Nike Zoom Fly 5 review

Nike is back with a super shoe inspired by the Vaporfly to produce a shoe suitable for training runs and racing. Tomos Whitmarsh-Knight tests out the Zoom Fly 5 to see if it is race-worthy...

We’d ideally be pitting the new Alphafly 3 against their race day rivals, but at the time of testing, samples were hard to come by. Given we’ve already reviewed the Vaporfly 3 and Streakfly, we decided to call in the Zoom Fly 5 to test their race day credentials.

After all, Nike describes the Zoom Fly 5 as “bridging the gap between weekend training runs and race day in a durable design that feels just as at home on the starting line as it does on your usual routes”.

First impressions of the Nike Zoom Fly 5

Out of the box, the shoes felt heavy in hand for a potential race-day option and indeed, on the scales it came in at 263g (UK7), which is hefty and on par with some daily trainers. On an environmental note, the shoe also uses recycled ZoomX in its midsole, but more on that later in this review.

Fit and style

Fit proved true-to-size and I found the dual-mesh upper to be super comfy, hugging my feet nicely. Not to everyone’s liking, but I also quite like the ‘70s curtain colourway vibe. The lockdown was great and I had no slipping of the tongue or in the heel. The shoe offers a good amount of padding around the heel counter and I had no issues with movement or rubbing. There are no heel or tongue loops on the Zoom Fly 5 to help get the shoe on quickly in transition, but the tongue is thick enough to get a good grip on it.

Performance and speed

So how did the Zoom Fly 5 perform for race day? Sadly, quite disappointingly. There’s no hiding the fact that it’s a heavy shoe, especially for an up-tempo/race-day option. Underfoot, it felt incredibly blocky at pretty much all paces and very unresponsive when trying to move up through the gears on efforts. The shoes do have a carbon plate within the midsole, but it seemed to offer no pop or propulsion. I was intrigued to see how the recycled ZoomX would feel or perform, but sadly it in no way offers the same feeling as actual ZoomX (found in the Vaporfly).

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though, and for up-tempo/race-day shoes, they offered a very comfortable and stable ride. There’s a good chunk of rubber under the forefoot, which is detrimental to this shoe’s weight but offers plenty of grip, allowing you to take sharp corners with confidence, even in the wet.

That rubber also gives me confidence that the Zoom Fly 5 will have great durability and see out more miles than their out-and-out race-day rivals. And with the super comfy upper that hugged my feet, I had no rubbing or slipping in the shoes while running sockless.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think Nike shot themselves in the foot with their description of this shoe. Given its stability, I see the Nike Zoom Fly 5 as a good, stable daily trainer, but not a race day shoe for out-and-out speed. That said, if comfort is your only requirement this could be a shoe for you, especially for middle to long distances.

See our list of the best carbon plate running shoes for more.

Nike Zoom Fly 5 spec

Price:	£164.99/$217
Sizes:	5.5-14 (men’s, UK), 2.5-9.5 (women’s, UK)
Stack height:	29.4mm
Drop:	10mm
Midsole:	Carbon-fibre plate
Weight:	263g (UK 7)