Buy Weightlifting Shoes » Under $100

Thunder Lifting Shoes

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:13:21 +0000

Finally! A pair of weightlifting shoes for under $100 bucks that don’t suck! This “cheap weightlifting shoe” actually doesn’t look or feel cheap at all, aside from the rubber heel that most lower-end shoes are adorned with. (Apparently cutting and fitting wood heels to the shoes adds an incredible amount to the cost and shipping .) Let’s take a look at what this shoe has to offer.

As many of you can by now tell, we aren’t big fans of any of the sub one-hundred dollar shoes that are currently on the market. Most of the brands of shoes like “Wan-Hoa” are cheap Chinese made crap coming from people buying on alibaba.com. The VS athletics brand are the only thing close to a decent weightlifting shoe but we have some serious issues with their quality and design. Suffice it to say we’ve felt there was a need for a good entry-level weightlifting shoe and we have finally found one.

Although the Thunder shoe is made in China as well, it is rumored to be made at the same factory that makes Adidas footwear products. That could be the reason for the higher-than-typical quality we noted. Also these shoes are made entirely of real leather, not vinyl or cat skin. Being a budget weightlifting shoe, the heel is made of dense rubber instead of wood. Quite honestly this is a better alternative to using non-durable pressed wood for a heel, something you see a lot on cheap shoes.

The heel height is the standard 0.75″ that you will find on the typical weightlifting shoe. The shoe fits like a sneaker and feels pretty tight on the foot. It will accommodate folks with average and narrow feet well, very wide footed people may want to look at other brands.

We have it on good authority that this is a limited run so the manufacturer can “test the waters” to see if they want to make more of these, and if so, what changes they need to make. Keep that in mind if you decide to buy a pair. Providing feedback to the stores which you buy these shoes from has a great deal of importance when it comes to changing things about products, at least in small markets like ours.

Now onto our own recommendations for this shoe. The review pair we received had dark brown or “off-black” colored laces which did not match the shoe very well. We also didn’t care much for the lightning bolt on the side of the shoe. Other than that, for $89 I don’t think there is pair of shoes anywhere in that price range that can compete with these. The guys at Thunder have a really promising product in these shoes. Let’s hope they stay around!

Features:

All leather construction
Solid rubber heel
Sneaker-like fit
Very well made

Problems:

Styling needs some work (we don’t like the logo)
Review pair had off-colored shoe laces

Ratings (0-5):

Quality – 5
Comfort – 5
Style – 3
Price – 5
Functionality – 5

Otomix Extreme Trainer

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:14:24 +0000

The Otomix Extreme Trainer Pro Shoe is the latest in style and design from this popular manufacturer. The trainer is, as the name would imply, more of a training shoe then an Olympic lifting style shoe. The high top design and zero-height sole make it great for all types of lifting including those lifts that you would rather not have a heeled shoe such as deadlifts. If you are the average bodybuilder performing more routing lifts such as deadlifts, leg presses and even squats this shoe maybe a great alternative to the others available. I know a lot of guys wear a pair of flat shoes such as these for the aforementioned lifts, and then put on a pair of raised shoes such as the Adistar or Do-win for their other lifts. If you have the money for that then you can buy more than 1 pair of lifting shoes, if not, then this is a great “all-around” shoe for cross training, bodybuilding and martial arts training.

Features:

Zero height heel
Padded high top
Flexible rubber sole

Pros:

Versatile shoe
No heel makes it a perfect shoe for flat lifts such as deadlifts and leg presses

Cons:

Not the best choice for Olmypic lifting

Otomix Ultimate Trainer

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:18:51 +0000

Ultimate Trainer has been designed specifically for weight training and incorporates the new High Performance Bodybuilding system. The HPB system provides a combination of comfort and support utilizing a special wrap around strap adjusted by our innovative lacing system. This shoe is a must for the serious bodybuilder.

VS Athletic Dynamo

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:05:44 +0000

As someone who has personally owned and trained with this shoe I can say with confidence that they will get the job done, but they won’t last forever. The VS Dynamo weightlifting shoe is one of just a few lifting shoes under the $100 mark but this comes with its own price. The fit of the shoe runs true to size, unless you have wide feet, then you’ll need to get a half size larger. The suede exterior is comfortable and easy to break in, but it doesn’t seem as though it will hold up for very long if you go to the gym frequently.

Furthermore, the rubber sole initially grips well, but wears extremely fast. You’ll be left with a slick spots on the sole of the shoe which will actually be dangerous during your lifts. The heel on this shoe is 1.5″ on all sizes, that is just WAY too high for anyone under 6′3″ given that heel height should really be proportional to the height of the person wearing the shoe.

Due to the ridiculous heel height and the quick wearing sole, these are not a recommended shoe. If you are looking for something in this price range, I highly recommend the Thunder shoe.

If you do decide to go with the VS shoes, get the solid leather pair. They only come in white, and they will still suffer the same sole issues, but my guess is the exterior will last much longer. Also, solid leather lifting shoes are usually more stable.

Features:

Comfortable suede exterior
Dual straps
Great price

Problems:

If you have wide feet, get a half size larger
Rubber sole tends to wear out quickly
Suede exterior wears with heavy use

Rating (0-5):

Quality – 3
Comfort – 4
Style – 3
Price – 5
Functionality – 2

Otomix Stingray Escape

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:24:06 +0000

OTOMIX brings its heritage of mat sports experience in Martial Arts to the world of Wrestling, MMA, Grappling with the introduction of the MMA Stingray Escape shoe. These ultra light shoes provide superior support and stability with unlimited range of motion. The MMA Stingray Escape is feather light with ultimate traction for competition. Ideal for all grappling sports, JuJitsu, Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. All new colors!!