We have mentioned keeping it light throughout this guide and there is a very real reason why. The weight of your cheer shoes impacts every part of your performance. From tumbling to tricks and stunts your overall height, sharpness, and landing will all be impacted by the weight of your shoes. Different shoes are good for different things in the world of sports, some are universal and can cross into many categories. Lightweight can mean a variety of things depending on the use of the shoe and for cheerleading you want something supremely light. Let’s take a look at what you want and what to avoid to keep your cheer shoes truly light:

Look For
--Low Profile
--Many Mesh Panels
--Streamline Construction
--Blown Rubber Outsole
--Synthetic or EVA Outsole
--Lightly Padded Tongue

Careful With
--All Leather Upper
--Square Shape to Heel or Toe
--Minimalist Shoes (Can Lead to Injury)

Avoid
--Standard Athletic Shoes
--Bulky Build
--Over Cushioning
--Thick Rubber Soles

In the category of watch out for these features, we have added an all leather upper. The reason for this is because they can be difficult to clean and do not breathe as well as other materials. This can lead to hot sweaty feet and problems with blisters or bacterial/fungal growth. For younger wearers, an all leather upper will be just fine but as you get older you may want to avoid them. You may also want to avoid square shapes. Rounded toes and heels help you do tricks and tumble without getting caught up on the edge of your shoe. It is also easier, if you are a flyer, for your base to grip your foot while in a hold. Beware of minimalist shoes, there are cheer shoes that are little more than straps of material with little rubber grips on the bottom. While it might feel best to not wear shoes, you can cause your muscles and joints a lot of pain and unneeded pressure from hard landings by wearing a quality pair of cheer shoes.

Avoiding, bulky athletic shoes for a more streamlined cheer shoe will reduce the weight and add to your overall performance. The same goes for too much cushioning and thick rubber soles. These types of materials weigh a lot and they will weigh you down when it matters most. Keep it light and avoid these types of materials in your cheer shoes.

Preparing for a jump or a tumbling pass, as well as landing, requires a flexible pair of shoes to ensure your foot moves correctly to deal with that type of movement. Rigid shoes have their place in the world but it is not for cheerleading. The more flexible your cheer shoes are the easier it will be to point your toes and make every movement with your feet look sharp and clean.

EVA midsoles give great flexibility as does a shallow outsole at the front of the shoe. Position movement from flat to on your toes will be seamless when you find shoes that move and flex with you. A more rigid midsole or front of your cheer shoes can lead to unbalanced movement and possible falls that will lose points and cause embarrassment.

Heavy rubber outsoles should also be avoided for this purpose. While rubber is flexible, it is not nearly as flexible as other materials. Rubber will give you great traction and grip but it will add unneeded weight and lessen the flexibility overall in the shoe.

Cheerleaders feet do a lot of the work and need the right system behind them to ensure those movements are crisp, clean, and competition ready. Bulky shoes will make it difficult to point your toes. Stiff leather can also make it difficult to bend and flex your foot. Soft materials paired with flexible outsoles will give you what you need to keep your performance a 10 while keeping your feet feeling like a 10.

Finding a perfectly-fitting pair of shoes can be like finding the holy grail; there are so many brands, styles, models and makes of shoes that it seems like it’s next to impossible, especially when you are shopping online! Fear not, as we’ve ranked each product on our list for their fit and trueness-to-size to help guide you in finding the perfect match for you.

To come up with a score for fit of a shoe, we considered several factors, like the ones mentioned above, in addition to real customer reviews, to help boil down everything into one simple score. For example, Nike tends to make shoes that are true-to-size, meaning that you can buy a pair of 11s one year, and another pair of 11s next year in a different model, and they will usually still fit (unless your feet grown or shrank). A brand like Nike will most likely have a high score when it comes to fit, but the other variables in play, such as make, model and purpose, will also affect the overall score.

