Nike Romaleos II: Review

[drizzt]

Thought I'd do a review on my newest gym-specific purchase, the Nike Romaleos II. Warning - this will be a long review, with a lot of pictures. I'll do a summary in the Overall section down the bottom if you'd rather skip the detail.

First, to see an awesome comparison between the Romaleos II and the Adidas Power Perfect II's from Danomyte, check his vid here:

I've had a week in them now which I believe has been enough time to break them in and feel the difference from my Ristos (the Linea Blancas, click here for my review, and here for the update to it).

Basically all comparisons I make will be vs the Ristos, as they have been my only weightlifting shoe to date (besides chucks/general runners).

I'll judge them on Style, Comfort/Feel, Performance, Durability, and sizing - just as Riccardo did in his review of the Romaleos I model.

Style

This is a very subjective one (most obviously so given the colour I bought - Volt-Sequioa (aka bright yellow)).

The pictures deaden the colour of the yellow a little, in person, these are a lot brighter.

But if standing out in the in-your-face bright yellow isn't quite up your alley, there are a range of colours available. White with black, white with red, black with silver, and obsidian with red. Personally, I'm all for breaking the common drab white or black options that seem to be available for most versions of lifting apparel that exist, and I really, really love the Volt colour. You kind of have to see it in person to appreciate just how eye-catching they are (whether that is a good or bad thing, is down to personal preference of course).

Adidas have gone in a similar eye-catching direction with their flagship bright-red with white AdiPower model (although that is the only colour you can go for!), so it seems to be a trend. At least with the Nikes, though, you can choose to tone it down a bit with the more "normal" colours if that is your style.

Colour aside, these are an attractive shoe. Were it not so awkward to walk around in, these wouldn't look out of place as a nice casual sneaker (well, maybe the volts might scream at everybody you walk past from under some Levis...). The subtle black Nike ticks by the inner ankle, and toe of the shoe don't come off as too much branding, in fact along with the sole and the tips of the inners that are visible, are probably a welcome respite from the brightness, and compliment the design perfectly.

The metal, gold-coloured caps on the end of the velcro straps, and the metallic hook/roller that the straps pass through are a great looking touch, as well as the breathable material inserts on the tongue and in certain places on the shoe being a good offset to the smooth synthetic material used.

The one drawback to the straps that has been pointed out in other reviews, is they are probably a few mm too long. If you really crank the upper strap, it drags a bit on the floor. This is not a problem if it is done up tight - but not super tight - and I can't see this being a real issue as the tip kind of flares out, so there is very little chance of it being stood on.

Also, just like the Romaleos I that Riccardo reviewed, the little message on the inner sole part of the shoe is a nice touch (one I didn't notice until re-reading Riccardo's review last night then having a look!)

Comfort/Feel

This is where I realised that the Romaleos aren't just a "shoe" in the traditional sense, nor is it a casual sneaker with a heel glued onto the bottom. The exacting specifications required by the top weightlifters are immediately apparent as you slip into them. I noticed a little bit of room the first time I tried them on, but once those straps are done up is when it hits you that some serious work has been done in getting these right. It hugs your feet as if on the night I placed my order, the little Nike elves came around to my house and measured my foot dimensions, then raced back to their cave to handcraft them to my specifications. There are mere millimetres of space throughout the shoe, from side-to-side, back-to-front, and top-to-bottom - not in a bad way, but in a way that indicates Nike knew exactly what the target market for this shoe was. My feet are flat and wide (like pancakes), so it is not often I get a really good fit in a shoe - this is one of those rare times that I can safely say I have a pair that is suited to my feet.

The biggest difference I felt over the Ristos, is the heel cup. I imagine an accurate cup would be pretty difficult to mould into a wooden shoe, so an advantage of the TPU heel wedge is this is easier, and probably more accurate to be able to implement into the shoe. I'll go into a little more detail on the heel in the performance section, but it adds to the feeling of customisation these shoes give off.

