What Are the Bowling Shoe Sizes?

Are you searching for a pair of bowling shoes but don’t know what size you are? The best thing you can do is to refer to a bowling shoe size chart. Today, I’ll provide such a chart for men, women, and children, as well as explain how bowling shoes differ from everyday shoes and how to measure your feet for a pair of bowling shoes.

Bowling Shoe Size Chart

Men’s Bowling Shoes

Women’s Bowling Shoes

Children’s Bowling Shoes

Bowling Shoes vs. Everyday Shoes

Some of you guys are probably wondering how bowling shoes differ from regular, everyday shoes, especially if you’re on the fence about purchasing a pair of your own. After all, renting bowling shoes can cost nearly the same as renting a bowling lane for a single game.

So, what makes bowling shoes, bowling shoes?

The main difference is the construction of the sole. The soles on bowling shoes are designed specifically to help players glide across the slippery surface of a bowling lane. Regular sneakers are made for enhanced traction, which can cause you to slip while trying to throw the ball. And falling while holding a heavy bowling ball is no fun.

In addition, bowling alleys mandate bowling shoes at all times for players. This is because regular shoes may have pebbles or other debris in the soles that can scratch the polished surface of the bowling lane.

How to Size Bowling Shoes

If you want to shop for bowling shoes online, you will have to know how to measure your feet. Luckily, it’s not that difficult, as long as you have a piece of paper, a pen or pencil, and a ruler on hand.

1. Lie the sheet of paper on a flat surface.
2. Place your foot on the sheet of paper. Make sure the paper is longer than your foot.
3. Trace the outline of your foot onto the sheet of paper with a pen or pencil.
4. Remove your foot from the sheet of paper.
5. To measure the length, take the ruler and measure the distance from your heel to toe that juts out the most (for most people, that would be the second toe or the toe next to the big toe) and add half a thumb’s width (about half an inch) to the length.
6. To measure the width, take the ruler and measure the widest point of your foot (for most people, that would be the ball of your foot). Again, add half a thumb’s width to the width.
7. Compare your foot’s length and width to the bowling shoe size charts above.

Types of Bowling Ball Shoes

There are typically 2 types of bowling shoes to consider—athletic and performance.

Athletic

Athletic bowling shoes look more like sneakers than conventional bowling shoes. They usually offer a more comfortable fit, and they don’t stick out like a sore thumb when you wear them outside of a bowling alley. On the downside, athletic bowling shoes have fixed soles that you cannot replace or swap out.

Performance

Performance bowling shoes have traction soles and replaceable soles to give you better balance when wildly throwing the ball down the lane. However, they aren’t the most stylish shoes out there, and they cost considerably more than athletic bowling shoes.

How to Choose Between Athletic and Performance Bowling Shoes

Ask yourself, “How frequently do I go bowling?” If the answer is more times than you can remember, then you should think about investing in costlier bowling shoes that prioritize function over fashion—i.e., performance bowling shoes.