Thinner and lighter than ever, this new Vaporfly is better suited for shorter road races.
By Jeff Dengate
Nike announced the newest iteration of the shoe that started it all, the original “super shoe.” And, well, forget almost everything you know about the OG marathon racer. The Vaporfly 4 is still super, but not for the reasons you might expect. Let me explain.
When the first Vaporfly 4% was released in 2017, it truly was in a class of its own. It was light, soft, and fast—an impossibility using older foams, which could never deliver all three experiences at the same time. The flood gates soon opened and other brands—Nike, too—raced to not only match but also improve on the formula.
But, for a long time, the Vaporfly remained the preferred marathon shoe among Nike’s fastest runners. Even as recently as the 2023 New York City Marathon, we witnessed more Vaporflys than Alphaflys on the feet of top finishers, despite the latter shoe having been purpose-built for 42.2 kilometres.
That seemingly left Nike with a conundrum: It had two shoes for marathon racing, and it had to do something to give both a reason to exist. We saw the first step in that evolution when Nike launched the Alphafly 3. At the time, Bret Schoolmeester, senior product director overseeing Nike Running Footwear, told me, “Alphafly is really intended to be a specific marathon-racing tool. So we wanted to say, ‘alright, what’s keeping some athletes from choosing the Alphafly for race day?’”
That shoe got smoother and lighter, with a more accommodating fit and a more energetic ride. Marathoners adopted it quickly. Kelvin Kiptum set the marathon world record in AF3. Sifan Hassan captured gold at the Paris Olympics Marathon in them, too.
Pros
- Lightest Vaporfly yet
- Snappy ride for fast racing
- Versatile for road racing
Cons
- May not be soft enough for marathon racing
- My heel slipped
| Weight, as tested | 204g (M12) |
|---|---|
| Weight, claimed | 170g (M8.5) |
| Stack Height | 35 mm (heel), 29 mm (forefoot) |
| Drop | 6 mm |
| Cushioning | ZoomX foam |
| Carbon-Fibre Plate | Redesigned full-length FlyPlate |
| Available | March 2025 |
What’s Different About the Vaporfly?
So, where does that leave the Vaporfly with the most recent update? Well, it’s apparently being subtly nudged to shorter distances, if you parse one of Nike’s marketing messages: “Nike’s most versatile racing shoe with the ability to serve runners over distances ranging from 1 kilometre to the marathon.”
That creates space between the two shoes and fills a hole that had opened in Nike’s racing lineup. (At the same time, Nike has announced an update to the Streakfly, which is more like a classic racing flat well suited for even shorter road races—a type of shoe that’s all but disappeared from the catalogs of most running shoe companies.)
The biggest reason for that bias toward shorter distances is because the shoe has been made firmer and snappier. It just won’t provide the same level of cushioning and comfort needed for those of us on the roads for three or four hours, or longer.
In testing, that’s exactly what I found. The shoe is exceptionally fast for interval workouts and even during marathon-pace runs. But, as my workouts stretched out to 24 to 25 kilometres (including warm up and cool down), I started to wish that I had reached for the Alphafly on those days instead. I could likely lace these up for a half marathon, but I’m doubtful it’ll be the shoe I take to the start line in Hopkinton when I race the Boston Marathon next month.
I put in 120 kilometres of intervals and tempo runs ranging from 10K to marathon pace while testing the Vaporfly 4.
The Drop on the Vaporfly 4
The biggest change from version 3 is that the Vaporfly went on a diet. The sole is thinner and the shoe is lighter. Nike lowered the heel-to-toe offset to 6mm (down from 8mm), by reducing the total stack height—Nike says the heel is now 35mm thick.
That may not seem like much, but remember that most marathon racing shoes are pushing right up against the 40mm thickness limit instituted by World Athletics. Five millimeters is a little under a quarter inch, so the difference in cushioning is easily discernible.
It was less obvious when I bounced around in place comparing this Vaporfly with the 3. I’d venture to guess that it might have felt even a little softer as I did that dumb thing you see on Instagram—stomping on the foam with a comically impossible heel strike.
Part of that might be explained away by slight variations in production samples—rarely do shoes measure exactly as the spec sheet states. Our men’s size 9 sample of the Vaporfly 3 had stack heights of 35.8mm and 24.6mm, yielding a drop greater than 11mm. I haven’t received a men’s 9 of the Vaporfly 4 to measure for exact comparison yet.
At slower speeds, like when jogging a warmup, the heel still felt fairly soft. Once I got rolling at race speeds, however, I became more certain of the difference in ride and could tell the shoe had firmed up. It was also clear in the way I slightly adjusted my stride. I typically land with just the slightest heel strike. But, in the VF4, I noticed I landed midfoot more regularly, especially toward the end of a 16 kilometres progression run where I had worked down to a 3:39 kilometre. As the rubber slapped at the blacktop, it felt like there was nothing wasted between my foot and the road.
