Review: Reebok ONE Trainer 1.0 – The not-so-quite-Nano.

$110 for “Crossfit” shoes?! Give me a break.

Yes, I too was there at one point of my life. I remember thinking this same exact thing when I took the plunge on my first pair of Nano 2.0’s. My Nike Free’s just weren’t cutting it though, so I said “What the hell? Might as well if I’m doing this for the long haul.”. Keep in mind, those NIKE’s only costed me $100, and usually Nike’s demand a higher premium than Reebok’s. What I’m getting at is that Crossfit ain’t cheap, and Crossfit shoes sure as hell ain’t either. So what’s a budding crossfitter to do? Stick with running shoes that aren’t quite geared for the movements of Crossfit, or drop (almost) a month’s worth of membership dues for a pair of “Crossfit” shoes? Well, there have been some other great, cheaper options on the market for a while now from Inov-8 and New Balance, but there was nothing that replicated the experience of wearing Nano’s…until now.

I’ve made it a habit to check the Reebok site every few days, in hopes that the Black/Grey Nano 3.0’s might pop up. Despite my love/hate relationship with those shoes, I really want some darker colored shoes. The problem is that I’m extremely impatient, and I can’t pass up a great deal when I see one. Recently, there was a friends & family code for Reebok that was 30% off. Like normal, it wasn’t valid on Crossfit related items, I thought I’d check out some of the Reebok ONE gear, since I figure it’s probably pretty decent too. Lo and behold, there was something that caught my eye…

Looks:

This shoe also bears the Reebok ONE/Reebok Crossfit logo, the delta, can easily be mistaken as actual Nano’s, and obviously has some of the technology trickled down to it, without the price tag of Nano’s. Honestly, just looking at these shoes, you would think they’re actual Crossfit Nano’s. Wearing around my gym got me a lot of attention from people that know about my shoe fetish, asking me which Nano’s they were. They look like the 2.0’s and 3.0’s had a drunken night together, and came up with this lovechild. Personally, I think the ONE Trainers look awesome, and the color I got is dark, just how I wanted. There isn’t much fancy looking about these shoes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Fit:

Nano 2.0. If you loved those shoes, you’ll love the fit here. It feels 95% the same. Size them accordingly. A major difference here is that the sockliner is removable on these shoes! Needless to say, I don’t have any of the sizing problems that I have with 3.0’s, here.

Performance:

This is where things get pretty decent. The test WOD included running, box jumps, deadlifts, double unders, overhead squats, push-ups, then more running. If you can’t get a feel for shoes with those movements, you must be a paraplegic. One thing that I’ve always hated about Nano’s is how clunky they feel when you run. Since the ONE Trainers seem to have a slightly softer sole, running in them is a little more comfortable. You still get the width (platform) of Nano’s though. This is what the Nano Speed should have been. Rebounding up and down for box jumps wasn’t as bad on my patellar tendonits, but I could definitely still feel the shock. All the lifting felt very similar to wearing Nano 2.0’s.

Don’t let the stock photos on the website fool though, the materials here may look the same but to the touch, they feel very different. Obviously, some corners had to have been cut to come up with this shoe. Everything feels a little softer, like they wouldn’t be able to stand up to the same kind of punishment that Nano’s can. I have high hopes for the durability of the shoe, but I don’t expect these to last as well as Nano’s. On the flip side, the ONE’s seem to feel like they’re lighter than any of the Nano’s. Probably partly due to less heavy duty material. The 3D fuse frame looks similar to the Duracage of the 3.0’s, but it’s just fabric, don’t expect it to handle the rope quite the same. One more thing, there isn’t a toe cap. Don’t miss those double unders.

I would go as far to say that these shoes are basically a cheaper, less durable, repackaged 2.0.

Value & Conclusion:

Here’s the kicker. With that code (FF30) I mentioned earlier, they came out to under $60 taxed and shipped! Half the price of a brand new pair of 3.0’s, not including tax. The regular retail is $85, which yes, is still not cheap…but for a shoe that performs this similarly to Nano’s, it’s a pretty good deal. Add in the fact that Reebok is ALWAYS having discount codes on non Crossfit branded items and you’ve got yourself a steal. If we’re talking not having a discount code, then go get some of the Nano 2.0’s that are on sale. If you’ve got a code like I did, you might want to just get the ONE Trainers. You’ll look the part at least.