Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%

Name: Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%
Brand: Nike
Rating: 4.7 (71 reviews)

Racing · Neutral · Road · 6.9 oz · 10mm drop · 39/29mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% replaced it

How it ranks

The Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% is one of the strongest racing shoes in our data. Looks and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 73 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Vaporfly product line.

Exceptional

99/100

Overall

Exceptional 99

Cushioning

Exceptional 99

Comfort

Exceptional 99

Appearance

Exceptional 99

Value

Bottom-tier 59

Durability

Bottom-tier 50

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

100/100

Very high 100

What runners say

“These shoes are fast, and it was hard to dial the goal pace in because they want to go so fast.”

5/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v3

“On my first run in the shoes I immediately noticed some extra pop, more so than anything I had run in before.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance 1500 v4

“The combination of the carbon plate with ZoomX midsole cushioning provides just the right amount of feedback and forward propulsion.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance 1500 v4

“Normally the quads feel like rocks by that point, especially going uphill. But they felt much better in the 4% .”

5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike LunarTempo 2

“These do what they are advertised to do, help you really roll/pop off your toes with the plate. It was a stressor that my achilles, ankles, and calves just couldn't handle, leaving me extremely sore.”

1/5 Full review training for a marathon

“This is the single best shoe i have ever run in, there is a genuine difference in comfort, road feel and speed.”

5/5 Full review 100 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike LunaRacer 4

“The cushion technology has my legs feeling great far into long runs and better than ever after runs.”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Havok XC2 Flat

“The first mile was downhill, and I could feel a lot of cushioning and springiness for each step.”

5/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v3

“They aren't too durable; after about 5 miles of wear, I can already see how the soles are grinding out on the street.”

5/5 Full review 3 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Zoom Fly SP (Special Project)

“The cushioning can be comparable to a Hoka One One but quite honestly this is more plush.”

4/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Zoom Pegasus 35 Turbo

Prefer this shoe over another

51% 34/67

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers repeatedly report legs feeling fresher after races and long runs in it.
At 6.9 oz on a 39mm heel stack, and reviewers call it incredibly cushioned for the weight.
Reviewers report race PRs at distances from the 10k to the marathon.

Cons

Durability is its lowest-rated dimension at 3.3 out of 5, and reviewers report the outsole wearing and the sole peeling, one after about 200 miles.
Value rates 3.7 out of 5 against a $250 list price, and reviewers who like the shoe still call it too expensive.
Reviewers say it feels unstable at slower paces, and eleven of seventy-three find it runs small.

Zoom Vaporfly 4% rates 99. This shoe has very high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Nike Vaporfly

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

99 2017 100 2019 99 2021 99 2023 98 2025

Release year

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

Vaporfly 4

2025 · 3 reviews

98 Exceptional

91 Confidence
Vaporfly 3

2023 · 89 reviews

99 Exceptional

100 Confidence
ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

2021 · 49 reviews

99 Exceptional

99 Confidence
ZoomX Vaporfly Next%

2019 · 27 reviews

100 Exceptional

100 Confidence
Zoom Vaporfly 4% This shoe

2017 · 73 reviews

99 Exceptional

100 Confidence

Reader Ratings

73 ratings

5/5 55

4/5 16

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 2

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 6.9 oz
Release: 2017 Q3
MSRP: $250
Stack Height: 39mm heel - 29mm toe
Drop Height: 10mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

4% are totally Legit

5/5

Overall

Honestly, I feel these are the best marathon racing shoes currently on the market. First marathon race in them and I went from a 2:51:24 PR to a 2:47:00 @ Louisiana marathon. You really have no choice but to run fast in these!!! My very first run in the Zoom Vaporfly 4% was a 5 mile progression (6:28, 6:15, 5:43, 5:38, 5:29) As far as the marathon they are absolutely incredible after 20 miles. Other shoes your feet start to ache and quads/calves start to really work after 20. In these my legs and feet felt incredible. I've only put 79 miles on my pair so far but do think they can go 200-300 miles. The $250 price tag is alittle high but for a 4+ minute PR I'll take it. I've been trying to run sub 2:50 marathon for some time now and finally got it in the Vapors. I'm 100% sold on these and look forward to many many more marathons in them.

Anonymous runner · Jan 31, 2018

40 mpw training for a marathon came from the adidas Adizero Boston 5 Boost

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 4/5

Might not be for everyone

1/5

Overall

I've pretty much only been reading rave reviews of this shoe, so as of now, I'll just put myself as an outlier. Shoes are comfy, kind of bouncy feeling, with a great cushion to weight ratio. Unfortunately, they just don't seem to work for either my gait or inefficiencies or imbalances. I'm a heal striker, found that these do what they are advertised to do, help you really roll/pop off your toes with the plate. It was a stressor that my achilles, ankles, and calves just couldn't handle, leaving me extremely sore. Again, I seem to be in the minority here, just wanted to offer a review from someone these shoes did not work for.

learningcurve · Jan 31, 2018

training for a marathon

Comfort: 3/5
Durability: 2/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 1/5

Big PR

5/5

Overall

Big PR in these at Chicago (by more than 5 mins). But I'm not sure if it was weeks of higher mileage and proper training. Training the same way again for Boston with higher mileage and more threshold work. Aiming for sub 2:40 and running in the same shoe. They do give me a a confidence boost so I'll run in them. Sort of trusting a Luxury car on the road vs a Kia.

Anonymous runner · Jan 31, 2018

80 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 34

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 4/5

Very Fast Running Shoe

5/5

Overall

The second time I tried VF 4%, I decided to do a 5K time trial, and PRed for 1 mi and 2 mi. This was actually done not long after I recovered from a period of overtraining, and I couldn't keep up with the fast pace. I personally think this shoe is great for racing and up-tempo training, maybe still OK for fast easy. But it's not meant for slow recovery run. Before, I had Asics, then Newton. Now I only run with Zoom Fly and VF 4%. I feel VF 4% is probably half size bigger than Zoom Fly. I gave 9/10 for comfort because after 10mi, I felt the shoe lace became uncomfortably tight, that's kinda wired. And for durability, I gave 9/10 simply because the out sole shows some tear after one run only although I know it's just a cosmetic issue. Overall, I definitely recommend getting one of this for HM/Marathon race!

Will and Way · Jan 31, 2018

3 mpw training for a marathon

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Great Shoe

5/5

Overall

Comfortably fast. Propels you as miles add up. Feels a little unstable and hard to sprint at the end of races.

robert_cal · Jan 15, 2018

40 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Free 4.0 2015

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 4/5

Top Rankings

By Category

Best Deals

Explore

Start Here

Analyses

Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%

Exceptional