Yonex Comfort Z 3 and Yonex Infinity 2.0 Badminton Shoes Review & Comparison
It’s time to look at the Yonex Comfort Z 3 and Yonex Infinity 2.0 badminton shoes and you are going to find them interesting.
Previously, in my Yonex badminton shoes reviews, I looked at the Yonex Aerus Z, the Yonex 65Z, and the Yonex Eclipsion Z which are 3 of the top-end badminton shoes Yonex produces. Now with the addition of the Yonex Comfort Z 3 and the Yonex Infinity 2.0, this completes Yonex’s high-end badminton shoe lineup, at least on the international market of course.
Before I begin, huge thanks to Yonex UK for sending me this sample to test! The Yonex infinity 2.0 badminton shoe came in a special black box, which included some instructions on how to use the BOA dials on the shoes, although they were written in Japanese. I understand that normal customers won’t be getting this box and that is disappointing as it would be nice to get something different than the usual Yonex shoe box, especially considering the price of these shoes.
On the other hand, the Yonex Comfort Z 3 arrived in its usual Yonex badminton shoe box, and huge thanks to Central Sports for sending me a pair to test. Remember to use my discount code “CKYEW’ if you are buying from Central Sports.
Let’s start with the Infinity 2.0! In terms of looks and design, the Infinity 2.0 is right up there as one of the best-looking badminton shoes for me. There are 3 colours to choose from, but the red one is certainly my favourite. The outer layer of the shoes, which Yonex calls Durable Skin Light, gives off a light shine which makes the shoes look very crisp. The BOA dials fit the design of the shoes really well, and their golden centre reminds me of the Adidas Fevernova football used in the 2002 World Cup. You can’t go wrong with red and gold. Even the woven laces from the BOA dials come with red and white accents matching the shoes.
There is a pull tab at the back of the heel section with gold lettering telling you the features of the shoes. There is also a muted section on the textured inner foot showing some of the Yonex technologies that have gone into the shoe and also where it was designed. Besides that, the Infinity 2.0 also has matching insoles in bright red. I wonder if the blue model has blue insoles too! The insoles are not the wavy insoles found in the 65s and the Eclipsion series shoes, they are closer to the ones found in the Aerus shoes. In fact, you’ll see quite a lot of similarities between the Aerus and the Infinity 2.0 as we go along.
Other design features include the 3D power graphite sheet which is visible on the outer side of the foot arch, in addition to the traditional location on the sole of the shoes. Similar to the Aerus, there is no venting mesh at the bottom of the shoes, unlike the 65s and the Eclipsions. For me, this isn’t a big issue as there is plenty of ventilation on the top side of the shoes. The Infinity 2.0 also has a boot-like construction, which is similar to the Eclipsions. On the soles, the power cushion + is visible from the windows at the heel section, but I was slightly disappointed to not see any radial blade soles on the outsoles as I liked it very much from the 65s and the Eclipsions. Personally, I think the radial blade sole is a better sole design compared to the hexagonal outsole.
Moving on to the Comfort Z 3, my first impression was that the contrast between the neon yellow and orange to the blacks on the shoes look amazing. I initially preferred the look of the ladies’ white version but the longer I looked at the black version, the more I like it. For the Comfort Z 3, Yonex has made these pretty durable and hardwearing using rubber-like synthetic materials around the toe box area. They are not as soft and flexible as the Aerus shoes and they feel like they are made of thicker materials to protect your feet. There are no BOA dials on the Comfort Z 3, but their laces are designed with a slight curve to better fit our foot around the upper area of our arch, and the laces are pulled through eyelets which are moulded onto the upper side of the Comfort Z 3 itself.
You can also feel the yellow streaks underneath the mesh on the upper side, which I find to be similar to Nike’s Flywire concept which spreads the pressure from the tied laces evenly through the whole shoe for comfort and stability. The Comfort Z 3 also has a pretty big heel support, making you feel really snug when you put the shoes on. The usual top-end Yonex materials and designs such as power cushion +, the power graphite sheet and the radial blade soles are all on this new Comfort Z 3 so I was pretty happy with them. The Comfort Z 3 has the same insoles as the Infinity 2.0 with grippy material instead of the wavy ones. There are also no ventilation holes at the bottom of the Comfort Z 3.
In terms of weight, the Infinity 2.0 is surprisingly light! The pair that I had for testing was a UK 9, half a size smaller than my usual size UK 9.5 and they weighed only 315g a side, which was very impressive. In comparison, the Aerus Z weighed 288g per side; the 65Z weighed 345g per side; the Eclipsion Z weighed 366g per side; and the Comfort Z 3 is the heaviest of them all at about 370g per side due to the amount of material and padding on the shoes.