Consider that a running shoe, with its thicker midsole and synthetic sole, might fit differently than a flat shoe, with its thinner midsole and hypothetical leather sole. Each of these shoes, even if they are both from Nike, may have similar scores for trueness-to-size, but a size 11 in one might not be the same as an 11 in the other. What’s a reader to do in this case? You must also consider the purpose and type of shoe it is. Knowing what kind of shoe you are buying, and for what purpose, will help you make a better decision. A running shoe might run smaller than a flat because it has thicker materials, so read customer reviews as well to arrive at the best decision for fit, in addition to just our overall score.

At the end of the day, however, a higher score for the “fit” criterion will tend to mean that the shoe experiences a better trueness-to-size than a competing product; just don’t forget all the underlying factors that are baked into arriving at that single score!

To assess each of the products on our list for durability, we not only read through thousands of customer reviews on our recommended products, but we also looked for some of the hallmarks of quality construction. From brand name reputation to their initial smell out of the box, there are a few ways of identifying a well-built, made-to-last product.

The Details
A zipper that doesn’t zip or snaps? Poor threading technique? A smelly, chemical residue on the shoe when you open the box? All these details were looked for an evaluated when assigning a score for durability.

Materials
Certain materials last longer than others, even if that comes at the expense of a higher score in the “comfort” criterion. Materials that are synthetic, thicker and firmer tend to score higher on durability.

Product Purpose
A shoe made for running and high-impact sports will not likely last as long as a good pair of general activity shoes and that’s okay. Being aware of the shoe’s purpose is critical for you as a reader and for us as a reviewer. Although shoes that will last longer score higher on this criterion, you might also see high scores to shoes with a more limited durability, if that product was specifically designed for certain purposes that involve high-impact and high-stress motions. We take into account the type of shoes you are trying to purchase when assigning scores to shoes in this criterion.

Brand Name
A product is a promise made, but a brand is a promise kept. A brand name is often a signal of quality and consistency in construction and durability from product to product. Although there are always exceptions to this rule, quite often brands that perform continue to perform. Brand names on our list tend to score higher in the durability score.

The final word on durability is that a higher score on this metric means the product will last longer than its competitors, given similar shoe purpose, type, age and usage. Again, it never hurts to read some customer reviews before hitting the “buy” button.

The grip of your cheer shoes does not only have to do with you but also with your base if you are a flyer. We will take a moment and look at each piece of that statement individually. This will ensure you see the importance of grip not only for your overall performance but also your teammates.

Individual Performance
Gripping the ground gives you many benefits during practice, competition, and sideline cheerleading. Grip increases your control and helps make sure you will stick your landing. The surface you find yourself cheering on can vary from fake grass to spring-loaded floors; a lack of grip could send you flying onto the field or stepping out of bounds for a point reduction. Either of these outcomes can be devastating. Finding cheer shoes with solid grip and traction can really lead you to new levels. Tread depth and pattern both play their role. Keep in mind that it needs to stay light and the super deep tread is not only heavier but also unnecessary to get a good grip; you aren’t hiking a trail after all.

Team Performance
For all the flyers out there, please take the time to look at your tread pattern and find out what will work best. The person throwing you into the air and catching you will appreciate it. Cheer shoes are not all created equal and some, like the Kaepa Stellarlyte, stand out in a class of their own. Kaepa has built the bottom of their cheer shoe with hands in mind, providing great places to grip and a notched heel for added stability. Keeping a firm, stable grip on a flyer’s ankle and shoe helps maintain safety going into, during, and coming out of the stunt. Falls can lead to pain, sprains, and possible breaks that could leave both base and flyer out for the foreseeable future.

As you can see, the grip of your cheer shoes plays a big role in performance. Not only for you, if you’re a flyer, but also to your teammates. Double check that the tread patterns rounded and won’t cause places that dig into your teammate’s hands while supporting you. Also, make sure they offer enough tread and grip to stick that landing, after every tumbling pass.