they are those vsco type of beads. There’s also a cool little light if u want to turn it on. I never ever thought I would review a Skechers product negatively. We no longer wonder where one can be found in the house. Should handle my workouts for a long time Whatever padding was used for the inside bottom got bunched up and very uncomfortable to walk on and I could not fix it. We paired these racks with another Amazon purchase: Yes the mounting hardware is inadequate. I have to go up and down stairs a lot because my washer and dryer are in the basement so that was not safe at all. These things are a dream and they’re really well made.