I can still remember the very first time I put on my first Nike Vaporflies — the Next% — sometime in 2019 while preparing for the Berlin Marathon.
I felt like I could fly.
I did not know anything about stack height or rocker shoe geometry. All I remember was the ZoomX foam felt pillowy soft. But unlike a pillow where you sink, the carbon plates beneath the soles somehow magically propel you forward, like a spring
Having been used to the old generation rubber shoes, the Vaporflies felt light as a feather. The upper was also something never seen before — a thin plastic synthetic material which Nike called Vaporweave.
The pointy shape of the heel, the ample but ultralight midsole, and the acid green upper made the Vaporflies look very futuristic.
It was when the Vaporflies entered the running scene that world records in the marathon and half marathon came tumbling down one after the other.
Even barefoot running, which somewhat began gaining ground after Christopher McDougall published his bestseller, Born to Run, in 2009 started to wane.
Indeed, it is fair to say that the history of running will be divided into two timelines — the pre and post Vaporflies.
Nowadays, all major brands have produced their own versions of the carbon plated super shoes. They have experimented with different combinations of materials, midsoles, designs, uppers, etc. and the science is now so advanced that picking one supershoe over another is not really a matter of which one is objectively better. It just comes down to personal preference.
As far as supershoes go, Nike now has the fourth generation Vaporflies and third generation Alphaflies; Adidas has the Adios Pro Evo and the Adios Pro 4; Hoka has the Rocket X2 and the Cielo X1; On has the Cloudboom Strike and Echo; Saucony has the Endorphin Elite and the Endorphin Pro 4; New Balance has the SC Elite V4; Asics has the latest iteration of its Metaspeed Sky and the Metaspeed Edge; and Puma has the Fast-R Nitro Elite2 and the Deviate Nitro Elite 3.
Even the non-carbon plated trainers have so advanced in technology that one can actually safely run a good marathon in them.
Which brings me to my current shoe rotation. Running enthusiasts will usually have three to five different kinds of shoes in their running arsenal.
I classify my shoes as follows: Daily trainers, tempo or speed shoes, race day shoes, and LSD (long slow distance or easy run) shoes.
My go to daily trainers nowadays are the Adidas SL2. They are uncomplicated, nimble, and perhaps the most affordable of the lot. Since you don’t want to be training regularly on carbon plated shoes, the SL2s are the perfect default choice for daily runs. A close runner up here is the Puma Deviate Nitro 3 which is also a bouncy non-carbon plated workhorse.
When I need to pick up the pace, especially for speed training, I love the Hoka Mach X2 and the Endorphin Speed 4. The Mach X2 has a PEBAX plastic plate while the Endorphin Speed 4 has a nylon plate which provides much needed energy return when you’re pushing up the pace.
For long runs and ultras where I am not expected to run at race pace, I prefer shoes that provide ample cushioning and comfort, while at the same time very lightweight. For these kinds of runs, I prefer two very good-looking shoes — the On Cloudeclipse and the ASICS Superblast 2.
Finally, for race day, my two top choices are the Hoka Rocket X2 and the Saucony Endorphin Elite. They both have aggressive rocker geometry which helps toe off and, unlike the Vaporflies/Alphaflies, still maintain a close-to-the-ground feel. They both have the perfect balance of agility and comfort.
A close runner up is the On Cloudboom Strike, which happens to be the best looking of the three.
Unfortunately, all three supershoes break the bank so to speak. So, whoever said that running is a cheap sport hasn’t run in the post Vaporfly era.