Tag: Nike Zoom Fly

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Performance Review: Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% VS Nike Zoom Fly

On the plan of breaking 2, Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% and Nike Zoom Fly must be the most important 2 pairs of running sneakers of Nike in 2017. Today we want to compare the performance of Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% and Nike Zoom Fly.

Due to the carbon plate and ZoomX, Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% became an amazing and unique sneaker. Whether the performance or comfort level, it’s hard to find another running sneaker that can compare with 4%. But ZOOM FLY, the cheaper one, hasn’t given us too much surprise. It just can be a pair of training shoes that has good buffer performance with carbon fiber nylon plate.
Test:
Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%: running 200KM，Nike Zoom Fly: running 150KM
Appearance: 9.0 scores -Zoom Vaporfly 4% vs 9.0 scores -Zoom Fly
The appearance of Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% is similar to Zoom Fly. The best distinguishing way is to see if the inner hook position has flywire or not.


Most of people may be curious about the sharp prominent design on heelpiece. The designer want to make the shoes look more “sense of speed”. It also design the spade line on both side of insole. The position of carbon plate and nylon plate is almost the same as the outsole rubber, near to the shoe sole.

Actual wearing feeling: 8.6 scores -Zoom Vaporfly 4% vs 7.9 scores -Zoom Fly
I’m confused for the size of these two pairs of running sneakers. The size of Vaporfly 4% is a little bigger, Zoom Fly is half size smaller.





The running feeling is totally different, as these two sneakers use different insole material. The insole of Vaporfly 4% is soft and elastic. But Zoom Fly is stiff.
The longest running distance on Vaporfly 4% is 30KM. The speed is between 405 and 420. The tester feel ache on the shank at last 5km and the feet has some bubbles. The heelpiece part of Vaporfly 4% is a little loosing. And the shoelaces were dispersed a few times. But the heelpiece part of Zoom Fly is tight.
Support: 7.5 scores -Zoom Vaporfly 4% vs 7.6 scores -Zoom Fly
If you run slowly, you can only feel zero support from the vamp of Vaporfly 4%. And there is no support on the inner side of arch.

When you wear Vaporfly 4% for 400KM or 20KM for training, you will find that the carbon plate of Vaporfly 4% has great function. The elasticity is great. When your power can’t keep the fast speed, the carbon plate will push you for a few steps.


The support of Zoom Fly is a little better than Vaporfly 4%, the main reason is the insole Lunarlon material is more stiff. One of our tester said the sole of this running shoes is thick and stiff. But you can feel the elasticity if jumping to the grand heavily.
The performance of carbon fabric nylon plate in Zoom Fly is as good as carbon plate.


Buffering: 9.0 scores -Zoom Vaporfly 4% vs 7.8 scores -Zoom Fly
The buffering performance of ZoomX is excellent. The weight is light, and it’s soft. That is the buffering performance of ZoomX. The runner who wears Zoom Vaporfly 4% can get faster recovery time than wearing normal running shoes.


The heelpiece position of Vaporfly 4% is easy to deform


few deformation on the heelpice position of Zoom Fly

It’s hard to describe the buffering performance of Zoom Fly. The stiff Lunarlon can offer more buffering performance to heavier runners.



Endurance: 7.5 scores -Zoom Vaporfly 4% vs 8.5 scores -Zoom Fly
After running 18KM, the outside of Zoom Vaporfly 4% heelpiece is abrased. The lateral of insole is covered with a tier of plastic. ZOOM X is covered inside. I’m unsatisfied at the the abrasive resistance of the weak single layer vamp of Vaporfly 4%.


The performance of Vaporfly 4% is still great after running 200KM. The performance of black wear-resisting rubber is great. But it seems that it’s more suitable to run in smooth bituminous concrete. But the outsole of ZOOM FLY doesn’t have big abrasion.

General Performance: 8.2 scores-Zoom Vaporfly 4% vs 7.9 scores -Zoom Fly
After testing Vaporfly 4%, we still can’t define it’s a good or bad shoes. We just feel that it’s a pair of magic shoes. As it use ZoomX, that makes it to be the best buffering running shoes. But meanwhile Vaporfly 4% is also a pair of racing running shoes. The mixing effect of carbon plate and ZoomX make it to be a pair of racing running shoes.

If your training speed can’t reach 4 minutes and 30 seconds per kilometre, it doesn’t need to wear Vaporfly 4%. On the contrary, you can wear Zoom Fly or other light training shoes.

