ProWolf PRx 900 Weightlifting Shoes Review
Last Updated January 3, 2024
Recently, I’ve got the brand new Prowolf PRx 900 weightlifting shoes for myself.
This is a first look and unboxing, but we’re also going to talk about fit and sizing, and compare this weightlifting shoe to the Pro Wolf PRx 700 from last year, so stick around.
What Is A Lifting Shoe?
✅ Firstly, it’s not just any shoe, 👞 you happen to use for lifting; it’s a shoe specifically designed for weightlifting.
These ProWolf shoes – PRx 900 have three key distinguishing features.
1. Velcro Straps:
Every lifting shoe will have one or two velcro straps, also known as metatarsal straps. These straps help gather the foot together, provide arch support, and act like a gym belt for your foot, offering stability.
2. Slightly Elevated Heel:
Lifting shoes typically have a slightly elevated heel, usually around half an inch to three-quarters of an inch.
This heel provides better ankle mobility and helps with squat depth, which is crucial for proper form.
3. Rigid, Non-compressible Sole:
The most important feature of a lifting shoe is its rigid sole.
When lifting heavy weights, you want efficient force transfer between you and the floor.
This non-compressible sole ensures minimal loss of force, unlike regular shoes, which can feel like standing on a soft surface.
When shopping for lifting shoes, look for these characteristics.
There are several reputable brands in India like ProWolf, RXN, ASE, and more. However, always ensure you’re buying shoes specifically designed for lifting.
➡️ Alright, let’s look at the ProWolf shoes review.
ProWolf Shoes Review – PRx 900
Key Highlights:
- 25 mm (2.5 cm) heel height
- Robust TPU Plastic Heel Structure
- Nepa Leather Use
- Dual Strap Midsole
- Completely Flat Sole
- Medium Toe Box Size
- Additional Functional Insole
⭐ Well, there are a couple of key features that every good Olympic weightlifting shoe has.
Let’s start with the…
#1 Heel Raise.
There is a mile-high heel-to-toe drop on these ProWolf weightlifting shoes, which means your heel is significantly higher than your toes.
Why is that? Well, because in the bottom position of the squat, this helps greatly reduce the ankle flexion or ankle flexibility that you need to be able to get into that position.
So, whether you’re doing the back squat, front squat, pistol squats, or really any exercise where the bar starts on the floor like the clean or the snatch, that will be a great help.
Especially as you’re doing a long workout with a lot of reps and sets.
But perhaps more importantly, this heel and the outsole in general are super stable and solid. 🎆
2. No cushioning:
The outsole is solid, the midsole is solid, and the insole is minimally cushioned.
There’s really no cushioning to speak of in these ProWolf shoes.
Why? Well, it’s all about efficient power transfer – maximising the amount of energy that you can transmit to the floor from your body through the shoe.
So, a super solid heel in a tall heel-to-toe drop so that you can get down in the bottom position with these.
3. Midfoot straps:
The other thing you’ll notice about these lifting shoes is they usually have midfoot straps, one or more. This has two in particular.
This lets you get a really locked-in fit on this shoe.
Again, you’re going to be doing explosive lifts.
You don’t want or need your foot moving around in the shoe when you do that. These need to be on tight, and the midfoot straps help with that.
You’ve got regular laces, you’ve got a very thickly padded tongue because when you strap all that down, you’re gonna be happy that it is there to keep the laces from biting into your upper foot.
Negatives About The Lifting Shoe:
But the downside to these shoes ❌ is they are very heavy, and because they have zero cushioning and they’re so heavy, you can’t really do anything but lift weights in them.
You can’t run, you can’t jump, you can’t really even walk with your normal gait when you’re wearing these lifting shoes.
They’re also usually not very breathable. 🔥
They are specifically built for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is lifting heavy weights.
👍 But I think you’ll find them indispensable if you really want to get everything out of your efforts in the gym, at least if you’re lifting weights.
ProWolf PRx 900 Vs ProWolf PRx 700
Okay, so let’s compare them, which was released last year in 2022. 🚀
So, a quick tour of this shoe.
ProWolf PRx 700 Shoes
Designed for strength and stability, the PRx700 lifting shoes features a supportive midsole and a wide, flat outsole. Adjustable straps at the midfoot secure your foot during your most intense workouts.
✔️ Basic weightlifting shoe, perforated upper, breathable, a midfoot strap, hook-and-loop, aka Velcro, regular laces.
A thickly padded tongue, 2.5 cm heel-to-toe drop, and a special very grippy high-traction rubber outsole so that your feet aren’t slipping and sliding on the lifting platform.
I also like how ProWolf used a very weight-efficient kind of heel.
You can kind of see there are ribs on this material, so they made the maximum-strength heel without adding too much weight.
So, I always liked that about this lifting shoe. 😀
What I didn’t like about it was the upper with the perforations. And really, the biggest problem with these shoes was they just ran so darn Narrow.
This is a men’s size 10. This is so narrow, that if you have wide feet you can’t wear it in any sort of comfort whatsoever.
So, it ran really, really narrow.
