Post #1 · Posted at 2025-06-22 04:38:41am 1.8 months ago
So I recently got back into DDR after more than a decade and have been going mad trying to find the perfect DDR shoe.
I think I know the stats of what I want, simply:
A - 1 inch heel or less
B - Zero or very minimal heel drop
C - Heel must have SOME bounce/springiness to it
D - Be as lightweight as possible
E - Sole be flat as possible
I've been to all the stores in my area and was unable to settle upon something that struck out to me as extremely lightweight, yet fit the other criteria. It's mostly the heel size, practically all the running shoe in the stores now have a 1.5 to 2.5 inch heel now, and I've tried a good pair of Brooks running shoes with a 1.75 inch heel and I definitely find that to be too big.
I've tried Xero and minimalist type shoes before like skateboard shoes and I find those to be too painful and cumbersome for streaming quickly. I feel like that 1 inch heel in the best shoes I currently use help tremendously.
I just tried a pair of Nike Air Max with a giant 2 inch heel because I thought that's what chris4lfe uses, but I found that to be way too heavy and cumbersome to stream quickly too.
The best shoes I currently have now is some random pair of Adidas running shoes from like at least 5 years ago that weigh 10.48 ounces or 297 grams.
I would like something much lighter if it exists.
I hear the best shoes out there today can weight like 6 ounces or something. I'm a size 8 or 8.5 if that matters.
Can anyone help me, are there any shoes in stores out there today I could go to try on? because of course I could order some old classic shoes everyone recommends online like the Nike Free's or something but I really want to try a shoe on before I buy it
SELF UPDATE BELOW:
Well, here's my own update for anyone that comes across this in the future and has the same questions. Sad and surprised nobody responded to this, I would think everyone would be absolutely itching to talk about their shoe selection.
Basically I think I finally found the new shoe I love which is the Saucony Kinvara 15.
It is extremely light weight, but not TOO light weight, it has support, it has bounce for those streams, it's only a 1.1 inch heel, I absolutely love them so far. The only criteria about it I don't consider S tier I would consider just A tier is the flatness of the sole because it does have this kind of wavy pattern that probably slightly diminishes overall contact surface area, but I find them plenty grippy had no issues with them yet.
Of course NONE of the stores in my area have them in stock so I had to wait to order them online and pray I got the size right, which I'm happy enough with.
The best resource I found was this website runrepeat.com that was literally the ONLY place for comparing running shoes I could find that lets you actually filter by specific criteria like weight and heel height.
I first tried the lightest and most recommended shoes I've heard of, which are the Nike Free 5.0 (or I guess an earlier version, but I got the 5.0) which are literally just under 5 ounces, but I concluded they feel slightly unstable and don't give me the bounce or something I want for longer streams.
Anyways I'm very happy with the Kinvara 15 so far, will see how they hold up over the next few months
I think I know the stats of what I want, simply:
A - 1 inch heel or less
B - Zero or very minimal heel drop
C - Heel must have SOME bounce/springiness to it
D - Be as lightweight as possible
E - Sole be flat as possible
I've been to all the stores in my area and was unable to settle upon something that struck out to me as extremely lightweight, yet fit the other criteria. It's mostly the heel size, practically all the running shoe in the stores now have a 1.5 to 2.5 inch heel now, and I've tried a good pair of Brooks running shoes with a 1.75 inch heel and I definitely find that to be too big.
I've tried Xero and minimalist type shoes before like skateboard shoes and I find those to be too painful and cumbersome for streaming quickly. I feel like that 1 inch heel in the best shoes I currently use help tremendously.
I just tried a pair of Nike Air Max with a giant 2 inch heel because I thought that's what chris4lfe uses, but I found that to be way too heavy and cumbersome to stream quickly too.
The best shoes I currently have now is some random pair of Adidas running shoes from like at least 5 years ago that weigh 10.48 ounces or 297 grams.
I would like something much lighter if it exists.
I hear the best shoes out there today can weight like 6 ounces or something. I'm a size 8 or 8.5 if that matters.
Can anyone help me, are there any shoes in stores out there today I could go to try on? because of course I could order some old classic shoes everyone recommends online like the Nike Free's or something but I really want to try a shoe on before I buy it
SELF UPDATE BELOW:
Well, here's my own update for anyone that comes across this in the future and has the same questions. Sad and surprised nobody responded to this, I would think everyone would be absolutely itching to talk about their shoe selection.
Basically I think I finally found the new shoe I love which is the Saucony Kinvara 15.
It is extremely light weight, but not TOO light weight, it has support, it has bounce for those streams, it's only a 1.1 inch heel, I absolutely love them so far. The only criteria about it I don't consider S tier I would consider just A tier is the flatness of the sole because it does have this kind of wavy pattern that probably slightly diminishes overall contact surface area, but I find them plenty grippy had no issues with them yet.
Of course NONE of the stores in my area have them in stock so I had to wait to order them online and pray I got the size right, which I'm happy enough with.
The best resource I found was this website runrepeat.com that was literally the ONLY place for comparing running shoes I could find that lets you actually filter by specific criteria like weight and heel height.
I first tried the lightest and most recommended shoes I've heard of, which are the Nike Free 5.0 (or I guess an earlier version, but I got the 5.0) which are literally just under 5 ounces, but I concluded they feel slightly unstable and don't give me the bounce or something I want for longer streams.
Anyways I'm very happy with the Kinvara 15 so far, will see how they hold up over the next few months