The inner surroundings and the tongue of the shoe are nice and soft, deflecting any of the harshness you might have otherwise experienced with the straps done up tight. I don't expect my weightlifting shoes to be comfortable to wear, but these really surprised me as to how good my feet feel in them.

In saying that, and as mentioned in passing above: these are not all that comfortable to walk around in. These shoes are made to stick to the floor, and stick hard - just walking from the squat rack to the water fountain can be like walking with ankle weights strapped to your feet. But that's ok; these are designed for an exact purpose, and walking to the shops to get your groceries in them, or moonwalking on the dance floor (however cool they might look) ain't what they're made for. These shoes are quite sure of their job, and that is once you are planted, there is no deviation. This takes a little bit of getting used to when walking out a heavyish squat, but the payoff is magnificent. This would also mean I wouldn't recommend them to your general-purpose gym goer, or crossfitter. Given the limited movement available, these are designed for Olympic lifting, not box jumping - they just happen to also be excellent for the Powerlifts, which I'm thankful for :cool:

Apparently 50g (I'm guessing per shoe?) was shaved from the Romaleos I model, although I haven't tried the Romaleos I to compare this to, I'd imagine the difference wouldn't be all that noticeable between models. These are a hefty, formiddable feeling shoe. When compared to my Ristos - although the Ristos are just as awkward to walk around in - the Ristos are noticeably lighter. I've come to appreciate the extra feeling of weight on my feet, forcing my movements to be more exact when I'm lifting.

Two pairs of sole inserts are included with the shoe: one pair is a bit softer, more pliable, comfortable, and flatter for training purposes, and one that adds a little more rigidity, arch, and lift for competition purposes. I've been solely using the training ones for lifting so far, but after trying the competition ones on - although the concept initially struck me as a little gimmicky - I can definitely feel the difference it makes in further decreasing the room within the shoe, and giving you even more of a locked-in feel. Which is a good thing when maxing a squat IMHO.

Here are a couple of comparison photos of the training sole (left), and the competition sole (right):

The opposing straps make a real difference in terms of how well your foot is locked in. Some shoes have two straps, generally heading to the outer part of the shoe, but my Ristos had one. The difference is apparent when trying a shoe from each on separate feet, where the single Risto strap needs to be cranked a bit harder, and leaves a little more space in the toe of the foot, as opposed to the Risto which not only locks in the upper and toe of the foot, but done in opposite directions binds it even further, giving you a feeling of evenness across the whole foot.

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Performance

As mentioned in the previous section, the Romaleos don't merely perform as a shoe, I view them now as a tool that I can suck some extra poundage out of on my lifts, similar to a good lifting belt.

The heel is a little less aggressive when compared to my Ristos, which seems to suit me better in the Squat, eliminating a little forward tilt that creeps into my squat from time to time. The heel height on the Romaleos is .75 of an inch (you can maybe make out that the heel dips into the TPU material, which joins a little higher on the back than your heel sits). I'm unsure of the exact height of the Risto heel, but it must be closer to the 1 inch mark, and also feels a lot higher.

I actually took them (the Romaleos) for a blast on the deadlift platform, and the more subtle heel lift compared to the Ristos (which I've also tried for deadlifting) makes an immense difference. Immediately I had a payoff to my deadlift by wearing these, and can now see myself deadlifting in the heels full time.

The big thing I've noticed with the Romaleos, is you can feel exactly where your force is being directed, and whether you are getting it wrong or right. I don't need to sit back as much in these as I do in the Ristos, and I find when I force my knees out when descending into a squat, the shoes respond with feedback on the outstep and heel of the sole, right in the sweet spot. As mentioned in the Comfort/Feel part, the shoes do not deviate from their path. This is almost a hindrance in that once your feet are planted for a squat - depending slightly on the material you are standing on - you cannot wiggle your feet into position like you can with most other shoes. This can be both a blessing and a curse - you are forced to really nail your set up (which I've never worked on properly in the past), and if you don't, you are at risk of an uneven stance, which could potentially mean ruin for your lift. With a lot of weight on your back, having to really lift your foot/feet to adjust position could be troublesome. I don't believe this is a setback of the design though, this is exactly what I want in a weightlifting shoe - I don't want it going anywhere when I'm lifting, and if my set up is uneven, that is my own failing, not the shoe's.

