So I dont have to read through 2400 posts of what everyone has bought and @Poet 's blacklisting what are the models now and differences, obviously the fast ones are Zoom X Vaporfly Next % 2 but they have a few at £160 which isnt cheap for running shoes! Are older NEXT % and 4% still available anywhere?
You can still buy the original Next% from Nike they are however £30 more then the latest iteration
Sadly it seems the 4% are no more, unless like Matt you find some from an independent shoe shop
No. And this is worst news humanity has faced in the past 12 months
what is the air zoom tempo next % like? anyone used those? I see they are a training version . This is a mine field, vaporfly next%, alphafly next%. No wonder you all have about 20 pairs of running shoes now
As I understand it;
Racing Shoes | Training Shoe |
---|---|
AplhaFly (£260) | Air Zoom Tempo (£170) |
Vaporfly Next% £240 / Next% 2 (£210) | Zoom Fly 3 (£140) |
Vapofly 4% (obsolete) | Zoom Fly 2 (obsolete) |
ZoomX Invincible (£160) | |
Pegasus 37 (£105) | |
I bought some ZF3 and Zoom Tempo to replace my worn out Fly2, with the intention of sending 1 pair back. I liked the Tempo from day1, but over time the Fly3 have become my favourite shoe. Very cushioned, and more stable than the 4%/Fly2 (and Tempo). Makes me think if/when I want to replace the 4% I will more likely go for the Next% than the Aplha.
Invincible is positioned as a cushioned training shoe, not a fast shoe. Haven’t tried so can’t comment. Peg37 getting a lot of flack on here at the moment for lack of cushioning it seems.
I have them and like them. I use them for my faster training sessions/days. Excellent spring and cushioning.
I use the zoomfly3 as my training shoe and the speed work/race in the Next%. My Alpha’s will be limited to pure running events as I tried speed laces and lace locks and not convinced and takes time to adjust properly.
My next% are ok with the elastic laces and the new padded tongue in the Next2 is really appealing.
I went through 2 pairs of the 4% as the soles were made of cheese despite during the up with shoegoo.
I managed to pick up 2 pairs of the zoom fly 3 for £75 each from the Nike site and they take the daily beating.
cheers @buzz nice comprehensive review!
I have recently got the Zoom fly 3 and Tempo Next%. Really like the Zoomfly 3 (~200km so far) as a training shoe (very similar to ZFF), not getting on with the Tempo Next% so far (~100k). I will try a few more runs in the Tempo and if I still don’t feel the love will swap for another pair of Zoom fly 3s.
I agree with Poet, no 4% is clearly a backwards step for humanity.
Chris Thompson running an incredible marathon trials yesterday appears to be an on-running sponsored athlete but obviously didn’t rate the on-cloud carbon offering as ran in some blacked-out alpha fly’s.
Not a good look is it?!
Wow!
I saw nearly everyone was running in some version of the Nike Next% or Alphas.
There really is no other shoe now, is there?
I think the others are catching up but the Nike shoes are tried and tested so for me are going to work straight out of the box.
The Saucony endorphine pro should have been a perfect super shoe upgrade to the Kinvara that I had been using but in the end triggered a niggle that laid me up for a month. I gave hem to my son and he has been fine in them.
Unless you have time and the cash to test the other shoes then the Nike will always be the default option.
Exactly, its now up to other manufacturers to demonstrate that either they are better or just as good for less. It’s useless being maybe as good for the same amount. Apparently those Artis (spelling? by North face maybe?) have sold out for months as they are like £100 or something?
I’d really like to try New balance’s offering as im a big fan of the FuelCell range but its not a cheap trial. I think Adidas have undercut Nike quite a lot and have a good record with proper running racing shoes. For me, things like on-clouds cloud tech are too ‘nailed to the mast’ with their USP and everything has to revolve around that rather than being the best tool for the job
Do any of the other brands offer a 60 day returns policy like Nike?
That is a major factor for me as I can try each of the Nike shoes out with no risk if they are not right for me.
It was noticeable to me that the vast majority were in original NEXT% and a couple in the new 2’s. Very few in Alphas…more of the pacemakers than anything. Stacks up with Seth Demoor who said he’d have run original NEXT% for his main next marathon a couple of months ago.
On the topic of the trials, amazing from Steph from our club. She looked so comfortable, and it would seem she could have gone so much faster (apparently asking for a way faster pacemaker pace the day before, but having to compromise with the other ladies). Always pretty incredible to see her (and the group) running around Battersea Park. Her coach has actually just announced he can take on some new athletes. Everyone I know currently coached by him has progressed dramatically the last couple of years. And they’re all pretty low volume
Hoka do 30 days return. I know asics have in the past too but I don’t think they have a carbon shoe (which means we have to put up with Hollie Rush endless banging on about ‘The shooooeeees’ on marathon talk every time someone does a good run). Brooks have a generous 90-day test run.
Adidas, saucony and New Balance don’t offer a test policy and can’t think of any other carbon shoes?
Was she the winner?
Only started running 3/4 years ago?
If so, what the heck did she do before?
Olympic rower?
Amazing performance