Skate shoes hit $35 flat across the board, plus a few bigger deals worth knowing
A wave of skate shoes bottomed out at $35 this weekend. Here are the five picks with the most actual reason behind them.
Something unusual is happening in shoe pricing right now. Across multiple shops, a broad range of skate shoes have landed at exactly $35, off MSRPs in the $70-$90 range. That floor price creates an odd situation where your decision stops being about budget and starts being about which shoe actually fits your skating. A few picks further up the price ladder also deserve attention this weekend, because the discounts are substantial and the shoes have real context behind them.
Shoes: Converse Louie Lopez Pro 2, 59% off
The Converse Louie Lopez Pro 2 is sitting at $35, down from $85.37. That 59% drop puts a vulcanized signature shoe from a recognizable pro collaboration at a price that's hard to argue with. Vulcanized construction is the relevant detail here: the sole bonds directly to the upper, which keeps the shoe thin and flexible and gives you more direct feedback through the board. That matters most for technical skating where you need to feel the deck under your feet during flip tricks and grinds. The tradeoff with vulc is that impact protection is minimal, so this is not a shoe for someone spending most of their time on big drops.
Louie Lopez has been a respected technical street skater for years, associated with Chocolate and known for clean, precise skating. That pedigree typically means the shoe was designed around the demands of exactly that kind of skating. At $35, you're not gambling much if vulc turns out not to be your preference, but if it is, this is a genuinely good deal on a shoe built for the right reasons.
Shoes: eS Accel Slim Black/Black (2020), 50% off
The eS Accel Slim Black/Black (2020) is another $35 shoe, down from $69.99. The Accel has been a long-running model in eS's lineup for a reason: it occupies the space between a true vulc and a heavily cupsole shoe, keeping the profile low and the fit slim without completely stripping out cushioning. The 2020 version of the Accel Slim is not a new shoe at this point, but the design philosophy behind it has been consistent across iterations, and that consistency is actually part of the appeal. If you've skated the Accel before, you know what you're getting.
The slim fit is the distinguishing characteristic here. Wider shoes give you a larger platform on the board, but a slim-fitting shoe tends to wrap the foot more precisely, which some skaters find helps with flip trick consistency. At $35 this is about as low as a functional technical skate shoe gets, and the eS name has enough history behind it that the construction is credible.
Shoes: Nike SB Bruin High, 59% off
The Nike SB Nike SB Bruin High is at $35, off $85.37. High-tops are a minority preference in skateboarding these days, most people have moved to low and mid profiles, but there is a real constituency for ankle support and the Bruin High has been part of Nike SB's line long enough to have earned some credibility. The vintage basketball silhouette translates well to transition skating especially, where a higher collar can help when your ankle is moving through a wider range of motion on vert or miniramp.
The Bruin name goes back to the 1970s Nike basketball shoe, and Nike SB has revisited it multiple times. The high-top version is the more niche option but that also means it's the one that's harder to find on sale. If you've been curious about a high-top for transition skating and haven't wanted to pay full price to find out whether it suits you, $35 is a reasonable test.
Shoes: New Balance 933 Andrew Reynolds, 52% off
The New Balance 933 Andrew Reynolds is at $65, down from $134.95. This is the one deal in the roundup that sits at a real price point rather than the $35 floor, and the 52% drop is meaningful because the shoe retails at a premium. Andrew Reynolds is one of the most influential street skaters of the past few decades, associated with Baker Skateboards and a heavy, powerful skating style that puts real demands on footwear. A signature from him tends to prioritize impact protection and durability over a minimal feel.
New Balance has been building a credible skate line and the 933 sits toward the top of it in terms of support and cushioning technology. This is not a shoe for skaters who want to feel the board directly. It is a shoe for skaters who are skating hard and need the joints to hold up over time. At $65 for a pro-level cupsole from a brand investing seriously in skate, this is probably the strongest value in the current round of drops if that profile matches how you skate.
Shoes: Li-Ning Erik Ellington Sunset, 50% off
The Li-Ning Erik Ellington Sunset is at $75, down from $149.99. Erik Ellington has a long history in skateboarding, most prominently through Deathwish Skateboards, and his collaboration with Li-Ning is one of the more unusual brand pairings in skate footwear. Li-Ning is a major Chinese sportswear company that has been expanding into skateboarding, and the Ellington collaboration is positioned at the higher end of their skate output.
At $149.99 retail this shoe asks for a real commitment from someone unfamiliar with the brand. At $75 it becomes a more reasonable experiment. The 50% drop here is the largest in dollar terms among the premium options this weekend. If you've been skeptical about Li-Ning in a skate context but curious about what a well-resourced brand can do with a serious pro collaboration, this is a lower-risk entry point than the full retail price.