Nike Flex Control 4 review

Not as minimalist as the Nike Free Train series, the Flex Control 4 has some cushioning to it. You are likely to appreciate this trainer if you are after the following:

• an entry-level shoe for a very low price
• a light and flexible workout shoe for aerobic exercises, plyometrics, and similar
• a no-frills pair of school gym shoes
• footwear that can be doubled for casual, everyday wear

As one of Nike’s cheapest training shoe offerings, the Flex Control 4 may not live up to the expectations of some people when it comes to durability. Reebok offers a Reebok Nano X3, which is versatile and great for agile workouts. It is a bit more expensive yet also more durable.

And if you are looking for a shoe that can handle some serious training sessions that involve lots of weightlifting, we recommend checking out the more premium-level Nike Metcons. Some of their earlier iterations are offered with a generous discount. 

For more options, see our guide on the best workout shoes. We monitor the market of training footwear and select the best models in different categories.

The Nike Flex Control 4 is aptly named as it features deep furrows at the forefoot section facilitating unhindered foot bending.

In addition, the edges of the outsole have a rounded design which allowed our feet to smoothly transition from landing to midstance, and finally to toe-off. We noticed that the beveled edges on the lateral and medial sides of this Nike workout trainer also facilitate fluid side-to-side agility.

Generally, we can describe the ride of this shoe to be very smooth.

Using a shoe flexing tester, we measured exactly how much force it takes to bend the Flex Control 4 by 30 degrees in the forefoot. At 10.1N, it indeed required less force than the average trainer!