DISCLAIMER: It’s critical to do your own research and take a range of diverse opinions into account before making a purchase. The following does not constitute financial advice.
What is a STEPN sneaker / shoe?
So many choices, so many variables…
Put simply, a STEPN sneaker is a digital asset which is (as of April 2022), is the only way to earn money through walking with STEPN. Sneakers can be bought in the in-app marketplace within the STEPN app (available on iOS and Android) using cryptocurrency. Stepn Sneakers can be very expensive, however the health and financial benefits are equally worthwhile. If you want to be more active and make money everyday for walking, then investing in a STEPN sneaker might be right for you.
Keep reading for the best advice for buying your first STEPN sneaker.
The 4 types of Stepn Sneakers
Within Stepn there are four types of sneakers / shoes, and it’s important to choose the correct one based on your fitness ability, since you have to be able to run within the shoe’s designated speed to earn. That’s right, if you buy a “runner” sneaker and you can’t run consistently for 10+ minutes between 8 – 20 km/hr then you won’t earn as much GST as you would have if you’d have gone with a walker and been able to maintain the optimal speed.
The four main sneaker types in STEPN are:
| Name | Optimal Speed | Base Return at Optimal Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Walker | 1 – 6 km/hr | 4 GST for Every Energy Spent |
| Jogger | 4 – 10 km/hr | 5 GST for Every Energy Spent |
| Runner | 8 – 20 km/hr | 6 GST for Every Energy Spent |
| Trainer | 1 – 20 km/hr | 4 – 6.25 GST for Every Energy Spent |
Currently, the most expensive type of shoe is a trainer, as this shoe is able to work for any type of movement (walking, jogging, running) and can earn 6.25 GST for every energy spent.
The cheapest shoe is the runner, simply because many people are unable to keep up with the speed requirement of running above 8 km/hr consistently for 10 minutes.
Walkers and Joggers are the most popular shoes and are usually priced somewhere between runners and trainers.
A good idea is to test how fast STEPN calculates your movement by using the app. You can fully use STEPN’s running interface without a sneaker once you have an access code – however you won’t be able to earn anything during this run, it is simply to test out your speed. After going on a 10 minute walk/jog/run, and by looking at the app’s interface, you’ll have a good idea for how fast you can walk/jog/run, and which shoe is going to work for you.
(If you don’t yet have an access code and want to test out the app,
check out our guide for how to get a STEPN access code )
Once you’ve decided on your shoe type, it’s time to filter the in-app marketplace by that type, and begin considering the shoe’s attributes.
Picking the best STEPN sneaker attributes (efficiency, comfort, luck, resilience)
Currently, several features of STEPN are still in development and this has a big impact on how shoes are priced by the market in STEPN. For example, the “luck” and “comfort” attributes have little to no impact on earnings right now, since they affect features of the game which are yet to be released (renting your shoes, and earning GMT). Whereas “efficiency” and “resilience” already have a big impact on a sneaker’s earnings.
The four key attributes of a STEPN sneaker are:
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Efficiency
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Improves GST Earning
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Improves leaderboard point accumulation (not yet released as of April 2022)
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Luck
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Chance of finding a Mystery Box (finding a mystery box requires having a high luck level, and having more than 2 energy)
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Comfort
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GMT earning when a sneaker reaches level 30 (not yet released as of April 2022)
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Resilience
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Slows down how fast a shoe degrades after each run/walk/jog.
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Shoes are categorised as “common”, “uncommon”, “rare”, and “legendary” based on their base attributes. Compare the following common (left) and uncommon (right) shoes for example:
