Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2: The fastest shoe runners can get their feet on

For the second edition, called the ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2, Nike has kept a part of the benchmark-setting shoe and tweaked a few things

There remains no doubt that running shoes are getting faster. A lot of smart tech infusion is responsible for it that include recomposed foam sitting below your feet and also the addition of a carbon fiber plate which adds that further push for runners. The shoe that started this massive battle for fast running shoes is the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next%. For the second edition, called the ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2, Nike has kept a part of the benchmark-setting shoe and tweaked a few things.

The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 is a bit less expensive than the predecessor. (Nike)

The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 retains the combination of the midsole foam and the carbon plate. But there are significant changes made to the upper, which further shaves off the grams and makes what was already a really fast shoe lighter and faster still. Absolutely no doubt that you will pay a premium for this cutting-edge running shoe tech—the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 is priced around ₹19,695 and that puts it up against its direct rival, the Adidas Adios Pro 2.0 which will set you back by about ₹21,999.

In fact, the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 is a bit less expensive than the predecessor, the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next%. It is quite rare for a new shoe to cost lesser than the one it replaces while being even better in many aspects. Make of that, what you will. Perhaps the reason is the latest edition isn’t a complete overhaul, but an iterative update. There are as many as six colourways to choose from as well. In our opinion, the colourway called ‘Barely Volt/Hyper Orange/Volt/Black’ is the most attractive. That said, none of the colours really stand out somehow—at least nothing like the predecessor, or indeed many of Nike’s other shoes.

Nike makes some of the most responsive running shoe midsoles, under the Zoom umbrella. This is one step up on that, from the outset. In fact, as the name suggests, this shoe uses an upgraded version called ZoomX, a composition that’s lighter still and dials up the push forward feeling (also called energy return) as you run along. That’s slightly lesser strain on your foot, with the extra assistance that’s likely to speed you up as well. In a race, every second counts. Added to this is a full-length carbon fibre plate—it runs from the front to the back of the shoe and is integrated within this ZoomX foam. A lot of shoes have since experimented with just a thin insert at the back of the shoe, but the benefits of those are negligible.

The idea behind having this plate here is to take the energy expelled during the contraction and expansion of the foam as you run (the foot lands on the ground and then takes off again) and enhance it with a concerted push forward. This plate isn’t very thick, mind you, but those few millimetres of a robust yet lightweight material adds that solidity to what the foam material is attempting. Everything stacked up, the height of the midsole is about 40mm, which means you’ll get a whole lot of cushioning for your feet as you run and the surface jarring won’t filter through at all.

The very fact that the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 weighs just 180 grams or so, makes it the lightest running shoe the writer of this review has tested so far. From our experience, there is enough newness in the shoe which means you’ll take a short while to get used to this outsole. And the lack of weight. You’ll probably find it overkill for a low tempo run, but speed up, and that’s where this makes sense.

Stand straight and roll your feet forward and backwards while on an axis, and you’ll notice the rocker design for the shoe—the forefoot and rear of the shoe are angled upwards. In fact, the rear has an aerodynamic design, not that you’ll need to cut through air that quickly. That’ll help with the foot roll while running. But it is not as much as Adidas’ Adizero Adio Pro.

The upper has been significantly reworked, and we have to say that the amount of breathability it offers is unmatched. The mesh fabric is thinner, which also means it is lighter, but nothing tells us it isn’t as robust as before. Run your finger along with the material, and it isn’t smooth—it is coarse, and you must be careful to not scrape your foot against something sharp. This might break. The lacing mechanism, you’ll notice, gently leans down to the outer side of the shoe—not something we are huge fans of. Not that it is a problem, but there doesn’t seem to be any discerning advantage of this. The tongue has a bit more foam, which helps keep it in place better, once laced up.

What Nike needed was to create an incremental upgrade. That’s exactly what they have done. The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 takes over from the shoe that resets the running shoe benchmark, the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next%. It is lighter, and it will be faster for most runners. The smart tech that made this line of shoes the one most rivals want to match (and better), remains intact.