7 Best Sneakers For Men

How we test sneakers for men

Most of the time, other reviewers say that a shoe is great based on what brands say. But, not us. Here’s a list of what we do:

• We buy the shoes and test them out ourselves, avoiding any form of impartiality.
• We try them on and beat ‘em up good. We use the sneakers on our daily and casual trips to get a feel for ourselves. We gauge and observe how they perform, fit, and resist different elements, such as abrasion, rain, and scorching sun.
• We get nerdy and assign a rating or a lab test result to each sneaker feature that we test in our lab. We just love getting into the nitty-gritty details of each shoe, and the best way to do that is to slice them up into pieces, no joke!

How are men’s sneakers different than women’s? 

Fortunately for men, the majority of footwear is made for them. Usually, it’s women who have to worry about different designs because sneakers made for men seem to be the default. 

In general, men have a wider heel and a narrower forefoot than women. However, many brands claim the overall fit for women’s sneakers is narrower. Basically, this depends on the brand a lot and, some simply make unisex sneakers – the same design across all sizes. 

Another notable difference comes in the industry labeling. For different sneaker widths, industry uses different letters for men and women. 

If you’re looking for a specific toebox or overall sneaker width, jump directly to the section Toebox and sneaker width. 

5 things to pay attention to when buying sneakers for men

Finding new sneakers may be overwhelming, especially if you’re the kind of person who wants one perfect sneaker that lasts long and fits well. We wholeheartedly support this approach (instead of buying dozens of sneakers), so we highlight here 5 features that we found most important: 

1. Cushioning - low to the ground or platforms, it’s important to understand what works for you and how soft you want your sneakers to be. 
2. Support and stability - some people overpronate and need supportive sneakers, while others simply prefer very stable sneakers. 
3. Durability - maybe it’s always the upper that gets destroyed the first on your sneakers, or you burn through the outsole and start seeing midsole and insole layers. It’s great to find sneakers that offer durability just where you need it.
4. Breathability - don’t let those ventilation holes fool you, some are there just for the show! 
5. Weight - heavy sneakers may be great-looking but hurt our feet after a while. Some are too heavy to spend a full day in them. 

In this guide, we will talk about each feature in greater detail and tell you how to find sneakers that shine in areas you prioritize. 

Minimalist, average height, or platforms? Let’s talk cushioning 

Stack height tells us how high off the ground we are when wearing sneakers. We measure it at the forefoot and at the heel, although the forefoot measurement is a focus in performance categories like running, hiking, etc.

Sneakers that are low to the ground (they can be barefoot or minimalist) usually offer a lot of ground feel. They are said to promote natural foot movement because they are very flexible and don’t feature a stiff heel counter or any stabilizing technologies. 

Platforms, on the other hand, offer a boost in height and absolutely no ground feel. For some, this means less or no premature fatigue as the only contact they have is with the midsole. 

Minimalist sneakers are very easy to twist and bend to 90 degrees and more. Some can even be curled up

It’s important to note that, in platforms, the width of the platforms matter as well. Sneakers that are high-off-the-ground easily get unstable when the platform is narrow. So, best to look a wider platform if instability worries you. 

Slight lateral instability present in a high-stacked sneaker

How soft are sneakers for men?

Available options go from plush to firm, so it’s on you to find the platform that feels and works best for you. Keep in mind that:

• Soft midsoles can be very soft and it’s what we usually call cloudlike. They are great at absorbing impact but they can be unstable, especially if high-stacked, and, when too soft, may even cause premature foot fatigue. 
• Firm midsoles are much more stable and supportive but many don’t find them as comfortable. This stability may come to light when walking on somewhat varying terrain or when spending all day walking/standing in the sneakers.

It’s best to find the balance that you’re comfortable with. 

In our lab, we measure the softness of the midsole with a shore A durometer. We stick its needle into the foam and note down the reading. We do this 4 times and publish the average. 

The lower the number on the durometer, the softer the midsole in the sneaker. Knowing this, you can see how softness varies in top-rated sneakers: 

Keep in mind that the majority of sneakers features an insole as well. It may be very thin, e.g. 3 mm, or it can be very thick, 14 mm being the thickest one we’ve measured so far. Insole adds another layer of comfort and you can count on it as well when looking at the softness of sneakers. 

Just in case you prefer plush foams or very firm foams, we will list here sneakers that scored the lowest and highest on the durometer. 

