Insoles to Support Arch (Say in Plantar Fasciitis)

Primary considerations are how stiff is the arch support (stiffer is good if you already have significant pain or are prone to it, but may feel less comfortable at first) and energy absorption vs rebound (former is good if you have jumper's knee already or if you are ramping up your playing time while the latter is useful when performance matters).

  • Move - plastic with strong (regular) and very strong (pro) arch support. Relatively dense foam on the pro model, so will not bottom out for some time.

  • Powerstep - Pinnacle has high support, but there are many models.

  • Zelus - uses rubber "cups" that absorb impact and give some energy return. The pro model has stiff plastic arch support, while sport model has EVA foam arch (not going to be very supportive)

  • Vktry - made of carbon fiber. Pricey, so should wait for the ~30% off sales they typically have around holidays, Amazon Prime day and back-to-school season, etc. The latest ones (direct from their website, not resellers on Amazon) have dense and good rebound foam so will last longer.

  • Superfeet

  • Footprint


To Take Out of Other Shoes

Some shoes have very good insoles (though rarely with arch support) that you can take out and use in other shoes.

Key technologies would be: Zoom (Nike - long lasting, high energy return), React (Nike - decently long lasting foam with good energy return), Boost (Adidas - moderate lasting with a good amount of comfort / energy dissipation and energy return but less than the others.), Cloud and Boom foams (Way of Wade - the 808 2 regular and ultra are currently the only ones with drop-ins).

  • Nike Metcon - some metcons have thicker drop-in insoles/midsoles. The react, react turbo, and react zoom turbo (turbo 2) are especially impact-absorbing. The latter two also have a plastic stiffener that helps with arch support. These are moderately thick, so a shoe that is half size up will likely be needed.

  • Nike SB Bruin and Ishod (should confirm if all models will have drop ins) - react drop-ins. These are moderately thick, so a shoe that is half size up will likely be needed.

  • Nike Kobe (7, 8, 10, 11, AD 360, AD 360 NXT) - mostly heel Zoom units, except the latter two which use react foam. These are BEEFY drop-ins, so will often need a shoe that is a full size up.

  • Converse React All Start BB Pro - you should confirm the exact model numbers since there are lots of very similar name ones. These are similar to the Kobe AD midsoles. These are BEEFY drop-ins, so will often need a shoe that is a full size up.

  • Nike Lebron 11 - full length Zoom midsole. These are BEEFY drop-ins, so will often need a shoe that is a full size up.

  • Nike BB NXT - thin react midsoles which are OK but won't provide that much protection by themselves.

  • Nike SB Zooms - Janoski line is primary, can get at good price these days. Standard thickness, but with heel zoom which is nice.

  • Nike had some older shoes with drop-in midsoles with Air in them, but this is very rare since performance shoes would do better with Zoom.

  • Way of Wade 808 2 - has Cloud or Boom foam depending on regular or ultra models. Not yet tested.

  • Mizuno Wave Tornados - are good quality, though likely harder to find new at this point.

  • Adidas does have many decent ones, including Boost drop-ins on some of their shoe lines (Harden Vol. 5, Pro Boost Low).

  • Hefeluxx has "boost-like" insoles