The brush matters as much as the solution. Soft brushes for upper materials, stiffer brushes for midsoles and outsoles — most complete kits include both because single-brush kits either damage delicate uppers or fail on rubber soles. If you're buying for a specific material type, match the solution chemistry to what you're cleaning.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://pickly.blog/en/articles/best-sneaker-cleaning-kit-2026/