But most CrossFit shoes fail to live up to that versatile billing. And thats why many CrossFitters train in multiple pairs of kicks, donning weightlifting shoes for Olympic workouts and switching into more classic CrossFit shoes for conditioning sessions.

Nikes new Metcon 5 , the fifth edition of Nikes CrossFit-focused shoe is as versatile as they come, and it seems they're built to end the days of CrossFitters toting multiple pairs of shoes to the gym. This is a shoe you can bring to nearly any workout, and yes, it can hang on the weightlifting floor with the best of them.

Its a well thought-out sneaker from Nike, which leaned heavily on the wisdom of CrossFit Games champ Mat Fraser in developing the Metcon 5. And it has everything youre looking for to destroy any metabolic conditioning workout, CrossFit or not.

Building on the Metcon 4s

Nikes Metcon line has long aimed to give CrossFitters everything they need, and that quest continues with the Metcon 5, which builds on the basic design of the Metcon 4. That means an ultra-breathable 3D-printed upper.

It also means a sole that wraps high around the back of the shoe, built to help you on rope climbs. The wraparound ends a few inches short of your ankle on the inside and outside, and its extra-grippy. Youll feel its effects when you grip a rope tightly: The sole material is sturdy and youll have no problem beating it up. Itll also prevent extra wear on the lighter material of the upper.

The upper, meanwhile, is more smartly constructed and versatile than its been in the past. Previous Metcon versions featured a narrow toe box, one that seemed ideal for running, but not necessarily weightlifting. Frasers impact on the Metcon is apparent in how its been subtly redesigned for weightlifting purposes; the toebox is slightly wider, letting you spread your toes more naturally for a better base on squats and deadlifts.

More Weightlifting Shoe Fun

Nike was committed to making these the best Metcons ever for weightlifting, quite possibly because Fraser is terrific at weightlifting, and you see that other ways, too. The Flywire lacing helps lock down your midfoot, much like the midfoot strap you see on many weightlifting shoes. And just like those weightlifting shoes, Nike creates a slightly wider heel area allowing you to create a more stable lifting platform with your feet overall.

Nike also includes a pair of Hyperlifts with every pair of Metcon 5s. These tiny heel wedges are meant to be placed in the shoe when you do weightlifting moves, and they add 8mm of height to the heel for men and 6mm for women. Inserting them immediately brings the Metcon 5 that much closer to a weightlifting shoe.

The Metcon 5 in Action

The brilliance of the Metcon 5 is how they thrive in so many different workouts. Both with and without the heel lifts, theyre incredibly comfortable shoes for deadlifting, squatting, and power-cleaning. I had no problem front squatting heavy weights even without the heel lifts, too, a testament to the overall weightlifting prowess of these Metcons.

Plenty of people will get great mileage out of the heel lifts, though, and theyre definitely comfortable and well-constructed. The added drop is perfect if you struggle with ankle and Achilles mobility on squats and deadlifts, and sliding the inserts in takes just a few seconds.

If theres an annoyance to the heel lifts, its that, well, you need to carry them around with you, and theyre small enough that they can disappear into your gym bag. Then again, it beats carrying around an extra pair of sneakers just for weightlifting, right?

The Metcon 5 also thrives in other situations, too. As expected, those ultra-grippy soles made my rope climbs that much more confident, and the strong traction of the soles was noticeable and comfortable on such moves as farmers carries and multidirectional lunge variations.

And while the Metcon 5 style isnt ideal runners, they do get the job done. I worried that the wider toe box would bug me on a run, leaving my toes with too much freedom to move, and that the sole would be too stiff for running (a common problem in CrossFit-focused kicks). In fact, I dreaded my first run in the Metcon 5 shoes. But my 100-meter sprint on the Trueform manual treadmill was fine, and an 800-meter run on the track was passable. Do you want to run a marathon in these? No, but for CrossFit-style workouts, they hold up just fine.

The Verdict

The Metcon 5s are a strong shoe for any CrossFit workout, especially for workouts that skew towards barbell moves like squats, deadlifts, and power cleans. Nike put a ton of focus into making these kicks weightlifting-friendly, and that definitely shows. But somehow, Nike manages to not diminish how the Metcon 5 shoes perform in more standard high-intensity interval training workouts filled with box jumps and sprints.

It all adds up to a strong training shoe thatll serve you well in almost any situation.