In production · road · Recovery / Long run / Daily · $190
The most ZoomX Nike will sell you for easy days. Trampoline-soft, mildly unstable.
Built for recovery, long run, daily, at a target pace of 8:30–11:30 /mi on road.
Nike tuned this midsole very soft (5/5 on our cushioning scale). The foam is highly resilient — it gives energy back rather than swallowing it, which is what makes the shoe feel eager when you push. At 45 mm of heel stack this sits in max-cushion territory; legs stay fresher on long efforts, but the platform is tall. Combined, the ride reads as lively at 3/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A tall 9 mm drop tips weight forward off the heel, which usually suits heel strikers and calves that dislike low-drop shoes. The rocker is moderate — enough curve to smooth the roll-through without dictating your footstrike. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It offers real guidance through the gait cycle — useful for runners whose form collapses when tired.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 400 miles from the outsole, about $0.47 per mile at $190.
For the foams and plates Nike uses across its line, read the Nike brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
305 g / 10.8 oz
30 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
45 mm
9 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
9 mm
3 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$190
30 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
3 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
5 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~400 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Nike line it is heavier than the brand's median (295 g / 10.4 oz) and sits taller than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Nike Vomero Plus(2025)
285 g / 10.1 oz · 45 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $120
Full ZoomX max-cushion daily for soft, quiet mileage.
Asics Gel-Nimbus 28(2026)
283 g / 10.0 oz · 44 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $180
Deep, plush max cushion for slow miles and heavier runners.
Brooks Glycerin GTS 23
295 g / 10.4 oz · 42 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $175
Max-cushion Glycerin with GuideRails for plush, guided support.
Asics Gel-Kayano 32(2025)
304 g / 10.7 oz · 40 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $180
Stability icon with 4D Guidance and a softer, higher stack.