Wrestling Shoes Buying Guide
Finding the perfect pair of wrestling shoes can be tricky. For all of you wrestlers and wrestling parents, I put together the ultimate guide to buying wrestling shoes. I have more than 25 years of experience competing and coaching in the sport, and for over a decade I've collected rare shoes. I hope you find this post valuable as you look for your next pair.
In this post, I cover:
- What do wrestling shoes cost
- What brands can you choose from
- Styles of shoes
- How shoes should fit
- And more!
If you find you have specific questions that aren't answered, you can also drop me a comment here!
Lastly, if you're looking for the best pairs of shoes on the market of all time or that you can still buy retail, check out my post on the best wrestling shoes!
What Do Wrestling Shoes Cost?
New wrestling shoes typically cost anywhere from $50 to $200. There are many factors that play into price, with the main one being the design of the shoe. Most major wrestling shoe brands (Nike, Asics, Adidas, etc) make a range of models for any given season. They'll have cheaper pairs, that run around $40-$60, and more expensive pairs that cost $100+.
What Brands Can I Buy Wrestling Shoes From
Historically, Adidas, Asics, and Nike were the main brands you could buy wrestling shoes from. However, nowadays there are a ton of options. In terms of brands, I actually don't have a preference. I wear shoes from all brands, and certain shoe models I like better than others, but I don't have a bias toward a single brand for making the best wrestling shoe.
Learn About The Big 3 Wrestling Shoe Brands
The Big 3 of wrestling shoe brands goes to Asics, Nike, and Adidas, in no particular order. If I had to estimate, these three brands own 80-90% of the wrestling shoe market.
Other Wrestling Shoe Brands
There are a ton of other wrestling shoe brands out there. Though they all have a smaller share of the marketplace, there are many options if you are looking for something unique.
Styles Of Wrestling Shoes To Choose From
This section is broken into 4 parts, which are:
Part 1 - Split Sole Vs. Unisole
Styles of wrestling shoes can typically be broken out into 2 categories. There are "Split soles" and "Unisole".
Split sole shoes have two pads, one in the front and one on the heel. These shoes tend to be more flexible than unisole shoes. Below is a picture of Adidas Combat Speed Soles, one of the most famous split sole designs ever.
Unisole, on the other hand, have a single solid piece of rubber that extends from the heel to the toe. These shoes tend to be less flexible, but more grippy. Less flexible, to many wrestlers, may be preferable. Below is a pair of unisole shoes. This sole has been used by Asics on numerous styles of wrestling shoes.
When people ask me what I prefer, I tell them I have no preference. Many wrestlers religiously choose one style of sole over the other, but personally, it makes no difference to me as long as the shoe is comfortable, grippy, and fits well. When I look at my favorite shoes ever made, Asics Rulon Gardner shoes have a unisole and Adidas Combat Speeds have a split sole.
I also have interviewed over 100 high-level wrestlers to determine the best shoes ever made, and the results included numerous split sole and numerous unisoles shoes. If you're looking for a pair of shoes for a child or new wrestler that doesn't know what they want, I simply recommend trying a few pair on vs buying a pair online so that they can determine what feels best on their feet!
Part 2 - Lace Guards
The other factor to keep in mind when buying wrestling shoes is the different options for lace guards. Many older shoes didn't have lace covers. However, it is now a requirement at all levels of wrestling to have your laces secured to keep them from coming untied.
One option for your laces is to use athletic tape. Many wrestlers also use athletic tape even if their shoes have another style of lace covering. This is because you can be penalized if your shoes come untied, so you're often better safe than sorry.
The most secure method of securing laces on your shoes without using tape will be to buy a pair with either zippers, lace pockets, or straps. Below are a few pictures of shoes using each of these method of lace guards.
Zippers:
Featured below are one of my rarest shoes, Purdue Issued Nike Kolats, which feature a zipper and strap combo to secure the laces.
Lace Straps
Pictured below you'll see a pair of Tokyo Edition Olympic Nike inflicts which feature a lace strap to secure the laces.
Lace Pocket
Below is a pair of Nike Freeks, which features a lace pocket to secure the shoe laces. This is one of my favorite styles of lace pockets ever made and it's used on several Nike Shoes.
As mentioned above, many wrestlers prefer tape to lace covers. Again it's all personal preference. If you watch the NCAA wrestling tournament, I'd bet at least 50% of wrestlers there use tape on their shoes even if they have lace covers. So if you're fine with taping your shoes for matches, lace guards shouldn't be a deal breaker on whether or not you buy one pair of shoes over another.
Part 3 - High Top Vs. Low Cut
Another thing to consider when it comes to the style and design of your shoes is whether of now you want high-top shoes or low-cut shoes.
