The Nike Pegasus is one of the most popular running shoes on the market for its wide availability and its consistent fit and feel year after year. The Nike Zoom Fly is the training companion to the record-breaking Nike VaporFly. Which of these shoes is right for you?
The Nike Zoom Fly has a thick midsole made from SR02 and ZoomX foam with a plate imbedded into the midsole. The Nike Pegasus has a ReactX foam midsole with a forefoot Zoom Air unit and a heel Zoom Air unit on top of the midsole.
In terms of stability, the high midsole of the Zoom Fly makes it a little unstable, especially for heel strikers. The Pegasus on the other hand is low to the ground and firm so there is no lean bias.
The plate and the thick midsole of the Zoom Fly make it very rigid and it doesn’t flex much. The Pegasus has a relaxed, more flexible forefoot.
The ride of the Zoom Fly is modern with a distinct propulsive feel as your forefoot rolls forward and pushes off. The Pegasus has a more traditional ride with the Zoom Air bags providing some extra cushioning and rebound.
The outsole of the Pegasus has lots of thick, hard durable rubber throughout the bottom of the shoe. The outsole of the Zoom Fly has a thick piece of rubber in the forefoot with full rubber coverage in the rearfoot. It has an exposed SR02 midsole in the midfoot.
The foams of the Zoom Fly and the Pegasus are more durable than traditional EVA as it won’t lose as much cushioning over the life of the shoe. The Pegasus has the more durable outsole as it has much more rubber.
The Zoom Fly has a mesh upper that feels similar to a daily trainer. The upper of the Zoom Fly has superb foot lockdown and is also very comfortable. It has extra padding on the inside of its collar so heel lockdown is fantastic and there is no heel slippage. The Zoom Fly fits true to size but is not available in additional widths.
The Pegasus has a more traditional upper made from engineered mesh. The tongue is lightly padded and shorter than the Zoom Fly’s tongue. The heel is padded and gentle on the Achilles and the fit of the Pegasus is very accommodating and comfortable. It also comes in narrow and extra wide versions of the shoe.
If you loved the Pegasus 40, you won’t be disappointed with the Pegasus 41. It’s a Goldilocks shoe: it’s firm but not hard, versatile for all types of runs and is very well-priced. With the Pegasus, you always know what you’re going to get: a durable, dependable workhorse of a shoe.
If you love innovative shoes and want a fast-feeling shoe, the Zoom Fly is for you. The Zoom Fly shares many features with the record-breaking VaporFly but at a much cheaper cost. The Zoom Fly series is one of the most popular plated running shoes on the market for a reason: it has a nice “POP” when doing tempo runs in them and is a very durable training shoe.
