0:00
I'm going to be trying out the Project Rock 5 shoes from Under Armour
0:03
These are of course the fifth iteration of the shoe made in collaboration with Dwayne The Rock Johnson
0:07
which is why the shoes have The Rock's emblem all over them. They're supposed to do numerous things really well, but what are they like to wear
0:14
How do they perform? And most importantly, are they worth your hard-earned money? Stay where you are
0:20
So here they are. These are the Project Rock 5s from Under Armour. The successor to the Project Rock 4 comes with additional features designed to improve comfort and support
0:28
Many people hate them mostly for two reasons. The first is because with this iteration of the
0:33
Project Rock 5, they've moved away from the shoe upper being all one piece. The Project Rock 4
0:38
was a mesh sock type upper that many people loved and so this new shoe being a more traditional
0:44
construction, many people don't like the direction that the shoe has gone in. The second thing I heard
0:48
many people unhappy about with this shoe is the sole. Many have said that the sole is a very rigid
0:54
heavy sole with no flexibility whatsoever. So before I even began my review I was unsure what
0:59
to expect. So as I do with every review I'm gonna go in with an open mind. Now I'm gonna say this to
1:04
start with, if it helps anyone in any way my shoe size is UK 13 or US 14 and these shoes do fit true
1:11
to size. So regarding fitting for me they're pretty much spot on. First things that you're gonna notice
1:15
about them, when you take these out of the box for the first time you'll probably notice that they
1:19
feel hard, chunky and quite heavy. My first thoughts was that these shoes aren't going to be a good shoe
1:24
for fast movements, maybe because the sole feels kind of bulbous and I can't imagine them being a
1:29
shoe I can wear for long periods of time. Looking inside the shoe I noticed that they have no
1:33
removable insole. The insole is built in and stitched in. You do get a soft foam lining in
1:38
there that does provide softness and padding and it kind of works like an insole but like I said nothing is removable That something you need to be aware of if you someone who wears custom inserts in your gym shoes But personally I didn have any problem with them I actually prefer less support with shoes
1:52
that I use for weight training, but for running and moves that involve a lot of slamming of my foot
1:55
I do prefer a bit more softness. Now wearing them, you will notice that the upper
1:59
doesn't look like a conventional upper. It's not a sock type upper like the previous model was
2:04
It's more of an inner upper if you wanna call it that. Some call it an inner sock
2:07
There's no way that this can be considered an inner sock. It's just way too thick for that
2:11
I'd rather consider it an inner upper. Whatever it is, it works really well
2:15
When you're wearing these, your feet feel very insulated. They feel secure. And especially if your workouts require sharp movements or sharp changes in direction
2:22
you're going to feel more assured of your fit. That could be the reason why they moved away from the sock construction in the previous model
2:28
and went with a more traditional shoe shape because sock style shoes can be a bit less secure
2:33
But that's just me guessing. Now, let's look at the toe box. Another thing I found wearing them is that the toe box actually feels quite roomy
2:39
I think these would work well as a wide fitting shoe even though they aren't advertised as such
2:43
If you have slightly wider feet you might actually be okay with these. Some have mentioned that they chose to go a size up in order to accommodate a wider foot
2:50
but even when wearing these in normal size I can feel the toe box is pretty roomy for me
2:55
I can really splay my toes out which is something I really like to do when I'm squatting or deadlifting
2:59
because it just gives me more of a feeling of balance throughout the movement. The feeling of roominess in the toe box is really helped by the fact that this material is not very thick and rigid
3:08
It feels quite soft and malleable and it's not thick or heavy or leathery feeling at all
3:12
The shock and absorbing function of the hover sole is very noticeable. Like I said, when you pick this shoe up you will probably assume that this heel is going
3:19
to be heavy and weigh you down but it's quite the opposite. Now looking at the lacing, I don't have any complaints about the lacing system at all
3:26
