Want to talk about shoes? Let's get into it. So, I hold in my hands the new Selkirk SO1 and SO2 pickleball shoes, and I've got to tell you, I'm very impressed with this shoe. So, let me go through a few of the specs and a few of the things that they claim, and then I'm going to talk about each one and tell you what my thoughts are.
First off, this has a lifted heel geometry. So, what it does is it lifts you up in the heel, kind of kicks you forward a little bit on your toes. That helps you get a better start when you're moving, right? So, it kind of just raises your heels just a little bit, gets your weight a little bit forward, which is where you want to be in tennis and pickleball. You want to be able to get on your toes so you can then move and get to whatever shot is being hit.
The second thing they talk about is the breathable fabric. The fabric here has breathable holes in it, so it's not like a full mesh where you can see your sock underneath it, but it's open enough that you can feel the air movement. So, it gives you a little bit of air movement on your feet.
The third thing they talk about is the reinforced toe box. If you look at this toe box, it is extremely supported. It is very stiff. Okay, here I am pushing pretty good. Very stiff. And then they've got the wrap around it here with the sole, right? So, the sole of the shoe wraps around the toe here, which gives you a little bit, and it's called an extended sole. What it does is it gives you a little bit of toe drag ability, right? So, when you're hitting, when you're dragging your feet when you're in the kitchen line or you're moving and you drag your toe, or you're dragging to the outside, this gives you a really important reinforcement here with the sole coming out over the toe area.
The other thing is the reinforced heel box. So, the heel box here, this is a very stiff shoe, okay? This is what you really want in a pickleball or tennis shoe because lateral motion is really what you want, and you don't want torque in the shoe. You don't want the shoe to be able to just move around like this very easily. You want it kind of stiff so when you start and stop and you're hitting to the edge, the shoe is stable and it doesn't move on your feet.
The other thing is the wide toe box. Okay, I have very wide feet. I usually have to order a half a size larger on shoes to make them fit me. This one actually has a wide enough toe box that I was able to go to my ten and a half. I went right to my ten and a half, and it is still good enough that my feet don't feel stuffed in here. It feels comfortable. It feels natural, and it doesn't put a lot of pressure on the side of my feet.
Then the other thing they talk about is the lateral side flare. Okay, if you look here, it's got this extended kick right here. Let me do it on this side so you can see how it's giving you a little bit of an extension out here. Look at the base of the shoe. You can see out here where this is going. You can see out here this extends out. So, when you go to the side, it gives you more stability. So, when you hit here, it gives you more lateral motion stability when you're going to the outside, which allows you to stick and push off of it.
And then let me get to the last thing that I think is very key. Most of these tennis shoes, like I've reviewed Tyrol and Way of Wade shoes, they don't come with a good insert. So, let's talk about what I like about this. They're giving you cushioned inserts that have a little bit of support. So, you can see here, this is a support for your arch. So, for those of us that have plantar fasciitis or struggle with that, this is going to give you some support inside the shoe. So, when I put these on, super comfortable and very good padding on here. Right? But what they've done here is they've made this shoe a little bit deeper.
Want to talk about shoes? Let's get into it! So, I hold in my hands the new Selkirk SO1 and
SO2 pickleball shoes, and I've got to tell you, I'm very impressed with this shoe. So,
let me go through a few of the specs and a few of the things that they claim,
and then I'm going to talk about each one and tell you what my thoughts are.
First off, this has a lifted heel geometry. So, what it does is it lifts you up in the heel,
kind of kicks you forward a little bit on your toes. That helps you get a better
start when you're moving, right? So, it kind of just raises your heels just a little bit,
gets your weight a little bit forward, which is where you want to be in tennis and pickleball.
You want to be able to get on your toes so you can then move and get to whatever shot is being hit.
The second thing they talk about is the breathable fabric. The fabric here has breathable holes in
it, so it's not like a full mesh where you can see your sock underneath it, but it's open enough
that you can feel the air movement. So, it gives you a little bit of air movement on your feet.
The third thing they talk about is the reinforced toe box. If you look at this toe box,
it is extremely supported. It is very stiff. Okay, here I am pushing pretty
good. Very stiff. And then they've got the wrap around it here with the sole,
right? So, the sole of the shoe wraps around the toe here, which gives you a little bit,
and it's called an extended sole. What it does is it gives you a little bit of toe drag ability,
right? So, when you're hitting, when you're dragging your feet when you're in the kitchen
line or you're moving and you drag your toe, or you're dragging to the outside,
this gives you a really important reinforcement here with the sole coming out over the toe area.
