Shoes?

[rv driver]

For the RH/LH shoes, the benefit is having a good rubber sole for your pushaway and traction on your approach. Otherwise you will be slipping with both feet having leather soles with the universals.

Is the difference really noticeable? I suppose it must be, or all shoes would be universal. I've never tried a pair of designated shoes.

[rv driver]

Shoes last a long time for most people longer than most balls. Don't be afraid to invest a little money in them. I'm not saying you have to buy the most expensive but it's not somewhere you really want to scrimp.

I hate it when the shoes don't fit. Messes up the approach. Very distracting. For me, the biggest concern (I think) is fit and comfort.

[rv driver]

By the way just because you make a thousand post about your search for shoes I don't think bowling boards.com is going to give you a pair of shoes. Their is no weekly shoe contest. We may have created a monster here. Oh great now I'm probably giving him ideas.

Ok, ok!

Next is bags... then towels. Then grips, tape, polish, cleaner... you get the drift.

[rv driver]

Yea I definitely DO NOT recommend the universal ones. The shoes I bought for my wife are universal, and I'm already looking for a new pair .

If you are a tournament bowler that bowls in new houses quite regularly (or plan to in the future), I would definitely recommend getting shoes with the exchangeable soles. I just recently made the switch this year, and already had times where they saved my butt (where I previously would have had trouble with my old shoes).

If you only play in 1-2 centers 95% of the time, you can just get the LH/RH ones.....WAY cheaper.

Yeah, not really at the interchangeable sole stage... yet. Just need a solid pair of shoes that aren't house shoes.

[tccstudent]

I have a pair of SST 8's that ive had for about 6 years. I have a foot that is twice the size of the legendary bigfoot size 15 my sst 8's have always been pretty tight but it is the largest size i can find in anything with interchangable soles

[Amyers]

Is the difference really noticeable? I suppose it must be, or all shoes would be universal. I've never tried a pair of designated shoes.

Simple Answer Yes. You can really tell the difference on the push off on your next to last step.

[mc_runner]

I just got SST6's after using universal shoes for a number of years. It took a game to get used to the different feel, and now I don't think I could go back to universal. Good shoes are a worthwhile investment.

[rv driver]

Simple Answer Yes. You can really tell the difference on the push off on your next to last step.

Thanks, man!

[rv driver]

I have a pair of SST 8's that ive had for about 6 years. I have a foot that is twice the size of the legendary bigfoot size 15 my sst 8's have always been pretty tight but it is the largest size i can find in anything with interchangable soles

You know, that's one thing that really surprised me when I tried some on yesterday. I noticed that the Etonics were REALLY tight across the ball of my foot. And I also noticed that I had to size up to an 8 (which I NEVER have to do) on both Etonics and Dexters. I had on really thin socks, and even the Dexters were a bit tight on my feet. I understand the concept of specialty shoes -- you want them to fit like a glove; they're not supposed to be "roomy" in order to provide support. But I'm surprised I had to size up.

[rv driver]

I just got SST6's after using universal shoes for a number of years. It took a game to get used to the different feel, and now I don't think I could go back to universal. Good shoes are a worthwhile investment.

Yeah, I wondered if the feel would be different -- grippier, because I always noticed the lack of grip on the right foot in the house clown shoes. Another difference I noted was that the slide sole felt ... different ... from the house sole. And I understand there are differences in grippiness, or tack, or whatever, but I don't understand why that's important. My guess is that different houses have different feeling approaches? I hear folks talking about leather as opposed to microfiber, and that leather is *supposed* to be better, but I'm just not going to spend more on the shoes than on my ball.

But I'm under the impression that I do need to spend the couple extra for dedicated soles.