The Top 10 Best CrossFit Shoes

Are you looking for a basic shoe to wear to the CrossFit gym or something a little more technical?

A minimalist shoe or something that you can lift in also?

We all have different taste so you can probably narrow it down to at least 2 or 3 shoes to haul to the CrossFit box in your gym bag.

Check out this list of the Top 10 CrossFit Shoes.

New Balance minimus MX20v3 review These are
a minimalist shoe, so they don’t have a lot of support. It has a 4mm heel drop which puts you in a very neutral position for doing cross training, which is what you want; you can feel your feet. Makes for a more intimate workout. I wear the New Balance MX20v3 Minimus Cross-Training Shoe strictly in the gym for about half hour +, while i do tabata training or longer format interval training. I have been exercising for over 40 years, so i think i know my way around a pair of sneakers. These are great kicks- for the gym they give great lateral support for doing footwork and hold your feet in well. They remind me of my Asics Tiger wrestling shoes i had back in the 70’s, but with way better everything.

Video – Excellent all-around kicks. New Balance Minimus 20v3

Reebok CrossFit lifter 2.0 review by BV:Very nice product right out of the box. First time lifting in them I could definitely feel the difference. I thought that the bright colors would be a distraction but so far I am loving them.

The Reebok CrossFit Lifter Plus 2.0 should last for years and are more than enough for the local tournaments I compete in. Really looking to get in some solid lifts this year with these new shoes.

Merrell trail glove review by BN: The sizing on these shoes are normal. I love not having to wear socks with them. The Merrell Trail Glove 2 Running Shoe are super lightweight and fit like a glove to your foot. I would definitely recommend these to anyone wanting to switch to a minimalist running shoe. I own 4 pairs of the Merrell Barefoot, and these by far have been my favorite. They are more comfortable on the inside than the original Trail Glove, Original Road Glove, and the Sonic Glove.

Reebok nano 4.0 review by Jboo: This is my second pair.

I bought the first pair in a local store, went back for another pair because they felt so good, but they didn’t have another in my size.

I checked Amazon, found what I wanted and purchased them. All as gone well! They work well all around in the gym from running, to box jumps, olympic lifts and jumping rope.  All around great product and not too expensive.

Inov8 fastlift 335 review by Jared: Wonderful!
As others have stated, these sneakers make me feel like I am strapped to the floor. The first day I wore them I added 20 lbs to my front squat PR. But, the PR was from a one rep max and that first day in the Inov-8 Fastlift 335 Cross-Training Shoe we did a 3 second hold at the bottom followed by one more normal front squat, boom! I added 20lbs about three weeks after that PR.

Nike free review by SumRun:
I love the Nike Free 5.0+ sneakers for CF workouts.

Yes; they are not the best for oly lifts but for everything else they are a good choice.

If you have any running in your workout then the Nike Free is a much better choice than a Nano.

Just what I need summer training. Order them 1/2 size larger for best fit.

Reebok Nano speed (women’s) review by Tara: My first thought was that these were ugly and the toe box was too big. I bought these for cross fit and so far I’m very happy with them. There is an adjustment when you are used to cushy cross training sneakers. These are flatter and do not have padding for longer runs. I feel like these will help me with climbing rope. I only use the Reebok Nano Speeds at the gym. If you buy them for any other reason you may not be happy with them. I recommend these to anyone doing crossfit.

Asics gel craze (women) review by Nicki: As an Independent Team Beachbody coach, my wife and I were looking for some great cross trainers to do our programs in. While doing P90X3, we noticed that they all had Asics. After researching the ones they had, I ordered these for her. She loves the stability, the fit, and the responsiveness of the ASICS Women’s GEL-Craze trainers. She said that this is the best pair of sneakers she has ever used!

Adidas power lift trainers review by Jay: I originally wrote this review on the Adidas website, but they rejected it because it made reference to other brands. Since they don’t want legitimate reviews, I’ll write it here. The only reason I didn’t buy these on Amazon is because the size 11’s were $80 cheaper direct from Adidas. I’d rather buy from Amazon, but the price discrepancy was way too much. Overall, the Adidas Powerlift Trainer 2 Weightlifting Shoes are amazing. I feel so much better squatting in these than in Chuck’s or any normal sneakers. They are COMFORTABLE. I am size 10 1/2, with wide feet. For Chuck’s I need to go 11 1/2, but at that size they look like clown feet and STILL feel a little narrow. I got the Powerlift 2.0’s in 11, and they fit PERFECTLY. Seriously, even my perfectly fitted NB 10 1/2 EE runners don’t feel as amazing as these. The inside is soft and comfortable. I still prefer Chucks for deadlifting, but I will never squat again without these bad boys.

Inov8 f-lite 232 review by Andy: I bought these for Cross fit, which they seem ideally suited for.

Fit: somewhat large since I like to go barefoot most of the time. When I wear socks like normal people, they fit perfectly.

Looks: amazing. lots of people wearing Reebok Crossfit Nanos (2.0s and 3.0s) have remarked to me that they wish they’d bought these instead after seeing them.

Performance: very comfortable in use, totally don’t notice them. the outsole for the Inov-8 F-Lite 232 is firm and well planted, best pair of trainers I’ve ever wore for weightlifting (squats and deadlifts feel excellent wearing these). they are very lightweight and flexible, heel-toe-drop and cushioning are minimal, so be sure that that’s what you’re looking for. I’m very accustomed to 4mm and 0mm heel-toe-drops so that’s not an issue but if you come from wearing traditional running sneakers you should ease into it.

Fit and finish: everything looks great and after several WODs everything still looks great. only weak spot I see is the red coating material around the toe cap, it’s already started to rub off a little from being scuffed against concrete walls when stretching. that being said, I don’t think it actually serves any real purpose as the blue mesh material underneath seems fairly robust as far as lightweight sneaker construction goes. So far so good, I’d be happy to buy Inov-8’s again at this point.

Puma bioweb elite review by Chris: I like these kicks a lot. The length is good (14). They look nice and have very good support and cushioning. For the PUMA Bioweb Elites – it is too narrow for my feet. I have Nike, Brooks, Asics, Addidas, K-Swiss, New Balance, and others. These are the narrowest of any kicks I have ever had. If they were wider I’d really like them but I had to send them back.

Converse Chuck Taylor review by Bill: Yeah, I’m a dork. I only bought these unbleached Chucks because they are the same ones worn by Doctor Who. Love em’! Look out for the sizing if you have wider feet. I ordered a half size larger than I usually wear because Converse always smash my pinky toes on the sides. The size of Converse Chuck Taylor’s that I can wear comfortably always end up having the rubber toe cap extend beyond my toes…so basically the rubber end is empty, but they don’t feel too big, but just right and they look fine on me. Now I just need to work on that Doctor Who hairstyle. Ha!

Question: What about the new balance minimus vs Inov8? Or how about the minimus 20v4 trainer vs merrell trail glove? We suggest you try both pairs on and see how they fit your feet. Both are lightweight shoes but you want them to fit well to start.

Question: I know this is a random question that comes across and I have watch the videos on running shoe selection but what do you advise should I have shoes just for running and work out in them or should I have separate shoes and what style or brand would you recommend? Thanks brad, it’s Wednesday HUMP DAY!

Answer: For c-fit workouts I would always use the same shoe for lifting, running and rope climbing.

Where can I find out more info on CrossFit? Check out the CF website here:

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