Non Marking Shoes - Everything you need to know

Do you enjoy spending some quality time indoors playing some sports with your friends as the perfect way to relax after a long and hectic day? Or you might be a professional badminton, tennis, or volleyball player. In both cases, the chances are that you have probably heard of the non-marking shoes. If not, no worries, we are here to make things clear for you.

What Are Non-Marking Shoes?

Non-marking shoes are naturally used during indoor sports such as basketball, tennis, badminton, volleyball, handball, etc. They are manufactured from a unique sole created from rubber-type material to offer maximum friction and a "smooth ride". They are called non-marking shoes or non-markable shoes because they leave no mark on the traditional wooden or tiled floors or damage them such as the "classical" shoes worn outside.

How to find out if this is a Non-Marking Shoe?

If you want to test a particular shoe, whether is it non-marking or not try making a dent in the sole with your thumbnail. If the dent recovers quickly, you have the right non-marking footwear in your hand with some serious soft soles.

Another way to recognize if you have a non-marking shoe is by rubbing the shoe's sole on a clean white piece of paper. What you should look for is clean white paper instead of a scuff mark. 

Additionally, if you keep tearing the paper instead of testing the sole, you can always draw a line instead of the "rubbing test" and see if you are left with some marks on the paper or not. You are guessing that there should be no marks or no visible lines on the paper.

Different Sport – Different Non-Marking Shoe

Besides the apparent reason you need to wear non-marking shoes when you play certain sports indoors-protecting the floor from scratch marks, non-marking shoes for different sports are designed and manufactured differently because every sport demands its own way.

Non-marking Shoes for Badminton

In times when shoe manufacturing and technology are so developed, and we can indeed say that it has come a long way, having some high-quality badminton non-marking shoes is a bare necessity. 

In most cases, if you want to play badminton, you are not even allowed to enter the badminton court if you don't own a pair of non-marking shoes. 

As we previously mentioned, regular shoes tend to leave marks on the sensitive synthetic playing surface, and in order to leave the floor intact, non-marking badminton shoes are a must on such "sensitive" indoor courts. 

If you have chosen to play badminton at some point in your life, even for an hour then you have undoubtedly noticed how challenging a sport it is. Although it does look quite simple and straightforward 2 to 4 players, a shuttlecock and a net, we assure you, it's not! 

Proper court positioning is essential, a finely-tuned tactical sense is crucial, and your agility and speed are paramount.

There are three essential things to look out for in a shoe: traction and grip; good cushioning; and lightweight. We can surely say that all three of them are equally important. 

Furthermore, some additional features might turn out to be just the thing you are looking for when you are playing badminton: power cushion that will absorb the quick reverse movements, ergonomic shape that will provide comfort and stability of the foot, Double Russel Mesh meaning a material that is quite durable and lightweight giving your foot some extra air and breathability, MsLite that is a blend created for durability and fast footwork, and lateral crawl meaning more rapid movements and higher power. 

Wearing such non-marking shoes when playing badminton will provide you with comfort, better grip, enhanced foot movement, perfect fit, improved flexibility, improved response time, and even reduced badminton injury risk.

Still, you have to maintain badminton shoes to get value for money. Yonex and Lining are two leading companies if you are looking for the best badminton shoes.

Can we play badminton in Basketball shoes? Yes or No?

As we all know, basketball is commonly and usually played inside; therefore comes the question: can basketball non-marking shoes be used for playing other indoor sports such as badminton? 

I am sure we can all agree that when seeing shoes specifically designed for different sports, we can all notice quite the difference between them. 

Some are higher some lower; some have thin others have thick soles, some are lightweight, while others do not. 

If you take a closer look at a pair of basketball shoes, you will notice that they are purposely manufactured in a certain way. Firstly, they have thicker soles because of the need for high jumps such as dunking, blocking, rebounding, and defence, and additionally, hence, the thicker sole is heavier in weight. 

Furthermore, they usually go above the ankle for maximum support and are made from a rigid material and have poor ventilation. On the other hand, badminton shoes have a thinner layer of the midsole, allowing you to be lower to the ground and have a quicker response and stability. 

Secondly, they are created from a light mesh material which will allow your feet to breathe and hence of this fact they will be lightweight-something we can't say about the basketball shoes. 

So, if you are looking for an answer, then the answer is No. 

No, you cannot play badminton in basketball shoes; it's not a marketing trick. 

Read - Solving the Flat Feet and Badminton Shoe Conundrum

Can we play Badminton in Tennis Shoes? Yes or No?

Now that we reviewed or should we say we decided that you shouldn't play badminton with basketball shoes, hence being utterly different regarding structure and function, should you play badminton with tennis shoes?

Seeing two different pairs of shoes, one for tennis and one for badminton you will notice that they are quite similar such as sports. However, they have differences in terms of rules, and different ball and shuttle, but the movements during both of the sports resemble one another. 

Furthermore, tennis is played on different courts such as clay, synthetic, and grass, while badminton is only played indoors/outdoors on the synthetic or cemented court. 

That's why they are different types of tennis shoes – various designs and structures for each of the courts, and their main difference usually lies within the sole. The tennis shoes made for concrete courts have the thickest sole, and deep herringbone pattern, the ones that are for clay are lightweight with a shallow herringbone pattern, and the tennis shoes made for indoor courts are the most flexible and light with the smoothest non-marking soles. 

So, this time, the answer is YES. Yes, you can play badminton in the same shoes you used to play tennis. 

As we mentioned, the sports movements are quite similar; therefore, tennis shoes are created to be light and flexible, allowing you to move freely and dominate on the badminton court.

One more important point we forget to mention is that in tennis shoes generally endurance rubber is provided, giving more durability to the shoes and improving the court's performance. But the downside is the weight of the shoes is a little bit increased.

Can Non-marking Shoes be used for Running?

Non-marking shoes are not designed to handle outdoor conditions or rough surfaces. It would be best to have such a shoe that supports your movement, stability, and shock absorption. In Fact for walking on the road or running on the treadmill, you need a running-specific shoe, and these sports shoes are not suitable to go for any buyer or customer.

Conclusion

As you can notice, the non-marking shoes are created similarly for each sport. They have a soft shock-absorbing sole with additional cushioning that "locks in" the foot stability and are lightweight usually from breathable material. Whether you are a professional athlete or an amateur player, investing in a pair of non-marking shoes to preserve indoor surfaces and improve your performance on the court is a wise decision. Therefore, equip yourself with the best non-marking shoes and appreciate your favoured indoor sports without fear of leaving ugly marks behind!

Wait no more to purchase your pair of non-marking shoes!