at the gym, i just always did deads without shoes. But ill need shoes for the comp im doing… chuck taylors?
Chucks are probably your best bet. Pretty much any flat, thin, hard soled shoes will do. I used an old pair of extremely thin old school vans for awhile and I liked them a lot. I’ve moved onto chucks and I like them equally lol.
If you love the barefoot thing you can use Vibrams, although you might want to make sure they are legal in your specific fed. Wrestling shoes with a single sole work well too, or ballet slippers again for the feel of essentially wearing nothing.
I’m a wrestling shoe kind of guy, because they have a flat sole plus plenty of grip on the bottom.
Wing tips with a high-gloss shine. (tall black dress socks w/garters usually are an added special accent to impress judges and guarantee whites on those “iffy” lock-outs)
I second the Vibrams if you can afford them. I disagree with using chucks for deadlift because they add a half to three quarters of an inch to your range of motion. Deadlift slippers from liftinglarge.com are cheap and a great option as well.
I love the Merrel trail gloves I have for DLing… and pretty much everything else in life… except benching and bicycling. It’s more shoe than a vibram. But on spectrum of barefoot to heavy duty workboot, It’s very close to the vibrams in feel. More durable and acceptable more places too. And they have a vibram sole.
I like a more traditional shoe for benching because I find it easier to plant my feet when the bottom of my soles are more flat and less conformed to a foot shape. Same thing with bicycling.
I use chicks or new balance minimus .
[quote]black_angus1 wrote:
I’m a wrestling shoe kind of guy, because they have a flat sole plus plenty of grip on the bottom.[/quote]
I have them also .
I personally think Vibrams are retarded purely for aesthetics reasons . And they’re not legal in every fed .
as far as my rules go… it is a USPLA meet and states:
“3.10.2 Shoes shall be taken to include boots; sport shoes, trainer?s gymnastic slippers or any foot covering that has a patterned molding or foot type outline that provides an inner sole.”
The meet is on the 17th, so Ill need something i can buy locally. Guess chucks will be my best bet? I think most the shoes mentioned here wont be in your local mall
I think dl slippers are your best bet. I’ve ordered a few sizes from liftinglarge, as well as a few other orders, and they always arrive in less than 7 days, they ship priority 3-5 business days for a cheap $12 something. They also are 1/8 inch thick, basically they’re a sock with rubber tread on the bottom.
[quote]patrick4588 wrote:
as far as my rules go… it is a USPLA meet and states:
“3.10.2 Shoes shall be taken to include boots; sport shoes, trainer?s gymnastic slippers or any foot covering that has a patterned molding or foot type outline that provides an inner sole.”
The meet is on the 17th, so Ill need something i can buy locally. Guess chucks will be my best bet? I think most the shoes mentioned here wont be in your local mall[/quote]
Just grab some chucks. I bout new balance minimus but I was looking to spend money. I pull over 600 at 200or so and I never felt like i missed a deadlift based on footwear.
[quote]S.Fisher_47 wrote:
I think dl slippers are your best bet. I’ve ordered a few sizes from liftinglarge, as well as a few other orders, and they always arrive in less than 7 days, they ship priority 3-5 business days for a cheap $12 something. They also are 1/8 inch thick, basically they’re a sock with rubber tread on the bottom.[/quote]
This. Chucks have thick bottoms, not the ideal deadlifting shoe unless you are for some reason stronger from a small deficit (it can happen). I like to use moccasins from a brand called soft star shoes for every day/running/lifting shoes.
Crain’s Deadlift Slippers from Crain’s Muscle World. They’ll get you real close to the floor.
I like wrestling shoes. They have a thin bottom and provide support.
wrestling shoes, i have a pair from when i wrestled in high school.
I dead barefoot too. If i had to wear shoes it would be those. Or go out and buy some chuck taylors.
I’ve heard Brandon Lilly talk about Chuck’s that have soles that are only half thickness…can’t remember what they’re called or where you can find them but maybe it will come to me 
Asics tai chi
Use what you’re comfortable in and what you have available. I personally never saw a difference in a max with low cut nikes to chucks to my new balance minimus. We’re talking 1/2" here. If that’s going to prevent you lift you have bigger problems than footwear.