I tested these shoes for a couple of weeks to ensure that I spend enough time with them to be able to give accurate feedback and review. This is why I don’t release shoe reviews very quickly. I fell in love with the Infinity 2.0 almost immediately and it was all down to one simple thing: not needing to tie shoelaces. I was surprised at how often I unconsciously went for the Infinity 2.0 instead of the Comfort Z 3, even though both pairs of shoes were in my badminton bag, just to avoid tying shoe laces, especially when I was late for a session warmup. With the Infinity 2.0, as soon as I get to the courts I could straight away slip them on, tighten the BOA dials and off I went. The convenience they bring is addictive. In fact, I actually timed myself putting these 2 pairs of shoes on and I took 35 seconds to put on the Comfort Z 3 and only about 18 seconds to put on the Infinity 2.0. If you are someone who already has a pair of BOA dial shoes, you will agree with me that they do save time!
In any case, I loved how snug the Infinity 2.0 felt wrapping around my feet, especially on the top side of my feet. They felt very similar to the Aerus Z in the sense that you feel that your feet are quite close to the floor similar, compared to, say, the 65Z in which you can feel the layers of extra cushioning and the resulting greater height. Movement felt good and controlled and I was also able to adjust how tight I wanted the shoes to wrap around my feet. However, I am pretty certain that the Infinity 2.0 will not fit people with wide feet as they are already pretty tight on me who doesn’t have wide feet.
A problem that I immediately noticed was that the top straps were digging into my feet when I bend my feet during stretching sessions, although the problem is really minor and you might not even notice it anyway. Another problem is if you do anything that leans the BOA dials close to the floor, like a butterfly stretch or sitting crossed-legged, these shoes will not work for you as the BOA dials will be touching the floor and you will feel the dials pressing against your feet which can be pretty uncomfortable. I’ve had to swap into a pair of tie-lace shoes when I was stretching after my badminton sessions. Nonetheless, outside of these 2 small niggles, I would say anyone who loved the Aerus shoes would love the Infinity 2.0.
If you are thinking about whether the BOA dials have any issues with the laces slipping and causing the shoes to loosen mid-play, then the answer is no. Personally, I didn’t feel the laces loosening themselves much at all during my usual 2 to 3 hours badminton sessions. They match the tightness of any good grippy shoe laces, if not better. If you ever feel your shoes loosening, you can simply turn the BOA dials a couple more times and that will tighten them back up again. That’s the beauty of these dials.
Durability-wise, I’ve had the Infinity 2.0 since July 2022 and I have worn them for 1 or 2 sessions a week. So far there have been no issues at all. Besides the Infinity 2.0, I also own a pair of Yonex Saferun 350 that also has a BOA dial. I’ve been wearing the Saferun 350 since March 2022 and I wear them multiple days a week for walking, hiking, running, and even badminton, sometimes for up to 14 hours. I’ve even worn them when I traveled back to Malaysia in May 2022 and after going through so much abuse, the right BOA dial on my Saferun 350 shoe has only started to need a few extra clicks of tightening every couple of hours. If my Saferun 350 can do so well, I’m pretty confident that the BOA dials on the Infinity 2.0 can last as long. In any event, if you happen to damage the BOA dials or if they wear out, I’ve recently discovered that BOA provides replacement and spare parts so you can go onto boafit.com to order a replacement. The process is as simple as typing in the information on your shoe and the site will take you to the right model of BOA dial for replacement. They aren’t cheap but at least you can replace them and continue enjoying your shoes!
In respect of the Comfort Z 3, they reminded me of the Eclipsion Z, although they don’t feel as clunky. They are slightly heavier, but I think Yonex has beefed up this latest generation of Comfort Z 3 to increase its durability as I’ve heard from players that the previous generation of Comforts tends to wear out quickly, especially around the toe box section. This beefing up also resulted in the Comfort Z 3 feeling slightly stiffer in both its cushioning as well as the upper section. Therefore, you might want to break and bed the shoes in by wearing and walking them around your house before using them on court for the first time. If you are a heavier player, then the increased stiffness in the Comfort Z 3 may be good for you as they feel like they provide extra protection to your feet when you land on them.
The insoles, as I mentioned earlier, were very grippy, and coupled with the radial blade outsole, the Comfort Z 3 provided plenty of grip on court. The bigger heel support also felt very comfortable and stable and they didn’t catch at all so that’s a win in my book. In terms of “ride height”, I would say the Comfort Z 3 was slightly below the 65, so your feet will feel closer to the ground, but not as much as the Aerus and Infinity.
In conclusion, I think Yonex is doing a good job by providing us with lots of options for shoes to suit players with different requirements. The Infinity 2.0 is very expensive in the UK, but I’m guessing it’s probably BOA that is charging a lot for their proprietary tech judging from looking at the replacement costs of the difals. Let me know what your thoughts are with the Infinity 2.0 and the Comfort Z 3. I am hoping that Yonex will incorporate the radial blade soles in the Aerus and the Infinity in their next release! I’ll see you in the next post!