Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite 2017

Just got a cancellation notice on my size 9.5. Super annoyed it took Nike a week to figure out they didn't have them and I could have ordered them from other sites yesterday but now can't. Total bummer.

That sucks. Hope they hook you up with a good discount code for this.
 
back to RW these VF's go. 1/2 size too big. was really looking forward to using these too.
 
I’m not wearing these as a fashion accessory. Just wanted to capture the color outside. I think they’re pretty awesome on foot. Would get the blue fox zoom fly for cross-functional training/casual wear.
IMG_8970.JPG
 
So I lucked out and found pairs in both colors in size 11 - and both of them are here!

I took the ice blue VF out for its first run today -- even though it was 85 degrees and sunny at 5pm.
Schedule called for a tempo run of 9 miles, 6:50ish pace. I chose the same route I ran about a month ago for a 7 mile tempo, 1.5-mile loops.
Biggest difference? That day it was 6am and only 52 degrees.

Results:
I ran 9 miles at a 6:53 pace today, despite it being 30+ degrees warmer than the 7 miles I ran at a 6:48 pace last month. This is astonishing to me, since I went into this run dehydrated and hungry.
My HR was around 165 on average, vs. around 159 last month. Again, huge difference... compare to an 8-mile tempo last week, almost entirely downhill (in quite cooler temps, 70 degrees) when my HR averaged 169bpm.

Today should've been a super miserable run by all accounts. It wasn't. There were times when my foot turnover was almost more rapid than I could keep up with -- the stiff responsiveness and rebound of the shoe is real.
This is also perhaps the best ventilated shoe I've ever worn. In this weather, my shoes have been completely saturated by 6 miles on every run - these shoes held up over 10 miles. (I still need a better race day solution but goodness I hope its under 65 degrees for my marathon.)

I felt like the cushion over 9 miles was fine - other racing shoes (my current go-to has been Hoka One One Tracer) seem like the 13.1 mile mark is the upper limit. I am pretty confident these will hold up well over a 25km race, and probably pretty well over 26.2mi.

I'm totally on-board with the Vaporfly. I was prepared to not believe any of the hype, certainly. (Part of why you order via Runningwarehouse is no questions returns!) And this is not a "magic shoe", but my legs feel better than they should, and my run went so much better than it should've. I'm not totally sure it's worth an extra 40% more than any other running shoe...? But I'm pretty sure it's the best running shoe for racing I've put on.
 
my 4% blue foxes came in. Id have to say I need to go half size down in these for better lockdown.

Man they cushioning is crazy though. I wasnt expecting to feel this much of a difference between the regular zoom flys and these vapor flys.

Ive got a size 10 to oop if someone is still looking.
 
my 4% blue foxes came in. Id have to say I need to go half size down in these for better lockdown.

Man they cushioning is crazy though. I wasnt expecting to feel this much of a difference between the regular zoom flys and these vapor flys.

Ive got a size 10 to oop if someone is still looking.

You get yours from RW?
 
So, this is for sizing on the Vaporfly's:
Mostly because I see many on here refer them as large in sizing, that is however not the case!
What you are experiencing are the more real to life shaped toe box. When you run and hit the ground the foot expands, and cramped toes will damage the foot, thats why they are made wider than lifestyle shoes.
Strangely they are still not "wide" fitting to me, they are just wide for being of Nike. Their lifestyle shoes are all way too narrow! I get a space in front of the toes, much like the way you are supposed wear a condom, but shoes are not condoms!
And with a larger drop shoe, your toes will, for the first time, be able to reach all the way to the front of the shoe when your foot slides forward. The heel slippage sensation will be a fact.

I got the SP's, they fit too tight really, but wearable with super thin socks.
I got the Vaporfly's in the same size as the SP's, they fit a tad longer (not a full half size longer), but wider and more flexible than the SP's.
I also got the Vaporfly's in a half size larger than the SP's, and these are the best fit of a shoe that I have ever worn! I will use this size as a reference in the following comparisons.


References:
Nikelab Zoom All Out Flyknit's in a full size smaller fits longer but more narrow compared to the Vaporfly's
Spiridon Ultra's in a full size smaller fits longer but more narrow compared to the Vaporfly's.
Nike Lunarepic Flyknit's iD (Wide) in a full size smaller fits longer but still more narrow than the Vaporflys.
Nike Airmax Zero in half size smaller fits longer but more narrow than the Vaporflys.

