The Eye Rackets S-Line shoes are probably the most popular shoes on the professional tour today. You’ll struggle to find a game where one, if not both players aren’t wearing a pair.
They’re endorsed by some of the top names in squash – especially on the men’s side – Paul Coll, Diego Elias, Karim Abdel Gawad, Miguel Rodriguez, Borja Golan, Declan James, Matiheu Castagnet and Mostafa Asal all wear these shoes.
They’re also without doubt the easiest shoes to spot – the colourways go from traditional black, white and grey, to ‘atomic peach’, ‘twilight turqouise’ and ‘hot pink’.
Straight out of the box, cosmetically speaking, I love the materials these shoes are made from – the textured fabric looks really cool and helps to further break the mould of the traditionally ‘ugly’ squash shoe.
It’s safe to say these are a refreshingly good looking shoe in a sea of, let’s face it, pretty bland looking squash trainers. Usually squash shoes follow the ‘function over form’ design language, whereas I would happily wear a pair of these outside of the house (though perhaps some of the brighter colours would stay in my bag!).
What are they like on court?
I’m going to throw in a quick disclaimer here – the shoes I’m basing my review off have recently been updated with the S-Line 2.0 shoes. Looking at the pictures, the redesign looks to be mostly cosmetic tweaks, though there’s not much information to be found on what’s changed. If you’ve tried the newer versions and can compare them to the older ones, let me know in the comments below.
In the spirit of being open I feel I should give an honest review of how these shoes were for me personally. Before anything though, I want to highlight that everyone’s feet are different, and perhaps these just weren’t the shoes for me. I used these shoes over a 4-5 month period, so feel I’ve had a good chance to get to know them. If you search the internet, there’s plenty of positive reviews on these shoes that counter some of my experiences, so try to take what I say below with a pinch of salt.
Feel on my feet
The first time I tried a pair of these on, getting my foot in them was a bit of a struggle – I had to double check I’d ordered the right size. In hindsight, I’ve now heard a few people suggesting to go a size up, which I think would be a good suggestion – I’d say to try a pair on if you can before committing to a certain size.
After loosening the laces all the way down the shoe, and persevering with them for a few games to break them in, they did ease up somewhat, however to this day I still find them a little snug – though this does mean they feel very secure on your feet, so there is an upshot to this.
In terms of the feel under your feet – with the stock insoles, these shoes have a nice amount of underfoot cushioning, especially towards the heel. The actual sole of the shoe did feel fairly ‘flat’ to the ground, without a huge amount of give in the shape. Personally I prefer a little more shape and flexibility, though again this should aid with stability.
The grip underneath the shoe is really substantial. Unlike many other shoes I’ve worn, I never had any issues with slipping on the court, and they’ve maintained this grip, even after significant use.
Weight
There were elements of the shoes which I did really like – where they truly came into their own for me was in their weight – I really enjoyed the light feel of the shoes, especially having previously used the behemoth Adidas Stabil X shoes. They’re not quite as light as say the Asics Gel Fastball 3s, but they’re a fair bit lighter than a lot of other shoes on sale today.
Overall, for me personally I have mixed emotions about the feel of these shoes. Their rigid structure is fantastic for stability, however I found the tighter fitting made them a little less comfortable in longer matches. The feel of a shoe is certainly down to personal preference, and I’m confident that if the top players in the world are wearing these shoes, then they’ve been designed the way they are with a great deal of thought. It’s definitely worth trying these shoes on to see how they feel on your own feet before purchasing them. What does or doesn’t work for me might not be the same for you.
Durability
This is where I found the shoes didn’t work too well for me under heavy use, and it really does pain me to say this, as for all intents and purposes I love the Eye brand – the shoes struggled when it came to durability.
I personally have a habit of dragging left foot, no matter how hard I try to avoid this, I’ve come to accept that it’s just part of my natural movement when I’m under pressure. This unfortunately led to some fairly heavy wear and tear on each of the left shoes, much more-so than I’ve experienced with other shoes.
I had three pairs of these shoes in total, and played/trained approximately 5 times a week in them. In the space of around five months, I went completely through the toes on each of these pairs of shoes. For reference, I would usually expect to go through one pair of shoes every three months.
One thing that’s really apparent, is the shoes I’ve worn on my right foot have easily got many more potential months of use left in them. If Eye were able to make the material around the toes more robust, then these shoes would be much longer lasting overall. With this in mind, if you don’t drag your toes, you’ll actually find these shoes to be really durable – the grip underneath all the shoes has lasted throughout the entire period of using them, and the material/fabric inside the shoe is sturdy and hasn’t shown any signs of breakage either.
I did send some photos of the shoes to Eye who were more than happy to send a replacement pair through – I have to take my hat off to them as their customer service was second to none in this instance.
Would I recommend the Eye Rackets S-Line?
These shoes are undoubtedly the reigning champ on the PSA World Tour at the moment. If I could recommend a shoe purely on looks and popularity then these would comfortably be at the top of the list.
If the idea of a low profiled shoe that sits snugly around your foot appeals to you, then I would certainly say they fit the bill, however it’s worth trying them on first to make sure you get the right size.
If you find that like me you drag your toes, you may find a fairly short shelf life for these shoes. Given their relatively high price, switching to the S-Line shoes may prove costly over time. For people who do drag their toes, I would happily recommend Asics shoes such as the Gel-Tactic 2, which have a very durable front-foot.
Overall, the Eye Rackets S-Line is a striking looking shoe with a very stable feel and good grip on the squash court. Make sure to consider going up at least half a size to ensure a good fit. In my opinion, the peach, turquoise and white shoes are the nicest looking shoes you’ll see on a squash court!
I’ve done my best to give a fair and balanced view of my experience with the Eye Rackets S-Line shoes, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
HORRIBLE… JUST Horrible.
These will tear your feet apart and then FALL apart.
You will NOT get any response to emails, you will NOT get a returns note, and you will NOT get a refund.
I am going legal to secure my refund .