New Balance Men’s MX20v4 Minimus Cross-Training and Weightlifting Shoe Review

If you are seeking to improve your athletic performance, you should be out seeking for the best combination of feel and comfort. The latest New Balance’s cross-trainer might provide the right mix for you. Here are its features.

Features

1. Complete Unit

The upper portion of the New Balance Minimus version 4 is a complete unit and that makes it very durable.

2. Air in-take Holes
Like the version 3, this new version has adequate breathing holes all over the upper construction to provide ventilation to keep your feet dry and safe from bacterial buildup. The only difference from the previous model is that the shape of the air holes are slanted rectangles with roundish cuts on the top and bottom sides. This makes the overall ambience of the whole shoe design more modern.

3. Vibram Rubber Sole

This weightlifting cross trainer uses Vibram rubber soles which can give you a very good grip of the floor whether you are going to use this footwear for indoor or outdoor training. I could be said that the New Balance Minimus version 4 is the most flexible cross-training / weightlifting shoe yet. It’s as flexible as ballet shoes.

4. Wide Toe Box

The toe box is wide giving your toes a chance to wiggle and spread out for greater feel and balance. It provides great spacy comfort and decreases the stress that influences muscle cramping from prolonged physical activities.

5. Minimus Concept

The concept of the Minimus Design is to take your feet to that basic feel of working out bared footed. If ever you do use this model for weightlifting, it will provide you with the greatest chance of gripping the floor and finding your best stance for achieving maximum balance under the heavy barbell.

The only thing peculiar about the Minimus Concept is that for it to be fully appreciated, the size of the shoes should be very close to the specs of your feet. The problem will happen when you interchange training with socks and on your bare feet. If you purchase your shoes while wearing socks, training barefooted will make it half a size bigger and vice versa.

6. Heel-to-Toe inclination

This weightlifting shoes provide a 4 millimeter advantage of the heels to the toe so that you will have the proper leverage and balance while you are on a full squat position. This set up enables you to keep your back arched and slightly forward with your knees fully bent to touch your chest on a heavy barbell clean or snatch.

7. Washable

One of the best things customers are saying about this product is that it is fully washable. This feature is very important because some shoes retain the foul smell of the feet even when they are washed several times.

This cross-training footwear is completely washable and becomes odor free after one washing. This removes all the embarrassment of pulling it out from your gym back every time you go in for training.

Issues

1. Irremovable Inner Sole
The only negative feedback this athletic footwear has encountered is it irremovable inner sole. The inner sole will wear out faster than the outer sole or any other part of the shoes. When that happens, the shoes will surely become very uncomfortable.

But, it has a saving grace because New Balance is selling extra inner soles. However, if the original inner sole has not fully been flattened, the insertion of an extra inner sole will make the shoes tighter.

2. Similarity with the Previous Version
Aside from the design of the air holes everything about this new version is the same as New Balance’s previous version of their Minimus line. If the extra cost is going to be a more significant factor over the modern air hole design, people might be prompted to consider the older version of this cross trainer.

But then again, since it is going to be a very good investment in terms of durability, that price difference should not really matter as nothing beats gaining the motivation and confidence in sporting the latest trainers.

Final Verdict

If you are looking for the most flexibility to give you the most control and feel of the floor, you should have the New Balance Minimus version wrapped around your feet.