Nike Free RN

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.5 oz · 4mm drop · 20/16mm stack

Variants of this shoe

Free RN H Edition

Some shoes have multiple versions of what is essentially the same shoe, with variations in style or materials. We try to group these together. Retailers sometimes list a version number wrong, and our system can treat those mislabeled names as variants.

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Nike Free RN 2017 replaced it

How it ranks

The Nike Free RN ranks among the stronger daily trainers in our data. Looks and value are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 1 runner review and 3 other rated shoes in the Free RN product line. Another 11 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Current estimate: Very good

91/100

Overall

Very good 91

Appearance

Excellent 94

Value

Very good 91

Comfort

Very good 90

Durability

Good 84

Cushioning

Decent 74

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

64/100

Low 64

Based on product-line history, external ratings, and 1 runner rating.

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

One reviewer runs in it on roads, trails and the track, and gets a year out of a pair.
Light at 8.5 oz in men's sizing with a 4mm drop.

Cons

Its 20mm heel stack is about half the 39mm median for daily trainers on sale.
Two later Free RN versions rate higher than this one.

Free RN rates 91. This shoe has low certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Nike Free RN

Each dot is one version of the Free RN, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

91 2017 94 2019 92 2019 97 2017

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Free RN 2017

2017 · 0 reviews

97 Excellent

79 Confidence
Free RN 5.0

2019 · 9 reviews

92 Very good

87 Confidence
Free RN 3.0

2019 · 6 reviews

94 Excellent

79 Confidence
Free RN This shoe

2017 · 1 review

91 Very good

64 Confidence

Reader Ratings

1 rating

5/5 0

4/5 1

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.5 oz
Release: 2017 Q3
MSRP: $85
Stack Height: 20mm heel - 16mm toe
Drop Height: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Great all-around running shoe

4/5

Overall

Great all-around running shoe, roads, trails, track: whatever; and one pair will last a year no problem, though I prefer to cycle between two pairs (same model). Nice light feel and just enough cushion.

Anonymous runner · Feb 10, 2018

30 mpw training for middle distance