Table of Contents
Best Zumba Shoes Pal Reviews 2024
Reebok Dance
No products found.
Pros:
Some of the best ankle support available in a Zumba shoe yet still extremely flexible with full soles supporting your entire underfoot. They let you twist and turn but won’t slip, are true to size and available in a massive 5 color design selection
Cons:
Not as much cushioning as others available and no half size
Verdict:
Simply put the best Zumba shoe for ankle support
Bloch Boost
No products found.
Pros:
Excellent cushioning and lacing, which really hugs your feet while remaining breathable
Cons:
Split sole can cause your arches to ache if you haven’t developed your foot muscles and they run small, so you’ll need to order 1 size larger than normal
Verdict:
If you’re happy with a split sole and looking for a comfortable, stylish sneaker these are one of the best Zumba shoes for maximum cushioning
Zumba Z-Kickz II
No products found.
Pros:
Designed by Zumba for Zumba, they’re flexible, breathable, true to size with a solid sole which allows you to pivot and glide without slipping
Cons:
At the highest end of the price range, they don’t come in half sizes and have little extra added cushioning
Verdict:
One of the most popular shoes available for Zumba with the best customer satisfaction, ideal for your class so long as you don’t require lots of additional cushioning
Ryka Transition
No products found.
Pros:
Most popular Ryka dance sneaker, very flexible, with plenty of width and great arch and heel support
Cons:
Not much side support for lateral movement and relatively low amount of cushioning
Verdict:
Let down only by the lack of lateral support and limited cushioning, the Transition are the best all round Zumba shoes Ryka make
Ryka Synergy
No products found.
Pros:
Very popular sneaker, full length sole allows you to twist and turn without being slippery; they come in half sizes which are true to size
Cons:
Not very flexible and no extra cushioning
Verdict:
All round great Zumba shoe so long as you don’t need any extra cushioning or major flexibility.
Capezio DS24
No products found.
Pros:
Heel padding, great for sliding but won’t slip during lunges
Cons:
Little extra underfoot cushioning they run a size smaller than normal shoes and only come in black
Verdict:
An all-round great Zumba shoe, so long as your feet are strong enough for split soles and you’re happy with a black design.
Capezio DS11
No products found.
Pros:
Flexible with extra ankle support and foot cushioning and sold in half sizes
Cons:
Some find them too slippery and they run smaller than street size
Verdict:
The most popular split sole Zumba shoe, a great buy, but order 1 size larger than normal
Ryka Studio D
No products found.
Pros:
Very cheaply priced comfortable shoe, which allows you to pivot and glide while not slipping
Cons:
Doesn’t provide much extra underfoot cushioning and not the best for flexibility
Verdict:
Great comfortable, lightweight, budget range Zumba shoe with good support but not much flexibility or extra cushioning
Bloch Amalgam
No products found.
Pros:
Soft and flexible with plenty of color designs to choose from, which come in half sizes
Cons:
Can be a bit too slippery and run small
Verdict:
Ideal if you’re looking for sneaker that’s soft and flexible and you’re happy with the split sole and tendency to slip and don’t need any extra underfoot cushioning
How to Find the Best Shoes for Zumba Class
Light Weight
Ideally you want your shoes to be as light weight as possible for Zumba. In order to be as light as possible the sole should be as thin as possible and the upper material mesh like.
There’s a trade off that happens between the weight of the shoe resulting from the thickness of the sole and the amount of cushioning available. If you want extra cushioning this is going to add to the overall weight of your Zumba shoe.
All of the shoes above are lightweight, when compared to other normal shoes, but even within these you’ll find the ones with more cushioning are heavier than those without.
Zumba Footwear – Pivot Points
These are vital for Zumba, if you’ve ever come out of class with sore knees you’ll appreciate why. When you’re twisting and turning normal shoes with high grip will stick to the floor causing strain in your ankles and knees.
All the Zumba shoes selected above have one or more pivot points like these:
Split sole dance shoes have a gap in the middle of the sole allowing you full flexibility of the foot, but little arch support.
Choose some like this if you’ve got a background in dance or have spent time building the supportive muscles in your feet, through activities such as running in minimal shoes.
Full soles provide more support to your arch, sometimes this comes at the expense of flexibility.
The Ryka Synergy for example provide good arch support but they’re not that flexible, however these Z-Kicks II shown above remain very flexible while also having a full sole, but this comes at a higher price tag.
Choose a full sole if you’re new to dancing or haven’t been able to build the strength of your feet.
Flexibility
Ideally you want a sneaker which is going to be flexible, to bend as your foot bends and shape the way your foot asks it to.
As mentioned above there is generally a trade-off between flexibility and sole type or cushioning, the more cushioning a shoes has the bulkier it needs to be, the bulkier it is the less flexible.
Use the flexibility filter to see only the shoes with great flexibility.
Twist & Glide but don’t Slip
During your Zumba workout you’ll be twisting and gliding and this is where the pivot point will help you make these turns without sticking to the floor. However you will also be jumping turning and lunging and the last thing you want is a shoe which is going to be too slippery.
You can use the non slip filter to display only those Zumba shoe which people have found won’t slip too much. If you do go for another sneaker and find that it is too slippery, try wearing it outside for a bit to roughen some of the underside and remove that slickness.
Zumba Shoe Cushioning
Each Zumba instructor has a different style and some are higher impact than others, if you’re going to a relatively high impact class you may find you need extra cushioning in your shoes.
Lack of enough cushioning is typically experienced as pain in the balls of the feet, heels, shin splints (pain down the front of the lower leg) or hip pain.
Mostly this is a result of your body not being conditioned enough for the impact, over time it would get better as you lose weight and strengthen all the supporting muscles around your feet, legs and hips. So you may see your Zumba Instructor wearing a pair of shoes with a really thin sole, which may not be suitable for you yet. Until your body is ready for it, make sure you have enough cushioning to avoid the impact pain.
The above image shows a comparison of the difference in sole thickness between the Bloch Boost and the Z-Kicks II. You can easily see the extra cushioning and impact support provided by the Bloch over the Z-Kicks II.
If you are new to Zumba and high impact cardio you probably will want to start off in wearing Zumba shoes with lots of cushioning, over time you can move to something with less cushioning as your body strengthens.
You can use the extra cushioning filter to see shoes with the highest level of cushioning
Buying Dance Shoes Online – Shoe Sizing
As a general rule “dance shoes” tend to run 1 size to 1 ½ sizes small, they’re often designed for wearing without socks and to hug the foot as tightly as possible. Many people find when they buy dance shoes for Zumba they end up needing to swap them for a larger size.
You can use the true to size filter to see those shoes that will come up the same size as your street shoes, typically these were designed more with Zumba or cardio workouts in mind over pure dancing. Where shoes do run small you’ll find details in the reviews of the suggested size, such as a recommendation to buy 1 size larger.