Nike Air Max 270 review

Don't let the Air Max 270 get away if you:

• Need a new pal to walk all day long, as this pair is really comfortable, breathable, and lightweight.
• Are always on a hurry and shoes with a booty-like structure are your go-to.
• Love Nike's Air technology and trendy sneakers that come in a lot of colorways.

The 270's upper lacks durability, which means it can end up with a hole sooner than you'd like it to. We believe the Air Max DN is a great alternative, as its construction is more durable overall. In fact, this Nike pair also has a more spacious fit that would fix the 270's tightness issue too!

On the other hand, if you're looking for a cool Air Max to wear when temperatures drop, the Pulse might be exactly what you need. It has a very similar sporty and clean style, but the 1/5 it earned on our breathability test just tells us it's your ideal match for cold winters.

We felt pretty tall when we put on this shoe during our wear tests, and our caliper was ready to turn that extra height into numbers! At 36.4 mm, the AM 270 is way taller than average, protecting us from harsh urban surfaces and absorbing every single impact... even when we had to run to catch the bus.

Our caliper returned 20.3 mm when we measured this Nike's forefoot stack, which is also higher than average. Overall, this translated into a crazy high level of comfort, and we felt we could walk all day long in these sneakers!

When we put on this shoe, we felt our rearfoot was way higher than our toes. After taking it to our lab, we calculated its drop and ended up with a steep 16.1 mm. It's way higher than average, but that's neither good nor bad! Drop is all about personal preferences, but you might want to have a look at our extensive guide on the topic before making any decisions.

The AM 270 features a 2-piece midsole that uses foams with different densities. When we pressed our durometer against the white one, which is closer to the foot, it returned 32.5 HA, indicating it's on the harder side. But don't worry, the ride doesn't feel stiff at all! Right below this foam layer, the Air technology makes sure you feel like you're walking on clouds.

In order to enhance stability, the secondary foam is even more stiff, at 38.0 HA. We believe the brand hit the bull's eye with this design, as it mixes comfort and stability with the bubbly Ait technology.

The best part is that, despite this higher result, we still felt like we were walking on clouds. This is thanks to the massive Air technology you can see on the heel, which makes the ride way softer and really enjoyable.

This Nike pair features a standard insole. At 4.3 mm, it's thinner than average, yet thanks to the Air technology, we didn't really feel like we needed any more cushioning.

On foot, the Nike Air Max 270 offers a fairly predictable fit for a medium D width. So when we poured a gel mold of this Nike shoe, it only confirmed our initial impression.

In its widest area, the mold clocked in at a perfectly average 92.3 mm width.

Even though this Nike shoe's toebox appears pointy from the side, we found that its actually slightly rounded.

It showed a slightly above-average width of 70.8 mm which is still within the medium-width range but offers some wiggle room for prolonged walking.

Please note that the tip of the Nike Air Max 270 sits pretty low and close to the toes.

We found it to be shallower than average at 25.0 mm but luckily, the upper mesh has enough give to compensate for that when the sneaker is on foot.

Even though we moved our ankles from one side to the other, this running-inspired pair didn't let our joints overextend themselves. Its booty-like design hugged our feet comfortably and safely!

The 4/5 we gave the AM 270 on our torsional rigidity test just proves, one more time, that the massive Air technology doesn't make it unstable. As you can see in the video, our fingers struggled a lot, as the midsole and the Air cushioning would just not give in.

Regarding the heel, there are 2 key points we want to mention. First, the sides, which are almost totally covered by the plastic protection of the Air technology. This material just won't bend, as it's stiff enough to resist our finger pushes.

The thing is that the plastic also covers the back of the heel, but the wall it creates is not that high. This let our thumb push the area easily, and the material went down in a second. All in all, the AM 270 offers a supportive and comfortable ride with an easy-on design that'll make you want to wear it even more!

As you might already know, Nike is not known for its massively spacious designs. Even though this trend is slightly shifting towards, what we believe, is the right direction... it's not something we see in every shoe. In fact, the AM 270 features a way narrower-than-average midsole in the forefoot, at only 103.0 mm.

