In today’s head to head battle, we’re going to compare the Adidas Adipower 2 and the Reebok Legacy Lifter 2, both of which could be considered the latest iteration of each company’s flagship Weightlifting Shoe. So how do they stack up against each other?
If you would like a more in-depth review of each shoe, you can check them out at the two links below:
Looks
At first, I didn’t like the vibrant pink/orange color choice on the Adipower 2s, however, the more I’ve worn the shoe, the more I’ve come around to it, it has an interesting characteristic that depending on how the light hits it, it will show more pink or more orange.
Still, it wouldn’t be my first choice and I would much rather the shoe in the white color scheme.
Colors aside, the design is very minimalist, yet timeless and they don’t suffer from the stereotypical bowling shoe look that so many Weightlifting Shoes seem to.
Overall, this is a very attractive design that I feel most people will like.
The Legacy Lifter 2, however, doesn’t particularly grab me in any way. I don’t think they look particularly ugly, but there are just no standout design features and, to be honest, they do suffer from the bowling shoe look a bit.
I got these in the white color scheme which comes with what can only be described as a paint speckle running around the heel.
I’m not quite sure what Reebok was going for here, but I would have preferred they just didn’t bother. I do like how they’ve incorporated the Reebok logo into the rubber band that goes around the back of the shoe, but beyond that, I just can’t get excited about the design of this shoe.
It’s a pretty easy choice in the end.
1st – Adidas Adipower 2
2nd – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
Fit and Feel
Both shoes were perfectly comfortable overall with neither feeling cramped in any areas.
The toe box of the Adipower 2 did run a little narrow, but it wasn’t to the point of being off-putting. Conversely, I did notice a touch of heel slip at the back but again, this was pretty minimal. Beyond these two minor complaints though, the shoe fit very well.
The Legacy Lifter 2 had one glaring issue with fit, it was very long. In fact, I would say there was a good inch of space in front of my toes, which is pretty substantial in my opinion. I would definitely recommend going half a size down on this one.
Ignoring this issue though, the fit was spot on, there was plenty of room for toe spread and there was no sign of heel slip at all. I suspect this was in part due to the rubber band running around the back of the shoe, and if so, this is a great feature in my opinion. I do wonder how much the fit would change a size down though.
The overall feel was a big plus with the Adipower 2. The shoe is very lightweight, I am a size 10 US, and each shoe weighed in at approximately 460 grams or just over 16 ounces and honestly, I didn’t feel at all like I was wearing a Weightlifting Shoe.
I was able to walk around pretty freely and there was no noticeable clip-clop sound that you get with so many Weightlifting Shoes. In fact, these were so lightweight and comfortable, I reckon I could have gone running in them without too much of a problem.
One downside though, was that it did get noticeably hot in the shoe pretty quickly. I’m not normally one to suffer from warm feet but I could feel the sweat building the longer I had them on.
The Legacy Lifter 2, although nowhere near as comfortable as the Adipower 2, was still a very comfortable shoe.
It is one of the heaviest Weightlifting Shoes I’ve come across, weighing in at a whopping 650 grams (nearly 23 ounces). Despite its heaviness, it still didn’t feel too laborious to walk around in and there was still a reasonable amount of flex and give in the material. Speaking of material, it was very breathable overall and I had no complaints with overheating feet here.
It’s hard to argue with the Adipower 2 for fit and feel, its easily the most comfortable Weightlifting Shoe I have ever come across.
The Legacy Lifter 2, unfortunately, lost a lot of points just due to being far too long, but it does pretty much nail every other aspect. I would normally recommend going half a size down here but given all the other features are perfect, it’s hard to say if by sizing down, these would change too.
1st – Adidas Adipower 2
2nd – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
Straps & Lacing
Both shoes have a single strap system, however, the Legacy Lifter 2 has a neat double fastener built into the strap, which I particularly like. I also felt that the Adipower 2’s strap was a touch too wide for the eyelet, over time I can really see this wearing it down.
Both shoe’s lacing systems had their pros and cons. I was pretty disappointed with the laces of the Adipower 2, which felt very flimsy and cheap, however, the eyelets on the Legacy Lifter 2 had a similar problem and felt like they would tear when threading the laces through them. Given that it’s pretty easy and cheap to replace laces though I would rather opt for the Adipower 2 here.
As much as I like the double fastener on the Legacy Lifter, I don’t think it offers much in the way of extra security. This, coupled with the suspect eyelets for the laces and its an easy win for the Adipower 2.
1st – Adidas Adipower 2
2nd – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
Insole
As shown in the comparison photo, the Legacy Lifter 2 has much more prominent arch support, whether this is a pro or a con will largely depend on your foot shape of course.
For me, I have a pretty average arch and the Legacy Lifter 2 definitely offered more support in that regard. However, I would imagine someone with flat feet would much prefer the Adipower 2.
I have to score this one based on my own needs, so its a win for the Legacy Lifter 2.
1st – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
2nd – Adidas Adipower 2
Grip/Traction
Both shoes were put through their paces in the Powerlifting Perfection Grip Test. Each shoe’s grip was assessed by measuring the force required to slide the shoe along a surface and then dividing by the weight of the shoe to give a final friction score.
Basically, the higher the friction score, the more grippy the shoe. As a real-world comparison, the Converse All Star Chuck Taylor scored 0.63.
The Reebok Legacy Lifter 2 came out on top in this test, scoring 0.91 as compared to the Adidas Adipower 2’s score of 0.71.
Scores aside, this shouldn’t reflect too badly on the Adipower 2, as when it came to the actual performance testing, it had more than enough grip. What this very unscientific and just for fun test shows is that it just has less grip than the Legacy Lifter 2.
