Discontinued · road · Recovery / Daily · $180
The bead-pod experiment: squishy underfoot pods in a knit upper.
Built for recovery, daily, at a target pace of 9:00–12:00 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Nike Invincible 4.
Nike tuned this midsole soft (4/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is modest, so the ride feels protective and damp rather than springy. 30 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. Combined, the ride reads as calm at 2/5 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 8 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The geometry is fairly traditional and flat, so the shoe follows your foot rather than steering it. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. Support is light — neutral, with a mildly steady platform.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 350 miles from the outsole, about $0.51 per mile at $180.
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
280 g / 9.9 oz
5 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
30 mm
6 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
8 mm
2 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$180
20 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
4 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~350 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Nike line it is lighter than the brand's median (295 g / 10.4 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Under Armour Pursuit 4
275 g / 9.7 oz · 30 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $100
No-fuss entry trainer for new runners and easy miles.
Asics Gel-Contend 9
275 g / 9.7 oz · 31 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $75
The classic first running shoe — durable, affordable, uncomplicated.
Skechers GO Run Consistent 2.0
280 g / 9.9 oz · 28 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $75
Simple, cushioned entry trainer for everyday easy running.
On Cloud 6(2025)
267 g / 9.4 oz · 28 mm · 9 mm drop · — · $150
The slip-on lifestyle runner that started it all — light and easy.