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Finding supportive cupsoles that I can wear with orthotics is an ongoing obsession for me. Ones that I found supportive for my destroyed feet without being too chunky:
- Adidas Tyshawn - borderline chunky, but I think it looks fine laced up and underneath pants
- Converse Pro Leather
- Vans AVE Pro - tried these on, didn't buy them, but they felt good - not into how they look, but that's me
- NB# Westgate 913 - with a warning: for me, the heel was a little too narrow for my orthotics to sit in them well, and the shoe never stretched around them. I kept having to take off my shoe and adjust my orthotics because of this.
Haven’t had 913s, even tho I really like nb and he’s one of my favorites, because I dunno why.
Out of this list pro leathers are probably my top choice, but sentimental reasons are maybe weighing in too heavily. They skate/flick really well and I love the sole/grip but I can roll around in the shoe some.
The AVE’s are the most locked down safe I’ve felt in a shoe, maybe ever. I don’t have some now to look at it, and I don’t use orthotics, so I’m not sure if they’d work. The shoe had a very stable, but firm feel. Not a lot of cushion, miss them tho. Some people say that shoe doesn’t last for them. Which sucks when you just paid $100. Mine lasted. Extremely well.
I’m skating tyshawn’s right now, I went tts and have super feet running insoles in them. Pebble magnet. Narrow toe. Good, hard/firm rubber sole. Nice height, great tongue. ‘Charming’ lines, almost looks like a Jordan-esque shoe but in a baby’s size. Something about the look of the shoe seem....dunno wtf I’m talking about
The 913's kind of look like baseball coach shoes, but they got a lot of functional tech stuff in there without making them football sized.
The Pro Leathers had a nice supportive sole (some people will definitely find them too thick/stiff), and locked my foot in well, which can be a problem with orthotics. They held up well, and the suede lasted a while (I had the Cons x Hopps collab ones). My only complaint was that I'd like the heel to have been a little lower - had me feeling just a bit more 'on my toes' than I like. Orthotics push your heel up a little, so if the shoe does that too, it can be too much tilt.
The AVE's were a good fit for my orthotics because they have kind of a half-thickness ultracush insole on top of the midsole. I removed the Ultracush and put my orthotics on top of the midsole, and it seemed like a good fit/cushion/support combo. I can't say how they hold up to skating though, because I find the translucent outsole to be too ugly to buy.
The Tyshawns, I did find the toe a little narrow too, but good otherwise. I liked how firm the sole was (big turn off for me is when outsoles are too soft/floppy). The collar height/cushion was perfect. I had the white leather ones with red stripes, which are the only colourway of that shoe I have really liked. I'm with you on the lines - I generally like the idea of skate shoes that are based on old basketball shoe design.