What do you put on your feet?

The design and construction of sports shoes  have advanced considerably in recent years with the shoes being designed for specific sports, playing surfaces and the foot type of the player.  And there is no exception to current badminton shoes with manufactures claiming that there shoes will improve performance, reduce fatigue and also reduce the chances of injury.  So does this mean that if you want to be a top badminton player you need to splash your cash and get the most expensive and latest shoes on the market?
Designers are always looking to make shoes lighter,  however this will have no considerable impact on performance and will literally be down to the personal preference of the individual player on whether they prefer a slightly lighter or heavier shoe.  Another claim is that badminton shoes will offer lower energy expenditure and will reduce muscle fatigue due to the cushioning of the midsole.  However there is very little evidence that increasing the energy return of the shoe will have an enhancing effect on the players performance.
Another claim is increased foot stability which is obviously a key interest to many badminton players, with quick changes in direction you will want a shoe which you have confidence in and will support your foot when changing direction.  There is mixed research in this area with some studies claiming a softer sole hardness is required and others saying a harder sole hardness is better.  So with this in mind it is probably best to go for a shoe which doesn’t have too much of a hard or soft sole, however again it is mainly due to personal preference as foot shape will also effect the performance of the shoe in this area.
Overall, even though manufactures keep performing research on new technologies to design new shoes which will reduce the effects of injury and improve performance, it is more important that the shoe feels right to the player who is wearing it, so that they feel confident and are able to enhance their performance. This means that it will not always be the most expensive shoe which suits the player, and more importantly the shoes will improve  their ability and confidence in their equipment to keep doing what they are doing.