Curling shoes work by giving one foot the ability to slide smoothly on ice while the other foot grips tightly, so you can deliver the stone with control and then move safely around the sheet.

The basic idea

  • Each pair of curling shoes has two different soles: a slider and a gripper.
  • The slider foot lets you glide during delivery, while the gripper foot keeps you stable and lets you stop or walk normally on the ice.

Slider: the “glide” foot

  • The slider sole is flat and made of very low‑friction material, usually Teflon (PTFE) or stainless steel, so it slides easily on pebbled ice.
  • A lower coefficient of friction means smoother, longer glides with less effort, which is why curlers can push out of the hack and travel so far.
  • Sliders come in different thicknesses and “speeds”: thicker, higher‑end sliders generally give a faster, longer slide, useful for experienced players who can control balance.
  • Many modern shoes use “hinged” or split sliders so the front of the sole can flex, which helps curlers who slide more on their toe (like the Manitoba tuck style).

Gripper: the “traction” foot

  • The gripper sole is made from soft rubber, similar to a winter tire, designed to create friction and adhesion on the ice.
  • This traction lets curlers push out of the hack, sweep aggressively, and walk on the sheet without slipping.
  • When you’re not delivering a rock, many players use a removable rubber “anti‑slider” that slips over the slider shoe so both feet grip like normal shoes for maximum safety.

How they’re used in a shot

  1. In the hack, the curler puts weight mainly on the gripper foot to get set and stable.
  1. As they push out, they transfer weight onto the slider foot, which glides forward while the gripper foot trails behind.
  1. The low‑friction slider lets them control distance and line with very small pushes, while staying balanced over the sliding leg.
  1. After release, the curler stands up and returns to walking or sweeping, usually putting a gripper over the slider to regain full traction.

An easy way to picture it: curling shoes are like wearing an ice skate on one foot and a winter boot on the other—one is built to glide, the other is built to grip—but shaped as normal sneakers so you can still walk and balance naturally.

TL;DR: Curling shoes work by combining a super‑slippery slider sole under one foot and a rubber gripper sole under the other, so players can smoothly slide to deliver the stone while still having strong traction and balance on the ice.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.