The Nike Vaporfly 4% is the shoe that kick-started the modern era of racing shoes, being the first to boast a relatively high stack of a bouncy super foam and a carbon plate. It’s been eight years since the original Vaporfly 4% launched, and hundreds of carbon shoes have been released since then with every brand getting in on the action, so how does the Vaporfly 4% stack up against today’s racers? Nick ran a 10K in the shoe to find out.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
01:04 – How is the Vaporfly 4% different to today’s racers?
03:55 – Post-race recap
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick and we got something a little Bit different on the channel today in That we're not going to be testing a Brand new shoe out we be testing a very Old shoe out which is the Nike vaporfly 4% fly nit so tonight I am running a 10k Race with my club Ryan harriers in the Midweek Road running league in Hartfordshire I'm going to St Orbin for That and I thought it' be a good Opportunity to bring the bapf 4 out of Retirement give it a go and see how it Compares to some of the newer shoes now Obviously this is not the very original Vaporfly I've got the non-flying it Version here as well but this is very Beaten up and I didn't really fancy Using that tonight I've actually got Quite a fresh version of The Fly net Shoe because I had a couple of pairs of Them and this one was kept in pretty Good condition I never actually had the Ice blue colorway of the you know the Real original vaporfly 4% but I think This is a pretty good approximation You've got the same midell setup and all That so hoping to see how it feels Tonight and obviously we' tested quite a Lot of new carbon shoes this year and in The past God six years or so since this Originally came out so really be Interesting to see how much carbon shoes Have moved on since this and how it
Feels tonight and on that note let's Have a quick look at the technology has Changed from this shoe to the modern Shoes so one thing that hasn't really Changed with the original vaporfly 4% Compared to newer versions is that Nike Is still using its zmx foam the peber Based foam that really launched super Foams and created probably what is the Most important feature of these modern Super Shoes which is these bouncy Foams Carbon plates obviously in there as well That's also very important and those two Things have been pretty consistent Across Nike's Super Shoe range it might Have tweaked the formulation of zoomx a Little bit behind the scenes it's not Really something I would know for sure But you still have that bouncy foam here In the vaporfly 4% so a familiar feeling Even if you're using moden shoes what is Quite different though is the stack Setup so the vaporfly 4% was obviously Created before any stack limits existed But n was really creating 40mm Racing Shoes then and Nike shied away from Doing that and it's still a high stack Shoe and it was certainly you know Outlandish at the time when we first Tested it it felt very high compared to Racing Flats but I think it's somewhere Around 35 mm at the hill the other thing That's different it's got a very high Drop it's got 11 mm drop to the 4 foots
Which is in theory around 24 mm so if You compare back to the vly 3 the latest Version of the shoe this stack heite Gets up to that 40 mm limit set by World Athletics it's got an 8 mm drop which Came in with the vfly next percent and The vfly stuck with since then and you Also got a lot more padding under the Forer as a result because you've got a Higher stackle round lower drop so You've got 32 mm of foam under the for Foot of the vaporfly 3 whereas it's only 24 mm with the vaporfly 4% so that's a Big difference with the shoe otherwise Lots of things are quite similar so it's Still pretty lightweight shoe it's very Similar in weight to the vaporfly 3 Actually just over 200 in my UK size Obviously have a fly it upper whereas The original shoe had this mesh uh this Is a nice upper I also think hugs the Foot quite nicely a lot of people really Liked it it's been in and out with Nike's Racing shoes whether they use That and a very strip back out soole Actually the outsoles on Super Shoes I'd Say have definitely improved since the VAP 4% I think durability started to Become a bit more of a concern with them And they started to put slightly more Resilient uh outsides on them with the Exception of the VAP 3 which obviously Has a very flimsy outside that we've Talked about in our reviews but that was
