Registered: Jan 2009
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Posts: 99

Sheets of Teflon (or PTFE) aren't cheap. You could save substantial money with HDPE like Goldline is using now on the Podium Silver 2.0 or the speed 6 Quantum slider pods. If you are not an experienced curler used to thick Teflon the reduction in speed should not be a big deal. It still seams fast enough.

Another option is to glue Velcro on the bottom of the shoes and just buy Asham Rotator slider discs or even BP replacement sliders from their 500 series shoes. I also agree with the idea of just using slip-on grippers instead of gluing material on.

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Registered: Feb 2016
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Posts: 1

As someone who has a few pair of curling shoes and have made their own I can help you with a little bit of insight.

Ice conditions and skill level are the best indicators of what type of slider thickness you will need. Unless you are really good or on really slow ice (and I mean slow!) you won't really know the difference between 1/4 or 3/16.

I made a pair of Nike cross-trainers into curling shoes to test out if I could actually do it. They work surprisingly well and I used HDPE since it was about 10x cheaper than using actual teflon. Is it slower than my Balance Plus 1/4"? Absolutely, but like I said, unless you curl on really slow ice you won't really notice the different. If i had to guess ... 1/4" HDPE would be about a 7-8 and teflon would be a 9-10.

If you do make your own shoe, make sure they have flat soles. If you don't know what a flat sole is, look at a skateboarding shoe. It is a PIA to get a slider glued onto a shoe that doesn't have a flat sole. Also make sure the shoe doesn't have aggressive tread on it. Less tread = better area to make contact to.

Would I recommend buying a shoe or making a shoe? Making a shoe is fun and you get something different than the average person has, so I would suggest making your own shoe unless you are expecting to play at a very high level. Then I would suggest to buy shoes, or send shoes in to your favorite curling shoe maker and have them do it for you.

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Registered: Nov 2012
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Posts: 7

Did you end up making your own shoes? I'm curious how much they ended up costing / how much you expect them to cost?

Full disclosure: I work for Goldline and we do offer this service. A ¼” slider is $150, 3/32” slider is $75, gripper sole is $40 and a toe coat is $30.

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