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Trigger Extreme —Nike Zoom Fly

On May 6, 2017, Nike officially started running at the Nike Breaking2 in Monza, Italy. After a 42-kilometer journey,  in what was an impressive feat of athleticism, Eluid Kipchoge ran a marathon distance in a record 2.00.25, 2.32 seconds faster than the current world record. This recent piece in the Wired magazine covers the finer details with a comprehensive backstory. it was still faster than the world’s full marathon record with 2.32 seconds , also recored his best score by 2.32 seconds.

 

Nike launched four running shoes with this Breaking 2 plan, of which Zoom Fly is the first to be sold. In early June, Nike held an event in Shanghai and found 42 elite players and 420 mass players to complete an event with the Zoom Fly.

The color of the shoes is inspired by the Italian Monza circuit, a touch of blue, and the large Swoosh is particularly noticeable on the upper, and the red in the midsole has an exaggerated design that makes the running shoes dynamic.

For the box , it is simply .

Nike describes being “designed to meet the demands of your toughest tempo runs, long runs and race day with a responsive construction that turns the pressure of each stride into energy return for the next”. is it ?

For the material , it is used the Flymesh material with the Flywire, which provide the great grip and durability.At the same time with the traditional mesh lightweight material and breathable features. The upper support function is provided by Flywire’s . A total of 20 Flywires in the left and right pairs can provide the necessary support for the arch and the instep when tightening the laces.

 

Lacing is a flat type shoelace with a hard material that is easy to adjust  and not easy to loose.

There are some details as below :

The insole used  the high-density foam  that Nike is currently focusing on. It is very thin and allows the foot to feel better in midsole technology.

For the material ,Engineered mesh  used and Flywire strap-based lacing. that is nice setting up.

It is  usage of the word ‘Zoom’ in the Zoom Fly’s name is a bit odd. It neither has the namesake technology in the form of an Air bag, nor the newly introduced foam used in the Vaporfly Elite and the 4%.

We can look the decomposition diagram as below :

 

 

 

The term Zoom is used here as a figure of speech, with Nike marketing the Zoom Fly as a ‘fast’ shoe. Zoom is an onomatopoeic word, descriptive as in ‘Zoom past,’ and has nothing with do with an actual Zoom Air bag.

The Zoom Fly’s midfoot sole height is astonishing 33mm, and the forefoot is also about 23mm. The thick midsole design has a very good cushioning effect. There is a 10mm drop between the front and back foot, which is more than 8mm long running shoes. This is to effectively reduce tendon injuries and allow the forward running posture to be easily maintained.

For the traction :It is  comfortable with the rubber and also  it like the feeling of Adidas boost .

Zoom Fly’s biggest selling point is that it has embedded a nylon plate  (carbon fiber’s full length nylon plate) embedded with carbon fiber material, subverting the conventional flat carbon plate design.

I remembered  to the J-shaped carbon blade prosthesis from Oscar Pistorius  , This design not only provides sufficient propulsive force to maintain the running posture, but also reduces the energy consumption when bending the toes, and does not increase the load on the lower legs.

In terms of structural design, the Zoom Vaporfly elite’s shovel structure was used, and an arrow-shaped design was formed at the heel position. At the beginning of the wear, the bottom was very unstable. Although there is no additional midsole support material, Zoom Fly’s heel midsole is a block design, and the width of the midsole is greater than the upper width, so that you continue to remind yourself during the running, the forefoot is comfortable , the sole is only Slightly excessive.

 

Internal plates or shanks aren’t a new concept. Shorter versions are commonly found in trail running shoes, racing flats and the like. The rigidity provided by the plate helps the stability and transition quality of the shoe, and in use cases like trail running, protection is the primary objective.

I didn’t really notice the weight penalty of the shoe even in the early stages when I was running 6:00 miles because the shoe is just so smooth once you get going. On the cambered sections, I did feel a little bit on pressure on the insides of my feet, but no more so than in the Lunaracer, and the high stack of the shoe did not cause any issues of instability either. I did run a wider line a few times to get to less cambered sections at times just so the gait felt smoother.

So vaguely speaking, the Nike Zoom Fly is a hybrid between a Mizuno and a Hoka. This unique approach to the midsole construction results in a ride quality which produces an experience like none other.

The shoe has a very high arch, which may be too much for some.  And I simply cannot see running trails in these, it’s too tall, too unstable, and invites rolled ankles.  Plus the sole felt a bit slick on dirt.  But this will be a fabulous shoe for racing any distance from 10K through 26.2, as well as tempos and long runs.

This design gives the Zoom Fly its distinctly responsive feel, making transitions fast even for a shoe this cushioned. Since the thinner end of the plate is ‘floating’ inside a thick stack of rearfoot foam.

Overall， the upper molds like any good running shoe in my mind, should, wrapping perfectly around my arch, while leaving enough room in the toe box for my toes to splay.  Heels were perfect. It is a nice running shoes from Nike.