Another thing that remarkably enhances the comfort is the padding. In some sneakers, there’s a lot of it, but in others, there's none.

The thicker the tongue, the smaller the chance of experiencing a lace bite. Thicker tongues also breathe less (or not at all). 

How to find sneakers that don’t wobble?

Unstable sneakers can be very bothersome. You may already own a pair that makes you lose your balance or simply not safe enough. We can put an end to that by looking for sneakers that have a wider platform and/or are lower to the ground. 

The worst scenario is: narrow platform + high stack. 

Fortunately, we measure the width of the platform of every sneaker that enters our lab. We do it at the forefoot and at the heel, but given that we walk in sneakers, and everyone lands on the heel, we prioritize exactly this measurement. 

The most durable sneakers for men

To answer the question “Which sneaker is the most durable?” we should find out which sneaker part is in focus. In our shoe lab, we test the durability of 3 different sneaker parts: the toebox, the heel padding, and the outsole. Each of them get their own scores or results and you can prioritize any of those, depending on which sneaker part you care about the most or which one usually dies on you first. 

This sneaker scored 4/5 (durable) on our durability test

Based on the depth and width of the damage, we assign each sneaker a toebox durability score of 1-5, where 5 is the most durable. We can not talk about the durability of the toebox without mentioning different materials. Canvas and knit are, on average, significantly less durable than mesh and leather. 

We apply the same approach to the heel padding durability test. 

This heel padding scored 1/5 (very bad durability) on our test

However, the outsole material is different. It’s not knit/mesh/cotton, it’s usually rubber. Whatever it is, it is dense and firm and we can actually use a tire tread gauge to measure the depth of the dent, we don’t have to assess the damage. 

We can also find the most durable outsoles for sneakers that scored the highest both for toebox durability and heel padding durability: 

Best sneakers for men for every season

Which season the sneaker is good for depends on its materials. They can range from very breathable to very warm and even waterproof. To analyze this, we pump smoke into the sneaker and then direct it toward the toebox using our 3D-printed cast. 

By watching how fast the smoke comes through the toebox and at which pace, we assign a breathability score of 1-5 to each sneaker. 1/5 is the least breathable and best for cold weather (sneaker on the left), while 5/5 is the most breathable and best for hot weather (sneaker on the right) 

This test tells us a lot and often goes against what we think we see. To our surprise, many of the ventilation holes we’ve seen were fake! They would look like ones but actually have an underlayer glued on the bottom so the air would not pass through them. 

We learned about this thanks to our microscope images. 

We recommend sneakers that scored 1/5 on our breathability test to men who usually run in very cold weather, as these keep all the heat inside. 5/5 sneakers are very breezy and great for hot weather or sweaty feet. Everything in between can work across different seasons, depending on the sock thickness. 

Heavy sneakers can cause fatigue

Some sneakers are actually heavy and others feel bottom-heavy. The latter are usually canvas platform sneakers, they have an upper with no structure and it feels as if they are hanging on our feet. 

Whatever the cause is, heavy sneakers can cause premature fatigue or they can feel as you can maybe walk for 20 minutes in them but spending the whole day would have been a nightmare. 

Some sneakers may appear chunky but weigh less than their more classic and lower-to-the-ground counterparts.

Weight depends on the stack height, materials used in the midsole, upper material (leather is, for example, much heavier than mesh; Gore-Tex membrane also adds weight), the rubber coverage of the outsole and the thickness of that rubber, and so on. 

Here are the lightest sneakers that have gone through our lab in case you want that featherlight experience. 

And, if you’re wondering which sneakers are very heavy and most likely not recommended for all-day wear, here’s the (regularly updated) list: 

Sneakers for different foot conditions

It’s hard to find a person who hasn’t experienced an injury and/or who does not overpronate. While shoes can’t heal our injuries, they can be of help while dealing with the injury or when we don’t want to aggravate one. 

Men’s sneakers for overpronation or flat feet

There are many ways to determine how you pronate, from not-the-most-accurate home tests to those done by a biomechanical specialist, podiatrist, or similar. If you overpronate, your ankles roll inwards and you most likely have stronger signs of wear and tear on the inside of your sneakers. 

Many men who overpronate need a stable and supportive sneaker. From proper arch support, to different stabilizing technologies, like a rigid platform, stiff heel counter, upper that’s not loose but has some structure, dual midsole with a firmer foam on the inner side of the sneaker, etc. We wrote about these features and pronation in general in great detail in our guide Pronation 101: Running Shoe Choices, DIY Analysis, Injuries. 

