Girls and women who want to learn to longboard or skateboard need a pair of shoes built with the right characteristic. Skate shoes may seem like just a counter cultural fashion statement, but really there is a reason this shoe style has been used by skateboarders and longboarders for decades.
What shoes are best for girls and women to wear long boarding and skateboarding?
Female longboarders and skateboarders need to wear skate shoes. Skate shoes are specifically designed for efficiently riding skateboards and longboards. Look for shoes that:
- Have flat soles for distributing weight evenly across the deck of your board for maximum stability
- Have grippy rubber soles with special treads designed for biting into the grip tape on your board
- Are made of materials meant to withstand the friction of your board’s grip tape and also dragging your foot across asphalt and cement when you are using your foot at a break.
- Have cushioning made of either vulcanize rubber or have cupsole padding.
- Have double or triple stitched seams for durability.
Skate shoes should feel comfortable and should help you feel stable on your board.
You should feel like you have enough traction that your foot stays where you want it, grips the grip tape, and won’t slide off your board.
There should be enough padding so that when you jump off your board it won’t hurt your feet and the shoes should either be low enough to not rub on your ankle and the back of your heel, or go up over your ankle and cover the back of your heel in a way that is comfortable to you.
You want a balance between a cushioned shoe and the ability to feel the board beneath your feet.
The puffy skater shoes of the 90s were like walking on clouds but didn’t have a great “board feel”. Today more skaters want to be able to feel the board beneath their feet for a more intuitive ride while also having a comfortable shoe.
Types of Cushioning in Skate Shoes
Skate shoes will have either vulcanized rubber soles or cupsole padding.
Vulcanized rubber shoes are a more condensed rubber that helps you feel the board better under your feet, also known as better board feel. They are cheaper and less cushy than cupsole skate shoes.
Cup sole padding, on the other hand, was designed for skateboarders to avoid getting bruised heels when they jump off their boards. They make a more cushy feeling shoe, but have less board feel, or ability to feel contact with the deck of your board under your feet.
If you need more cushioned shoes, go for cupsole, otherwise vulc is great for affordable lightweight skate shoes.
Skate shoes can be high tops, slip-on or lace up, casual looking or dressed up leather and suede.
There are all styles of skate shoes these days. Find ones in a style you like so you are happy to be wearing them not only on your longboard or skateboard but wherever your board is taking you!
Avoid skate shoes that:
- Look like skate shoes but have slippery smooth soles without treads for good traction on the bottom.
- Look like skate shoes, but have no cushioning for when you jump off your board.
- Have too much pitch, meaning they don’t have a very flat sole that will give you enough foot surface contact with your board.
- Are merely designed for fashion without being built to withstand dragging your foot across the ground to slow down.
- Rub against your ankle or the back of your heel.
- That have a sole that is too built up or too thin for you to feel comfortable and balanced on your board.
- Don’t fit your style. There are enough skate shoes these days that you don’t have to wear one that looks like the puffy skate shoes you remember from the 1990s (unless you like that look because you can definitely buy those too). There are enough skate shoe styles to find some you really like.
Some of the most popular skate shoes right now
- Nike SB Bruin Women’s High Skate Shoe is an awesome shoe built especially for the female foot at the request of professional female skaters.
- Adidas Originals Adi-Ease sneakers are a canvas skate shoe that look like cute sneakers rather than skate shoes. They are made of soft breathable canvas which feels good on your feet.
- VenusCelia Pro Perforated Skate Shoe is a vintage low-top real skate shoe with double stitching and a .75 inch rubber sole. It comes in cute colors and are really cheap.
- DC Chelsea Skate Shoes are leather classic looking skate shoes with a flat sole and made with vulcanized rubber.
- Etnies Jameson Vulc Skate shoe is a great basic grippy rubber skate shoe.
- DC Dani Skate shoes are a favorite for skaters (and female mountain bikers). Wide relax comfortable shoes.
- Leather DC Trase Skate shoes are a sexy looking low cut leather skate shoe in animal print or other cool looking designs. These are cute all day shoes that happen to be perfect for longboarding.
- DC Trase TX Canvas skate shoes are a low cut canvas version with a one-inch rubber sole.
- Adidas 3M is a very popular classic looking shoe lace-up leather skate shoe with a soft suede-like feel, also comes in the collegiate dark navy blue and as a canvas shoe in bright colors like this yellow one.
- DC Kalis Lite skate shoe is a more substantial built-up skate shoe mixing leather and suede.
Look at a lot of different skate shoes and find ones that you would feel comfortable wearing all day and that match your style.
Don’t be afraid to try a few styles and send the ones back that don’t fit. A little trick to online ordering and returns is that if you mark the box that says “item not as described” on your returns then your return shipping will be free. And you are totally legit in saying that because if they are not comfortable to you then they are not as described!
Good skate shoes will help skating be more fun and you will feel stable and at home on your board.
When I first started longboarding I tried to wear my ASIC running shoes and not only did I look ridiculous, but I kept tripping on the wide curved base of the shoe meant for running.
Shoes really are designed for different sports and thankfully skate shoes are now more readily available for women and built for function as well as to look awesome while doing your thing.
I hope I have helped you know what to look for in a skate shoe and I hope you’ll find some that you’ll love wearing on your new longboarding or skateboarding journey! If you are new to longboarding and are not sure what to look for in a longboard for beginners, get some tips in this guide I wrote for choosing an easy first longboard.