Ryka Women’s, Influence Training Shoe

Great Dance Shoe
Dance fitness instructor and struggled to find the right shoe. This one delivered. Soles have pivot points for easy turning but enough traction to stick a move. Nice, spacious toe box. Good arch support to handle impacts and jumps, but flexible to be able to point your toes or stay up on your toes. No full articulation like a split sole but enough to get a solid point on. Feel like they run a smidge on the big side. Comfortable and they look great. After three classes in them I am happy I kept them. Now to see how they hold up under 4-6 classes a week. They seem like they will hold up, materials are solid and seem well made. I’d recommend them, I chose them on a recommendation from another dancer.

Good shoe for cross fit
I purchased these shoes for my R.I.P.P.E.D. class which has a lot of pivoting, pushups, lunges, etc. These were recommended by my instructor as an affordable shoe that works for this type of workout.Pro: I am a classic size 8 (but a little on the narrow side) and these fit my length perfectly. They do the exact thing i purchased them for; they give me balance with a solid foot bed, good arch support, and the flatter outer sole made for pivoting. Aesthetically they look just as cute in person as they do in the picture.Con: They are oddly wide in the pad of the foot but narrow quite a bit in the arch area. I have a semi-narrow foot so the more narrow arch and heel works great. The wide pad area of the shoe does let my foot slide a bit but not enough to make me return them. The shoe is okay quality. They are not soft and I foresee them lasting about 6-8 months. **but my pair of Nikes I paid $110 for only last 6 months in the inner sole as they broke down but the rest of the shoe is still going strong.All in all if the sole holds up at least 6 months or more, matching my previous Nikes, then I feel it’s worth ordering again to get a shoe that is made precisely for the type of exercise I do. This is a cute, supportive, solid shoe for any cross fit type exercise. I noticed a big difference the first day when I did a one legged lunge with weights. Had no trouble keeping my balance at all.

Very Short Length – Otherwise, Great Shoes
I will admit to being a total fitness novice – due to a back injury, I’ve been very sedentary for almost 20 years. I decided I’ve got to start doing something, so I’ve started walking and exercising to some videos (PiYo and zumba). After a lot of searching, these are the shoes I chose.I’m impressed with how comfortable they are – I really like them. That said, they run short. I am pretty consistent size-wise, even across different brands. The toe box in these is short and uncomfortable. I had originally gotten them just to work out in the house, but when I needed shoes to go for a walk, I grabbed these. MISTAKE! After only a few yards I figured out that these were short. They feel great everywhere else, but when shoes are pinching your toes, little else matters. I should mention I struggle with ingrown toe nails on both big toes – getting pedicures and making sure there is plenty of room in the toe area of my shoes has kept those painful ingrown nails at bay. I also battle neuropathy – which is not aggravated by these shoes (except that toe area). Now the ingrown nails are back, loudly professing their presence. I can’t wear any of my shoes without pushing on those obnoxious ingrown areas, so I just dread wearing all shoes right now.Bottom Line: I like the shoes. I like the style and the colors. I appreciate how they feel nice and cool, like your feet are getting good ventilation. I also like that the weave is tight enough to keep my feet pretty dry when I (unexpectedly) walk through snow piles. Decent arch support. The only problem I have with these shoes is that they are short. Which is a big problem. I purchased size 11 and they fit more like a 10. I wish I would have gotten a 12, I feel the extra size would have been just enough to vastly improve the comfort level. Their comfort is about a 9/10, but that short length brings my rating to a 4/10. Ordering a size up will most likely result in purchasing one of the most comfortable pair of workout shoes you’ve gotten in a long time. Make the mistake of ordering your usual size and you’ll undoubtedly have issues with length – especially if that’s an issue you struggle with already. These are so nice looking and comfortable in the rest of the shoe that I’m bummed I can’t wear them. Plenty of wiggle room width-wise in the toes…just way too short.

I have wide feet and normally always have to size up to get the width in all kinds of shoes if there are no wide fitting available. I read the reviews about the wrong sizes being sent due to UK/USA sizing and was wary about ordering due to the costs of returning if the wrong size arrived. However, I went ahead and ordered a 5.5 wide fitting, and that’s exactly what turned up. They fit amazing. Lightweight, colourful, comfortable and with a pivot spot perfect for Zumba. Shipping was really fast too.

I haven’t worn Ryka for over a year, my feet are so much happier now 🙂 I will not wear anything else.