All the sneakers we list here feature midsoles that are not too soft, platforms that are torsionally rigid, and stiff heel counters. This is a feature package we found to work best for men who have flat feet or who overpronate. 

Which sneakers to choose if you have Achilles tendonitis?

Painful Achilles tendons can limit our movement to the point of barely making any. However, with a proper diagnosis and rehab plan, it gets much easier. Some specific footwear features can help us as well. 

The idea is to remove the stress sent to the Achilles tendons as much as possible. Not just the stress from the impact (when we touch the ground with the heel) but also any unnecessary micromovements. We accomplish this with cushioned sneakers that feature a high heel drop, stiff heel counters, and are torsionally rigid. 

Features found in sneakers for plantar fasciitis 

What can you expect from sneakers that will most likely feel good when you’re dealing with plantar fasciitis? 5 things: a cushioned sneaker, high heel to toe drop, midsole softness from average to firm, stiff heel counter, and a torsionally rigid platform. All of these have shown to work well when it comes to relieving the plantar fascia from unnecessary stress that other leg muscles and joints can deal with. 

Men’s sneakers for shin splints 

Shin splints. Such a common overuse injury. While resting and doing rehab, one still has to move from point A to point B. To do that while dealing with shin splints, it’s best to use footwear that can cushion your feet generously and offer a stable platform. 

Here are sneakers for men that have all the features we need for shin splints and that are best rated. 

Can you wear women’s sneakers?

If they fit well, of course. As mentioned at the beginning of this guide, they may be slightly narrower, especially at the heel. But, if the length of your feet correlates to a sneaker size made for women, you’re in for a treat, as you’ll most likely have many more colorways to choose from. Sometimes even the discounts! 

We always advise measuring the length of your feet and finding the size that corresponds to that length. You can find the corresponding length in millimeters or centimeters on the label itself under MONDO or JP, on the shoe box, or on the tongue. 

Toebox and sneaker width

Nailing the fit is tricky, especially when it comes to the toebox. To understand this better and to get accurate toebox measurements, we created a gel that once poured into the toebox and frozen, gives us a toebox mold that we can work with! 

This gel fills the toebox entirely so measuring its width reflects the exact width of the toebox (on the inside, of course). We measure the width of the toebox in 2 places, at the big toe and where it’s the widest. 

The big toe width is the one we look at when we discuss toebox width. However, we can take the other measurement into account as well, because the difference between the 2 tells us how pointy the toebox is. 

The bigger the difference between the toebox width where it’s the widest and at the big toe, the more tapered the toebox. The smaller the difference, the more rounded the toebox. 

With that in mind, we will list here sneakers with both the narrowest and the widest toeboxes. 

However, when it comes to the overall sneaker width, you can choose a narrow (B), medium (D), wide (2E), or extra-wide (4E) sneaker. You should know that often, it’s the upper that’s given more volume and not the whole sneaker. It’s best to double-check what the brand claims though. 

Looking at our lab measurements, you can consider a) the platform width and b) the width of the toebox where it’s the widest. The latter has shown to be a great indicator of the overall sneaker width. 

Different sneaker styles

There are plenty of sneaker styles to choose from and they all have their pros and cons. Here’s a quick overview: 

How to recognize fake leather

It’s easy when you have the lab, so you’re able to rip the sneakers into pieces and then even burn them. That’s exactly what we do to discover the leather type: real or fake. 

When torched, real leather remains dry, suffers less damage, does not burst into flames, and smells like burnt hair

Fake leather, on the other hand, shows glue-like consistency when burned; it melts, and often reveals more layers that were glued together 

However, if you don’t own a lab and want to judge the quality just by looking at the sneakers, you may be in trouble, as it can be quite tricky. Here’s our advice: 

1. Fake leather usually has a blue-ish color because chromium salts were used for tanning, it feels foamy and, upon very close inspection, you may notice that the first layer is separating. When you look at the back/bottom, it’s all fuzzy, loose fibers point each to its own direction. 
2. Real leather has no blue residue, never has layers separating as it’s not made of different layers glued together, the raw edge where it was cut often reveals the grain pattern, and it feels dense, not foamy. At the back/bottom, it is flat, no loose threads. 

We can see that, even when fake leather is included, people still love it.