If you play a lot of outdoor basketball you are probably familiar with this problem: Most basketball shoes are designed for indoor use and won’t last very long on rugged outdoor courts. So, unless you want to buy a new pair every month, it is important to find shoes that can take the beating of playing on blacktop.
How do you recognize good outdoor basketball shoes?
- The outsole is made from hard and durable rubber
- The traction grooves are wide and deep
- They shouldn’t cost a fortune because they won’t last forever
- The upper material needs to be tough and resilient
Unfortunately, the big basketball shoe brands release very few (or none) dedicated outdoor basketball shoes these days. So if you can’t afford to customize your favorite Nike ID sneaker with a durable XDR outdoor rubber sole, you need to find regular basketball shoes that also work well outdoors
Inr eality, this means you need to watch dozens of shoe reviews and hope that the reviewer mentions if this particular shoe works outdoors. Check any Youtube video about a basketball shoe and there is a good chance that someone asked this question in the comments!
To help you avoid wasting so much time watching sneaker videos I have checked out 419 reviews of 72 of the most popular basketball shoes and recorded the opinion of the reviewers about traction, cushion, material, support and their fit. But most importantly for this article, I also looked if the reviewer would recommend the tested shoe for outdoor use. You can check out the complete list of shoes here.
Below you can find a list of affordable basketball shoes that are recommended for outdoor use:
- Affordable low-top with excellent traction, great support, and solid cushioning.
- Works best for quick guards in need of excellent traction
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Comfortable cushioning and premium upper materials
- Perfect for Jordan fans that prefer the freedom and flexibility of a low-top
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Traction pattern provides great traction on all surfaces
- Great bang for the buck and should work well for positions 1-4.
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Solid traction and Zoom Air units in heel and forefoot
- Perfect for players with narrow feet who like to ball outdoors.
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Great support and lockdown for a very secure feeling
- Recommended for bigger guys who look for impact protection and support
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Great traction that performs everywhere - even outdoors
- An affordable performer that will work for almost all players
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- The traction performs well on all surfaces - even outdoors
- Solid performer at an affordable price
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Traction works great outdoors or on dusty courts
- Top performer that works best for quick guards
- Recommended for outdoor use by 2 shoe reviewers
- Aggressive herringbone pattern works on every surface
- Will work best for wide-footers
- Recommended for outdoor use by 5 shoe reviewers
- Amazing traction for a very fair price
- Good choice for light and quick guards who value court feel over impact protection
- Recommended for outdoor use by 3 shoe reviewers
The Best Outdoor Basketball Shoes
1. Under Armour HOVR Havoc Low
2. Air Jordan 32 Low
3. Adidas Pro Bounce Low
4. Jordan Ultra Fly 2
5. Nike Lebron Soldier 11
6. Nike Lebron Soldier 12
Overall, the Lebron Soldier 12 is a great all-around performer at an affordable price that will work for a lot of players.
7. Under Armour Curry 3Zero 2
8. Adidas Crazylight Boost 2018
Overall, the Crazylight Boost is an underestimated performance basketball shoe that offers great bang for the buck!
9. Under Armour Drive 4
10. Nike Kyrie 3
How do you find good outdoor shoes?
Before you start to search for your next pair of outdoor basketball shoes, you should be clear about what you are actually looking for. What differentiates a great outdoor sneaker from a regular indoor performer? Let’s find out!
Durability of the rubber
The rubber of the outsole suffers the most from playing on rougher outdoor courts. If your shoes feature a soft rubber compound you will probably end up with a completely slick outsole, or even worse, holes in your shoes, pretty fast! Overall, there are two things you want to look for when it comes to outsoles:
Solid and dense rubber:
You can either go with regular shoe models that come with a firmer rubber compound out of the box like the Adidas D Rose or the Nike Lebron Soldier line. Or you look for shoes that are specifically made for outdoor use. Especially Chinese brands produce a lot of outdoor models like the Anta KT Outdoor Low as indoor courts are much harder to find there compared to the US.
If you can afford to spend a little more on your outdoor shoes, you can also customize your favorite Nike Sneaker with an XDR (extra durable rubber) outsole using NikeID.
Wide traction pattern:
A very narrow traction pattern will attract a lot of dirt and rubble and lose grip quickly. Make sure to get a traction pattern with wide and deep grooves that will last a lot longer on dirty blacktop.
Durability of the upper material
The upper material usually suffers less from outdoor play as it shouldn’t be in contact with the surface of the court all that often. But if you tend to toe-drag a lot, or if other players are stepping on your feet all the time you might want to look into more durable upper materials like fuse or mesh.
Cushion
Indoor courts are much easier on the joints than less-forgiving outdoor courts. Especially, if you have recurring knee problems, you shoud look for shoes with more comfortable cushioning that reduce the stress you put on your joints. If you are a younger and lighter player, additional cushioning is probably not as important, but firm shoes can still lead to sore legs after a day of playing outdoors.
Price
Inevitably, shoes that you use outdoors will have a shorter lifespan than shoes that are only used on pristine hardwood courts. Therefore, it might make sense to look for cheaper shoes that you can replace more often. Playing in $200 Air Jordan outdoors could become expensive really quickly!
Gr8 advice