Skate shoe companies have integrated a number of special features into their shoes. These innovations have a number of functions including preventing heel bruises, increasing "skateboard feel" through increased flexibility, and enhancing grip.
Many features of a skate shoe are designed to increase its durability. Skate shoes are subjected to the abrasiveness of a skateboard's grip tape on a regular basis when worn by skaters. This is why skaters tend to go through shoes quickly. Super suede, action leather, and plastic underlying the toe cap help to increase the durability of a skate shoe. Lace loops and protectors are designed to prevent laces from shredding by shielding the most common areas that contact with grip tape.
Other common features include: triple stitching with thicker treads to prevent ripping, more width so that there is more contact with the board with thicker tongues and sides to compensate, and deep sole patterns for grip.
Common Skate Shoe features include but are not limited to:
- Cup Soles
- Vulcanized Rubber soles
- Air pockets in the heels
- Shoelace protectors
- Dynamic Grip Technology (DGT)
- Super Suede
- STI foam
- Lace Loops that "hide" shoelaces
- 'Action Leather'
- Thermoplastic Toe Box Reinforcement
- EVA Mid Sole
- Fusion Grip Rubber Outsole
- Asymmetric stabilizer
- Silicon Rubber makes shoes last longer (SiRC)
- Stash Pockets (under sole or tongue)
- Shock-Absorbing insoles
- Kevlar-reinforced laces
- Cold Grip Technology (CGT)
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