The heel is a big difference from the Ristos, not just in the height (which is more of a personal thing, the lower Romaleos height seems to suit my leverages better) but the cup is such a welcome addition in limiting heel movement and assisting ankle flexibility, and effects the exactness required in the squat in a really positive way.

The way the shoes hug your feet and stick to the floor without even the slightest deviation assists in force dispersion greatly, the way chucks, trainers, or even the Ristos didn't. If you went a little too far one way on the Ristos, you could be expecting a little lift of the sole - not in the Romaleos. These grab you and hold you to a line. I'm already squatting bigger numbers than compared to a few weeks ago in the Ristos, and I believe 80% of it is down to better feedback from my shoe, and utilising my leverages and force in a better way.

For the bench, it is obviously important (IPF rules) that your whole foot is in contact with the ground throughout the lift. With that in mind, the Romaleos are a massive boost here - once these are dragged back under the bench, and planted, the way they stick to the ground is crucial in preventing any foot lift. The arch I get as a result is a lot better because I can bring my feet back further without lifting them off the ground, and I'm getting better leg drive (is there anything these shoes can't improve?).

Another added and unexpected bonus (that may draw some scepticism) is the colour. The brightness of my shoes coupled with the need to have an exact set up due to adjustments post set-up being difficult, means the image of where my feet are (and were) is burned into my head whenever I walk out my squat (and will be when I continue deadlifting in them, too). I didn't get this with the neutral Risto colour, but the contrast of the bright yellow against the wooden platform I squat on really shows up, and I believe is an effective visual aid in training my walk out better for the squat.

Durability

After a week of wearing, it is hard to put any sort of mark on durability given my short ownership of them. As I know all to well with my experience of the Ristos, durability problems can come out as soon as a couple of months of wear has taken place.

What I will comment on instead, is - after giving the shoes a thorough once over as soon as I unboxed them - the craftsmanship of these shoes is right up there. No stray bits of string or glue poking out, no gaps to be revealed after pushing at bits of the shoe, the heel looks like it would stand up to some sweet dance floor moves (however glued to the floor you may be) or a Wookie calf pose, the innards (including insoles) seem to be put together to a very high standard, and the straps look noticeably heavier-duty than the Ristos I'm used to.

What do I expect from them? I have used these only to squat and benchpress in (along with one deadlift session), and expect this to be the case for my lifting career (with maybe the odd set of powercleans in there). These are not made for a general-purpose crossfitter or a gym goer that might be box jumping, shuttle running or similar in them, and I wouldn't expect them to last as long as they would otherwise if you used them to do more active (I guess that is the word?) movements outside of PL/Oly lifts.

With that in mind, I expect these to last years, at least until the next olympics (and probably the next version of Romaleo) rolls around. With no wooden heel to fray/deteriorate, and a removeable insole, I can see these lasting a couple of olympic cycles - that is how they appear to me.

The thing I'll be a little wary of, is the velcro straps fraying/deteriorating. To get locked into the shoe completely (probably comp/max efforts) where you might be cranking the strap, I can maybe see the straps wearing over time - but this wouldn't be a fault specific to the Romaleos. My Ristos have lost bits of the velcro after over a year of use, and, with leather backing, is probably impossible to rectify. Given the volt colour of my shoes/straps, I'd say the difficulty in replacement would be much the same with the Romaleos. This is purely speculation based on my Ristos, but I wouldn't be surprised if the velcro did deteriorate. In the Romaleo's favour is without the leather backing on the strap, they feel more solidly constructed, a good, single piece of velcro. That, and velcro is velcro, I imagine any shoe, no matter the cost, that uses velcro would give me the same worry about deterioration. With the apparently robust velcro in use on the Romaleos, fingers crossed my fears are unfounded. I don't imagine I'll be cranking the straps that often anyway, as a firm pull locks me in tightly enough.