Just a few examples, but my point is that they are not larger in size than any Nike's. It's more like the other way around, they fit small, but wider!

The ZoomX is going to change things! This is the first shoe ever that feels like a true extension of my body, working in a conjunction and really helps me instead of stagnating me!

And as for the material - I see no need for Flyknit, the Technical Mesh has the perfect shape, soft feel and amount of give. And it is probably a lot lighter than Flyknit. But sure, ZoomX soles with Flyknit version shoes would be nice to try.
 
Last edited:
So I lucked out and found pairs in both colors in size 11 - and both of them are here!

I took the ice blue VF out for its first run today -- even though it was 85 degrees and sunny at 5pm.
Schedule called for a tempo run of 9 miles, 6:50ish pace. I chose the same route I ran about a month ago for a 7 mile tempo, 1.5-mile loops.
Biggest difference? That day it was 6am and only 52 degrees.

Results:
I ran 9 miles at a 6:53 pace today, despite it being 30+ degrees warmer than the 7 miles I ran at a 6:48 pace last month. This is astonishing to me, since I went into this run dehydrated and hungry.
My HR was around 165 on average, vs. around 159 last month. Again, huge difference... compare to an 8-mile tempo last week, almost entirely downhill (in quite cooler temps, 70 degrees) when my HR averaged 169bpm.

Today should've been a super miserable run by all accounts. It wasn't. There were times when my foot turnover was almost more rapid than I could keep up with -- the stiff responsiveness and rebound of the shoe is real.
This is also perhaps the best ventilated shoe I've ever worn. In this weather, my shoes have been completely saturated by 6 miles on every run - these shoes held up over 10 miles. (I still need a better race day solution but goodness I hope its under 65 degrees for my marathon.)

I felt like the cushion over 9 miles was fine - other racing shoes (my current go-to has been Hoka One One Tracer) seem like the 13.1 mile mark is the upper limit. I am pretty confident these will hold up well over a 25km race, and probably pretty well over 26.2mi.

I'm totally on-board with the Vaporfly. I was prepared to not believe any of the hype, certainly. (Part of why you order via Runningwarehouse is no questions returns!) And this is not a "magic shoe", but my legs feel better than they should, and my run went so much better than it should've. I'm not totally sure it's worth an extra 40% more than any other running shoe...? But I'm pretty sure it's the best running shoe for racing I've put on.

Thank you so much for this quick first impressions review! Out of curiosity, what's your gait like? Forefoot strike?

So, this is for sizing on the Vaporfly's:
Mostly because I see many on here refer them as large in sizing, that is however not the case!
What you are experiencing are the more real to life shaped toe box. When you run and hit the ground the foot expands, and cramped toes will damage the foot, thats why they are made wider than lifestyle shoes.

Strangely they are still not "wide" fitting to me, they are just wide for being of Nike. Their lifestyle shoes are all way too narrow! I get a space in front of the toes, much like the way you are supposed wear a condom, but shoes are not condoms!
And with a larger drop shoe, your toes will, for the first time, be able to reach all the way to the front of the shoe when your foot slides forward. The heel slippage sensation will be a fact.

...

And as for the material - I see no need for Flyknit, the Technical Mesh has the perfect shape, soft feel and amount of give. And it is probably a lot lighter than Flyknit. But sure, ZoomX soles with Flyknit version shoes would be nice to try.

I have to cosign on what aristoteles mentioned. It "runs large," because it has to; that's how running shoes are supposed to accommodate foot expansion, ESPECIALLY if it's made for marathons and half-marathons. When I tried on the Zoom Fly, the Flymesh felt so comfortable, so I personally like that a lot myself.

Damn it, maybe I should give it a try now since it seems that the Vaporfly is getting some positive reviews. I went on vacation and haven't done a long run [6+ miles] in a while, and I've been doing 5K runs 3x per week to warm back up into running 6 miles on Sundays again.
 
I mean, I know if the shoe fits me or not :lol: im just givin my own experience, and you guys are giving yours. at the end of the day, everyone just needs to try them on to figure out what size works best.
 
So, this is for sizing on the Vaporfly's:
Mostly because I see many on here refer them as large in sizing, that is however not the case!
What you are experiencing are the more real to life shaped toe box. When you run and hit the ground the foot expands, and cramped toes will damage the foot, thats why they are made wider than lifestyle shoes.
Strangely they are still not "wide" fitting to me, they are just wide for being of Nike. Their lifestyle shoes are all way too narrow! I get a space in front of the toes, much like the way you are supposed wear a condom, but shoes are not condoms!
And with a larger drop shoe, your toes will, for the first time, be able to reach all the way to the front of the shoe when your foot slides forward. The heel slippage sensation will be a fact.

