those are cool, but they wouldn't work at all for curling; the upturned part would get in the way on the dragging foot. (it'd probably be okay on the slider, though.)
ordinary shoes, particularly with rubber soles, wouldn't slide enough on the ice during the delivery, but they'd slide enough that you wouldn't be able to keep up with the rock (without falling down) during sweeping. so on your sliding foot (the opposite foot from your dominant hand; i'm right-handed, so my left foot is my sliding foot) you have a slider, and on your other foot you have a gripper.
the gripper is just particularly nubby rubber, like the gum sole on shoes that have gum soles, if you know what i mean (if not, it doesn't matter; the point is that it helps you not slip on the ice [g]). the slider is something smooth, to reduce the friction so you slide when you push out of the hack; you drag the toe of your other foot behind you, so it's okay that you only have a slider on one foot. many sliders are made of white teflon material, but there's also ones that are a hard brick-red plastic and even ones that are stainless steel.
most people's curling shoes are made for the purpose, and they look more like walking shoes -- you know, like geeky sneakers -- than anything else. one shoe comes with a slider for the sole, and the other with a gripper, and a lot of people also get a removeable gripper to put on the sliding shoe when they want not to slide; this helps them walk on the ice and also protects the slider from getting scratched or dirty, which in turn protects the ice when they do slide on it. another option is to wear shoes with rubber soles that are grippy enough by themselves to serve as a gripper, and get a removeable slider for your sliding foot; a lot of people do that.
yet another option, though, is to get a sheet (about 6"x9") of slider material and a sheet (shoe-size) of gripper material and a pair of shoes, and cut the stuff to fit and glue it on the bottom of the shoes with rubber cement. my present curling shoes are like this, but they're falling apart (in particular, shedding things onto the ice and needing to be taped up, which is Bad), and also i want to trade up to a thicker slider, for even less friction. people will tell you that Very Serious Curlers buy professionally-made shoes and don't do the self-modified shoe thing, but don't you believe it; the skip of one of our women's teams, which damn near went to nationals this year (placed third in the region, go them!), plays in shoes she made herself.
(sorry you asked yet? [g] want to try curling? give us a shout in october, and we can hook you up ...)
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ordinary shoes, particularly with rubber soles, wouldn't slide enough on the ice during the delivery, but they'd slide enough that you wouldn't be able to keep up with the rock (without falling down) during sweeping. so on your sliding foot (the opposite foot from your dominant hand; i'm right-handed, so my left foot is my sliding foot) you have a slider, and on your other foot you have a gripper.
the gripper is just particularly nubby rubber, like the gum sole on shoes that have gum soles, if you know what i mean (if not, it doesn't matter; the point is that it helps you not slip on the ice [g]). the slider is something smooth, to reduce the friction so you slide when you push out of the hack; you drag the toe of your other foot behind you, so it's okay that you only have a slider on one foot. many sliders are made of white teflon material, but there's also ones that are a hard brick-red plastic and even ones that are stainless steel.
most people's curling shoes are made for the purpose, and they look more like walking shoes -- you know, like geeky sneakers -- than anything else. one shoe comes with a slider for the sole, and the other with a gripper, and a lot of people also get a removeable gripper to put on the sliding shoe when they want not to slide; this helps them walk on the ice and also protects the slider from getting scratched or dirty, which in turn protects the ice when they do slide on it. another option is to wear shoes with rubber soles that are grippy enough by themselves to serve as a gripper, and get a removeable slider for your sliding foot; a lot of people do that.
yet another option, though, is to get a sheet (about 6"x9") of slider material and a sheet (shoe-size) of gripper material and a pair of shoes, and cut the stuff to fit and glue it on the bottom of the shoes with rubber cement. my present curling shoes are like this, but they're falling apart (in particular, shedding things onto the ice and needing to be taped up, which is Bad), and also i want to trade up to a thicker slider, for even less friction. people will tell you that Very Serious Curlers buy professionally-made shoes and don't do the self-modified shoe thing, but don't you believe it; the skip of one of our women's teams, which damn near went to nationals this year (placed third in the region, go them!), plays in shoes she made herself.
(sorry you asked yet? [g] want to try curling? give us a shout in october, and we can hook you up ...)