Old Adistars vs. New Ironwork Shoes

[Dastardly]

Im hoping to purchase my first pair of lifting shoes and need some help choosing. It is a massive investment for me costing about 4x what I would normally spend on a pair of shoes :o

Ive decided its going to be a pair of adidas as they are recommended for narrower feet, plus other options like vs or do-win are not that much cheaper here in the UK.

What I need help choosing between is the slightly older version of the Adistar (from athens I think) or the newest version of the Ironwork shoes.

http://www.ahpequipment.com/lib/images/custom/125/adistar.jpg
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/BangoSkank1/AdidasIronworkIII.jpg

From the way they look, it seems that the older Adistars have mroe technical features. They have fancy futuristic looks, more straps and different rubber compounds on the sole.

The Ironwork looks a lot more basic and quite dull.

I do not however have any personal experience of weightlifting shoes, I have never seen any in the flesh. So I have no idea of the actual difference between them. Adistar is supposedly the 'higher' end model isnt it? So it must surely be better right?

They are both about the same price £90, the adistar may even be a little more. I will probably have these shoes for the rest of my training career so would like to make the right choice. Can anyone help?

I have also heard rumours that your supposed to wear a half size smaller weightlifting shoes, is this actually true?

Thanks.

[DOM]

I have a pair of both and I prefer the older Adistars, I feel the three straps are more supportive than the one on the newer Ironwork III.

I got mine here and the adistars are only £80

http://www.specialistsports.com/shop/products.asp?page=1&dept=WEIG&type=WEFW

With regard to the sizes, the seem to be sized the same as their(adidas) runners.

[Dastardly]

thanks for the reply,

they are out of stock though.

[Force Production]

I think you should try them on in real life if you aren't sure about what size to pick. I took a train to a nearby city just to make sure they fit perfectly. :)

I have the Iron Work III. I like them, but I haven't tried any other ones so I don't have anything to compare with.

[Tom Campitelli]

I will probably have these shoes for the rest of my training career so would like to make the right choice. Can anyone help?

Actually, you won't have these shoes for the rest of your training career unless your training career will be very short. While it is true that lifting shoes can last for years, the uppers often get soft enough through regular use that you will want to think about replacing them after a while. Given that WL shoes cost about as much as people pay for their mobile phone service in a month or two, I have a feeling that you can find the dinero to get new shoes when the need arises.

Either of those two will be fine, although a few people in my gym that have had Adidas (older models) have complained that they started to fall apart early. I have only owned Do-Wins and liked them.


I have also heard rumours that your supposed to wear a half size smaller weightlifting shoes, is this actually true?

No. Sizing is brand specific. You may want to order two pairs and return the pair that does not fit if you are between sizes.