Back in 2019, I got my first pair of Reebok Nanos, the Nano 9, and was so impressed with the shoe’s durability and versatility, it ended up cracking that year’s GP100.
While I was late to the party — the original Nano launched in 2011, hot on the heels of Reebok signing a 10-year deal with the CrossFit Games — that particular iteration was a standout, thanks in part to a two-piece outsole that boosted its run-ability.
Though that shoe could handle short bursts of speed, it definitely wasn’t equipped for longer runs, as I learned first-hand after wearing my pair for a three-miler in a pinch.
That experience pointed up a major problem with gym footwear for those of us who favor wide-ranging CrossFit and HIIT style workouts: You can wear something that flexes enough to run well or something that’s firm enough to support big lifts, but getting both features in one shoe is rare.
According to the marketing, from front to back, the X5’s midsole foam actually shifts from running shoe-responsiveness to lifting-shoe stability. That’s just catnip for people demanding more versatility from their gym shoes. Big if true, as they say.
Now, as the Nano heads toward its 15th anniversary, the CrossFit Games is far in the rearview mirror, but that quandary remains. Can the just-announced Nano X5 solve it? Based on what we know so far, that certainly seems to be one of its primary ambitions.
