Reebok Legacy Lifter II review

We believe that the Legacy Lifter II is a must to consider if you are an athlete who:

• regularly trains with heavy weights up to 400 pounds and more
• prefers the highest heel elevation for squats
• takes part in weightlifting competitions

Because of its genuine leather upper, the Legacy Lifter II can get pretty toasty. The newer Legacy Lifter III has a little better breathability.

This is also not the best option for those who are just starting out with weightlifting. For your very first lifting shoe, we recommend getting a less elevated heel. The Nike Savaleos or the Adidas Powerlift 5 are more beginner-friendly and versatile with their 15-mm drop.

Meant for advanced athletes, the Legacy Lifters are some of the tallest lifting shoes.

Using a calliper, we measured the shoe's stack height at 34.6 mm in the heel. This is 3 mm taller than average!

Higher heels are so important for heavy lifting because they put your body in a more ergonomic position for squats. They help to keep your torso upright while minimising stress on the knees and ankles. Those with poor ankle mobility benefit a lot from having their heels elevated.

The forefoot stack is expected to be much lower than the heel in this type of athletic shoe.

Our calliper shows 13.7 mm of stack under the toes, which is about the same as the average.

The difference in stack heights gives us a drop of 20.9 mm. This is a little lower than the officially stated 22 mm. We don't think it's a critical difference but it's still important to point out.

This is the highest heel elevation among lifting shoes and is most suitable for seasoned athletes. Beginners may find it too tall for their needs and we recommend that they start with a lower drop of 15 mm instead. The Adidas Powerlift 5 and the Nike Savaleos are both a better starting point.

A squishy sole is the last thing you want to experience when lifting a heavy barbell above your head.

But you don't even have to worry about it with the rock-hard platform of the Reebok Legacy Lifter II. Pressing a durometer against the shoe's wedge, we got a reading of 95.6 HA which is among the firmest we've ever seen in our lab.

Just like most lifting shoes, the Legacy Lifter II has a pretty snug, one-to-one fit. Measuring the widest part of the upper with a calliper, we found that it is 97 mm wide, which is about the same as the average.

But do keep in mind that the leather upper has zero give to it.

The shoe also narrows down towards the front.

We measured the toebox width at the big-toe point to see how tapered it is. The calliper shows 73.7 mm which is the same as the other lifting shoes we've measured.

No matter how wobbly your ankles may get when lifting, the Legacy Lifter II has got your back.

This shoe is the epitome of stability.

Attempting to twist the Legacy Lifter II sideways gave zero results. It is stiff as concrete! Not only is the platform itself very stiff but it's also reinforced with TPU sidewalls for added support.

Needless to say that the shoe got the highest score for torsional rigidity. Phenomenal stability!

The heel counter follows suit by being extraordinarily stiff too. We felt a very secure heel clutch while wearing the shoe, with zero change of rolling our ankles.

Pushing and squeezing it reveals how much structure there is to this part of the shoe. Another 5 out of 5 goes to the Legacy Lifter II's stability.

What's curious is that the platform of the Legacy Lifter II is actually not the widest.

We measured 102.7 mm in the widest part of the forefoot which is about 4 mm narrower than the average. However, we must add that it never felt that way training in the Lifter II.

In the widest part of the heel, we got a measurement of 86.6 mm. This is about the same as the average of lifting shoes.

The Legacy Lifter II is not very easy to bend in the forefoot either. This makes the already stable platform feel even more planted.

It took 25.3N of force to bend the shoe to a 90-degree angle, based on our gauge tool. This is the same as it took other lifting shoes on average.

Of course, walking in this Reebok lifter is not the comfiest experience but that's the price to pay for its incredible stability.

Based on our lab measurements, the Legacy Lifters are among the heaviest lifting shoes.

While the Lifter II is not as heavy as the III, it is still about 3 ounces heavier than the average. The shoe tips the scale at a whopping 21.6 oz (612g)!

However, some athletes actually benefit from feeling more weight on their feet as it creates a more grounded experience.

Prepare to get a little sweaty in the Legacy Lifter II. It is one of the least breathable lifting shoes in our lab.

We test each shoe's breathability by pumping smoke through its upper. The amount of smoke that passes through it allows us to rate the ventilation from 1 to 5.

It's easy to see why the Legacy Lifter II got the lowest score.

You might ask "but what about those perforations on the leather?" Well, let's have a look at them through our microscope.

And now let's compare them to the perforations on the Legacy Lifter III. Obviously, the latter got a higher breathability score from us.

This upper may not be airy, but boy it is sturdy!

Beating up the shoe's toebox with a Dremel for 12 seconds, we were blown away by its abrasion resistance! The damage is so small that it looks more like an accidental scuff.

It's hard to find another shoe that could compete with that! Even the acclaimed Nike Romaleos 4 was left with a glaring see-through hole.

The heel padding also proved to be incredibly wear-resistant in our Dremel test.

After 4 seconds of drilling, the fabric was practically unscathed. We rated its durability with a maximum score of 5/5. 

To assess the durability of the outsole, we measured its hardness and thickness. In our experience, these two parameters are correlated with how abrasion resistant the component is.

With a durometer reading of 80.4 HC, the shoe's rubber is a little softer than average. However, it's not enough to compromise durability.

Meanwhile, the calliper shows 3.2 mm of rubber thickness which is a little thinner than average.

We don't find this to be alarming given that this type of shoe is only used indoors.

The shoe comes with a padded insole which is 6.7 mm thick, based on our calliper measurement. This is a typical insole thickness of a lifting shoe.

In case you need to use custom orthotics, the Legacy Lifter II comes with a removable insole.

The tongue is amply padded too. Our calliper shows that it is 4.7 mm thick, which is about the same as the average.

The shoe features a layered bootie-like upper to create a very secure foot containment. As a result, we experienced zero foot shifting inside the shoe.

If you are someone with narrow or low-volume feet, you may prefer the Legacy Lifter III. It comes with a nostalgic fit-regulation technology called Pump. Pressing it inflates the tongue to fill up all the access space you may have left inside the shoe.

The shoe doesn't have a pull tab so you will have to unlace it more or use a shoehorn for a quick on-and-off.