Discontinued · road · Race day · $250
The Vaporlyte-upper NEXT% that took the 4% platform to full stack height.
Built for race day, at a target pace of 4:50–7:00 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Nike Vaporfly 4.
Nike tuned this midsole soft (4/5 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. 36 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as explosive at 5/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A 8 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. 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 narrow and performance-oriented; wide-footed runners should try before buying. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 175 miles from the outsole, about $1.43 per mile at $250.
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
196 g / 6.9 oz
79 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
36 mm
Level with the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
8 mm
2 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$250
90 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
4 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~175 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.
Asics Magic Speed 5
196 g / 6.9 oz · 38 mm · 7 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Affordable carbon tempo shoe with FF Turbo+ bounce.
New Balance SuperComp Elite v6
198 g / 7.0 oz · 40 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $280
New Balance SuperComp Elite v6: 40 mm heel stack, 8 mm drop, 190 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Hoka Cielo X1 3.0
213 g / 7.5 oz · 38 mm · 7 mm drop · Carbon · $275
Hoka Cielo X1 3.0: 38 mm heel stack, 7 mm drop, 193 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Under Armour Halo Racer
205 g / 7.2 oz · 39 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $170
UA's rockered carbon racer for goal-race days.