With all this talk about the Converse shoes being discontinued, and Officials Choice being out of my size, I am just wondering what kind of shoes, do some of the officials out there wear, and which ones are the best for keeping they're shine?

New Balance
 

Wore NB Hightop crosstrainers before, but since it had a grey stripe, had to get new pair. So I got NB 609. Runs pretty well, looks good with Shape-Up polish. Only thing is that I tailored my Sansabelts to the hightops, and 609s are low, so looks like I'm 'highwaterin' a lil. o well....

I just switched from the old Run 'n Refs to the NB 608. I was able to get the 608s for $48 at Kohls. So far in two games I have loved them. They are light and comfortable. Also, NB comes in various widths which I know is a plus for many officials.

OCReferee

I wear the NB 608AB too. I have had them for 3 years and they are still holding up well.

New Balance.

In addition to the patent leather converse whistle all-stars from officials choice, there are also several sites on the internet that sell the regular leather version of the converse whistle. I wear the patent leather ones and they have been fine so far, so I would assume that the regular leather ones are comfortable too. I don't know to what extent, but it seems (from the name) the converse whistle's are somewhat designed for officiating needs, so they should be good shoes. You could always order a few pairs while they are still around...

My first pair of officials shoes were Nike Air Monarchs. They are an all-black cross trainer that I have seen at several different footwear stores. They were great in terms of looks and comfort.

Hope this helps...

By the way, does anybody know what some of the shoes that big-time D1 refs wear? I've seen a few different kinds of all black air maxes, shox, etc.

Also, aren't our shoes supposed to be all black? I saw a ref doing one of the big ten/acc challenge games as well as a game at an SEC school last nite and his shoes had three big white adidas stripes on them...Does D1 let officials have more leeway in terms of the shoes they wear? Not that looks are a big deal, because intellect and skills are where it's at, I was just curious...

If you see white stripes or a white swoosh on a D1 official, there is a contract with his name signed on it somewhere.

The fascination with white on the shoes amuses me. White stripes or a little bit of white is no big deal as long as the shoes are primarily black. However, it can be a pain in the backside to polish shoes that have white on them. Some state offices have nothing better to do than be uniform police, so YMMV.

Have to admit that we are a little anal about dress on the crews I work -- we match pants (pleats or no pleats) and lanyards (smitty or noose) even.

Rich F says:
Have to admit that we are a little anal about dress on the crews I work -- we match pants (pleats or no pleats) and lanyards (smitty or noose) even.

Belt?

Many D1 officials and NBA officials are a little more creative when it comes to shoes. If you find a good shoe man or get some dye and the right polish you can look for shoes that are mostly black. Also, the kind of shoe will make a difference and a variety of shoes. As far as variety, I can't continue to wear the same shoe all of the time because my feet like variety.
When you talk about shoe type, the foot sits on cushions with running shoes since there is little cutting involved. With basketball shoes the foot sits farther down in the shoes creating more stability for cutting. Having said that most basketball shoes are a gimmick. I was told something like they are not technical. When running they do not work correctly during a stride but they look good. This is not the case for all but most Nike Shox aren't good. Plus you have to weigh a certain amount for Nike Shox or Air Max to work effectively. So, if you are doing many rec games a running shoe will be more comfortable with less stability for cutting while a basketball shoe will not be as comfortable for the long run but will be more stable for cutting. Since we are on a basketball court more officials are wearing basketball shoes that are all or mostly black. Nike makes a mostly black Griffy Jr every year and they have improved every year. The current ones have some silver on them but they can be dyed. The air bubble can also be covered. The Jordan, not team Jordan, before the current one came out in a black mid-top with an elastic neoprene ankle. It had some silver on it but could be taken care of. This is my favorite shoe of all time. If anyone knows of any outlet that sells them tell me. I will buy them immediately. There is a current shoe called the Nike Uptempo Ultramatic. I'm thinking about trying that out. My only hold up is I recently moved to the DC area and I hate the traffic. I just haven't went to try it on. Also, for a few extra dollars Nike has Nike ID which allows you to customize. I haven't done it yet but I might. Whew, I guess you can tell I like to switch shoes and I like Nike. I'm done.