When I started this blog I was going to mainly talk about sneakers I love with a focus on design. In this post I decided to talk about a cross training shoe I like, but the main reasons why I need to talk about it is because of it's importance to the cross training industry (this is my job).
The Reebok nano range has been a dominant product in the CrossFit community for the past five years and has been the best shoes for crossfit women and men until this year. It is also used by the entire cross training community and is ideal for other sporting activities including soccer (5 a side), badminton and track. It's not the perfect shoe that pro athletes are falling over themselves to wear, but it's probably the best all rounder on the market and that's one of the reasons why it's an important shoe.
Another aspect of why this shoe is important is because it sells so well. I have a CrossFit shoe site and the nano 4 sells double the amount of units of it's nearest competitor. As you can imagine the nano 5 is a huge deal and a lot of people are anticipating it's release (especially if you are a nano fanboy).
The Nano 5.0 has a pre-sale date of the 18th of June and a release date on the 25th of June. Check out my video about the nano 5.0 and how you can buy a pair right now.
The Reebok nano range has been a dominant product in the CrossFit community for the past five years and has been the best shoes for crossfit women and men until this year. It is also used by the entire cross training community and is ideal for other sporting activities including soccer (5 a side), badminton and track. It's not the perfect shoe that pro athletes are falling over themselves to wear, but it's probably the best all rounder on the market and that's one of the reasons why it's an important shoe.
Another aspect of why this shoe is important is because it sells so well. I have a CrossFit shoe site and the nano 4 sells double the amount of units of it's nearest competitor. As you can imagine the nano 5 is a huge deal and a lot of people are anticipating it's release (especially if you are a nano fanboy).
The Nano 5.0 has a pre-sale date of the 18th of June and a release date on the 25th of June. Check out my video about the nano 5.0 and how you can buy a pair right now.
Now if you watched my video you will know how to get a pair of these shoes before the 25th of June.
Here are my own nano 5.0 I bought them this week.
Here are my own nano 5.0 I bought them this week.
My first impressions are a mixture of excitement and disappointment (sorry).
Lets start with what I do like
I really do like the design, I design graphics and images every day so all the numbers and text scattered around the upper and on the heel do look good and appeal to me. I think a lot of people will feel the same way.
The lightness of the upper is good and this material is more durable than it looks. The laces look kinda basic but do their job well. They are not as good as the flywire system by Nike but it works.
The tongue is thin and light weight with lace hoops to stop it moving (I like that). the padding is solid and provides a huge amount of support especially when lifting. The toe box is protective and you can run in them for longer periods compared to the metcon.
Things I don't like
I don't like the release color, I think it's fairly boring and this may be a huge mistake by Reebok as I have seen the purple and blue designs and they look much better.
I don't like the feel, this is a bit of and odd thing to say but I really don't like how the shoe feels from the back to the mid section.
I don't like the clunky sole but it works well so I am a little torn on looks v's ability.
I think the shoe should be more flexible however again it works well for most CrossFit activities so how can I complain.
I've been using this shoe all week and I am torn in so many ways. It has a lot of good features but most of all it's the performance that speaks the loudest. There are a number of things I don't understand why Reebok has changed compered to the nano 4.0 but again I think everything comes down to the number one focus with this shoe and that's performance.
Lets start with what I do like
I really do like the design, I design graphics and images every day so all the numbers and text scattered around the upper and on the heel do look good and appeal to me. I think a lot of people will feel the same way.
The lightness of the upper is good and this material is more durable than it looks. The laces look kinda basic but do their job well. They are not as good as the flywire system by Nike but it works.
The tongue is thin and light weight with lace hoops to stop it moving (I like that). the padding is solid and provides a huge amount of support especially when lifting. The toe box is protective and you can run in them for longer periods compared to the metcon.
Things I don't like
I don't like the release color, I think it's fairly boring and this may be a huge mistake by Reebok as I have seen the purple and blue designs and they look much better.
I don't like the feel, this is a bit of and odd thing to say but I really don't like how the shoe feels from the back to the mid section.
I don't like the clunky sole but it works well so I am a little torn on looks v's ability.
I think the shoe should be more flexible however again it works well for most CrossFit activities so how can I complain.
I've been using this shoe all week and I am torn in so many ways. It has a lot of good features but most of all it's the performance that speaks the loudest. There are a number of things I don't understand why Reebok has changed compered to the nano 4.0 but again I think everything comes down to the number one focus with this shoe and that's performance.
Update
The nano 5.0 is due to be realest on the 25th of June, however you can pre-order the shoes right now.
Check out my Reebok Nano 5.0 Review that includes a detailed video, lots of close up photos and a link to pre order the shoes today.
I was also informed by Reebok this week that you can design your own version. The custom option is $30 more expensive and you loose the ability to return the shoes if you are not happy with any aspect. The design process is fun and I have purchased a pair of custom Reebok's in the past and I wasn't disappointed.
If you want to be unique and don't mind the additional cost it's defiantly an option to consider.
I made a new video showing you how the entire process works check it out below.
The nano 5.0 is due to be realest on the 25th of June, however you can pre-order the shoes right now.
Check out my Reebok Nano 5.0 Review that includes a detailed video, lots of close up photos and a link to pre order the shoes today.
I was also informed by Reebok this week that you can design your own version. The custom option is $30 more expensive and you loose the ability to return the shoes if you are not happy with any aspect. The design process is fun and I have purchased a pair of custom Reebok's in the past and I wasn't disappointed.
If you want to be unique and don't mind the additional cost it's defiantly an option to consider.
I made a new video showing you how the entire process works check it out below.
You can also see my video review in the video below.
|