Discontinued · road · Recovery / Long run / Daily · $130
Earlier generation of the Nike Vomero line, kept for replacement lookups.
Built for recovery, long run, daily, at a target pace of 8:30–11:30 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Nike Vomero 18.
Nike tuned this midsole very soft (5/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is modest, so the ride feels protective and damp rather than springy. At 43 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 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 tall 10 mm drop tips weight forward off the heel, which usually suits heel strikers and calves that dislike low-drop shoes. 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 500 miles from the outsole, about $0.26 per mile at $130.
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
286 g / 10.1 oz
11 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
43 mm
7 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
10 mm
4 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$130
30 cheaper than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
5 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~500 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Nike line it is lighter 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 18 GTX
310 g / 10.9 oz · 46 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $170
Nike Vomero 18 GTX: 46 mm heel stack, 10 mm drop, 306 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Adidas Ultraboost 6(2026)
300 g / 10.6 oz · 40 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $190
Boost comfort for lifestyle miles more than fast ones.
Nike Vomero Plus(2025)
285 g / 10.1 oz · 45 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $120
Full ZoomX max-cushion daily for soft, quiet mileage.
Brooks Glycerin StealthFit 21
283 g / 10.0 oz · 38 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $180
Brooks Glycerin StealthFit 21: 38 mm heel stack, 10 mm drop, 257 g — specs from independent lab testing.