Nike Air Zoom Winflo 4

Nike Air Zoom Winflo 4 – My New Found Love

More photos

I purchased the Nike Airzoom Winflo 4 at a sale to wear it mostly as a dressing shoe as the White Nike swoosh on the black fabric looked the part.

Never did I realize then that these would become my favorite neutral running shoe. I’ll nit-pick everything I can in the review below of Nike Air Zoom Winflo 4.

Appearance

Nothing fancy here.

Mine were plain black with Nike’s famous swoosh in white, although it may look boring, Nike surely does have a lot of interesting colors on offer for the Winflo 4.

The midsole has the grey “Zoom” midsole and the white “Cushlon” material to provide the contrast with the fabric. The upper has a knitted look to it with the perforations on the foot providing an appearance of an expensive shoe.

I primarily picked this as a casual wear to go with my khakis and jeans. Trust me! They look the bomb.

Nike has always been in the forefront of design and they pride themselves in releasing some of the most beautiful shoes around. The swoosh has become a symbol of performance with top athletes sporting Nike products.

Weight

The Winflo 4 weighs around 9 ounces for my size 10. Although it’s not the lightest shoe around, I didn’t have any issues with it. It felt light on my feet and I could race and run longer in them.

The cushioning from the midsole helps to cancel the weight to a good extent. But I’ll come to the midsole later.

Fit & Upper Construction

Fit was true to size in my case. I had ample wiggle-room on my feet.

The upper was super-light and breathable, thanks to the pores on the upper. The pores are prominent on the top and fade away towards the sides enhancing the looks of the shoe.

There are no visible seams and on the upper and there was a great continuation from the forefoot to the midfoot where Nike has incorporated a criss-cross texture all the way up to the heel cup.

Nike has pioneered the fly-wire technology for more than 5 years and is employed in the Winflo 4s as well.

Fly wires are basically elastic bands that run from the midsole to the midfoot and ties it into your lacing system (as pictured below).

It works like magic for someone like me where I felt a good grip on my medial side of the foot. The fly wires are not employed on the forefoot where it’s not required.

Nike has certainly acknowledged what’s right and has not overdone anything here. It was not constricting at all and there were no pressure points in the shoe. The toe box was quite roomy for me allowing for my feet to expand during all the pounding on asphalt.

The tongue, often forgotten is nicely cushioned and gazetted with the fabric same as the upper. In my experience, it stayed in its position comfortably without exerting any pressure on my feet.

The lacing was spot on. When I wore it to the Hamilton Round the bridges, it stayed intact throughout the hour and a half pounding it experienced.

Running Performance - Midsole

 How do I put it? It was simply unbelievable.

The cushlon material incorporated is easily my favorite midsole material for a neutral runner. I felt Cushlon delivered a more responsive ride while providing ample cushioning. I felt like running on clouds that were responsive as well.

For me, it was easily the best EVA midsole out there. I have tried NB’s blown rubber midsole, Mizuno’s u4ic and Asics’s Solyte EVA materials. But Cushlon sits above all of them. After more than 100kms in them, they still feel plush.

You could actually press your thumbs against the cushlon midsole to experience the responsiveness and the cushioning it offers.

Putting the Winflow 4 shoes on is just an exaggeration of it.

Complementing the Cushlon midsole, Nike has incorporated Zoom midsole underneath, closer to the outsole, acting more like a crash pad.

I was able to run for 20km comfortable without my knees hurting, thanks to the midsole which was able to absorb and damp most of the impact from the strike.

As you may notice, the shoe has a slight curve in the heel region.

Nike has done this deliberately for all those who heelstrike during their cadence. I am primarily a midfoot striker, but when I occasionally landed on my heels, the shoes were very forgiving.

The heel to toe drop is at 10mm, one mm more than the 9mm sweet spot. It wasn’t an issue for me as I felt a great landing to toe-off transition. I never had to modify my cadence, unlike the Mizuno Wave Prophecy 6’s that I reviewed earlier.

In short, Nike has indeed hit a home run with the midsole.

Running Performance - Outsole

The outsole is nothing revolutionary here from Nike. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are serrations on the lateral side of the midsole with a dimpled Air zoom unit right under the heel.

Nike has also placed rubber pods on the medial side of the outsole where it’s imperative to get a good grip as your heel strikes the ground. Although the traction is okay-ish, it is by no means a shoe that you can wear for your trail runs.

It is strictly a road shoe. After some 100kms in these, there’s a reasonable wear and tear that one can notice on the shoe, especially around the forefoot area. But for under $70, I cannot complain much.

Conclusion

Nike’s Airzoom Winflo 4 is a great shoe that offers a plush cushioning and a great comfort. It is a shoe that looks great and delivers great value for money.

Pros

• Plush cushioning
• Comfortable ride
• Great responsiveness
• Great for runs as well as for casual wearing
• Exceptional value for money
• Great for those longer runs
• Perfect for those heel-strikers.

Cons

• Surely not for over-pronators looking for some medial-side stability
• Concerns about outsole durability

"Flow with the Wind" with your Winflo 4

The running shoes for daily training. 

They will first catch your eye with a very innovative look made by their great color combination on their sole, body and laces all finishing with the super look of the Nike swoosh!

Start the Journey

Looks are only the start of the journey because when you first try them on, you will feel like floating. A plane taking off will be the rush felt with these on your feet.

The sock liner material of this shoe welcomes you and provides a comfortable step without the compromise of a heavy shoe.

Comfort in the Clouds

I will have to say that comfort is one of the major winning characteristics of the Winflo 4. The upper sole supports your feet from heel to toe and delivers an excellent support and balanced step through their cushion.

The upper and midsole of Winflo 4 help your feet to relax on every step you make, whether jogging or running on the treadmill or asphalt.

The Winflo 4 is a shoe with fabrics on the upper side to make it light and comfortable as well as breathable through its spiderweb-looking black fabric on the front side of your feet.

The outsole is just the result of genius engineering, as it has three main components in its structure. First, it has the mini rods towards the inside of your feet to give you lots of grip and traction for any terrain and will help you maintain your cadence. 

Second, the outsole also has straight strip lines in the outside part of the foot for stability which will help balance the step and help maintain speed.

Third, the outsole has a pentagon like bottom space for cushioning below your heels, which provides an immense comfort on long races, or when you may start to feel tired.

The Experience

Having tried the shoe for more than 70 miles now, I can say that the shoe delivers!

Once your feet gets warm after the first few kms, you'll be able to appreciate the lightweight on these like a gift from the running Gods.

Your step is well guarded, well-balanced with the sole cushion and your foot arch will be well guarded inside too.

The midsole and outsole, although might give you the impression of being flatter than those found in other running shoes, is really made with the same idea of keeping your toes off the ground and of going forward with a cadence aid by the lightness of the shoes. It's pure comfort.

Not more to say than go and get yourself a pair! Enjoy your running!