Reader review
5/5
Overall
Anonymous runner · Sep 23, 2023
- Comfort
- 4/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 5/5
Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2
Racing · Neutral · Road · 6.9 oz · 8mm drop · 38/30mm stack
Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Nike Vaporfly 3 replaced it
How it ranks
The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 is one of the strongest racing shoes in our data. Looks and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 49 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Vaporfly product line.
Exceptional
99/100
Overall
99
Appearance
99
Cushioning
98
Comfort
86
Value
75
Durability
50
Confidence
99
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.
Confidence
99/100
What runners say
“The pop and bounce and ease of going race pace is unrivalled.”
“Terrible durability, expensive, hard to put on, bad stability.”
“Kept its speed for 50 miles before it went downhill; not recommended past 150–200 miles.”
“The outsole of the shoe near the heel wore out really quick and the sides started to split.”
“What trumps all its myriad flaws is pure speed.”
“This is the fastest shoe I have ever run in hands down.”
“The back heel constantly causes friction on the Achilles and cuts through it.”
“For threshold days I barely had to push to hit the required paces and for speed days I was able to run fast easily.”
“If you tend to heel strike or race at 5min/km pace or slower, you probably shouldn't buy these.”
“Only truly last 200–300 miles but you can push it.”
Prefer this shoe over another
67% 16/24
Where to buy
No offers available
Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.
Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.
Pros
- Reviewers consistently call it their fastest shoe for races and speed workouts.
- At 6.9 oz on a 38mm heel stack.
- Three runners say their legs feel fresh after marathons and long efforts.
Cons
- Durability is its lowest-rated dimension at 3.3 out of 5, and reviewers report outsole wear and lost bounce within a few months, one after ten sessions.
- Reviewers report the heel rubbing, sore calves and an arch that feels high.
- It lists at $250, and reviewers call that too much for how long it lasts.
Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale
Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.
Confidence
50
60
70
80
90
100
25
50
75
100
Better Shoes Rating
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
-
2025 · 3 reviews
98 Exceptional
91 Confidence
-
2023 · 89 reviews
99 Exceptional
100 Confidence
-
ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 This shoe
2021 · 49 reviews
99 Exceptional
99 Confidence
-
2019 · 27 reviews
100 Exceptional
100 Confidence
-
2017 · 73 reviews
99 Exceptional
100 Confidence
Specs & fit
Sizing and ride details at a glance.
- Weight
- 6.9 oz
- Release
- 2021 Q2
- MSRP
- $250
- Stack Height
- 38mm heel - 30mm toe
- Drop Height
- 8mm
Runner reviews
One of the top supershoes for sure
5/5
Overall
Just the classic go-to supershoe racer, for distances 5k-10k to probably half-marathons. Wear them on trails (wears them down quickly though), roads, track training, all of the fast stuff. The pop and bounce and ease of going race pace is unrivalled, and helps to reduce injury risk and preserve your legs during harder workouts.
ningkaiyang · Sep 19, 2023
5 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the HOKA Rincon 2
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 3/5
- Appearance
- 4/5
- Value
- 5/5
Fine for a severe overpronator
5/5
Overall
I always have post tib issues and shin splints but despite being highly unstable this shoe worked great for my races on the track, road, and xc. not worth except on discount.
Anonymous runner · Sep 19, 2023
3 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Brooks Hyperion Elite 3
- Comfort
- 4/5
- Cushioning
- 4/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 2/5
High Performance, Best Supershoe line in the market, better value than the next%3
5/5
Overall
Expensive but worth it when they go on sale. Some of the fastest shoes I've run in, including spikes. Not very durable but that is expected with a racing/performance super shoe.
Anonymous runner · Aug 11, 2023
training for 5K and 10K
- Comfort
- 4/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 2/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 4/5
Fast shoe, but causes so much blistering
4/5
Overall
I love how fast the shoe is. Whether I am ripping mile repeats or hills it is a really fast shoe. But it has it's downsides. The back heel of the shoe constantly causes friction on my Achilles and cuts through it. The shoe also is not very durable as it lasted me about 2 months.
Sean · Aug 3, 2023
10 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike ZoomX Streakfly
- Comfort
- 3/5
- Cushioning
- 3/5
- Durability
- 2/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 4/5
More from Nike
Compared to other shoes
See how this shoe compares to others like it.
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Shoe properties
Type
Racing
Racing
Racing
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
6.9 oz M
4.9 oz M
Lightest
7.7 oz M
Stack
38/30mm
36/30mm
—
Drop
8mm
6mm
8mm
Release
2021 Q2
2025
Newest
2024 Q1
MSRP
$250
$260
$295
Best price
—
$109.99
Lowest price
$142.82
Ratings
Overall
Exceptional (99)
Best overall
Exceptional (98)
Exceptional (99)
Comfort
Good (86)
Good (89)
Excellent (95)
Best comfort
Cushioning
Exceptional (98)
Best cushioning
Exceptional (98)
Exceptional (97)
Durability
Bottom-tier (50)
Bottom-tier (51)
Below average (64)
Best durability
Appearance
Exceptional (99)
Best appearance
Exceptional (98)
Excellent (96)
Value
Decent (75)
Below average (67)
Good (84)
Best value
Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 In Context
More on the Nike Vaporfly
- Nike Vaporfly 4
- Nike Vaporfly 3 next version
- Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% previous version
- Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%
Reviewers Also Ran In
- New Balance 1080 v10 1 runner
- HOKA Rincon 2 1 runner
- Nike Zoom Alphafly Next% 1 runner