Along with the change to foam geometry comes the first change to the plate shape. Nike says the FlyPlate’s curvature is 3 degrees steeper, “which helps unlock leverage from the foot and ankle.”
What we’ve seen from plated shoes is that the plate isn’t really a spring that helps you bounce down the road. Rather, it’s designed precisely to let you harness as much of that foam underfoot as possible, and take advantage of the magical powers found in the new compounds. So it makes sense that with the tweaks to the proportions of foam, a different plate shape may yield different results.
Lighter Is Faster
There was a time when racing shoes were built to be as light as possible. Studies showed that an extra 100 grams of shoe weight caused you to burn 1 percent more energy—heavier shoes slowed you down. So we all laced up shoes that had about as much cushioning as a bedroom slipper to hammer 42.2 kilometres. Gosh, I don’t miss those days.
That thinking largely disappeared for a while. The Alphafly weighs more than the Vaporfly, yet we recommend you reach for it for longer races because the benefits of the foam, plate, and Air units compensate for the tax of the weight.
But that doesn’t mean shoe companies are content to let shoes get unnecessarily bulky. In fact, a big emphasis for this racer was to shave weight. My size 12 is 19 grams lighter than v3 and more than a full ounce lighter than the original 4%.
The Vaporfly 4 has a heavily sculpted midsole, which helps to reduce weight.
The easy answer to how Nike shaved the weight is the missing foam. But, there’s even more gone: Nike extended the channel that runs down the middle of the shoe underfoot, extending it even further back toward the heel.
That channel didn’t pose any stability issues for me, thankfully. While the workouts I did in these shoes were mostly straight line affairs at speeds ranging from 10K to marathon pace, I had to do a fair amount of juking side to side. A favorite stretch of bike path that we use for tempo runs features yellow gates to keep cars out. That means we also have to carve an exaggerated S-shaped course around them. In doing so at sub-6:00 pace, the shoes felt completely planted beneath me every time. The same can’t be said for softer, thicker shoes, which require me to pump the brakes briefly.
The Fit Is Good, But…
If you followed the tweaks to the Alphafly 3 a year ago, you may have had an idea what was in store for the VF4 refresh: a more accommodating fit! Like the marathon racer, this speedy race-day shoe got a bit wider through the midfoot—even though the foam at the narrowest point of the midfoot is skinnier where it meets the road. You can visibly see it when comparing the two shoes side by side and looking down from above. The sockliner in my men’s size 12 is about 1.5 cm wider through the midfoot, up to the point where the arch starts to curve upward.
The Vaporfly 4 (left) has a wider, more accommodating fit through the midfoot compared to the Vaporfly 3 (right).
I, personally, was not bothered by the width of the Vaporfly 3. I have a high arch and racy fitting shoes work well for me. But other testers felt the bite and, no matter how much they wanted, they just couldn’t make the upper work for the marathon distance. The extra bit of room, especially in the arch, will be much appreciated for those of you in a similar situation.
The upper material itself looks like a ho-hum engineered mesh, but it performs a magic trick. I swear, every time I pull the laces tight, it feels like either the laces or the mesh is stretching. I had to pay close attention to realize that it’s simply just the fabric shifting and totally conforming around my foot. It kind of shapeshifts. It’s a sensation I’ve not tired of.
That movement might be cause for the only real issue I had with the shoe: my left heel slips. It’s happening only on my left foot, and I rarely ever experience heel slippage in any running shoes. I’ve tried pulling the laces tighter, but I really do not like extra pressure on my foot, even if racing fast. I’ve also tried using the top eyelet to better lockdown my heel, but have found no joy. There’s still just the slightest bit of wiggle back there.
The upper mesh shifts as you pull the laces tight, closely wrapping around your foot.
I will add that it has not really posed any real problem, but it’s a minor annoyance. It certainly hasn’t stopped me from grabbing the shoe for some of my hardest sessions—120 kilometres of intervals and tempo runs during this training block. And I’d probably choose it first for a 10K or half marathon race, even knowing that I might feel the movement.
Who Should Buy the Nike Vaporfly 4?
Given all the changes, this shoe is really going to excel for competitive runners at a wide range of distances. It’s a shoe I’d snag for everything from a 5K on up to a half marathon (I’m probably in low-1:20s shape right now). For new runners, slower finishing times, and those who just appreciate some cushy bounce on race day, you may find yourself only ever lacing this one up for the shorter end of the spectrum. The exceptionally light and fast runners may still love the Vaporfly for races up to the marathon, because of that harsh, snappy ride with good ground feel and responsiveness.
If you’re seeking more comfort and late-kilometres protection for three to four hours of hard running, you’re better served putting those kilometres into the Alphafly 3.
