Current shoe recommendation?

[soycuadrado]

This - I recently purchased my 2nd pair of Titan Contenders - IMO a very good product

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[tfranc]

I squatted up to about 480 in these. I started noticing a bit of squishiness around 450. Not too big of a deal, but did upgrade to the Adipowers and I prefer them.

Good to know. How did it feel going from a .6 inch heel to a .75?

[coleossus]

How wide are your feet? Have heard very mixed things about the Romaleos 3 for the wider-footed among us.

I have to wear those giant 3/4E wide shoes. The Romaleos felt horrible. Had to use Do-Wins. Nothing comes close to them for really wide feet.

[Christopher Button]

They arrived today. Definitely a more snug fit in the forefoot than my circa 2005 Do-Wins. The heel height difference is huge. The Do-Wins have nearly a 1-1/4" heel by my measurement, which I think was driving my knees way too far forward. Video of my squats (3x20 while I work on my adductor) showed good depth, and deadlifts seemed easier. The soles don't slip on my unfinished plywood platform.

I had the same experience, also using a pair of Do-Wins with the same heel height. It just doesn't work, and was actually bad enough that using Chucks with their flat, albeit compressible, sole would have been preferable. The SABOs are a good choice in this regard, despite being made of synthetic rubber and not leather. You get what you pay for, but they're the best entry-level squat shoe available for accommodating the low bar position.

[tfranc]

The heel is compressible and not as stable as the Adipower or Romaleo or any of the wooden-heeled shoes. I noticed in my own training videos that my feet would shift in the Powerlift's.

How would they shift around for you? Just curious. Like front to back?

[BarryF]

I squatted up to about 480 in these. I started noticing a bit of squishiness around 450. Not too big of a deal, but did upgrade to the Adipowers and I prefer them.

Damn it, hadn't been considering upgrading shoes until this thread popped up. Maybe I'll make it a condition/reward for 5 plates.

[Gun Nerd]

This is precisely the problem - the material tore as well. Not completely, but you can see below that it might not be fixable. I have yet to take my lazy ass to a cobbler, but it feels a shame to discard the pair because of this alone.

Attachment 5517

I have eyelets stretching right out of the holes in my Sabos after less than a week. Since it's clearly an inherent flaw, it's probably not worth the hassle of dealing with a return, so I'll probably just equip myself to install bigger eyelets until someone comes up with a better 1/2 inch shoe.

[BarryF]

Gun Nerd,

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, I am a bit of a shoe snob. My lifting shoe collection from 2014 until now has looked like this:

Adidas Power Perfect 2.0's x 2 pairs
Adipower v 1.0 (the red ones)
Adipower v 2.0 x 2 (the black and red ones, and the white ones)
Adidas Leistung 2
Nike Romaleos v 1.0 (black)
Nike Romaloes v 2.0 (white)
Nike Romaleos v 3.0 (white)
Reebok Legacy
NoBull Lifter

Each shoe has it's own set of benefits and drawbacks. I think if you like the feel of the DoWin, the best shoe on this list for you is the Adidas Power Perfect 2.0's. They are becoming harder to find given their limited production, but dynamic-eleiko.com still has them and they are 119.00. If you want the most modern shoe, then you're going to need to decide what you like the best. The Reebok legacy, Adidas Leistung 2, and Nike Romaleos 3 are all great shoes. The Reebok has about a .8" effective heel height, the Leistung 2 is about 1", and the Nike Romaelos 3 is about .75", more or less. Unfortunately, the Leistung 2 was just too tall for my preferences, but the lacing system and shoe itself was the best IMO. The BOA system was confined to just the metatarsal strap, which is genius, but ultimately the heel height was too tall for me. The Reebok and the Romaleos 3 would be the top contenders IMO for anyone who is in the market for a new top of the line shoe. The Reebok feels like an updated version of the Romaleos 2, i.e. it is very stiff and it does weigh more than the Romaleos 3. The toe box isn't as overbuilt as the Romaleos 2 and the metatarsal straps are better too. The Romaleos 3, on the other hand, feels a bit more nimble with a more flexible toe box and a single metatarsal strap, which works well. It's not as stiff as the Reebok side to side, but it does the job and definitely feels lighter. I ultimately went with the Romaleos 3, but the Reebok would be my recommendation to someone who really loves a stiff shoe, even if it's a bit heavier. The Adidas would be my pick if the 1" heel height was desired for whatever reason. If they came out with the same shoe in a lower heel height I'd buy it in a second.

The NoBull Lifter shoe is a turd, which is unfortunate given the opportunity they had to make a great shoe. It's squishy, has no heel cup, the metatarsal strap is incorrectly placed, the craftmanship is suspect, and they are obscenely expensive (300 bucks). Would not recommend.

Jordan,

Since you own both, I'd like to ask a more specific question regarding the Reebok Legacy and the Romaleo 3. I'm concerned that the Romaleo 3 is fully synthetic while the Reebok's are leather. Seems like leather would be a higher quality, longer lasting material for a top of the line shoe, or do you feel this is not an issue? I lean towards the looks of the Romaleos if all else were equal.

[Christopher Button]

I have eyelets stretching right out of the holes in my Sabos after less than a week. Since it's clearly an inherent flaw, it's probably not worth the hassle of dealing with a return, so I'll probably just equip myself to install bigger eyelets until someone comes up with a better 1/2 inch shoe.

Ah, shit. I feel I owe you the refund now for recommending them. Definitely get in contact with Max Barbell if you haven't already - I sent them an email about this a few weeks ago, so it should be fresh in their memory. For the record, they have excellent customer service.

[Crom]

Checking out the Do-wins, I notice that the sole is the exact same sole as the VS Athletics, except for the small logo molded into the very rear portion of the heel of the Do-wins.