K-Swiss Ultrashot 4 Clay Mens Padel Shoes

The Ultrashot 4 is the fourth edition of K-Swiss's clay and all-court tennis shoe. Tennis Warehouse Europe says it adds stability, plusher cushioning and better ventilation over earlier versions, with a new 360-degree plantar support chassis for a stable feel. Racket Central lists its sports as tennis and pickleball, and it does not mention padel.

Padel Life and a Decathlon listing, on the other hand, sell it as a shoe for clay and padel courts. The logic is sound: a full herringbone is the tread padel players look for on sand, and the high-wear Dragguard rubber covers the toe and medial areas where a padel shoe wears quickest. A Merchant of Tennis note warns that a clay-optimised tread can wear faster on hard courts, which matters if your local courts are indoors with little sand.

Tennis Warehouse Europe lists 459 g at US 10.5, and describes a true-to-size length, a generous medium width, a medium arch and a slight break-in. Padel Life gives 417 g with no size. K-Swiss's own padel shoe, the men's K-Frame, is listed at 408 g in the same US 10.5, so the Ultrashot 4 is the heavier shoe by around 50 g on the best comparison we have.

Sellers also differ on parts. Racket Central lists a CMEVA midsole and a textile upper, and Tennis Warehouse Europe lists Surge 7.0 cushioning and DuraMesh with DuraPrint. They may be describing different colourways or years, and we cannot tell which one our listing is.

If you play on sandy outdoor courts, the herringbone and the stability make the Ultrashot 4 Clay a reasonable fit. If you want a lighter, padel-labelled shoe, the Express Light 3 is the one (Rublev's Speed Rublo Clay is another tennis clay shoe in the range), and the K-Frame is K-Swiss's performance padel shoe. The Court Express 2 Clay is the cheaper clay-series option, and the Ultrashot Light is a lighter Ultrashot.

Our padel shoes for men page lists the other brands.

Players who want the lightest shoe, or who play mostly indoors on fast courts where a clay tread is wasted. It is made for tennis, not padel, and a padel-specific shoe will usually be lighter at the same level.

A stable shoe pairs with a racket to match. Our advanced padel rackets page lists them, and the full padel racket range is on one page. Balls are on the padel balls page and overgrips on the padel grips page.

A bag with a shoe pocket keeps sand off your kit, such as the Babolat RH Pro, and the padel bag page lists others. Our guide to choosing a padel racket is the place to start if the racket is still to buy.