High-top shoes typically cover all of your ankle bone and due to the fact they're higher, they have longer laces which makes them less likely to fall off your feet. High-top shoes have the major selling point of being more secure to help protect your ankles.
Low-cut shoes on the other hand can be stylish, which is a reason many wrestlers wear them. They also offer more freedom and flexibility for your foot. This can be a good and bad thing, as ankle and foot injuries definitely aren't uncommon in the sport of wrestling. Years ago, the Adidas Grappler wrestling shoes, pictured below, were rumored to be illegal due to having too low of a heel, which resulted in many ankle injuries. I've never seen this in the rule book or enforced to wrestlers wearing those shoes, but they were discontinued soon after launch making me believe it to be true.
Part 4 - Colorways
Nowadays it's almost impossible to not be able to find a pair of shoes in your schools colorway. Brands are getting more creative than ever making both simple colorways and also flashy colorways.
Which you choose is totally up to you! Many wrestlers choose simple colorways, such as their school colors or even just all black and white.
Others choose flashier styles, such as neon colorways, purple/pink colorways, and more. Unlike 20 years ago, brands today typically make several colorways of every single shoe they release, making it easy to find a pair in a colorway you like. There are some shoes out there such as the Asics Ex-Eos that have over 50 colorway options available!
If you can't find the shoes you want in your desired colorway, you can also look into custom wrestling shoe options!
How Should Wrestling Shoes Fit?
Fitting For Teens/Adults:
Wrestling shoes should fit snug when they're new, especially if your feet are done growing. You shouldn't buy shoes that are too big as you'll risk them falling off during matches or even being the cause of injury. Snug shoes will, over time, adjust to your feet even if they're a hair tight when you first buy them.
A general rule of thumb is to always try on a pair of shoes before buying them, if possible since many brands fit differently.
Having owned thousands of pairs of shoes, I would say that typically it seems that Adidas shoes fit slightly big, Asics shoes tend to fit true to size, and Nike shoes tend to fit a half size or so small. Keep this in mind when purchasing online.
Fitting For Younger Children:
For children, you may want to consider buying the shoes slightly big if their feet are still growing. Just don't get them too big or they may be hard to wrestle in!
I have heard that children's shoes fit more true to size, so the rules above about certain brands running big or small may not apply to smaller shoes. Again, my recommnedation for trying shoes on before buying them still applies. Check out your local sporting goods store to find the perfect-fitting pair for your son or daughter!
Questions About Buying Wrestling Shoes?
If you have any questions about wrestling shoes, drop them in the comment box below! I'm happy to answer any wrestling shoe questions you have to the best of my ability! You can also check out other blogs on my site to learn about all things related to wrestling shoes.
Meet The Author
Nolan Barger
A wrestling shoe expert with over 10 years of shoe collecting under his belt, Nolan is the owner of Rare Wrestling Shoes Co. He's owned over 1000 pair of wrestling shoes. Day to day, Nolan works for a Digital Marketing Agency. In his wrestling career, he was a PA state medalist and a 3x D3 NCAA All-American.
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About Rare Wrestling Shoes Co:
As a wrestling shoe collector for over 15 years, I'm constantly trying to buy new shoes and learn the history behind them. If you have questions about old-school wrestling shoes, shoot me a message.
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This is in regard to your posting n Converse wrestling shoes, there is no easy way to comment generally, but I have been a collector and historian on wrestling shoes for over twenty years, and I wanted to add that Converse made wrestling-specific shoes clear back to the 1930s.
Converse wrestling shoes 1930-1970s (and beyond as clearance items) are easily mistaken for regular Chuck Taylor sneakers, however they’re one eyelet higher having 11 total eyelets, and starting in the mid-40s with scholastic and collegiate rules dictating such, the metal eyelets were hidden behind a thin layer of canvas such that the shies appear only to have 11 small holes for the laces.
Converse wrestling shoes have a crepe sole, thin, very flexible, do not have any branding located on the upper, and came in pure white w/white stitching, or the iconic black monochrome with white stitching. Both types had tan crepe soles.
Dozens and dozens of small firms copied these shoes, and as such there are hundreds of slightly different canvas variety wrestling shoes out there, though most do not realize what they are.
Once you know them from regular Chuck Taylor’s, you cannot miss them.
Bata Shoe company mfg’d the most widely available copy, the Bata Bullet wrestling shoe, which has black crepe sole as opposed to tan, and used nylon “Spanecora” canvas.
Great info, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge Cal!
Do they make wrestling shoes any different for someone who is wide footed and flat footed?
There aren’t technically any shoes advertised this way, but I would think a unisole shoe would be best for this and you could also buy insoles that would help!