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Do you have special shoes for shooting pool?

Cornerman
cueball2010 said:
I am in search of the perfect shoes for playing pool. At first I was speculating that cross trainers or basketball shoes would be best to keep your stance secure from lateral movement, but I actually think this is a non-issue. Now I think the perfect pool shoe would be one that is super breathable so your feet don't get hot and sweaty during 16 hours of tournament play. I also think they should be super squishy, bouncy, and light to prevent fatigue.

So, I think what I am describing is a running shoe. I have running shoes, but I don't know if I need new running shoes. I mean has anyone ever noticed how the first couple of days or couple of weeks your new shoes feel the most bouncy? Then the shoe inside kind of molds its shape to your foot. This also feels comfortable, but as it conforms in to this different type of comfort, shoes lose the bounce, or maybe I just get use to it and don't notice the response that gives me the feel of walking on clouds. The spring in the step seems to fade away.

Another Idea is to forget searching for a perfect shoe and just get insole inserts, and just replace them frequently. But then that would add weight and lead to fatigue? I'm so confused.

If you have pool shoes that you are in love with please share the brand, model, and why you like them for playing pool. Or if you use inserts, which ones, and how often you need to replace them?
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I used to only play in sneakers (tennis shoes, trainers, whatever). I could never play in boots, dress shoes or flip flops.

About 12 years ago, I was working on a project for a major shoe brand. They let us use their shoe designer softwear, so I designed a shoe with what I thought would be what I wanted for pool and billiard shoe. It looked like a dress shoe, but built more like sneakers, and it head toe reinforcement for that stretched out shot. Of course, this was so long ago, and the rendering is buried somewhere in the files.

Also several years ago, Mika was sponsored by a company trying to sell a billiard-specific shoe. Not sure it went anywhere. I suppose not since I can't recall hearing about them in a long time.
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Bring Your Own Pool Balls - BYOPB?

skor
I bring my own pool balls, as the hall I play at has cheap ball sets and they are badly maintained. I've been carrying my own set for years, and they have the scars to show it due to old tables with ball return systems (now they have newer tables with drop pockets), balls flying off the table, etc. They are still better than the club's balls; I have a new set waiting for the old one to get to a state that I'll have to retire them.
They have at the club two sets of Black Aramith, but you need to pay extra to rent them, and they are not that clean, so I prefer to bring my own.

If it's just a night out at the pool hall, I probably won't bring my set of balls.

I also won't bring them to a league or a tournament, as I think that everybody should use the same type of balls, and I don't want to deal with moving the balls from table to table between matches.

At another place that I visited just last week for the first time for a tournament, they have sets of Aramith black for all the tables, and everything is maintained nicely, but it is more expensive to play there, and I prefer my usual club atmosphere better.
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Do you have special shoes for shooting pool?

D
I wear as many natural fibers as possible. I want my shoes to have leather without padding. I mostly wear wool socks because wool isn't just a great insulator, it wicks water and has anti-microbial properties.

One of the previous posts talks about his shoes feeling like walking in soft sand. Walking in soft sand is extraordinarily tiring, I have never understood why people would want that. I wear hard soled shoes because they waste less energy.

The simple fact is that most people stomp when they walk and I believe this is most of the problem with their feet. Funny thing, generally tall men walk much softer than shorter people. Years ago I was talking to a buddy of mine about this (6'5", 250lb). I mentioned that I could hear his 110lb wife walking around in their house, but I couldn't hear him. I'm 6'3" and we believe that it is because of the huge growth spurts tall guys go through, our teen clumsiness from not knowing where our body ends makes ingrains a consciousness that others might not have.
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