One area that did get chewed up a lot With the old vapor flies was that Underneath section of the shoe as you Can see there lots of exposed phone so Yeah I'm excited to give this a go Though because carbon shoes have changed A lot but the vapor 4% was an amazing Shoe I imagine it's still going to be a Pretty amazing shoe I think I used it Was it last year or something I did a Vapor Fly Through the Ages video used it For some track reps there but be a full Race also I'm not in exactly flying Shape right now I obious did the London Marathon and that was quite recent so I'm in very good shape in theory because I had all that marathon training in my Legs but since then I've just been Recovering haven't done too much speed Work yet so it will be a bit of a tester For my legs tonight but very excited to See how the vaporfly 4% feels one of the Favorite shoes of all time the shoes That changed everything and it's still a Shoe that you people state to me is Their favorite version of the shoe they Don't like any newer versions it inter To see how much of that it's just Nostalgia for those first through Breakthroughs when you're really running Really well because you suddenly had a Soft bouncy rocket strapped to your feet Instead of a hard racing flat So it's day after the race which was a
Pretty enjoyable one it went probably a Little bit better than expected I ran Something like 3310 I think for maybe Just shy of 10K around 10K on a mixed Terrain course so we had kind of the First K on grass and a K on gravel and a Bit more grass and then lovely 7K Section I'd say on a like a bike path in Country road so really flat really nice Running very smooth and then a final K Back onto gravel and a nice 400 met Grass finish I was running pretty much By myself in second for most of the race Thought I might get caught at the end But in the end was just able to kick a Bit and hold on for second place overall And really did enjoy running in the Nike Fly 4% flying it like it's interesting Cuz this is a pretty old shoe but it Felt pretty fresh and it felt fantastic I still felt really fast really Propulsive all the stuff you expect from A carbon super shoe and differences are There for sure you definitely got a lot More ground contact with this shoe not Ground contact but ground feel like Under the for foot you can really feel The ground but not in an uncomfortable Way actually interesting there are some Shoes much higher stack so someone like The S endorphin Elite I always get a lot Of for foot discomfort in that shoe from The way I snap through and that's Obviously got a much higher stack than
The vly 4% it's got a carbon plate it's Got you know super foam in the midsole As well but you know even off 10K I Thinket are pretty beaten up in that Shoe and that wasn't the case with the Vly 4% flying it and obviously it's a Shoe that I've used to Marathon distance In the past without that and you think About it now like oh you got like 24 Millim underneath the 4 foot with a Carbon plate that's going to be too Harsh to run to Marathon distance even Though at the time this was like the Most comfortable shoe ever made for the Marathon to be a proper racing shoe so Yeah didn't have any kind of discomfort There it just felt grounded Nimble fast High turnover it was pretty Nimble as Well on the grass sections and gravel Sections I don't that's not great for The outsole it's probably taking a bit Of damage there even on those short Gravel sections and you that's something That you have to risk with Super Shoes These days as well although some of them Have slightly better coverage there a Bit more firmer outsoles to increase Durability but in terms of actual Performance like it really is there like When the VAP FL 4% came out you know the Nonf flying it version the mid on that Is the same as on this shoe though it Was before the Rio Olympics obviously Very controversially and that's eight
Years ago now and it's still a really Fantastic Mido it still holds up really Well it's you know it's really bouncy It's propulsive it's comfortable it's Everything you expect from a super shoe And that was the big leap with this Whole generation of shoes I think so the Brands have sought to improve it since They have improved it I think the very Best super shoes available now are a bit Better the aex Met spe Sky Paris is Similar in style to this shoe but I do Think it's improved it you've got that Higher stack you've got an even lighter Weight you've got a bouncy feeling and You know it is a fantastic shoe and Would take it over the VAP FL 4% but It's certainly not the leap to that shoe That it was from whatever we were racing In before the B 4% so for me that would Have been like the Adidas Boston which Was good shoe with boost foam in the mid Sole you know pretty comfortable but Still quite stripped back so it didn't Get too uh too heavy and the stack was Probably around 30 mm the hill something Like that and that's just so different To what this is and remember the first Time I used the other B flight have There the 4% and for a workout and i' Done the same workout in the Boston the Week before and it just felt like Ridiculous the difference like in terms Of heart great and just general
