Fencing Shoes

The Nike Ballestra fencing shoes were developed by Nike specifically for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They were developed by working closely with high level fencers in order to try and properly capture the needs of modern fencers.

By all measures, they have found success. The shoe is reported durable, lightweight, and very supportive in the appropriate places. I've yet to get my hands on any to really thoroughly test with, so I'm going to reserve personal judgment on them for now, but they come highly recommended by anyone I know who has owned a pair.

And the reason why I'm reserving judgment is because they are essentially currently sold out. Nike is not selling any on their website (except for the occasional small handful that shows up). They are not planning on generating another run on their own. The current word on the street is that Fencing.net is working with Nike to produce another run, but due to the recent economic developments, Nike has undergone some internal shakeups which have lead to delays on the new run of the shoe. We will update this page as appropriate when new information comes in.