Best Field Hockey Shoes

Next to your hockey stick, a field hockey players next most important piece of equipment is their shoes because they provide the ability to move with speed and agility on the pitch. But what are the BEST field hockey shoes for a competitive player?

Top Brands for Hockey Shoes

Among the top brands for field hockey shoes, you are likely to find Grays, Kookaburra, Asics, Adidas, and Puma hockey shoes. Grays is one of the most popular brands in the world and their shoes have been designed for elite players who are looking for better execution and more unique features.

Grays Hockey Shoes

Grays shoes have also been designed for professional players while offering amazing shoe designs and color combinations to choose from. You will also find that they offer more in the way of durability, longevity, and comfort.

Kookaburra Hockey Shoes

This is a very popular sporting goods brand found in Australia and they specialize in both cricket and field hockey gear. They have a more specialized footwear collection and offer low profile shoes with mid-foot stability and anti-roll cage technology. They go a long way in providing the best for both speed and durability.

Asics Field Hockey Shoes

These are often considered the best in class when it comes to desirable field hockey shoes. They are the ideal hockey shoes when you are playing on hard ground, turf, or even wet surfaces. They also feature a gradient heel and Gel Cushioning system for the utmost comfort and support.

Adidas Hockey Shoes

Adidas is another well-known sporting goods brand, and these hockey shoes offer players both comfort and protection. The shoe’s bootie embraces the foot of the player, and this is strengthened with the presence of foil overlays to help protect against water. You will also find a good grip on a variety of different pitches.

Best Women’s Field Hockey Shoes

Asics Gel-Lethal MP7 Turf Shoe

These hockey shoes are synthetic, and mesh, and the leather upper provides the player with outstanding stability and balance. It features a full-length midsole for both comfort and support, and the rubber outsole allows for ultimate grip and traction on dry, natural grass, and even artificial surfaces.

These Asics shoes have been designed and engineered specifically for field hockey to provide the player with the right combination of comfort and traction during gameplay on a variety of different surfaces.

Adidas Divox Women’s Field Hockey Turf Shoes

These Adidas field hockey shoes feature a mesh upper that provides the best breathability which allows the shoes to stay cool and dry. The foil-covered synthetic overlay offers a good amount of protection against water and can help with impact during gameplay.

The shoes inner construction and design hugs your feet, which allows for a much better fit that is also comfortable. The TPU toe cap offers toe protection against impacts, and you can achieve a more customized and secure fit due to its traditional lace-up closure.

Adidas Originals Women’s Fabela X Hockey Shoe

These hockey shoes for women were designed with energy-returning cushioning which helps you go full speed during the game. They are also lightweight with a textile upper that features synthetic layers for more defense against water and impact. The inner sock is stretchable, which allows for much more comfort and a better and more snug fit.

There are also lugs on the outside of the molded TPU outsole for better grip and traction. You can experience more controlled stops and turns. Overall, if you purchase these hockey shoes, you will be experiencing an improved grip, and better traction as well as have a comfortable and secure fit.

Avia Women’s Avi-Care Field Hockey Shoe

These women’s hockey shoes are made from 100% leather and textile and feature a rubber sole, a breathable mesh upper with leather, and synthetic overlays. It also has a molded EVA midsole with Archrocker technology that promotes a more natural walking gait. The Cantilever provides cushioning and support.

The sock liner is moldable and made from gel, and the tread pattern on the outsole of these hockey shoes is oil and slip-resistant rubber tread that provides you with a much more enhanced grip when playing.

Best Men’s Field Hockey Shoes

Adidas Zone Dox Men’s Hockey Turf Shoe

These shoes are just one of Adidas’s large field hockey range for men. What sets them apart though and why we have them the #1 spot on our list is Adidas’s SPRINTFRAME technology which makes these shoes the fastest field hockey shoe around. They are extremely lightweight but very strong, supportive, and durable.

Just by looking at the side profile of the shoe, you can see the sole is not like other field hockey shoes, but almost resembles an actual sprinting shoe. The benefit when accelerating in this footwear, however, would only be fully realized on synthetic turf as the grip is too small for outdoor grass hockey. The Zone Dox also have excellent breath-ability of these shoes which makes super sweaty feet not such a problem.

AAdidas Men’s Response Trail

While these are marketed as trail or running shoes, they are also the perfect choice for field hockey – especially when you look at the value you get for your money when choosing these shoes for field hockey. They are a very solid option and are built to be rugged and durable. They provide simple arch support and are made of a lightweight cushioning insole and Traxion outsole to provide you with a much better grip in all directions.

The stitching and the fabric of these shoes is both durable and highly resistance, and the air mesh upper makes these a very comfortable and breathable shoe. They are also rugged and durable enough to withstand regular and daily use on the field.