1st – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
2nd – Adidas Adipower 2
Performance
The Squat
When I test a Weightlifting Shoe, Squat performance is my single most important metric. This is largely due to being a Powerlifter, so a shoe that performs well in the Squat but not so well in, say, the Snatch will be more useful to me than a shoe that had the opposite performance.
Both shoes have more or less the same effective heel height at 0.75”, however, the Adipower 2 had a much thinner sole overall, with my heel sitting just under 1.5” from the ground, whereas the heel to floor distance on the Legacy Lifter 2 was about 1.85”.
It’s not a huge difference really, and I can’t say that I noticed any tangible knock-on effect, however technically speaking, the Adipower 2 allows for a lower center of gravity and ultimately, more balance. I’d be curious to know whether an elite level lifter could notice the difference, but for me and the measly weights I am currently lifting, they felt about the same.
Keeping on the theme of balance, and one thing I could notice was the stability in both shoes. The Legacy Lifter 2 was just so much better in this department. Remember how I previously mentioned the weight of the Legacy Lifter 2? Well, you definitely notice it here. A cue I always use in my setup is to rock back onto my heels slightly and squeeze my glutes, this causes my toes to point in a more natural direction.
Interestingly, I wasn’t able to do this all that easily in the Legacy Lifter 2s, as once I was stood up with the bar on my back, they were locked on the floor (of course, I was still able to move and reposition, it just took a bit more effort). The key point here is that, once I was in position and ready to Squat, my feet were going absolutely nowhere, I really liked that locked-in feeling they gave.
This was something that the Adipower 2s were sadly lacking. For all the positive comments I gave on their comfort and flexibility, this ultimately didn’t translate well into a great performing shoe in the Squat. I said they felt like a running shoe, and they still felt like a running shoe here, everything was just a bit too loose.
The shoe is still a great shoe for Squatting in, make no mistake, but in a direct comparison with the Legacy Lifter 2, there’s only one winner.
Overall, both the Adipower 2 and the Legacy Lifter 2 perform very well in the Squat. Both offer approximately the same mechanical position with the 0.75” heel and, being made from TPU, both have a very solid base to push from.
Where the Legacy Lifter 2 really breaks into the lead is stability, you feel completely locked into the shoe and subsequently, locked into the floor, whereas the Adipower 2, by comparison, makes you feel a touch exposed. An easy win for the Legacy Lifter 2.
1st – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
2nd – Adidas Adipower 2
The Olympic Lifts
Admittedly, I am still learning the Olympic lifts, so I might not be able to offer the most comprehensive review in this regard. That said though, I imagine the majority reading this review will be in the Novice – Intermediate camp, so perhaps someone at the same level’s opinion would count for more than someone moving weights we can only dream of.
Starting with the Clean and Jerk, both shoes performed perfectly well in the starting position, the Adipower 2 may actually just about scrape it though, due to being lower to the ground and allowing less distance for the bar to travel.
Transitioning into the front rack position and it’s half and half, the lighter, more flexible design of the Adipower 2 makes it much easier to shift my weight from my heels to my toes, however, the actual catch and drop into the Front Squat could potentially be more problematic if you get caught off balance. The Legacy Lifter 2’s much larger sole and stable design just made the ‘catch’ feel that much easier and secure.
Finally in the Jerk, its a pretty close call but I have to give it to the Legacy Lifter 2 here. I tend to land quite narrow in the split position so having a bit of extra lateral support to lean on really helps me regain my balance if my landing was a bit off.
Moving to standing tall at the end of the lift there was no real difference between either shoe, again though, I think the Legacy Lifter 2 just edges it due to that bit of lateral support it offers.
In the Snatch, the feeling is much the same. Both shoes perform well overall but the weight and support of the Legacy Lifter 2 cannot be ignored. When you’re in the hole and have all that weight above you, they just give that extra feeling of having it under control, there is less fine-tuning and repositioning required.
Overall, the Legacy Lifter 2 wins the showdown in the Olympic Lifts. The Adipower 2 did an admirable job, but when it comes down to it, the Legacy Lifter 2 is just a much better Weightlifting Shoe.
1st – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
2nd – Adidas Adipower 2
The Bench Press
My final performance test was in the Bench Press and there wasn’t much to separate the two shoes here.
I mainly wear Weightlifting Shoes in the Bench Press for their raised heel and the hard material in the sole. As both had the same effective heel height and both were made from TPU, there wasn’t much to separate them.
The Legacy Lifter 2 does have a lot more support, as I explained in the Squat and Olympic Lifts, however, I feel this is much less important in the Bench Press, where all I’m mainly looking for is a good platform to push from.
In the end, I decided to place my vote with the Legacy Lifter 2. The shoe is a little higher off the ground due to the slightly thicker sole, which ultimately puts me in a better mechanical position to press from.
1st – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
2nd – Adidas Adipower 2
Final Thoughts
The Adipower 2 started off strong in the first couple of rounds, however, when it came to performance (the area that really matters) the Legacy Lifter 2 was the clear winner.
I liked both shoes a lot but for wholly different reasons. Adidas did a great job of turning a Weightlifting Shoe into something that actually looks and feels great to wear. Unfortunately, I feel they tried a little too hard to make it comfortable rather than trying to make a good performing Weightlifting Shoe.
The Legacy Lifter 2 is a great all-rounder. It has such a great balance between performance and comfort, however, the sizing runs way too large so definitely something to keep in mind when ordering.
Overall, the winner is the Reebok Legacy Lifter 2.
1st – Reebok Legacy Lifter 2
2nd – Adidas Adipower 2
You can check out the latest Amazon prices of both shoes in the links below.
