Customer Reviews Ryka Influence

I have very high arches, narrow feet and long toes. I was so excited to order these shoes based on the positive reviews that fit my criteria. The shoes are very cute and lightweight however that's about it. I am in between size 7 and 7.5 so I went up half size and the shoes still felt another half size too small. The arch support is moderate, nothing exceptional and the toe box is regular vs. wide that many reviews described. The overall feel of the shoe is stiff all around, something that would need a lot of breaking into. Kind of disappointed so decided to write a review in case it helps someone else.

The arch support could be better and the stock absorbing factor could be much more substantial.

The toe box was too small for me

I really like these shoes, they look great and are very comfortable. But I rated them lower overall because they do live up the to description given as dance shoes. They do have a circular area on the ball of the foot that should help with pivoting. But the circle is textured the same as the rest of the sole so it doesn't work. I was expecting a smooth pivot spot like the ones on my Bloch jazz shoes. Many of the comments said they work well for sliding and twisting, but I didn't find that to be true. I do Zumba and Line Dance and I've tried these shoes on three different wood dance floors. They definitely stick during turns, which bothers my knees. But I'm keeping them because they are super comfortable, look great, and have good support. I usually wear 9.5 but I my toes touched the front on those. I ordered a Size 10 which was perfect.

They continually rubbed at the top of my foot (right) just before my toes. Adjusted the laces and different socks made no difference. Had to return.

I’ve been wearing Ryka’s for years for Zumba and love them. I ordered the same size I always do in the Devotion XT but the Influence was too tight in the toe box. Sorry I have to return this and go back to the tried and true Devotion XT

Really wanted to like these shoes, just no support or cushion for the ball of my foot. Bought specifically for jazzercise.

I needed some new lightweight workout shoes for light calisthenics indoors. I really liked how these looked and felt, until I started walking. When I walked, the shoe folded oddly in the toe box area and I could feel a line across my foot. It's hard to describe because the shoes were definitely roomy enough - I tried a "Wide" size and also a half size larger than expected, because my feet have gotten larger in recent years (thanks pregnancy!). Ultimately I returned these to keep a different Ryka style, but if I hadn't found a pair that I was happy with I would have tried the regular width or the half size down to see if that fixed the folding-when-I-walk problem.

This shoe looks good but the toe box is narrow. If your toes taper down from your big toe, these would be fine. My toes are more round, and the outer ones hit the edge of the shoe. I'm sending these back.

Great looking shoe, but...there is zero cushion. Support or anything under the ball of the foot and toes.

I really, really wanted to keep these shoes as I'm approaching my zumba class. Sadly I'll be returning. The interior at the top of the shoe is rubbing my my toes causing irritation d/t the smaller toe box area. I do not have wide feet. In fact I have "thin" feet. Mostly bone and aging: lack of fat and shock absorbtion. The Influence had great reviews for zumba and I believe it only I can't suffer gym shoes gladly. The hunt resumes and I only hope I'm not on a buy send back trend.

Other than trying two pairs on, one in my regular athletic shoe size and the other a half size larger, I decided to return the shoes because both were pretty small with my toes at the end of the larger shoe as well as tight across ball of foot. If they had fit, I'm not sure they still would have worked as they didn't feel supportive, and it felt like close to zero padding between the sole of my foot and the floor. The latter could have been false perception as I usually wear Hokas; I have one pair of New Balance with low padding too. I need a shoe for cross training and lateral movement as my running shoes are not cutting it; however, this shoe is not for me. I believe I had a pair of Rykas many years ago; I don't recall that they were so thin. The gray shoes are very pretty though and probably would have looked great for casual wear as well, and the black and pink would were nice. Thank you, Zappos, for your return policy.

The shoes both folded uncomfortably in the middle of the toe-box, with each step. The cushioning felt unstable, not supportive. Sent these back.

The shoes are soo cute, I really wanted them to fit. I have long, narrow feet, but even these are too narrow in the toe box. Other Ryka styles fit as expected on my size 9 feet, but these were too small even at 9.5. The toe box is constricting and almost comes to a point. I was bummed to have to return them.

This was too narrow, my toes were pinched. Also it did not feel cushioned enough.

Was looking for a shoe with good support since I overpronate and I like variety when I go to the gym -- treadmill, weights, Zumba. Unfortunately, while these felt nicely cushioned, when I walked I felt the upper part of the sneaker bend and hit the tops of my feet. I know that doesn't explain it well, but it's not a comfortable feeling. I also didn't feel the stability I was looking for and these will go back.

I am looking for a shoe to wear for Body&Soul fitness classes which involves part high impact aerobics & part resistance training (though I usually remove my shoes for the resistance training - I hate hot feet & I'm formerly trained in ballet so I like to challenge my feet by going bare when not engaging in high impact activity). I have moderate pronation issues and wear custom orthotics. So I need something with cushioning and flexibility in the forefoot & rear-foot, but support in the mid-foot. (A side note: I am a PT by profession & find that if you truly need arch support you need orthotics and cannot rely on any shoe to give you the support that you need. So I would change "moderate arch support" to say "good midfoot stability"). The latter is what I liked about this shoe (Ryka's n-gage design) in addition to what seems to be good lateral support for side to side movements. But there is not enough cushioning for the high impact moves, nor is there enough room in the toe box for anything on you toes. Thus, after just 20 min of use my toes were going numb. We don't do much twirling so I cannot attest to this shoe's performance on that. I usually wear a 6.5 with average width in workout/walking/hiking shoes. These fit fine length wise. I really hoped that this shoe would work, it has a very sleek look and isn't too outrageous in color (I purchased the teal/silver). I even returned one pair & bought another in hopes that it was just a fluke that the toe box was restrictive. But as other customers have mentioned the toe box is a problem. The upper material is very stiff & compresses the top of the toe box when pushing off - which seemed ok when walking around the house but, as mentioned above, became a toe-numbing problem during full fledged workout/aerobics. I'm finding it very difficult to find a well cushioned shoe with good mid foot support (as far as I can tell this is the only "training/dance" shoe Ryka makes with the n-gage midfoot design) and that provides lateral stability. At this point I've tried 7 different models/styles of shoes and have yet to find what I need. Unfortunately the Ryka Influence did not make the cut. These shoes are going back.

I am sadly returning this shoe. It fits beautifullly but I bought it for Zumba and dancing and the bottom is so sticky that there is no "swivel". The shoe just sticks to the floor. If you feel the disk on the bottom, it is the same material as the rest of the bottom. It's supposed to be a slick harder material. I'll be trying something else.