ProWolf PRx 900 Shoes
A game-changer with unmatched support and posture correction for your lifting endeavors. Boost your confidence with every rep. Choose from striking red or sleek total black.
Explore the incredible features below and experience the ultimate in lifting performance.
➡️ Now, comparing it to the ProWolf PRx 900, we’ve got, of course, the same style TPU heel but better.
It’s still 2.5 cm (1 inch). If you look at the outsole, you can see they’ve made it much more fancy-looking, and of course, that’s important.
You’ve got a bigger swoosh, you’ve got this interesting design in the centre where they’ve minimised weight by hollowing that out, and you’ve got some sort of high-traction rubber mounted to the really stiff material.
✔️ You have firm TPU plastic material. But overall, this looks like this will be a great outsole for the shoe.
The previous year, they had a kind of hollowed-out outsole, but it was like vents, and there’s air inside there. So, they saved some weight, but they maximised the contact area.
But this looks COOL if that matters to you, and I think it’ll probably work just as well, even though you don’t have all this contact area that’s missing.
Probably not that big of a deal.
They’ve gone with two midfoot straps instead of one single big one, so you’ve got one at the top and one towards the bottom. That’s probably better because you can dial it in a little more precisely.
Probably better because they come alternated, so one of those goes one way and the other goes the other way.🔥
➡️ Regular laces, thickly padded tongue; actually, it feels like maybe they’ve backed off the padding on the tongue. It actually feels like it’s a little thinner, and the upper is different. This is more of a NEPA leather which is more durable, but it feels nicer & premium to me.
👉 I’ll be honest; I want lifting shoes to look good.
ProWolf shoes price❓ I’m not going to drop Rs 8,500 on shoes 💰 if I don’t think they’re good-looking.
The heel is wider; it comes up higher. You don’t want heel slippage in these kinds of shoes, and so that seems like it might work for more people, a wider variety of people just because it’s wider, and it looks like it’s taller to me.
On this side of the lifting shoe, you can see some more of the styling, the hook and loop strap and width.💯
I gotta say, the shoe still runs medium in broadness. So, this is a men’s 10, and this is a comfortable size for me. This is a different style, of course, but you can maybe see some of the elements a little easier because it’s a Red base colour, a nice-looking shoe.
This one’s borderline as far as width for me. I wear size 9 in sports shoes; it would probably work, but I’ve to go with size 10. 🆗
So, I think you might need to go a full one size up from your normal size in these ProWolf shoes.
✅ The length is a little long for me, but I gotta have the width; you know you just, you can’t cram your foot into a very, very skinny, too narrow shoe; it’s just NO fun.
As far as the insole in these, they shipped with 2 different insoles. 👟
Right out of the box, you have a separate functional insole that provides minimal cushioning, with just a 5% compressibility, ensuring a firm and stable base for your lifts.
Or in the ProWolf shoe, the PRx 900, you could use one with almost 0 cushioning, and the other one was just a tiny bit more cushioning.
So apparently, ProWolf opted not to do that for this year’s shoe.🚀
Are they stylish?
➡️ Let’s talk about style for a little. I think they did a great job with this shoe. I really like the new upper like the look of it.
I like the super-sized swoosh; I really like what they’ve done with the heel.
They’ve made that so much more interesting than what it used to be. It looked, pretty plain and basic.
While this worked as far as weight savings and still being a super-solid heel, it just does not have the appeal to me that this one does. I also like what they’ve done with the outsole.
So having this carved-out area, they’ve got a bigger swoosh; it looks good, it feels good.
Very grippy, sticky rubber.
✅ I hope these will last a long time, and overall, I mean, I think it’s just one of the best-looking weightlifting shoes in India out there, this model with the contrasting orange midfoot strap. I also like this quite a bit.🔥
Conclusion
That was our first look and fit and feel of the ProWolf PRx 900.
This is ProWolf’s newest Olympic weightlifting shoe.
It’s heavy, it doesn’t have a cushion, but it has a very solid heel, a very tall heel raise, and it’s got the midfoot straps like you would expect on an Olympic weightlifting shoe.
FAQs
Q1: Are training shoes good for weightlifting?
Training shoes can be used for weightlifting, but it can engage in various types of exercises. However, weightlifting-specific shoes offer better stability, support, and a solid base for lifting heavier weights.
Q2: Are weightlifting shoes good for deadlifts?
Weightlifting shoes are not ideal because they have an elevated heel, which can hinder proper positioning and balance.
It’s recommended to use flat-soled shoes, like Converse or wrestling shoes, for deadlifting to maintain a stable, low-to-the-ground stance. But weightlifters should practise deadlifts with lifting shoes.
Q3: Do I need weightlifting shoes?
If you’re a casual gym-goer, regular athletic shoes might suffice.
However, if you’re serious about weightlifting, weightlifting shoes can significantly improve your performance by providing stability and support.
Q4: How to choose weightlifting shoes?
Check these 3 things –
- Heel height: Decide between a raised heel (typically 0.5 to 1 inch) for better squatting performance.
- Fit: Ensure a snug fit with no excessive room for foot movement.
- RigidSole: The most important feature of a lifting shoe is its rigid sole. It shouldn’t give compression.
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