Perception of effort it really felt you Know all the hype around it as well but It really felt like that and it's been Established very clearly since then it Isn't just hype and that leap has just Continued with basically smaller leaps Like we're definitely not getting that Leap again I think with with the Regulations as they are and even if they Weren't as they are cuz I don't really Think the 50 mm shoes that we've seen Since then have really been an Improvement on the 40mm shoes that much I don't think you just keep adding more Stack and think gets better maybe some Kind of combination of plates or Something like that but we are now in a Very different era I think of kind of Incremental Improvement or changes in Style of super shoe and we talked about A bit on the podcast it comes more about Finding the one that really suits you And works for you best whereas V play Was Elite forward it was a shoe that Worked pretty much for everyone better Than what was there beforehand like you Know some people will say they preferred Racing flats and I'm sure they did Prefer racing Flats maybe they did feel Better maybe this didn't work for you as Well as for others but it was you know a Shoe that I think pretty much most People could step into if they could if They wasn't didn't mind the instability
And stuff like that and would find it Better for a full marathon in particular Because it was so comfortable and Lightweight and propulsive and um now We're kind of into yeah like I said it's Era of refinement we're not getting the Sleep forward again and this shoe does Stand up very well against modern Racing Shoes that's the thing like it's got all Those ingredients in there it still Works really well that high drop is Quite nice actually turning over your Feet towards the end of a race when You're really tired like there's a Section from 7K to 9k where it's up a Slight Hill on the bike path now slowing Down but you can keep turning over you Do miss a bit of the punch there of the Slightly bigger shoes you have here like The bouncier shoes and the fact the Bouncy shoes have managed to get that Bounce into a lighter shoe with a stack And stuff you know that is an Improvement on what you have here it Does feel a bit more explosive to run in But it really isn't lacking a lot this Shoe and it was great fun to run in Again and there's not too much more to Say here I thought it' just be Interesting to use these shoes and see How different they are to Modern Super Shoes and the answer isn't that much Different you definitely have a lot more Ground F under the fourth that is a very
Different feeling the amount of drop you Have here and the relatively low stack Is is very different to pretty much Every Super Shoe now no one else is Doing a super shoe like this they've all Lowered that drop they've all got more 4ot stack and to different to varying Extents but you still got a fantastic Foam you still got carbon play play and It still works really really well and Yeah that was the moment that has Changed and brought in this generation Of other shoes and you know if I was Going to go and run a race choosing Between these two I'd pick this one it's The same way you've got more stack feels More comfortable feels more bouncy still Got a bad outsa but you know but the Difference here is not the difference Between this and whatever we had Beforehand and yeah be to see if we can Get another leot forward under the Current regulations brands are seeking To do different things like cutting out The back of the heel so they can raise a Stack in the midfoot like Nuno and Things like that trying to get materials In like the airpods and the alphafly or Just trying to nail this formula by Making the phones very lightweight and Keep bringing the weight down some like The adios Pro EVO One or the as6 Met Speed Paris Series where they're putting All these super Foams and playes into
Shoes that are just really light which We all know helps in races as well and Feels really good so yeah interesting Run out in it really enjoyed the event Props and nor rers putting on a good Event enjoyed it all around and Ryan Harris had a very big turnout so that's Very pleasing and it was fun to pull This shoe out of retirement and give it Another go and have all these thoughts And think all these thoughts about Carbon shoes through years yeah amazing Shoe certainly for its time and even Kind of Now so that was a little throwback vid For the V fly 4% flying it let us know What you think in the comments below did You have that shoe love that shoe uh Please do like subscribe ring a little Bell and we'll see you next time
