Great squat shoes. Good value, and good quality.
First, I'd like to address the reviews that complain that these shoes aren't good for walking, CrossFit, polka dancing, and whatever else they complained about. These are weightlifting shoes, specifically made for squats, leg press, and maybe deadlifts. Your golf shoes and ice skates are pretty bad for walking and CrossFit too. Now on to these shoes.First impression out of the box was that these shoes seem to be very well made, even better made than some of my name brand athletic shoes. The materials seem to be high quality, and the stitching and construction appear careful and spot on. The fit was true to size, with one small caveat. When I first put them on they seemed to be a little short, though the width fit perfectly. On careful checking, found that I had the same amount of toe clearance as my conventional athletic shoes. The strange feeling is because the toe box is narrower than ordinary shoes, which I assume is by design, as it kept my feet perfectly in place within the shoes during heavy lifts. The heel is definitely more elevated than ordinary cross trainers and the sole is very stiff and not very flexible, again, by design. This is how squat shoes are supposed to be.Performance-wise, I am very pleased. There is a part of the brain that prevents your body from maximal exertion when it detects instability. These shoes are rock solid, and the grip of the sole is excellent. I had been wearing whatever cross trainers I had at the time for all of my lifts. I tried these shoes first on hack squats, and was able to add 20# to my final set with no problem. Could probably have added another 20#. Next moved to leg press. On the machine at my gym, my last set is usually 5 plates on each side, full range of motion. With these shoes, I was able to do 6 plates. Next was calf raises. I kept the weight the same as usual, but was able to add 2 good, deep, full reps to each set. Haven't tried them for deadlifts yet. In fact, though I've been lifting for a long time, I just started deadlifting a few weeks ago, and am only up to 315 for the final set of 5. Based on the improvement I saw in the other lifts, I'm expecting maybe another 40-50# on deadlift. Now, is all this improvement due to the extra stability and better mechanics provided by the shoe, or was it just placebo effect because I was expecting an improvement? Who knows, but in either case I'll take it! Would $200 name brand shoes be even better? Probably. But for the price, these things can't be beat. If you're a competitive powerlifter, spend the extra money. But if you're just starting to get serious about your lifting or aren't sure lifting shoes will help, definitely take a chance on these. I don't think you'll regret it.