Sizing

The general consensus is that the Romaleos run true to normal Nike tennis/running shoe sizing. So to be sure about it before ordering, I waddled off to Rebel to try a couple of pairs on in my size range. A pair of 12 runners fit very snugly, probably a little too small to be comfortable, but the 13s were the opposite - just slightly too roomy. Unfortunately, there were no 12.5 Nikes in store to try on, so - although a 12 or a 13 would've done in a pinch - I figured I'd split it down the middle, and the 12.5s would be a safe bet.

The first time I tried them on, they slipped on very, very nicely. There is probably a couple mm extra in the toe than I would like in order to have a "perfect" fit, but after a few sessions in them - crazily, I know - they appear to have moulded to my foot a bit better. I'm thinking the 12s might have been a slightly better fit for me (which runs against what I experienced in the Rebel store), but the very slight amount of extra room in the 12.5s I got isn't enough to cause me any issues. With the straps done up, it isn't at all noticeable. MT actually recently bought a pair of 12s the day after I let him try mine for a set, so I may see if I can try his on when they arrive and see how they fit, to be sure if any difference in sizes actually exists, or if I would actually be good in a 12.25, haha.

So with that said, if you are looking at purchasing a pair, your Nike runner/tennis shoe size will more than likely suffice, but you could, potentially, go half a size down to get a more snug fit or if your size is out of stock (don't complain to me if this is wrong though, just my experience based on what I tried)

Overall

I am absolutely astounded about every aspect of this shoe. I didn't think it was possible to have more than just a solid pair of shoes for lifting in, but these have improved on that and changed my opinion that the shoe is an absolutely integral part to the bottom line of your lifts - particularly the squat. The way these lock your feet into the shoe, and invisibly bolt them to the ground makes such a difference in how your force is directed, and I've begun to think more about what the rest of my body is doing to get the force dispersed correctly. That they are comfortable also is a welcome addition.

As I said in the Performance section, my squat numbers are already up over a few weeks ago, and I believe the majority of that is down to the shoe. The way these have effected my deadlift (positively) after just one attempt has me thinking these are going to bring a big change to my lifting overall, and they feel more solid than the Ristos on bench, too.

One section I didn't cover, was cost. I landed these for about $285 NZD from Roguefitness.com - you can expect closer to $400 if they are caught by Customs. At $285, if you are serious about your lifting I reckon these are worth every, single, penny. And even a little more. If the cost was $400, that would've been a bitter pill to swallow, but that isn't a fault of the Nike/Roguefitness pricing, that is NZ govt. And I probably still would say they are worth it given the change in all 3 of my lifts in such a short period of time, and what I imagine will be a long-lasting payoff.

I also am not sure if another run on them is coming, as the stock depletes very quickly (pretty much out of stock everywhere again, stores having got them in only 2 weeks ago), and I've heard rumours the most recent stock was the last they were making until the next model of shoe comes out in time for the 2016 Olympics. If you can find them in your size, you are serious about your lifting, and you are currently ummm'ing and aaahh'ing about it, don't think, just do it.

I have no idea how these could possibly be improved upon with the next model, but I eagerly await it anyway.

Best. Shoe. Ever.

Score = 10/10.

[Phedder]

Fantastic review, it just sucks that I'm still broke

I landed these for about $285 NZD from Roguefitness.com - you can expect closer to $400 if they are caught by Customs.

What would cause these to be caught/charged by customs? I can justify $300 or less when I get it, but $400 is ridiculous.

[drizzt]

Fantastic review, it just sucks that I'm still broke

I landed these for about $285 NZD from Roguefitness.com - you can expect closer to $400 if they are caught by Customs.

What would cause these to be caught/charged by customs? I can justify $300 or less when I get it, but $400 is ridiculous.

Cheers Phed.

