Introduction
For those of you that might be new to the sport of basketball, you might have some questions about going out and playing casually. These pickup games could often be played on an outdoor court, which can bring up a very interesting question for those of you that might have just picked up some new basketball shoes. Can you use basketball shoes on an outdoor court?
Yes, you absolutely can use basketball shoes when playing pickup basketball on an outdoor court. There is a downside to doing so, and that is the wear and tear. When you use basketball shoes on a court that’s made of either asphalt or concrete, the shoes will wear down and break faster than if you were playing on something else. These types of shoes aren’t really meant to be used around on tough surfaces like concrete but are a great boost when using them on an indoor court.
There is definitely still more information to say about wearing basketball shoes on an outdoor court, so let’s cover some of the other aspects of this question.
You Don’t Lose Agility
While you definitely don’t get the most out of your basketball shoes when wearing them outside, you don’t see massive losses in speed and agility when using them. If you’re taking these shoes outside, you’re still going to feel light on your feet and agile despite not having them in the proper circumstances. They will still feel incredibly comfortable on your feet as well, which is one of the greater positives to making use of basketball shoes in any situation, rather than just playing on the court.
Basketball shoes are really meant to keep you loose, lighter, and quicker when competing out there, so a loss in any of those areas might feel like the world is ending for some people. It could be a major reason why so many people would prefer to just not use basketball shoes outside because they feel like there is a major advantage in using a different type of shoe. While that could definitely be the case somewhere, basketball shoes don’t give you a disadvantage when being used outside.
Wear And Tear
The downside is that it’s not usually recommended to use basketball shoes on an outdoor court. This is because of the wear and tear that occurs rather quickly when being worn on a tougher surface. These shoes are meant to be worn indoors and have a much different temperature and feel to them on the hardwood compared to hard asphalt in the heat. This doesn’t mean that you are going to have your shoes split in half on your during the middle of a pickup game, but it does mean that over the first few months you’ll see the shoes deteriorate quicker than if you were only using them on indoor courts.
All of the starting and stopping coupled with the consistent jumping outside will cause the shoes to simply get older, faster. Not to mention that the shoes will get dirtier and lose some grip if you utilize them outside only and not on an indoor surface.
Not Meant For Casual Use
Basketball shoes usually aren’t recommended for casual walking either, though this one can be chopped up to personal preference. See, these types of shoes are designed to help cushion falls when you jump into the air, something that you do in basketball incredibly often. They also help you turn and run on a court. However, if you are wearing these shoes on a casual walkdown the street, you will absolutely feel the difference. That cushion to help break the jumping damage will instead feel hard against a hard surface. Some people have described this as feeling like they are walking on a trampoline, with the stiffness of the cushion and the way that it keeps you lifting up on each stride.
Although, this doesn’t mean that it’s all negative. There is an equally large group of people out there that prefer to wear basketball shoes for casual use due to the style and feel of the cushion. While it’s technically not recommended for casual walking use, it can definitely be used in that way. This all boils down to your own preference.
Shoe Ventilation Becomes A Problem
It’s known knowledge that a downside of playing basketball on an outside court is that it gets hot. Very hot. That’s because you don’t get the same air conditioning that you might have gotten on an indoor court. This lack of air can cause you to sweat quite a bit inside your shoes, and when you do that, the sweat will cause your feet to slide within your shoes. That slippage is what causes sprained ankles and other lower injuries on the court.
If you’re planning to play basketball on an outdoor court, be sure to look for shoes that help keep your feet ventilated to avoid that slippage down there during a game. Some basketball shoes have great ventilation as well as other normal running shoes, it’ll be up to you to decide which you want to use for this specific issue.
Gravel Courts Should Be Avoided
We’ve been talking about hard surfaces, but you should absolutely avoid playing on gravel with basketball shoes. The traction and design that basketball shoes have could work negatively with gravel. Sometimes, gravel can cause unnecessary slips during the middle of the game and cause a whole ton of injuries on the court in the process. Some of the injuries that might occur on these courts due to slipping are falling on your face, spraining your ankle, or hurting a knee due to your leg slipping out from under you.
Gravel courts aren’t all terrible, though it feels like a risk that isn’t worth taking when you go to one with basketball shoes that can easily work against the surface you’re playing on.