Starting today, every Monday I'll introduce a new product I've recently tried out. Could be nutrition, gear, clothing...whatever. It may not be new, in the sense that it just came out but, well, it's new to me.

Today, I'm trying out a new pair of Nike Romaleo 2 weightlifting shoes. Made specifically for weightlifting. Olympic lifts. Heavy shit like squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches, etc. Most people would scoff at a paid of $200 shoes (or about 2000kr in Norway..which is over $300), not to mention a pair that has primarily one purpose. You don't run or jump in these...you lift. And that's why you buy these. The stability is ridiculous! I tried everything from cleans, front squats, back squats, deadlifts and even threw in a few pistol squats and I've never felt more stable and in control with these lifts than today. Obviously, the shoes don't make the man but in this case they sure as hell help.

If you've ever felt wobbly at the bottom of a squat/clean/snatch, or unstable as you pull through a heavy deadlift, then these should be on your X-mas wishlist.

Pro's

Stable as hell. Flat, heavy bottoms with 2 (two!) straps across the last.
(Seemingly) solid construction. They're still new but I assume as long as I care for them, they'll care for me.
Strong reputation. It's Nike's only lifting option so you know they're not going to half-ass it.

Con's

$$$. Adidas, Inov-8 and Reebok all have lower price range options. As stated above, this is Nike's only lifting shoe.
Some people find them hideous. I personally think they look great but that's what happens when you're enamored.
Not terribly easy to find. Especially in Norway. I bought mine of Eastbay with an easy to find 20% off coupon and saw them on Rogue and a few other sites but coming by a coupon made them hard to pass up.

I have A LOT of shoes. Marathon shoes (though I never plan on actually running one...those things are loooooong), several pair of basketball shoes (though I haven't played ball in probably 5 years minimum), low drop running shoes, minimalist running shoes, high drop cushiony running shoes, cross-trainers...and I've always felt that the crossover between usages was fairly fluid. Regardless of what my training plans were that day, I'd pick a pair seemingly at random and they worked fine. But I can in all honesty say I will never go back to another shoe if I'm doing any sort of olympic lifting.

Plain and simple.