I did see that on early reviews. It seemed quite a lot of effort to get them on, so that would support quite a different feel from the original 4% flyknit. The vaporweave on the NEXT% was obviously totally different.
That does seem different to the flyknit. With those, the lace loops were almost extra bits of fabric sewn onto the top of the upper, to accommodate the laces. Whereas I can see that with these, the laces themselves will be inside the shoe for a mm or two.
You had issues with the NEXT% upper as well didnât you, or am I misremembering? I never have an problems with the offset lacing of those shoes, but I recall some did.
If the atomknit is stiffer, do you even need lacing? I generally felt like I could have done without on both the 4% and ZF FK. I only retained laces largely because I needed them to attach my stryd. The ZF FKâs I use are done up very loosely, and I just pull them on without undoing the laces. They are the original laces, so pretty rigid, and certainly not tri-style elastic laces, so at that âloosenessâ, they are really not offering much.
Ran a 20:55 in a sprint triâŚnot quite sure I was at max, but considering it was partly on slippery grass and trail, i guess the shoes did wellâŚstill not easy to put in in T2 thoughâŚ
Yes, I did not get on with the upper on the Next%.
The tongue moved to the sides and rubbed.
My metatarsals are really prominent and my feet are proper fat free and just sinewy and veins everywhere, so any protrusion inside a shoe causes blisters.
I often used to check how the logos were stitched onto the shoe, as Mizuno and Asics were a problem for me, causing blisters on the instep.
Yeah, Iâd say you need to lace them.
The fit is much similar to 4% than the Next% around the foot (narrower and Taller)
However, I ordered UK11 and they feel like my 4% UK11.5, but thatâs good and goes with what I read online about not sizing up
Great time @explorerJC the shoes are not the fastest to put on, but for duathlon the extra 2 seconds would be worth it as I Should feel fresher during the second run.
Just done 8km in them at my fat untrained tempo pace of 4:22/km
They are loudAF.
They squeak and groan like old floorboards.
I didnât notice the lace rub when running.
But did feel the instep getting a little âhotâ
But man, they feel rapid.
Like super rapid.
It felt like my first time in the 4% again.
They are much more like the 4% to run in too.
But They also feel a light year away from my 4%.
They feel like youâre teetering on a knife edge all the time.
Like nothing is in touch with the ground, even though the footprint is HUGE.
Grip is good (did some loose cinder track)
Cornering doesnât feel great, neither does running on a camber (like when the footpath isnât level, angled off to the road)
Sizing is bang on.
I wear a UK11.5 in 4% and Next% and opted for the UK11 in these.
HoweverâŚI think theyâre going to blister underneath the ends of my toes.
Thereâs a HUGE gap in the toe box between where the outer Meets the last and the insole
i wore them at last yearâs Darley Moor qualifier, posted a 19:26 and a 30:00 bike feeling better than i ever have coming in to T2âŚbecause of how difficult ti put on, i wore my racing flats for a 10:26âŚ
Sounds like a step back from the NEXT% for me then.
Shame you didnât like the fit of them for your feet, as they fixed all the negatives youâre talking about in terms of stability, cornering, etc. I agree they didnât âfeelâ as fast as the 4%, but they were as fast, if not faster.
Mine are on order. Great write up @Poet, Sounds like they should suit me as I have been running for the whole year on my 4%.
I decided to go with 44, my 4% are 44 and Next % are 43. The Next % always give me blister on my right big toe and are a tiny bit on the tight side, so I decided to go with 44 instead.
On a slightly different topic, my 4% are actually holding up pretty well, even though I use them as an every day running shoe. I started to wear them every day when I was recovering from a minor injury in March / April (quadrilater Tendonitis), and they were massively more comfortable than any of my other shoes, and since then I have carried on running with them.
