We have rated a number of school shoes on the following categories so that you get the best shoe for your child. The categories we’ve used are below.
Support – the amount of control the shoes provides for your child’s foot.
Weight – an important factor when you consider that that your child weighs a fraction of what you do particularly primary school kids and adolescents. Not as important for latter teens obviously.
Cost – an important factor considering the cost of shoes and that kids wear shoes out so quickly especially boys.
Durability – we will rate the materials used in each shoe we can’t predict how hard your child will be on the shoe but hopefully we can help you get through the school year.
Where to go for the best selection – We have taken the leg work out of buying school shoes this year and will tell you exactly where to go and which school shoe is where so most of the work is done for you.
So we visited a range of stores to let you know where to head this year.
From Athletes Foot:
Ascent crusade
This shoe was rated highly in pretty much every category as below and sits at 99.95 it also comes in both lace up and Velcro. It is on the higher end of our school shoes if price isn t a concern this is the best shoe we tested and rated as below. From a podiatrist point of view this is the winner.
Cost 2 ($99.95)
Support 5
Weight 3
Durability 4
New balance 625 Tx
Is more of a black runner which I’m told is acceptable at most schools apart from private schools in the area. New balance are usually always good value and this shoe is no exception. Also comes in both lace and Velcro
Cost 3 ($79.95)
Support 4
Weight 4
Durability 3
From Mather’s:
Clarks Daytona
Cost 1 ($124.95) most expensive school shoe around
Support 4
Weight 1 (very heavy for a small foot)
Durability 4
From big W:
Emersons
Now this shoe was the shock of the testing it was only $8. I agree it was not the most supportive or well-made of the shoes tested, but still really quiet reasonable. This shoes is perfect for a child that destroys their shoes very quickly and can be easily replaced at low cost. There is some support in this shoe and durability would be reasonable I feel.
Cost 5/5 ( best value by far)
Support 2
Weight 3
Durability 2
So in conclusion the ascent school shoe is the shoe I would recommend for its overall features and your child’s health but if your after good value the Emerson from big w is worth trying. If you have any concerns about the way your child walks I would head straight to athletes foot and feel they have the best range of shoes for any child who may extra support.
We believe it is vital that you get the right shoe for your child this year so much so that Before you buy your school shoes this year why not come in for a free assessment where we can do a full assessment of your child’s needs. This offer is limited to the first 10 school kids and ends January 30th.