I got the SP's, they fit too tight really, but wearable with super thin socks.
I got the Vaporfly's in the same size as the SP's, they fit a tad longer (not a full half size longer), but wider and more flexible than the SP's.
I also got the Vaporfly's in a half size larger than the SP's, and these are the best fit of a shoe that I have ever worn! I will use this size as a reference in the following comparisons.


References:
Nikelab Zoom All Out Flyknit's in a full size smaller fits longer but more narrow compared to the Vaporfly's
Spiridon Ultra's in a full size smaller fits longer but more narrow compared to the Vaporfly's.
Nike Lunarepic Flyknit's iD (Wide) in a full size smaller fits longer but still more narrow than the Vaporflys.
Nike Airmax Zero in half size smaller fits longer but more narrow than the Vaporflys.

Just a few examples, but my point is that they are not larger in size than any Nike's. It's more like the other way around, they fit small, but wider!

The ZoomX is going to change things! This is the first shoe ever that feels like a true extension of my body, working in a conjunction and really helps me instead of stagnating me!

And as for the material - I see no need for Flyknit, the Technical Mesh has the perfect shape, soft feel and amount of give. And it is probably a lot lighter than Flyknit. But sure, ZoomX soles with Flyknit version shoes would be nice to try.
So if i can fit airmax us12 but tight at the sides means i will be fine with the same size for vaporflys?
 
Thank you so much for this quick first impressions review! Out of curiosity, what's your gait like? Forefoot strike?



I have to cosign on what aristoteles mentioned. It "runs large," because it has to; that's how running shoes are supposed to accommodate foot expansion, ESPECIALLY if it's made for marathons and half-marathons. When I tried on the Zoom Fly, the Flymesh felt so comfortable, so I personally like that a lot myself.

Damn it, maybe I should give it a try now since it seems that the Vaporfly is getting some positive reviews. I went on vacation and haven't done a long run [6+ miles] in a while, and I've been doing 5K runs 3x per week to warm back up into running 6 miles on Sundays again.

Sizing might also turn out to be slightly subjective..
Yes, exactly, width-wise they are larger! But not length-wise, and that's where the flaw in shoe sizing lies. Because it only really takes consideration of the length of the shoe, and that does not make any sense, since humans have so different and individual shaped feet, even excluding width and overall volume.

If you perform Nike's measuring method and then check out their sizing chart, yes, you will find that the Vaporfly's are larger than the chart says that they will be! Which are International Standard. So in that manner they run large! But they shoe itself is not long, internally, compared to any other Nike shoe.

And that is one reason why I'm so overly happy with this model, because it is a correct step in being more true to standard sizing, and more true to my body shape.


So if i can fit airmax us12 but tight at the sides means i will be fine with the same size for vaporflys?

What Airmax's though?
 
Thank you so much for this quick first impressions review! Out of curiosity, what's your gait like? Forefoot strike?

I'd say, after looking at some pictures of my relatively recent races, that yes I'm a fairly frequent forefoot striker.
 

Attachments

  • gait.jpg
    gait.jpg
    118.3 KB · Views: 51
  • gait2.jpg
    gait2.jpg
    124.2 KB · Views: 50
Fakes?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8332.JPG
    IMG_8332.JPG
    55.3 KB · Views: 69
  • IMG_8333.JPG
    IMG_8333.JPG
    53.9 KB · Views: 71
  • IMG_8334.JPG
    IMG_8334.JPG
    52.4 KB · Views: 69
  • IMG_8335.JPG
    IMG_8335.JPG
    45.8 KB · Views: 67
Wore them all day again, grocery shopped, took the dog for a walk - the usual and loved them.

I've also covered 14 miles running too and I'm definitely happy I went TTS with relatively broad feet.
 
how much do they stretch, if any, for those who ran in them?
usually a 9 in flyknit racer (little snug new till the flyknit stretch which i prefer) and i tried on a 9 in the vaporfly which were pretty snug that my toes felt uncomfortable width and length wise and front of my foot felt pressed down.
9.5 left me with too much room for my liking.
other than that, zoomX felt amazing as oppose to boost. to me they felt like super lunar lol.
 
Back
Top Bottom