Today we are going to be looking at the new Nike Romaleos 4s.
These new lifting shoes are a very exciting release for people in the sport of Olympic lifting, casual lifters, CrossFit athletes, and people with poor ankle mobility like me. Just kidding, lifters are for anyone wanting to be in the optimal position while performing any kind of squat. Which is especially crucial if the squatting position involves having the barbell overhead.
The reason these shoes are so exciting is it has been three years since their last release of the Romaleos 3s and 8 years since the extremely popular Romaleos 2s came out. The previous generation of the shoe had people less than thrilled, and everyone wants to know is this going to be the new best Olympic lifting shoe.
The first thing I notice about this is weight. These are not trying to be the same as the 3s. And they are basically the same weight as the Legacy’s with only about one ounce difference.
You can immediately see where they are not trying to make this a super light weight lifter.
The strap is a kinda rubber-coated instead of the light nylon strap on the 3s. Similar to the Reebok Legacy lifters and the metal buckles like the Romaleos 2s. The straps go all the way around the shoe to wrap and secure your foot completely, and there is a nice little loop on the tongue that the front strap goes through. Speaking of the tongue, it is updated with a heavier material and build that the mesh used on the 3s, and it is still gusseted. Something that the Legacy’s do not have, and that is a comfortable choice for Nike to add that. There no way for the tongue to get messed up or out of place when you’re putting them on or wearing them. I’ve never had that problem with the Legacy’s but they also are not super comfortable in general. That may just be because they’re new but anyways…
The Upper material is heavy and durable nylon with a stylish pattern and the inside of the foot is covered in a thick plastic that part of the wrap around the heel and is the point of contact for the top strap. Also, where the top strap starts the wrap around the foot on the other side, there is a heavy rubber space where the strap goes into the material, and it looks super durable. I really really like these new straps. They are something between the nylon strap on the 3s and the really plastic-coated straps on the Legacy’s. These straps have the durable coating but are a lot more flexible.
The Outsole design on these is pretty sweet. You can see the standard support from the heel has a little extra support from the plastic band that wraps around that I mentioned earlier. These are just as stiff as the Legacy’s if not more so!
We can also see there is an extra little width of the heel for added stability. This seems Following the pattern we are seeing now starting with the Metcon 5s, then the new free Metcons with a very exaggerated heel and now these.
These have the Same 20mm heel drop as the 3s and 2s. That’s 2mm less than the Reebok Legacy, but it’s still 3/4 inch category, which is standard for lifters.
I wear a size 8 in most of my training shoes, so when I got these I ordered a size 8, and as soon as I put them on, I thought “on no. they’re too small.” So I checked my 3s and turns out they are a 8.5s and I have a little bit of room in the toe of them, and with these, my toes are just touching the end. That being said, I think these run a little small compared to your everyday training shoe but they seem consistent with the sizing of the 3s.
7 сен 2024