Posted: 12/9/2016 1:25:10 PM EDT
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Is there a big difference between the different brand squat shoes other than the height of the heel? I’m looking at picking up the Adidas Powerlift 3’s as they are about half the price of Nike Romaleos 2’s.
Adidas heel height is .60 
Nike's heel height is .75 
Edit- I have been squatting in converse and I don't have flexible ankles so I'm hoping these shoes will help me out in the squat. |
| I can't speak to either of those particular shoes, but I have a pair of older Adidas that I use for Squats and Oly lifts. Having a firm, stable foundation underfoot helps. I find it a little easier to do a full squat with a little heel lift, but improving your ankle mobility is the real solution to the depth problem. I work on it every time I squat and almost every time I go to the gym. |
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The two you are comparing aren't really apples to apples. A more similar Adidas product would be the Adipower. Between those two, Nike is better for a wider foot, so I've heard.
I've been using the Romaleos for a couple years. Great shoe, feels like someone contoured a 2x4 to your foot. The heel is a hard plastic, the toe is more of conventional rubber sole but not squishy. Before those I used an older version of the Adidas Powerlift. It had less heel height and the entire sole was a more squishy rubber. Better than street shoes but nothing compared to the Romaleos/Adipowers. |
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The two you are comparing aren't really apples to apples. A more similar Adidas product would be the Adipower. Between those two, Nike is better for a wider foot, so I've heard. I've been using the Romaleos for a couple years. Great shoe, feels like someone contoured a 2x4 to your foot. The heel is a hard plastic, the toe is more of conventional rubber sole but not squishy. Before those I used an older version of the Adidas Powerlift. It had less heel height and the entire sole was a more squishy rubber. Better than street shoes but nothing compared to the Romaleos/Adipowers. I'm not really sure what market those Powerlifts are for. Slightly better than barefoot, but not as good as the real lifting shoes. I don't know why you'd go with a half-way shoe if you're doing something that would be better with a lifting shoe. Maybe just cost. |
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I've been using Converse all-stars. They are very firm and flat. What am I missing? Walking in oly lifting shoes is like walking in ski boots. No cushion whatsoever, and it rises from pretty much no sole in the toes to an elevated heel. I have adipowers. They are great for squats. You don't really need them unless you do oly lifting. Try doing an overhead squat with heavy weight in chucks, and then in oly shoes. Night and day. Can't deadlift in them though. |
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The two you are comparing aren't really apples to apples. A more similar Adidas product would be the Adipower. Between those two, Nike is better for a wider foot, so I've heard. I've been using the Romaleos for a couple years. Great shoe, feels like someone contoured a 2x4 to your foot. The heel is a hard plastic, the toe is more of conventional rubber sole but not squishy. Before those I used an older version of the Adidas Powerlift. It had less heel height and the entire sole was a more squishy rubber. Better than street shoes but nothing compared to the Romaleos/Adipowers. So scratch the first shoe I listed then. I'm assuming the Reebok Lifter PR's are similar to the Adipower's and the Reebok Crossfit Lifter Plus 2.0 are simlar to the Romaleos? |
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I'm not really sure what market those Powerlifts are for. Slightly better than barefoot, but not as good as the real lifting shoes. I don't know why you'd go with a half-way shoe if you're doing something that would be better with a lifting shoe. Maybe just cost. I think it's because there is hardly any information online about what constitutes a good squat shoe, and how the common offerings stack up. At least I couldn't really find a good, concise overview when I looked. When I was looking for shoes I got sick of reading useless reviews like "These are great!" on Rogue and just ordered the Powerlifts because they were on Amazon and had free returns. I tried them out and had no major complaints (and liked em more than being barefoot), so I kept them. |
| For back squats, I don't know that it matters so much so long as the sole isn't squishy. I can probably squat just as much in a minimalist shoe as with an oly shoe. Where they really shine is whenever the bar is overhead. It helps to have a completely solid base. The angle helps some in front squats and OH squats. But it can also be a crutch for poor ankle flexibility. Reguar lifting, you can just get a minimalist shoe like a nano or similar, and call it a day. Because with the oly shoe, you are not doing box jumps, running at all, jumping rope, or even jumping down from a pullup bar without potentially injuring yourself. This is one of the reasons they make in between variations, which I've tried. But I decided to just change shoes. Now my gym bag weighs 87 pounds. |
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So scratch the first shoe I listed then. I'm assuming the Reebok Lifter PR's are similar to the Adipower's and the Reebok Crossfit Lifter Plus 2.0 are simlar to the Romaleos? I'd say the Lifter PR's are closer to the Powerlifts. Both have all rubber sole. The Crossfit Lifter Plus has features more like the Adipower and Romaleo's with the plastic heel's, though the Reebok is at a much lower price point. |
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I can't speak to either of those particular shoes, but I have a pair of older Adidas that I use for Squats and Oly lifts. Having a firm, stable foundation underfoot helps. I find it a little easier to do a full squat with a little heel lift, but improving your ankle mobility is the real solution to the depth problem. I work on it every time I squat and almost every time I go to the gym. Sure, but weightlifting shoes aren't meant to solve a depth problem, though they can help with it. |
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Sure, but weightlifting shoes aren't meant to solve a depth problem, though they can help with it. Related to this tangetally, my 16yo daughter has been doing crossfit for a few months now and recently got her first pair of lifting shoes. They didn't clean up her squat overnight, she still had to work on it a bit to keep her core tight and move up and down efficiently. She posted a video to her facebook page today comparing her squats from last week to this week, night and day difference. So I'd say that good shoes help, like RoG said, but they are just one part of the overall. I used to try to squat in bare feet for a while before I put on my lifting shoes for back squats because lifting in bare feet was so helpful to getting and keeping full ROM in my ankles. |
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You're only missing something if you're into weightlifting, or perhaps high bar squat a lot. Depends on femur length and flexibility. I started using a 3/4" board under my heels when doing back squats, it made the entire movement more fluid and allowed me to go lower. I'm too much of a cheapskate to buy squatting shoes, but the board seems to work just fine for me, squatting flat footed now makes me feel unstable. |
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You're only missing something if you're into weightlifting, or perhaps high bar squat a lot. Quoted:
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I've been using Converse all-stars. They are very firm and flat. What am I missing? You're only missing something if you're into weightlifting, or perhaps high bar squat a lot. Chucks ftw! |
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Just wanna echo what was said in here.
Adipowers and Romaleos are "real" oly shoes, like...you'll see people trying to go to the olympics wearing them. The Nike is a hair wider, so buy whatever fits your feet best. There's also the Reebok Legacy Lifter, which looks like a real oly shoe, but I know nothing about it. Guessing it's a two-strap Adipower for CF athletes that have to wear Reebok but don't want to be held back by their shoes. (which is stupid considering Adidas owns Reebok but w/e) The Adidas Powerlifts and the Reebok Lifter PR are basically the same shoe. It's a crossfit shoe, as in 'I have to do cleans and then box jumps and then other bullshit so I cant wear something with a 2x4 for a sole.' |
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I switched to the Powerlift 2.0s last year because I was using running shoes and didn't care for the stability and support the running shoes offered while squatting. I find that the Adidas Powerlifts stabilized my ankles much more than the New Balance 990s that I was using before.
As for depth issues, I had all kinds of things to work through just to hit parallel: plantar fasciitis, poor ankle mobility, poor hip mobility, the fact that I work a desk job, etc. On leg night, I'll usually squat to just below parallel doing back squats with some decent weight, then go A2G with goblet squats using a 70 pound kettle bell or heavier dumbbell. People freak out because I spend close to 45 minutes just squatting, lol. |