The good news is that the heel is totally the opposite, and you can easily notice that just by looking at it. At a massive 92.1 mm, the midsole in the rearfoot is way wider than average, which translated into comfort and more stability thanks to the more spacious landing area for our feet.

Torsionally, the AM 270 might be stiff because of its midsole and unbendable Air technology at the heel. But longitudinally, it easily went for a 90-degree bow... Simone Biles style!

We only needed 15.4N of force, which is way less than average. This translated into an easy and comfortable ride during our wear tests, as the shoe followed our feet moves smoothly.

When we walked around town or had to run some errands, this Air Max model felt really light. We could walk for hours and hours, yet our feet didn't get too tired. We knew this was thanks to the nimble nature of the shoe, but when we took it to our lab... we didn't expect it to be that light!

Our scale returned 10.55 oz/299g, which is way lower than average. In fact, according to our data, the 270 is the lightest Air Max we have analyzed so far! It feels like a couple of feathers, and its lightweight just adds extra comfort points to its deliciously flexible structure.

As soon as we put the cut-up upper in from of our LED, we knew this Nike would excel in breathability: the light shone through its mesh easily!

The toebox wins the prize as the area with the most ventilation holes. We verified this with our smoke machine, and when we saw the Reebok Phase Court flop (it choked up so bad we could only give it a 1/5 on this same test) we were absolutely certain this Air Max deserved a perfect 5/5 on our breathability test.

Thanks to our microscope, we saw the woven material of the upper had big gaps with mesh that favored airflow.

Overall, the upper doesn't have any tightly woven parts at the toebox. This area focuses on keeping your feet fresh and sweat-free, and we really appreciated it when we wore this shoe in the summer.

The toebox of the AM 270 is incredibly breathable, so we didn't have high expectations regarding durability. And we were totally right, as our Dremel (at 5K RPM and with 2N of force) completely obliterated the material. Sadly, we could only give this Nike pair a 1/5 on this test.

The heel did slightly better, but nothing that would earn it more than a 2/5 on our durability test. We believe this is most likely due to the booty-like design of the shoe, as it focuses on being comfortable and avoids using a stiff piece at the heel that might cause rubbing.

When we pressed our durometer against one of the waffle-like pieces of the outsole, it returned 92.0 HC. This result is higher than average, which usually indicates the material is ready to last.

And it turns out our hypothesis was correct, as the Dremel lost its fight against this Air Max's outsole.

At 10K RPM and with 2N of force, the tool went all in, yet the dent left only had 0.8 mm of depth (according to our tread gauge). This is great news: the damage is not as bad as the average, which means you can use these sneakers non-stop without having to worry about its outsole giving up any time soon.

Considering the durable nature of the AM 270's outsole, Nike didn't have to go for an extra-thick piece that would add some weight to the shoe. Instead, its thickness at the heel's Air Unit is just 3.6 mm.

We're big fans of Nike's waffle outsole, and even though the AM 270 features a harder compound that focuses on being durable, we can't complain about its grip.

When we walked around town, went for a stroll, or had lunch with friends, we never had any issues regarding traction. This shoe bit the floor with no problems, and the traction on urban surfaces was just fine. We're pretty happy with its performance, honestly!

Taking into account the price range of the Air Max family and the technologies and advantages the 270 features, we believe its price is fair. Nevertheless, don't hesitate to have a look at this Nike's collection if you're looking for a cheaper pair!

The AM 270 doesn't have any reflective elements. If you want a shiny model from this collection, click here!

The booty-like construction of these sneakers didn't need an extra padded tongue to protect your instep from any potential lace bite. Consequently, the 270 can go for a thinner tongue (at 5.0 mm).

This reduces the overall weight of the shoe, which is the main objective of its design. In fact, the whole structure is pretty thin, lightweight, and breathable, which makes this Air Max's airy upper ideal for any summer and/or long adventure in town.

As we have just mentioned, the AM 270 features a booty design. This means its upper hugs your feet comfortably, so the tongue is fully gusseted.

Even though this Nike pair is easy to put on, the brand decided to add a practical (and really stylish) finger loop at the back to help us with its booty construction.

The insole of these sneakers is nothing special, but the fact that it's removable just makes it a success story to us!