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How To Make Basketball Shoes Grip Better

No matter if you play indoor or outdoor. The shoe grip for a basketball game plays an important. It can help a player with dodging, rapid cuts, and other basketball actions. However, After playing in a dusty court, The bottom of the shoes is covered with a layer of dirt and dust and makes the shoe slippery which can be a reason to fall or slip in the courts. let’s see how we can make basketball shoes grip better.

7 Genuine Methods To Make Basketball Shoes Grip Better.

There are many methods/hacks getting viral for making your shoe grip better. Some of them works really well. and, most of them are useless. Let’s first understand why shoes lose their grip.

A short answer to this is shoe catches dirt from the court. The dust sticks around the groove area and makes your shoes slippery. That’s why cleaning the dust away is the most effective method. The cleaning method works if your shoe is not old enough.

I mean, If your shoe has completed its life which is 250-300 games suggested by experts. Now, The Cleaning method won’t work well. We’ll suggest you have a new basketball pair in this case. If your shoe has life then the cleaning method will work.

1. Cleaning Shoes To Enhance Grip

No matter if dust is nearly noticeable but it can cause shoes to slide up easily. cleaning them can make your shoes in shape and set grip on point.

The cleaning method is very simple.

  • Take a towel dipped in water (soap water can work too). Make sure not too watery then it’ll make rubber soles become a wet slip hazard. Also, not too dry that it won’t do its job.
  • However, Any towel can work well but a microfiber towel is better. After dipping the towel in water, soak it 2-3 times until it is mild wet. Groove plays an important role in gripping and keeping traction secure. make sure to clean them well.
  • Gently clean the whole bottom of your shoe until you won’t see any dust particles.
  • There is no need to scrub deeply just a gentle touch will do the job.
  • If the dust sticks around the corner and not getting out only with a towel, Using a shoe cleaning brush (or old toothbrush) with soapy water helps them remove from corners. Slowly rub the brush on the bottom. Removes dust particles deep in grooves.

Take your microfiber towel with your court and clean the outsole with a dry towel in between breaks. No need to dip in the water in between breaks.

2. Cleaning Courts for improved grip

if you manage to clean your courts on a daily basis. It’ll really be a steal for your overall game performance and especially for your shoes. However, everyone knows wet-mopping required a lot of hard and needs staff to do it. So, A better way to clean your court is to have a dry mop every day and a wet mop once a week.

There are different tools you can utilize, that can help to wipe off-court dust without much effort. Our concern is to remove all the dust particles from the court. That’s why dry mopping is not effective as wet mopping.

However, you can use tools like a vacuum cleaner, Buffing machine for quick action before a game.

3. Traction Mat

Traction mat or sticky mat work to make sure shoes stay stick when they hit the courts.  Before the invention of the traction mat, players used to spit on their hands and rub on the sole to maintain better grip and traction.

They are usually found in indoor fitness studios and on basketball courts often use by NBA and NCAA players. It works by catching dust and wax that the sole has picked up from the wooden floor and giving the rubber sole some grip.

Besides basketball, It also can be utilized for Volleyball courts, badminton, tennis, or any game that is played on smooth floors.

4. Cleaning Gel.

The cleaning gel method is a pocket-friendly method to get the dust out from your sole. Usually, it advertises as a car interior cleaner or cleans the dust from between keyboard keys. However, It is used to clean from that area where our fingers can not reach easily.

You can use it to clean your shoe outsole. It is a sticky material that will stick all around your sole and will help to get the dust-out. It is a temporary hack but an effective one.

5. Grip Enhancer Gel

Out of all methods out there, This must be at your least priority to go with. There is no doubt in them that they enhance grip and provide better traction but only for a short time period.

Imagine playing a game after applying something (any liquid) on your sole. don’t you think it’ll collect more dirt? Just imagine it! Yes! It’ll dirt magnet for your shoes. They are just a temporary solution.

It might possible that you have to apply these gel in-between games. And, each time you apply, you have to wait for it and let them dry. you can’t lose your game because of these. We’ll not recommend using it.

6. Own Two Pairs

Constantly wearing the same pair can automatically decrease its life. If you are a regular player, having multiple pairs can allow playing them alternately which can increase the life for both pairs.

7. Replacing Sole

it is usually said that the traction of shoes may result to be broken over time. If the above methods of improving grip don’t work, you can use the shoe repair service to fix the soles. Has your old, slippery sole been replaced with the new one?

The feet feel like they have a new pair. This method isn’t as simple as cleaning the sole and buying an improver. This method is usually cheaper than buying a new pair. If shoe repair isn’t an option, then the only way to get a better grip is to buy a new pair of basketball shoes.

Why better grip for basketball shoes is important

The soles wear out quickly. They also accumulate. Both of these setbacks cause you to slip and slide on the court, severely hampering your ability to stop and walk, making it much more difficult to get on the trail or play defense. just a slightly worn outsole can get you a second early or a second late. That makes all the difference.

According to Nike News, The outsole traction and a grip of the shoes can make or break performance on the courts.

A shoe that offers the best grip will keep your balance and ensure that you are always on the ground with positive and rewarding movements. When your basketball shoes work properly, you can work on them at a higher level. Shoes with higher traction will help you jump higher, cut, stop, and shoot as best you can.

Shafey Shoaq: I'm Shafey. An avid runner since 2012. I am one of few people who like doing cardio instead of muscle building. I love spending time on treadmills, tracks, pavements, or any surface rather than exercising with dumbles. With all those years of experience and spending the whole night reading blogs and researching different concepts of running. Learned a lot about new tips and tricks. In those years tried different running shoes (from $ to $$$).  I got a great knowledge that can be shared with others. I may not be a professional running coach but YES an experienced runner who can guide right to beginners.✌️✌️