VS Xplosion II Weightlifting Shoe for $39?

In early October, VS Athletics released a very inexpensive weightlifting shoe known as the Xplosion II. We didn’t cover the release of this shoe because we weren’t sure what was going on with it. (It’s hard to talk about a product when you know nothing about it!). Well, we finally got the down-low on these and quite frankly, they really weren’t worth talking about to begin with.

For starters, the oversize metatarsal strap just screams flexibility issues. A high strap tends to hinder your ability the bend your ankle with your forefoot approaching your shin and this would be emphasized even greater with the size of this strap. So, split jerks are definitely OUT with this shoe. And personally, the carbon fiber looking color on the strap is very unappealing.

The Xplosion 2 shoes seem to be manufactured by the same Chinese company that makes the other VS shoes including the VS Dynamo. As we noted in our review of the Dynamo, we don’t care much for the sole of the shoes due to grip and wear issues. So there is another strike.

Finally, the reason for the $39 price is, as we’ve been informed, these shoes had a lot inconsistency and a manufacturing defect with the uppers. In the product description VS states “These shoes may have some factory blemishes. Only sizing returns allowed, no returns for defects.”

In the end, this shoe is really only suited for a single purpose – squats. So if all you need is a pair of good squat shoes, then the VS Explosion 2 are a steal. If you’re looking for an all around lifting shoe, then the price is just too good to be true.