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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nike LunarSpider LunarSpider (R5) Review}}
The Nike LunarSpider (R5) is a good, but not great lightweight shoe. It's reasonably comfortable and offers good cushioning for its weight, but it's pricy and the forefoot plastic shank makes the cushioning a little uneven. The LunarSpider is marketed as a 'racing flat' but I use it as an everyday training shoe, as it provides everything I need with none of the typical excesses of a modern running shoe. The LunarSpider is also not a minimalist shoe, as it has enough cushioning for long distances and the plastic plate further reduces ground feel. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
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[[File:NikeSpiderForefootSmaller.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A slice through the forefoot, showing the black plastic shank. The foam cushioning is slightly thinner under the shank, and I could feel the difference when running.]]
* {{H:WhyBuy}}. The LunarSpider is a great shoe, but remember it's more expensive and less effective than its competition.
* {{H:cushioning}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider is not quite as soft or well cushioned in the forefoot as the better shoes like the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]]. I think this is partly due to the hard plastic plate that runs under the forefoot. This plate also makes the forefoot cushioning a little uneven as the foam under the plate is not quite as thick as the foam on its own. The rear cushioning is as good as the Nike Streak, but not the Hyper Speed, and it's heavier than either. That makes the LunarSpider good, but not great.
* {{H:drop}}. The LunarSpider only has 3mm of drop when loaded, which is pretty good for a mainstream shoe.
* {{H:structure}}. The LunarSpider uses Nike's "Lunarlon", which is two types of foam; a soft foam under the rear and midfoot and the other acting as a cradle for the rear, and extending under the forefoot. This is an interesting idea, but as far as I can tell, the two types of foam are pretty much identical except for their color. This is not a problem, but it does add cost to the production of the shoe without producing much benefit.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider has a springy plastic shank that extends from the rear of the shoe to very close to the tip. The shank can be seen in the underside pictures as black "Y" shaped plastic, but the actual shank is much wider under the surface. Under the forefoot it's about 2 inches/50mm wide. This shank reduces flexibility, something I normally dislike. However, unlike foam that simply resists bending, the plastic shank acts as a bit of a spring, helping toe off. I only noticed the difference at slightly faster paces, as my stride lengthens and there's more toe off emphasis, but I came to rather like it. One downside to the shank noted above is that the cushioning is uneven under the forefoot. * {{H:outsole}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider has firmer outsole under the heel, but it has an aggressive plastic outsole in the forefoot that provides great grip on road surfaces. I appreciated the extra grip when running faster on wet asphalt, and it gives extra confidence on sharp turns. * {{H:shape}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider is not designed to fit a human foot, so I [[Shoe Modifications| cut open the toe box]] so my toes would not get squashed in. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is inflexible and only has a seam where the green and blue upper meets in the pictures. The upper is fairly standard and quite breathable, but for some reason Nike has added strings from the midsole to the eye holes for reinforcement. (You can see these as black lines on the pictures.) While these did not cause any problems, they do seem a little pointless. There is a tiny bit of padding around the rear of the foot, plus a bit more padding around the ankle opening. It's not the most comfortable upper, but it's not bad either.
* {{H:tongue}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. The tongue has only a tiny bit of padding.* {{H:lacing}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider has flat laces that worked well and I never had them come undone. * {{H:heelcounter}}. The LunarSpider LunarSpider has rigid heal counter which reduces the rear comfort a little bit.
=Comparisons=
Here are some direct comparisons with its potential competition.
==Nike LunarSpider LunarSpider and Asics Gel Hyper Speed==The LunarSpider LunarSpider is a reasonable shoe, but it doesn't have any advantages over the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]]. The LunarSpider LunarSpider is heavier, but not as well cushioned as the Hyper Speed. It's also quite a bit more expensive.
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{{FastBlr|asics/gel-hyperspeed-6-192|192|Asics Gel Hyper Speed 6}}
==Nike LunarSpider LunarSpider and New Balance RC5000==The LunarSpider LunarSpider is more than twice as heavy as the ultralight [[New Balance RC5000]] while providing only slightly more cushioning.
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{{FastBlr|new-balance/rc5000-v1-852|852|New Balance RC5000}}
==Nike LunarSpider LunarSpider and Asics GT 2000==I tend to compare shoes against my benchmark "normal running shoe", the [[Asics GT 2000]]. The GT 2000 is nearly twice the weight of the LunarSpider LunarSpider but provides slightly less cushioning in the heel and not much more in the forefoot. There's a lot more padding in the GT 2000's upper, but I've not found there's a huge difference in comfort. Given the weight and inflexibility of the GT 2000, it feels like a clog compared with the LunarSpider.
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