The Reebok C 85 Is the Only Shoe You Should Be Seen in Playing Pickleball
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The pickleball court is the last place I want to be seen trying too hard. That’s not knocking the sport, which outgrew its roots in school gym classes and retirement communities a generation ago. Casualness is a core part of pickleball, which doesn’t take itself as seriously as other racket sports. There are no collared shirts or whispering as you walk between courts. You socialize. You serve underhand. You dink. You try not to get Nasty Nelson’d. And you should do all of that wearing a pair of Reebok Club C 85 court shoes.
I’ve tested more than 100 different pickleball paddles and, along with them, more than a dozen different court shoes from brands like Diadem, Mizuno, and Babolat. I’ve even used pickleball-specific court shoes from Sqairz and PB5star. All those shoes are trying too hard. You may get an ad-in on performance, but you get body-bagged on style points.
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Reebok’s classic court shoes are the ideal pair for pickleball, offering perfectly respectable court performance while looking great at brunch before your match. They’re appropriately nonchalant without sacrificing stability or traction in a way that matters when you’re only defending 200 square feet of court during a doubles match. My introduction to the Club C 85 was acollaboration between Reebok and the style-forward paddlemaker Recess. I’ve since cycled through another three variants of Club C, and they’ve become a daily driver off the court.
The Reebok Club C 85 is largely unchanged from its introduction in 1985, and its best trait remains the buttery garment leather. It’s taken for granted now, but until Reebok, sneakers weren’t made with soft and supple garment leather, the kind used for driving gloves and trench coats. Other classic white sneakers of the era, like Air Force 1s, were made with cowhide with a thick polyurethane coating, or like Stan Smiths, with full-grain calf leather. Reebok’s thin and ultrasoft leather requires no break-in time. It does scuff easily, and the classic whites will quickly get yellowed with dust — but I love that patina and will intentionally kick some dirt onto any new pair I lace up.
Even post-Pump, the Club C arguably remains the brand’s most iconic shoe. When Reebok launched its Classics line, the Club C was a charter member. They’re an understated streetwear staple you’ll spot frequently in the wild on the well-dressed, and they’re a favorite of Joe Jonas and Emily Ratajkowski.
Club C is short for “Club Champion,” and club players are who these shoes were designed for. They weren’t meant to be worn by professionals hurling their bodies into the stands to save an ATPer; they were meant to be enjoyed by casual players who wanted something that looked cool and performed well. Pickleball doesn’t require nearly as much movement as tennis, especially the lateral movement that presses court shoes. A pickleball court is only 20 feet wide, which means that in a game of doubles most players are only taking one or two strides to the left or right. More shoe would be overkill.
The C 85 is ultracomfortable out of the box thanks to that soft leather, generous toe box that’s friendly to those of us with wider-than-average feet, and soft terrycloth lining. The rubber sole has plenty of grip and is thin enough to give great feel. The sole is the first thing that will go, long before the leather cracks, but you can expect about a year with near-daily wear.
More of my favorite pickleball gear
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A versatile mid-level paddle. It has a generous sweet spot that’s great for beginners.
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Precise and responsive but still has plenty of power.
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Compact, with room for one paddle, a water bottle, and a few essentials.
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Has lots of zippered pockets for organizing your gear and can easily hold a half-dozen paddles.
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Fires pickleballs with heavy spin in different directions. Rolls easily, has a rechargeable battery,
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Lightweight, moisture-wicking sun protection.
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