which means light materials..or should it be made from more durable heavier materials.
Do you prefer bladed, studs, or sprinting spikes?

Sprinting or athletic spikes are banned from some tourneys (make your target audience as large as possible ). Also they aren't much good in really wet weather and deep mud, which we tend to get a lot of

I wear Dye atc's for dry/hard ground or astro & when it's wet or muddy I wear football studs, because I like ATC's but I have skidded in mud before now.

Maybe if you made a moulded sole similar to the ATC's which you could add studs onto if it was particularly wet.

PS good luck

 

[jamtheman188]

Cheers thanks for the input.

 

[no-infernomark]

yeah i wear atc's and they rock, for me id rather have a pair of trainers/cleats that are comfy no matter what postion my feet are in, like if they bent or running, nothing worse than wearing trainers and having to take em off between games cause your foot swollen up like a bombay money lender, something like memory foam for the inner sole or something and the kevlar or wet suit materialunder neath it to give it some structure, the sole should be like an atc but not so clumpy, its very good dont get me wrong but when its that hard wet mud where it sticks to the sole you dont get much grip, maybe if it was thinner slightly it might make it bit more traction friendly in that weather(not to sure on that point but is valid me thinks) again the studs would also be a bonus if they where removalable, sort of like the chains on yanks winter tires.

 

[john251282]

Waterproof would be a big plus, and I think that bigger astro style blades are probably best for traction. Would probably be best to make them durable enough to last a whole season for almost anyone, i.e. training at least once a month and tourny once a month aswell.

 

[Angus41]

I agree that durablilty and being waterproof are essential. Also if they were to be lace up style shoes then it would be cool to have a 'house' were you can tuck the laces like on salomon boots.

 

[jamtheman188]

Ok thanks guys, all your input really usefull!!
so so far the pretty much perfect shoe for you would be:

Very comfortable (I will put Gel insole and padding to make it nice )

Removable blades? So you can take off the blade and they would become regular astro turfs..(Im not sure i will be able to do this for the first line of shoes I make, but lots of people are saying this so i will try and make a shoe that does this for next year)

Waterproof

Laceless perhaps? Velcro straps? or maybe just a cover for the laces.

 

[yorgie]

Def laceless! but they'd have to be pretty strong velcro - diving into the snake and loosing a shoe - not ideal....

 

[Hoodless ECI]

While wanting quality trainer's, An affordable price would be ideal, as you are starting this private label shoe company, your cleats will be expensive in your first line ( correct me if i am wrong )

I like the idea of removable studs, But you know what paintballers are like with little doodaa's in their kit bags , Guilty

I like to use cheap astroturfs, or Rubber/plastic type blades for the harsher conditions.
Waterproof trainers would be awesome, i'm sick of wet cold soggy socks in the car on the way home, ( especially when they go all wrinkly..eww )
**Note to self - Throw spare socks in kitbag **

Good luck with your quest, I hope i can be wearing some soon.

Balloon #12

 

[KOHI]

blades are bad for knees and can cause problem in turning quickly so my be better off with studs