The other thing is the reinforced heel box. So, the heel box here, this is a very stiff shoe,
okay? This is what you really want in a pickleball or tennis shoe because lateral
motion is really what you want, and you don't want torque in the shoe. You don't want the shoe to be
able to just move around like this very easily. You want it kind of stiff so when you start and
stop and you're hitting to the edge, the shoe is stable and it doesn't move on your feet.
The other thing is the wide toe box. Okay, I have very wide feet. I usually have to order
a half a size larger on shoes to make them fit me. This one actually has a wide enough
toe box that I was able to go to my ten and a half. I went right to my ten and a half,
and it is still good enough that my feet don't feel stuffed in here. It feels comfortable.
It feels natural, and it doesn't put a lot of pressure on the side of my feet.
Then the other thing they talk about is the lateral side flare. Okay, if you look here,
it's got this extended kick right here. Let me do it on this side so you can see how it's
giving you a little bit of an extension out here. Look at the base of the shoe. You can see out here
where this is going. You can see out here this extends out. So, when you go to the side,
it gives you more stability. So, when you hit here, it gives you more lateral motion
stability when you're going to the outside, which allows you to stick and push off of it.
And then I like the rubber outsole that it has here, the really thick and you
can feel the material. So, it's really going to be good at grinding on a court,
and you're going to be able to last a long time with this extra reinforcement.
And then let me get to the last thing that I think is very key. Most of these tennis shoes, like I've
reviewed Tyrol and Way of Wade shoes, they don't come with a good insert. So, let's talk about what
I like about this. They're giving you cushioned inserts that have a little bit of support. So,
you can see here, this is a support for your arch. So, for those of us that have plantar fasciitis or
struggle with that, this is going to give you some support inside the shoe. So, when I put these on,
super comfortable and very good padding on here. Right? But what they've done here is they've made
this shoe a little bit deeper. So, I would say the only negative thing that I could say about this,
and this is just me, and this is because the shoe isn't broken in yet, I have very prominent ankle
bones. Not that you really care about that or need to know about that, but my ankle personally hits
right here on this shoe. So, it's going to take a little bit of wearing in for me to get to where I
can not feel that on the shoe while I'm playing. But what I like about this is the depth of this
shoe. When I'm talking about the depth, we're talking about the height here and the depth
inside the shoe. This is thick enough for me to put my own inserts in. So, you can see here,
I have specialized inserts, and then I put my own little padding here on this. And then it
has plenty of room in this shoe to support me with my full plantar fasciitis support inserts.
Overall, I think the construction of this shoe is phenomenal. It is an extremely good feeling,
solid shoe, and they're not heavy. When I compare this to the other shoes on the market,
this is actually a lighter shoe. I can tell that Selkirk has put a lot of money and effort into
designing this shoe and getting the support it needs and getting the nice technology in here.
Now, on the website, it talks about the weight of the shoe being around
12.95 ounces. On my scale, my shoe came out at about 13.8 with my inserts in it,
so a little bit heavier. I would put that comparable with any other shoe in
the market. They're all around that because you need the stiffness and the durability.
So, let's look at the SO1. The SO1 is a little bit different. It's got the ladder lacing system. So,
you can see right here how the laces go around the edge right here. The
laces go around the edge here, and so it's a ladder lacing system. The other thing is
it doesn't actually have a tongue. These are slip-ons. So, I think that this one,
it's about 20 bucks more for this one versus the SO2, but this one here you can slip on and off
and then lace it pretty quickly with the ladder lacing system. All the other specs are the same,
inserts are the same, but overall, I'm really impressed with these shoes. I'm playing with the
black ones right now. I'm going to be trying the red ones next time I go out just to get used to
the shoes and see how they fit. I will say this, in wearing this one around the house because of
the soft edge here, this has what's called a heel collar padding, and it's a lot less
stiff. The SO2 has a very stiff side, and the SO1 has a little bit more flexible edge here. So,
this one feels more comfortable on my ankle bone since my ankle bone is a little bit
prominent and the shoe's kind of deep. This one feels a little bit better to me when I wear it.
Alright, now here's the thing. The shoes run $144 for the SO2, $166 for the SO1.
I think this is comparable with most shoes on the market. It's right there where it should be. Now,
if you use our code ADV Pirates, you will get a gift card in the mail after 30 days for purchasing
this product using our code. And once again, thank you so much for using our code. It helps us keep
the lights on and bring you this great content. So, if these aren't the shoes for you, you can
see the other ones that I've done here. You can look at the D Wade Way of Wade and the Tyrol.
Yeah, right there. Both of them, both good shoes. Very, very good shoes.
Yeah. Uh-huh. Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes.
