Review: DAPS pickleball shoes combine high-level comfort with high-level performance

Alex Lantz

Director of Content

Last Edited

Jun 03 2025

Fit/comfort

The DAPS team makes a point in the packaging that these shoes perform best when the person wearing them takes a little bit of extra time to loosen them all the way before sliding their foot in — and also encourages them to take their time lacing them up.

That’s in stark contrast to other brands that promote how easy their shoes slip on or how quickly they can be laced up (looking at you, HEAD).

The extra 20-30 seconds is worth it. I felt extremely secure and locked in with these shoes, and I felt like they molded to my feet really well after a couple play sessions.

The DAPS team went through more than 10 versions of the Desi before releasing the shoe to the pubic, and they told me one of the tweaks they made along the way was to widen the toe box.

Read next: How 2 brothers and their childhood friend created DAPS -- the ultimate pickleball shoe

Because I have a narrow foot, I have often chosen shoes that are on the narrow side. But in many cases that also meant that the toe box was pretty narrow — to the point where I was having an issue with my pinky toe jamming into my foot and causing pain.

The Desi lows were narrow enough in the middle of the foot where I needed them to feel secure, but had enough room in the toe box that the pain in my pinky toes has gone away completely. I’ve also heard from players with a wider foot that they had plenty of room for them, so it seems the DAPS can fit a variety of foot shapes comfortably.

I attribute part of the secure fit to the fact that the laces are very high quality, which means you can really get these shoes tight — if that’s what you want — without breaking the laces over time (I’ve long had a problem with breaking laces, and I was able to use the same laces for the whole lifespan of this shoe).

The DAPS also have extra padding around the ankle area, which adds comfort and makes it so nothing is digging into the ankle or achilles, which is another issue I’ve had with tennis/pickleball shoes in the past.

Performance

The Daps out-perform the big brands in several key metrics, and you don’t just have to take my word for it — they have the data to back it up. They sent the shoe to the Heeluxe Performance Lab, which compared the DAPS to several other well-known shoes in the pickleball space.

The results favored the DAPS in several areas

-Faster starts
-Quicker stops
-Better energy return
-More energy efficiency

Full disclosure: I don’t consider myself to be a shoe expert by any means, but I’ve been playing pickleball for more than 5 years and have probably gone through 15-20 pairs of shoes in that time — and I can tell you that in my experience with the DAPS, the lab tests check out on the court.

Because pickleball requires quick starts and stops all the time, the DAPS team put an extra emphasis on the sharpness of the tread on the bottom of the shoes. They use a CNC machine to cut the tread, whereas most brands stamp their tread, which means it’s not as sharp.

Besides the traction, I also felt like the shoes gave me a bit more of a bounce than the prior shoes I was using. That’s because the DAPS team used high-quality ETPU foam cushioning, which absorbs shock and sends that energy back into your foot for more explosiveness. I went back to a previous pair of shoes recently to compare, and they felt very firm compared to the DAPS.

Part of that bounce is also attributed to the high-quality Blumaka insoles that come standard I the DAPS. These insoles incorporate more of the same foam that’s used for the mid-sole, so they provide plenty of cushion, but the big benefit of the Blumaka insoles is the grippy texture that keeps your foot from sliding around inside the shoe.

Whether it’s in the lab or on the court, that all adds up to a shoe that helps me move my fastest while reducing the long-term impact on my muscles and joints.

Durability

Like I said at the top, I have been using this shoe almost exclusively since early February (it’s June 1 as I write this). They’re definitely showing some wear on the bottom, but I haven’t totally blown a hole through them, which is better after 4 months of heavy use than many other brands I’ve worn.

I’m about due for a fresh pair, but I’m very happy with the use I got out of them. The biggest issue for me with other brands was usually with the inside of the right foot, which I tend to drag a lot. The DAPS had good protection in that area and it was never an issue.

I also was very impressed with the laces. I can usually count on my sneaker laces to break after about a month of use, sometimes less, which is a pain and time consuming to constantly replace them. These laces are clearly very high quality and never came close to breaking over the lifespan of the shoe.

Conclusion

I honestly have no complaints about the DAPS. They're comfortable, they offer better performance than other brands I've worn and they've lasted just as long or longer than my previous shoes.

And they look great, in my opinion. When I get a new pair soon, I plan on cleaning my current pair up and using them as a general sneaker whenever I leave the house. They wouldn't be out of place if I go out to eat at a nice restaurant, and they will work great as a walking shoe.

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