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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nike Vaporfly 4% first look}} The Nike Vaporfly 4% is a much-hyped shoe, which is based on the shoes Nike developed for their attempt to break the 2-hour marath..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nike Vaporfly 4% first look}}
The Nike Vaporfly 4% is a much-hyped shoe, which is based on the shoes Nike developed for their attempt to break the 2-hour marathon. It's an expensive shoe, retailing for $250, and even at that price it's hard to find. There are rumors that Nike are restricting supplies to drive up interest. The shoe is unusual in that it has a carbon fiber plate running through the midsole. Given all the hype, I was not expecting much from the Vaporfly 4%, but there are aspects to the shoe that have really impressed me. I'd say it's a mixture of the awesome and awful, though not in quite the ways I expected. My initial impressions are:
* The shoe has remarkable cushioning for its weight, with my measurements putting it close to the top of the table. I ran with a [[Hoka Clayton]] on one foot and the Vaporfly on the other and the Clayton felt hard and dead by comparison.
* When you wear the shoe, it has an amazing amount of bounce. It's far more than you get in TPU shoes like the [[Altra Escalante]], and feels like there's a spring under your foot. It seems like the carbon fiber plate is acting more as a spring for the rear of the shoe than for toe off. This bounce is immediately obvious, even walking around, and feels different to every other shoe I've tried. Even at the end of a 21 mile/34Km run the bounce is noticeable and helped me keep up the pace.
* I couldn't detect much difference in toe off from any other shoe, which was disappointing. The forefoot is quite stiff compared with other shoes, but given the forces involved at toe off, this doesn't seem to be enough to make much difference. Of course, a tiny difference in efficiency won't be noticeable immediately, but could make quite a difference to your finish time.
* When I ran it the Vaporfly using a pure forefoot landing (without any heel contact) I found the Vaporfly lost all the bounce and felt very dead. (If you're a pure forefoot runner, I'd look elsewhere.)
* The Vaporfly claims a 10mm drop, and my measurements showed 12mm, but this is reduced to 8mm when loaded. This is normally way more than I can tolerate, but I had few problems in the Vaporfly. (I wish I had an explanation for this.)
* The rear of the shoe feels quite unstable, rather like I'm on a balance foam mat rather than a shoe. It's like the shoe is only supporting me heel directly under the ball, which is rather disconcerting.
* The forefoot of the shoe is even worse, with the area under the ball of the foot lower and softer than the rest of the forefoot. This means that the shoe forces your foot to pronate more than it naturally would. I measured the area under the ball of the foot as 1-2mm lower than the rest of the forefoot under load. I suspect that the carbon fiber plate does not extend under the ball of the foot for some reason, though it's hard to prove. If I try bending the forefoot of the shoe with my hand the area under the ball of the foot doesn't seem to be as stiff.
* I found that I had a tendon pain in my ankle as my calf muscle subconsciously attempted to limit my foot rotation. I had to consciously relax and allow my foot to rotate in, which is rather disconcerting to say the least. Normally I only get this with worn out shoes.
* The outsole has surprisingly little grip, feeling slick and unsure on anything that isn't a firm surface.
* I found the toe box was not as bad as I expected, though running 20 miles without cutting open the toe box resulted in a minor blister.
My initial impressions are that the Vaporfly 4% has huge potential. I feel like I'm faster in the Vaporfly than other shoes by a noticeable amount, which is quite astonishing. This is hard to confirm, but my Heart Rate and perceived exertion seem noticeably lower for a given pace and [[Stryd| Stryd Power Estimate]]. On the other hand, I feel like the Vaporfly will increase my injury rate dramatically, putting more stress on my ankles and thus my knees.
{{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-top.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% top
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-outside.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% outside
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-bottom.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% bottom
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-inside.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% inside
</gallery>
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
The Nike Vaporfly 4% is a much-hyped shoe, which is based on the shoes Nike developed for their attempt to break the 2-hour marathon. It's an expensive shoe, retailing for $250, and even at that price it's hard to find. There are rumors that Nike are restricting supplies to drive up interest. The shoe is unusual in that it has a carbon fiber plate running through the midsole. Given all the hype, I was not expecting much from the Vaporfly 4%, but there are aspects to the shoe that have really impressed me. I'd say it's a mixture of the awesome and awful, though not in quite the ways I expected. My initial impressions are:
* The shoe has remarkable cushioning for its weight, with my measurements putting it close to the top of the table. I ran with a [[Hoka Clayton]] on one foot and the Vaporfly on the other and the Clayton felt hard and dead by comparison.
* When you wear the shoe, it has an amazing amount of bounce. It's far more than you get in TPU shoes like the [[Altra Escalante]], and feels like there's a spring under your foot. It seems like the carbon fiber plate is acting more as a spring for the rear of the shoe than for toe off. This bounce is immediately obvious, even walking around, and feels different to every other shoe I've tried. Even at the end of a 21 mile/34Km run the bounce is noticeable and helped me keep up the pace.
* I couldn't detect much difference in toe off from any other shoe, which was disappointing. The forefoot is quite stiff compared with other shoes, but given the forces involved at toe off, this doesn't seem to be enough to make much difference. Of course, a tiny difference in efficiency won't be noticeable immediately, but could make quite a difference to your finish time.
* When I ran it the Vaporfly using a pure forefoot landing (without any heel contact) I found the Vaporfly lost all the bounce and felt very dead. (If you're a pure forefoot runner, I'd look elsewhere.)
* The Vaporfly claims a 10mm drop, and my measurements showed 12mm, but this is reduced to 8mm when loaded. This is normally way more than I can tolerate, but I had few problems in the Vaporfly. (I wish I had an explanation for this.)
* The rear of the shoe feels quite unstable, rather like I'm on a balance foam mat rather than a shoe. It's like the shoe is only supporting me heel directly under the ball, which is rather disconcerting.
* The forefoot of the shoe is even worse, with the area under the ball of the foot lower and softer than the rest of the forefoot. This means that the shoe forces your foot to pronate more than it naturally would. I measured the area under the ball of the foot as 1-2mm lower than the rest of the forefoot under load. I suspect that the carbon fiber plate does not extend under the ball of the foot for some reason, though it's hard to prove. If I try bending the forefoot of the shoe with my hand the area under the ball of the foot doesn't seem to be as stiff.
* I found that I had a tendon pain in my ankle as my calf muscle subconsciously attempted to limit my foot rotation. I had to consciously relax and allow my foot to rotate in, which is rather disconcerting to say the least. Normally I only get this with worn out shoes.
* The outsole has surprisingly little grip, feeling slick and unsure on anything that isn't a firm surface.
* I found the toe box was not as bad as I expected, though running 20 miles without cutting open the toe box resulted in a minor blister.
My initial impressions are that the Vaporfly 4% has huge potential. I feel like I'm faster in the Vaporfly than other shoes by a noticeable amount, which is quite astonishing. This is hard to confirm, but my Heart Rate and perceived exertion seem noticeably lower for a given pace and [[Stryd| Stryd Power Estimate]]. On the other hand, I feel like the Vaporfly will increase my injury rate dramatically, putting more stress on my ankles and thus my knees.
{{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-top.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% top
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-outside.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% outside
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-bottom.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% bottom
File:Nike Vaporfly 4%-inside.jpg|Nike Vaporfly 4% inside
</gallery>
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