Basically with the high shipping cost, and 10% duty on shoes, as well as GST on the shoes + freight, these exceed the $60 chargeable cap Customs have in place pretty much regardless of where our dollar is sitting at the time. I think it comes to $70ish in taxes/duties, and then they tack I think another $35 on top for an inspection fee. Last I checked, it was $109 total.

whatsmyduty.org.nz

Oh and the cause? Luck

[Phedder]

Bastards. So if possible, it'd be cheaper to buy them from Ironedge, send them to a mate in Aus and get them to send them over :grin:

[drizzt]

Yep, that could be your best bet. Looks like Ironedge are now stocked up with most sizes, so that could be your only option for the forseeable future!

Wee bit more expensive from Ironedge due to our relative weakness against the Aussie dollar, and a fairly hefty shipping bill ($25 across Aussie I think it was :shock:). Not to mention the Volts have a 10% markup on them for an unknown reason if you were heading in that direction... no idea why. Add to that whatever it costs to forward to NZ, and you're probably looking at about the $300 NZD mark.

But still, if you can get someone to send them over cheaply, you'll probably be looking at roughly the same amount in the end. Even cheaper if you can get someone in Melbourne to go to Ironedge and pick a pair up.

Edit - Actually, lets say you get the Volts ($219 AUD), shipped to an address in Australia ($25 AUD if I recall correctly), then forwarded to NZ (let's say $25 AUD again), that'll be $269 AUD. Converted to NZD at today's exchange rate, you're looking at almost $340 which is quite steep. So to save money, maybe look at the Obsidians (which I've seen in person and are almost as sexy as the Volts), and get someone in Melbourne to pick up if possible.

Edit 2 - Rogue's website say they'll be in stock early January, so if you can hold out that long, you can get a cheaper deal and take your chances with Customs if you're a gambling man :cool:

[Phedder]

Yep, that could be your best bet. Looks like Ironedge are now stocked up with most sizes, so that could be your only option for the forseeable future!

Wee bit more expensive from Ironedge due to our relative weakness against the Aussie dollar, and a fairly hefty shipping bill ($25 across Aussie I think it was :shock:). Not to mention the Volts have a 10% markup on them for an unknown reason if you were heading in that direction... no idea why. Add to that whatever it costs to forward to NZ, and you're probably looking at about the $300 NZD mark.

But still, if you can get someone to send them over cheaply, you'll probably be looking at roughly the same amount in the end. Even cheaper if you can get someone in Melbourne to go to Ironedge and pick a pair up.

Better than risking getting slapped with duty as well though. Unfortunately they don't have the white ones in stock, but if they truly perform as well as you say I'm sure I can take the hit on colour. I didn't realise the store was in Melbourne, I've got a group of mates working there for the summer so could definitely arrange that

It's all hypothetical at the moment anyway, won't have that kinda spare coin until Jan. Taking a week off work over xmas doesn't help the funds :doh:

[OnlyHuman]

Good read

[drizzt]

Cheers OH, looking forward to your AdiPower review

[Northland Powah]

Good write up DRIZZT!

I have the original romaleos and love them. If anyone was to buy a pair, I would recommend a half size smaller.

[drizzt]

Cheers NP

On the sizing, thanks, it is good to have a bit of confirmation that others found 1/2 a size down may be best (I imagine more than a few things between the series I and II would be similar, including sizing).

On the recommended sizing in all (well, at least most) stores that stock it, they say it runs true to Nike running shoe sizes, which I think is ok, but if you prefer something more "snug" you may be best going 1/2 a size down.

Cheers

[tomsammce]

Awesome in depth review.

I enjoyed reading it.

[drizzt]

Thanks bro, hope it was helpful

[drizzt]

Update - I was so chuffed with them... I bought a training pair:

Big, big ups to the team at Ironedge. Long story, but after an initial mixup with the colours, they went out of their way to correct it. Stoked :grin:

[Danomyte]

Great review bro and cheers for the mention too

Update - I was so chuffed with them... I bought a training pair:

Big, big ups to the team at Ironedge. Long story, but after an initial mixup with the colours, they went out of their way to correct it. Stoked :grin:

Oh man! You're making me want to buy another pair now #Lucky