Converse Skate Shoe Concept
Every skater is different. When it comes to skating footwear, skaters can’t agree on what makes a ‘good skate shoe’. Are they made out of thin material so they don’t get in the way? Are they heavily padded to provide extra cushioning and protection? What is the ideal tread pattern on a skate shoe? What ties skaters together though, is durability. Every skater falls into a pattern of finding a shoe that works for them, and then repairing, gluing and taping the shoe as much as possible to get a few more sessions out of them. What if we could extend the lifespan of skate shoes to keep skaters happier for longer?
Photo by Wesley Pacífico on Unsplash
“Bummer”
Repairs
Many skaters turn to products like Shoe Goo, Duct Tape, or other materials to try and get the most out of their favorite pair. When a skater finds the pair that works for them they tend to stick with it for as long as possible.
Sore Spots
Dragging certain spots of the shoe up and down the grip tape can lead to holes in the shoe. The more a skater practices their tricks, the more run down their shoes get, and you can see which trick they’ve been practicing by looking at very specific spots on the shoe.
Photo by Sean Benesh on Unsplash
Longevity
If we can increase the lifespan of a skate shoe, then we can keep the skater happier for longer, and they’ll feel even more attached to the pair of skate shoes that they’ve had for so long.
Kickflip
In a kickflip, dragging the toe up the board and flicking the top causes the board to rotate. This dragging of the shoe up the grip tape, wears the outside midsole down quickly and causes one of the more popular ‘pain points’ on a skate shoe.
Heelflip
Like the inverse of a kickflip, a heelflip drags the heel along the back of the board and flicks, rotating the board in the air. This highlights another ‘pain point’ on the outside midsole on the heel.
Ideation
I had the idea to re-enforce these pain points on the shoe, so that they would wear away slower, and lengthen the lifespan of the shoe. Either by making a custom sole with a more organic shape that follows the pain points I highlighted, or just ‘double dipping’ the shoe in another liquid rubber, or similar material, that would strengthen the sole.
So many skate shoes have a flat sole that wraps around the bottom of the shoe. If we changed the shape of the sole to wrap up and cover the pain points we identified, we could increase the lifespan of the shoe, and keep the skater happier.