Doc Martens, the British footwear company, is very popular for making shoes and boots for both men and women. The shoes and boots from Doc Martens are very durable and made of hard material. If you are a skater or casually skateboard, you might wonder if Doc Martens are suitable for skating. Unfortunately, Doc Martens shoes are not ideal for skating. You can skate wearing doc martens, but you will feel uncomfortable as the shoes are rigid and not meant for skating.
Features of Good Skate Shoes
• Material
You will need shoes made of soft elastic material for skating. A skater needs to solely depend on his feet to operate a skateboard. The feet need to move in different directions for paddling and steering a skateboard. If you wear a shoe with soft material, you can quickly move your feet without facing any complications. In contrast, Doc Martens are hard stiff boot-like shoes that are not good for skating.
• Lace
A good skating shoe needs to have durable but soft laces that can hold the shoe tightly to the feet of the skater. In skating, one needs to jump for different stunts. Without adequate lacing, the shoes may detach from the skater’s feet and cause disruption.
• Cup-soles and Vulcanized-soles
Skaters can choose cup-soles or vulcanized shoes for skating. This mainly depends on personal choice and comfort. Both of these options have perks that differ from each other.
• Cushioning
A good skate shoe must have adequate cushioning. Skating requires a lot of jumping. A good cushion will prevent the feet from getting injured.
• Toe Cap
Toe cap is the rubber material that keeps the front of the shoe from getting holes and other damage. This feature comes in handy when you do kickflips while skating.
• Mid Top, Low Top, or High-Top Shoes
The difference between low, mid, and high-top shoes is that each shoe offers a different level of protection to the ankle and extra movement freedom. If your ankle hits the skateboard while skating more than usual, then you can use high tops to keep your ankles covered. To get more freedom of movement with minimum ankle protection, you can use mid-top shoes. For maximum freedom of movement, a low top shoe is a perfect choice.
Why Are Doc Martens Not Good For Skating?
A Doc Marten shoe is made of stiff leather, which is not good for skating. While skating, you may need to do flips, and for this, you will need a flexible and comfortable shoe. Doc martens are very hard in the first place. So, if you try skating in doc martens, that may hurt your feet, and you may get blisters, cellulose, or suffer from toe pain. You will love skating when you have the ultimate board feel. But wearing doc martens ruins your board feels and eventually love for skating. According to some Reddit users, when you use doc martens for skating regularly, the shoe doesn’t exist any longer.
• Heavy and Chunky
Skating requires lightweight and flexible shoes. Doc Martens are on the heavier side. Though Doc Martens will give you better protection, they are not good for skating.
• Stiff Leather
Doc Martens are made with stiff leather for extra protection and durability. In comparison, you will need shoes made of soft materials such as fabric for skating.
• Causes Pain
Doc Martens being heavy and bulky makes it difficult to move feet while skating. It might eventually cause pain and injuries to the feet if one continues to skate in Martens.
• Ruins Board Feel
Skaters cannot feel the skateboard because of the stiff leather material and hard sole. This ultimately ruins the whole skateboarding experience.
• Not Durable
Using Doc Martens for skateboarding will affect the durability of the Doc Martens as they are not made for skating. As a result, Martens will decay faster than when used for regular purposes.
• Pure Rubber Sole
The pure rubber sole of a Doc Marten shoe makes it challenging to skate as the skateboard may stick to the shoe sole when trying to jump on the skateboard.
Good Skating Shoes
Doc Martens are pretty good shoes for regular and heavy use. But they are not made for skating. Other brands are more skating-oriented, and they offer a wide variety of skating shoes. Here is a list of shoe brands that are good for skating: eS, DC, Lakai, Adio, Emerica (Reynolds), Etnies (Maranas), Emerica (Romeros), DVS, Adidas, Nike, New Balance
Are Doc Martens Good for Roller Skating?
Doc Martens offer some roller skates in their line of shoes and boots. The Doc Martens Cavendish is perfect for roller skating. It provides a detachable wheel mechanism that allows the user to detach the wheels from the shoes by turning a knob. This innovative shoe can be used for both casual and roller-skating purposes.