What Is A Shoe Last?

All cleats (and we can also say shoes) are built around a shoe last. The last is (sort of) the frame of the shoe. As an analogy, a house has a wood or brick frame, and around this wood or brick frame we build other important structures such as the roof, the siding, the plumbing, etc… The same goes for the shoe last, as we build other important structures such as the upper, the midsole, and the heel, around the last.

In the past, shoemakers actually made the shoe around the last, which was usually made from wood (sometimes iron).

And therefore, a different last therefore makes a different shoe. A wider last will make a wider shoe and a more narrow last will make a more narrow shoe.

Some companies are known for using more narrow lasts... e.g. Nike and others more wide... e.g. Adidas.

In sports, we also must consider three basic last shapes… 1) straight, 2) semi-curved, and 3) curved. A cleat with a straight last will generally be the most stiff. And therefore, a curved last will be the most flexible. The semi-curved is somewhere in the middle. We should remember our discussion on feet and feet movement, about neutral (normal) pronation, overpronation, and underpronation (supination). We can make a very, very general statement that an athlete that has overpronation might perform better in a cleat that has a straight (or less semi-curved) last. This straight last will prevent the rolling of the foot too far inwards. A more curved last will help the underpronator. Often, women have a very narrow heel and proportionally wide forefoot. For these types of feet it is possible that “combination lasts” will improve performance and comfort. All of this information is over-simplified and if you are serious about injury prevention and exceptional performance, you should consult a sports podiatrist, a sports doctor, or a professional sports trainer.

We can possibly give an example of a “straight lasted” shoe as a basketball shoe. And we can also possibly give an example of a “curve lasted” shoe as a sprinter’s track shoe. The basketball shoe is relatively stiff, while the sprinter’s track shoe is relatively flexible. Cross Trainers could be identified as having a “semi-curved last” and are in-between the basketball and the track shoes in terms of flexibility.

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