The only gripe some may have with the lacing area of the shoe is the tongue section The top part of the tongue is made from a thicker foam but the bottom half of the tongue is made from a slightly thinner foam which does aid in ventilation and keeping your feet cool
3:39
If you're someone who trains outside in the cold, you may feel it more, but that can easily be fixed by wearing thicker socks
3:43
Now when I get into what it was like working out in the Project Rock 5s, I tried these out for three different types of workout, running, weight training, plyometric box jumps
3:51
jumping lunges, and of course sled pushes. I wanted to really put them through their paces
3:55
to see what they perform like. Now, as mentioned, the sole on these shoes absorbs shock really well
3:59
I noticed a big difference in comparison to the Metcons in this area. When I landed off jumps, my feet felt very well protected
4:05
I think the hover sole is really effective in this respect. If you don't know what the hover sole is
4:10
it's Under Armour's cushioning technology built into their soles. So any shoe with hover written on the side
4:15
should give you this cushioning or shock absorbing effect. I think because of the hover sole
4:20
I was able to run for longer distances in these two without my feet starting to ache
4:24
in the normal ways that they do. This is surprising because other shoes that I've tried in this category of gym shoe
4:28
don't tend to perform that well when used for longer distance running. So this is probably the first gym training shoe
4:34
that I've tested that I would be happy to wear for long runs. For instance, when I tried the Nike Metcon 8s
4:38
which are an okay choice in this area, when it came to running for more than I'd say 2K
4:42
I would begin to feel some real discomfort. So I was actually impressed with their running performance
4:47
It's not a springy effect or any sort of air bubble technology, but it just works really well
4:51
Deadlifting and squatting was absolutely fine with these. The Project Rock 5s have an eight millimetre heel
4:56
to toe drop, which is the same as the previous Project Rock 4s. I felt comfortable in both moves
5:01
and no major complaints at all when it came to deads and squats. They don't feel like a springy
5:05
or a squidgy shoe to walk in. At the same time, they don't feel rock hard
5:08
They're somewhere in between. Good stability and at no point when carrying the weight did I feel out of balance or anything like that Same goes for box jumping and sled pushes The grip on the sole worked very well Some people did mention that these shoes as being stiff in the sole but I have no complaints in this area The flexibility of the sole once I was
5:25
wearing them didn't feel much different to other shoes that I've tested. So when I look at what I
5:29
could actually compare these to, I know many people will look at comparing these to the Metcon 8
5:33
shoes or even the Reebok Nanos because they have a similar price point but I think the fact that I
5:38
feel comfortable running longer distances in these would make me want to compare them to a shoe that
5:42
is a little better for running. Maybe something like the Nike 3 Metcons which have been out for
5:46
a while. The Nike 3 Metcons try to be a versatile shoe but I think the Project Rock 5 have those
5:51
Metcons beat. I actually do own the Nike 3s and don't get me wrong they are a good shoe but the
5:56
underarmors just overall feel better to wear and in my view give you more bang for your buck than
6:01
the 3 Metcons. In conclusion when I actually heard about this shoe made in collaboration with Dwayne
6:06
the Rock Johnson, I did assume that it would be more style over substance, something that was a
6:10
bit gimmicky and not very well thought out. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I think overall
6:15
I would say that these shoes do look a lot tougher and rugged than they feel to wear. Visually
6:20
the design is aggressive. You've got a hard sole, a big chunky heel, thicker and padded materials in
6:24
the upper. But when I wore them, I found them very comfortable. And like I said, I enjoyed running in
6:29
them way more than I thought I would. I feel like some real thought has gone into these shoes. And
6:33
a shoe that for me does tick a lot of boxes. Now when it comes to my score for the Project Rock 5s
6:38
I'm going to give them a four out of five. Tell me what you think, would you go for the Project
6:42
Rock 5s? Let me know in the comments below. So with that being said thank you for watching
6:46
and I'll see you in the next one