niq wrote:i realize this is an old thread, but have you guys tried skateboarding shoes? They're designed to hold up to sandpaper (grip tape on a skateboard). I haven't really thrown sidearm in a while but i used to throw exclusively sidearm and have never had the problem you guys are talking about. I've seen wear on the right toe, but not enough to stop me from still wearing them.
I have tried skateboard shoes. The soles are different than tennis shoes or even boots (tho boot soles vary drastically). They seem flatter, thicker, heavier or some combination of these things. I could deal with this, really no harder than switching from shoes to boots. What bothered me were the unnaturally thick tongues. Its like the shoes are meant to be worn without lacing them, held on by pressure from the thick tongue. I prefer to lace my shoes on firmly. I want them clamped to my feet with no give. I don't want any slipping when I throw. Not from the pad or my shoes or my feet in my shoes. So I viewed them as a failed experiment.
The thick soles would give some benefit for a forehander's wear problems. But the place where more wear happens on a forehand follow through is the side and top of the big toe. So a shoe like a Keen has a built up toe cover that goes all the way over the top of the big toe. The skatebord shoes I have seen ( I own a couple pair by my kid is a fanatic boarder and goes through them like free tacos) don't have any special covering up past the sole.
