If you had told me 5 years ago that I would one day be
running in Nike shoes for not just road but road and trail I would have frankly
laughed at you. I had one experience with Nike running shoes some years ago and
it was frankly terrible. That was, truthfully probably more than 10 years ago
but it has only been the last year that I have tried them again and that they
have become my go to shoe.
It started with a Black Friday deal in November 2018 where I
bought a pair of the Nike Epic React Flyknit road shoes. I bought them as they
were advertised as being super-cushioned and I like soft running shoes. I
assumed that they were the Nike version of the Adidas Ultraboost which I had
been wearing for a couple of years and was not too far wrong. Whilst they are
similar in terms of cushioning they are very different shoes. They are my go-to
road shoe, I love the styling, the fit and comfort. They are also pretty
responsive and feel and perform fast when they need to.
Nike Epic React Flyknit
Things I like;
- Styling;
I always associated Nike with street wear rather than technical
specification and while these shoes have both they really do have great
styling. The first ones I had were the PRS ones designed for the Paris
Marathon, then some light coloured ones for summer and now some grey black
ones with the weather changing.. the style is a personal thing but you can
go as basic or as funky as you like with these off the shelf and that’s
without NikeID where you can personalise them. For me the black sole unit
looks awesome and I like that the outer sole is in pieces rather than
covering the whle underside of the shoe adding weight. There is heavier
sole protection around the forefoot and the heel.
- Comfort;
I wear a size 9 running shoe and these are no exception. I find the fit
really excellent but I do have narrow feet. If you had wide feet you might
want to try a pair in a store rather than buying online as not sure how
that would work out. The lacing system is perfectly fine and doesn’t add
any pressure to the foot at all. The upper is knitted and really sleek
with no seams or edges to catch your toes on. It’s the sole, though, which
is really the clincher. Its soft enough that I can run in them every day
without that residual fatigue that you get and that I have had from other
shoes.
- Durability;
I am all about shoe-durability! I want value for money so I am looking to
get the top end of the recommended 500miles shoe life. In the two pairs I
have retired I have got to closer to 550 miles in each of them with at
that sort of wear my left knee, it’s always the left, starting to feel it.
Of course durability is good but vfm is determined by what you paid for
them
- Cost;
when these shoes came out they were advertised for £129.99 – pretty steep
but commensurate with a lot of running shoes these days. As much as I
wanted to try them I wasn’t going to spend that money on a trial when I
was a little unsure. Black Friday it was where I paid around £70 for a
pair. My thinking being that even if I didn’t like the I hadn’t wasted too
much money. Out of the box I knew they were awesome and wasn’t
disappointed. I mentioned above that I am now onto my third pair and have
not paid more than £70 any of them. They end to have them at Nike Outlet
stores and provided you can fnd a colourway you like the shoe is the same.
That’s value!
- Downsides?
I don’t really think there are any downsides. At full price they are quite
expensive and some may be put off by that but then look around and you
will pay closer to half the book price.
- Verdict; this is a 9/10 shoe! For me it ticks all the boxes I care about, comfort, style, durability and price.
When I found myself shopping for some new trail shoes I
looked at what I had and why I was looking for new. I have some Adidas Terrex
that are a couple of years old (low mileage) and whilst a good, sturdy shoe it
feels exactly like that. More a shoe than a trainer. I keep them but will use
them for dog walks up the hill rather than any actual running. I also have some
Salomon maxi-cushion shoes, I forget the model. They were awesome but I find
that on long runs they rub my feet a little. Never in training, only in racing.
Thinking at how much I liked the Nike road shoes I looked at the trail
offerings and saw that the Wild Horses were getting a fair bit of attention and
good reviews. Based on that and added that I liked the styling I thought why
not?
Nike Wildhorse 5’s
Out of the box there were two things that struck me;
- The
styling and colourway
- The size of the toe-box
I did think that I may have picked the wrong colour as they
are predominantly white and they are a trail shoe. They look good though and
rule 1 is that you have to look good isn’t it? I liked the toe box without
trying them on because I was a little concerned that maybe they had put some aggressive
tread on the road shoe and seen how it goes. That was patently not the case.
I have worn these shoes on a number of trail runs now with a
mix of terrain and they are really a great. They shoe comfort is excellent, the
farthest I have run is a little over 20 miles in a race and there were zero
issues, no rubbing, no hot spots and no blisters. The shoe is probably not as
grippy as others out there the tread being reasonable rather than aggressive. I
have used them on lots of terrain types from wet leaves and mud through gravel
and sandy trail and they can handle all of that without issue.
In terms of my criteria;
Styling; awesome! Bold and brash – better than a lot
of their competitors. With so much kit being just black and red why not a pair
that are white? Love them and they look even better now they are a bit dirty.
Comfort; excellent, soft foam upper, good solid
rubber outsole and knitted shoe. Protection on the, very wide, toe-box for
stones and other debris.
Durability; I get good vfm from trail shoes as most
of my running is on road. With more events planned for 2020 I think I will
probably be giving these a sterner test than I have many of my other trail
shoes.
Cost; the retail price for these is around £105 but I
have seen them for £88. You could argue this is cheaper than the current market
for similar shoes. I bought mine from Sportsshoes.com for £105 a few months
ago.
Downside; I guess the colour could be considered a
down side but ‘m not sure that’s enough. Much like the Epic React Flyknit I
cannot see a negative. I am like this though, if I like something I don’t
really see the negatives and these are no different.
Verdict; so far so good. I have run around 70-80
miles in these. They are grippy, tough, I like the toe box and I love the
styling. Quality shoe.
I have said it before but when I review products I am
generally really happy with them. If I am interested in something new then I will
research it and get a physical look at the product before buying. By the time
it arrives I am a little bored of it already as I know a lot (everything) about
it. This applies for everything and anything whether it be running socks or a
race vest. That said my experiences are not false and that I really like these
products and have invested more than once in them speaks volumes.
The Epic React Flyknit is my go-to road shoe. I use it as a
workhorse for most of my road running. This can be anything from 2.5 miles through
to 20 and beyond. The shoe is just comfortable and on the occasion where I demand
more performance it can respond and give me what I want. That’s not to say that
there may be better shoes that are more specific, a racing flat or a workhorse
for commutes, but for a workaday shoe that you can race in or put down some
speed this is that shoe.
I set my half marathon PB some 10 years ago, at Tewkesbury, with 1:27:15. Earlier this year I ran the Cheltenham half marathon finishing in 1:27:48 (this was for the course I actually did 1:27:01 for the half marathon distance) the point being that I am 10 years older and whilst I am generally in better shape and better trained I am still 10 years older and still ran a similar time. Oh and I was wearing a pair of Epic React Flyknits.