Adidas Men’s Turf Hog LX Low Shoe

These shoes are made with durable synthetic materials and also have a breathable coated leather and textile upper. They offer the best in the way of comfort and don’t typically require any additional time for breaking in. They may be advertised as football shoes online, but they are a lightweight, sturdy, durable, and solid option for field hockey.

They offer what you are looking for in the way of adaptability and flexibility while providing you with the best protection and comfort you want while out on the field. They also feature leather and mesh uppers with compression molded EVA midsoles.

Want to see more field shoes for men? Check them out here.

Indoor Field Hockey Shoes

Asics Women’s Gel Upcourt

Now, these particular shoes are sold as a women’s indoor volleyball shoe. However, they can be used as a high-performance field hockey shoe all the same. They have an excellent high-quality rubber sole that provides protection and grip all over the shoe at the toe and on the sides. Asics gel cushioning system is perfect for indoor field hockey shoes as the surfaces played on are a lot harder, so it’s so important to have good quality comfort that will look after your feet.

The gum rubber outsole is full length and the rearfoot gel cushioning offers enhanced comfort while the combination of the synthetic leather overlays as well as the mesh underlays also go a long way in providing the best comfort while promoting breathability.

Asics Men’s Gel-Rocket 8 Indoor Shoe

This pair of men’s indoor field hockey shoe are once again sold as a volleyball shoe; however, they are also perfect for hockey too. The gel cushioning in these shoes is both in the heel and forefoot, which is perfect when you are on your feet for a long time as the cushioning can be felt over the whole foot.

They have excellent mesh ventilation over the whole top side of the shoe but still have good wear resistance on the sides, maybe not as good as the Dita’s though. The sole is very grippy and is perfect for most indoor surfaces and will last longer than cheaper shoe brands.

KD Vector Pro Hockey Indoor Shoes

These hockey shoes are suitable for both indoor and outdoor hockey and have a padded footbed and cushioned ankle for the best in both comfort and support. The rubber grips allow for better grip and traction on a variety of surfaces and they are extremely affordable for what they offer.

They are a great pair of shoes for hockey and even cricket if you are looking for more variety. The only downside was some reported that the quality of the outer body of the shoes isn’t as high-quality as other brands, so it might not offer as much protection as other brands.

Turf Shoes Versus Cleats

When discussing the difference between turf shoes and cleats, you will find that turf shoes do not use spikes as cleats do. Instead, they use a rubber grip that helps you maintain your balance on the field or while playing on astro turf. Cleats are often the preferred choice when playing on grass.

What Makes a Good Field Hockey Shoe?

Grip or Traction

First thing here is to think about the surface you are going to be playing on. Is it grass, synthetic turf, or a flat indoor hardwood or concrete floor? Starting with grass, cleat type shoes with decent studs are going to be the way to go.

On these surfaces, many other sports shoes like soccer, lacrosse or rugby will do the job well. Synthetic turfs, however, are quite specific to field hockey; therefore, full studs are not allowed to be worn on these special surfaces as they are too aggressive and will damage to pitch.

So, you want something more aggressive than the ordinary running or tennis shoes but something not quite as serious as full cleats. Players that use ordinary running shoes often find that the grip just isn’t aggressive enough and tend to slip over a lot when trying to turn quickly or stopping from a sprint. Not only does this put you at risk of injury, but it also puts you off balance and gives the opposition an advantage over you.

Goal keepers should think carefully about what type of grip they want as slipping over is the last thing you want to happen as you go to make a save.

Support

The way the sole of the shoe is constructed is very important to ensure your feet, ankles, and knees are being looked after. Good field hockey shoes should have decent flex around the ball of the foot but be fairly strong or ridged around the heel and arch when twisted. Flimsy shoes will not stand up to the rigor of field hockey.

Comfort

Blisters are the worst, so you should purchase good quality shoes that are the right size. They should mold to your feet after a few games or running sessions. Good cushioning helps to reduce the impact of being on the field for a long time.

Durability

Field hockey shoes can be pricey – especially if you just bought a new stick, you don’t want to be forking out even more cash for something that isn’t even going to last a season of play. From our experience, at best-fieldhockeysticks.com, we are fairly confident that Asics are the most durable field hockey shoe, followed by Adidas.

Unfortunately, brands like Grays, Gryphon, and Princess make excellent shoes for short term performance, but you will be lucky to have them last a season. What is important is really just construction materials of the shoe and construction quality, how all the parts are put together. Once again it comes down to a brand thing, each brand has its own materials, and some simply are more durable than others.

NEW Women’s and Men’s Field Hockey Shoes