Drumming shoes

I've been playing with running shoes for years but have been having trouble getting additional speed from my BD foot. I used to be an avid bowler and decided to give my old bowling shoes a try. One sole was smooth leather and the other rubber (BD foot) and even that shoe allows me to slide more than the running shoes so I can perform slide doubles. I just bought some Dexter Turbo 2 bowling shoes for about $50 that have smooth leather soles on both feet and they're awesome! Not too slick but enough to allow slide doubles and the raised heel is rubber so good for heel down stuff as well.
 

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I only wear socks when I drum. The socks are always knee- socks and have to be a crazy design. Such as very funky colored rainbows, or stripes, or bright argyle designs. Try It!!!!
 

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Here is a link to the shoes I wear. The prilce posted is not good anymore. I am not sure how to get them. I have two pair and I love them.

buthttp://www.myshinebox.com/portals/0/campaignphotos/DrivingShoeShineBox.pdf
 
I don't know guys, The Ruby Slippers are still looking pretty good to me :)
 
Converse All-Stars. That's all I'll ever wear to play drums. I thought there'd be more of us!
 
I just use any shoe with a hard rubber bottom. Doesn't slip at all on my gibraltar avenger, which lots of the time are known to be slippery.
 
Vans Old Schools. Don't like playing in anything else. Converse feel to thin for me as I like a bit of padding and Doc Martens are to heavy and over padded.
 

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Either my Vans Authentics or my AC/DC Converse. They have fabrics rather than canvas which is pretty awesome, and I can play pretty good on the pedals wearing the Converse.
 
I really like those Puma Speed Kings. My wife is constantly making fun of me for owning drum shoes.

Well......

I have no defense.
 
Shoes I prefer to play in are my Pumas, however I pretty much play in whatever I'm wearing, but I prefer shoes with a flat sole.
Most difficult to play in would have to be flip flops. It can be painful when your toes get caught in the chain, lol.
 
Adidas Derby's or Courtstars.

Comfy as hell, perfect for Pedal Playing.

(At home bare feet)
 
Cannot beat the Puma SpeedCats!

speedcat.jpg

exactly what Ive been wearing for years.


F
 
I used to play the hi-hat barefoot, but the bass drum wearing a sock. I think I might start doing that again ;)
 
I wear these:

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So so comfy, great response and feel, not much grip so just right for pedal work and they feel like naked feet just with the thin sole to know that you have some foot protection...
 
A friend of mine swears by Converse All Stars. I used to use Airwalks or Pumas, but lately I've changed over to these. They are Skechers "Urban Track" or something like that. I actually ran into another drummer who used the same shoes as well.

ScreenShot2011-08-09at44621PM.png


When I play at church however I usually play in these, they are Streetcars.
ScreenShot2011-08-09at45212PM.png
 
I have a pair of Dreaks but have used them maybe 5 times. I prefer/keep on practicing barefoot (socks) which gives me a better playing feel. Footwear does result in more punch/volume though (which doesn't matter for me).

I tried out slippers once and surprisingly, they worked really well (with a double pedal - I'm practicing a lot of doublebass). I also tried my running shoes (Asics) - they didn't work for me at all. Maybe I could get accustomed to them but I don't want to spend time on that so barefoot will do for me. I guess when playing the slide technique, the combination of pedal plate surface/grip and footwear/barefoot (socks) grip has to "match", but the slide technique seems too hard for me to learn so I'm ignoring it (instead, heel up and especially heel toe works great for me).

I haven't dared to try combat boots but today my footweights (2x 5 lbs) have arrived so for home practicing, I guess footweights will be my "footwear" for 50% of my doublebass practice (Gene Hoglan inspired).

**********

UPDATE
I just tried out the Dreaks again - the previous time I used them is months ago. My impression of using Dreaks vs. barefoot (in addition to the above):

Footwear...
= produces more even volume (kind of 'compression' effect)
= has a narrower sweet spot - barefoot is more forgiving (especially heel-toe)
= has an ankle stabilisation effect - great for my weak left foot (my left foot tends to make some lateral/weird movement due to a lack of strength, my right foot never does this)
= makes heel-up easier (more control, more power)
= With heel-toe, I have less feel in my fastest ranges (up to 270 bpm) although footwear makes no difference in achieving the same speed
= Lastly, due to my tiny ankles, I can't tighten my footweights (I have them for a few days now) enough so they slip onto my ankles, limiting ankle motion. With footwear, the footweights will stay above the Drakes so they don't limit ankle motion.

I'll definitely give footwear a new chance. My heel-up speed is stuck at 240 bpm for months (that's why I've been concentrating on heel-toe which started to really work). Let's see...

I also practice some hihat (incl. splash sounds). I guess footwork won't be of a benefit on the hihat, I want/need more freedom and feel so with hihat I'll stick to barefoot.
 
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I recently was shoe shopping and passed the wrestling section and thought "Hey these would be perfect for drumming." So i picked em up, Id imagine any wrestling shoes would do, no bulk and they conform to the foot well. So far I like em.
 
I use the exact same shoes that i wear everyday Vans Authentics

authentic%20(black_black)%20regular%20stock.jpg


I find them extremely comfortable to drum in as there pretty light.
 
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