The Reebok Nano Court takes the brand’s training series onto the court with sports like pickleball, tennis, and padel in mind. How well does this court shoe from Reebok hold up? I used our tried and true WearTesters performance review process to find out.
Over the last few weeks, I tested the Reebok Nano Court on multiple courts and conditions. I’ve collected my observations and opinions on the shoe into a pickleball performance review so you can make an informed decision on this interesting shoe.
Pros
Outsole
It doesn’t get much better than the outdoor friendly, aggressive herringbone traction pattern of the Reebok Nano Court, and it’s just as good durability. The rubber compound, Griptonite as Reebok calls it, is made for the toughest of courts. That means it will last a good amount whether you’re playing on a pickleball court, tennis court, or basketball court (indoors or outdoors).
Performance-wise, the Reebok Nano Court easily gets the job done for both north-and-south movement as well as laterally no matter the pace. In fact, because of some of the cons of the shoe we’ll get into later, the traction may have even been too good at times.
Materials
If this section was specific to upper construction, this may tell a different story, but when it comes to materials alone, I like the selection applied to most of the shoe. In terms of support, I would have loved to see a little bit more strategic layering in the forefoot area, but otherwise everything felt nice on foot.
The Flexweave upper patented by Reebok is soft and flexible so it moves well with the foot. The medial forefoot fuse layering is a plus for the durability of the woven textile, but I would prefer it be used a little more on the lateral side as well. The layering is thin enough to not effect how the materials flex with the foot, and adding it to the lateral side would have reinforced things a bit more to help the foot stay over the footbed. Though very critical of the material placement throughout the shoe, I still believe Reebok had the right idea, it maybe just needs to be evolved a bit to be even better.
Cushion
Reebok’s Floatride Court compound under foot is a good part of the Reebok Nano Court. The court feel up towards the forefoot is on point without too much of a drop from the midsole/heel. And it doesn’t feel dead like a lot of EVA compounds tend to feel after a good amount of time playing.
Transition from baseline to kitchen line is smooth and although the shoe is not built for impact protection, it gets the job done due to the nature of pickleball where the most impact heavy movements made on court are typically hard split-steps. While not quite as comfortable as the recently reviewed Puma Accelerate Nitro SQD, the Reebok Nano Court leans towards the upper end of my personal favorite pickleball cushion setups.
Cons
Fit
The Nano Court runs more snug than I would like through the midfoot and not so snug everywhere else which creates a lot of unnecessary movement within the shoe.
In length, the Nano Court runs true to size, but the tight midfoot and slightly bubbly forefoot throws everything off to the point of distraction during play. Because of this, neither going up or down in size seems reasonable for anyone that doesn’t have a very specific foot shape.
The only thing I can think of that would have assisted with the fit would be tighter Flexweave up front. But without much reinforcement, this would likely only be a band-aid as the shoe breaks in and takes more wear.
Support
The unfavorable fit weakens the overall support of the Reebok Nano Court, but there are still areas for improvement not involving fit that would help this be a more supportive court shoe.
One area for improvement is widening the base of the shoe, particularly in the forefoot underneath the softer Flexweave areas to prevent rollover. Another area, as mentioned in fit, would be to tighten the weave up front and/or add more supportive overlays to combat rollover on the hard plants and changes of direction often required for highly competitive pickleball games.
Reebok Nano Court Summary
I really wanted to love the Reebok Nano Court as it is a shoe that has a lot of good things going for it. Unfortunately, the downsides of fit and support weigh too heavily for my comfort.
While a professional athlete like Hurricane Tyra Black who wears the Reebok Nano Court has the elite footwork and strategy to play comfortably in the shoe, the average consumer could potentially run into issues with the shoe based on how intense the game can become.
I would personally avoid playing in the Reebok Nano Court for singles competition and would have to be mindful of my partner’s mobility in doubles competition if wearing this pair. I do like this shoe for more controlled situations like drilling sessions and solitary training with a ball machine. Also, I have faith in Reebok making improvements on support and fit going forward while building upon the great things they have already implemented like the Griptonite outsole, Floatride Court cushioning, and Flexweave upper.
Disclosure
While Reebok did send a pair of the Reebok Nano Court to facilitate this review, the company had no involvement in this review, didn’t receive an advance look at it, and has not attempted to influence it.
