Nike SuperRep Go 3 review

This training shoe from Nike is great for people who want to take good care of the environment. Made of recycled materials, it is very much aligned with the green agenda. You are also expected to enjoy this Nike offering if you:

• love to do athletics-style workouts
• do only light to moderate lifting
• keep your workouts indoors
• are on the lookout for trainers that they can also wear the whole day 

Those gym rats who are shifty and therefore in need of more twist protection might not be so happy with the SuperRep Go 3. We think they are better off with the Nike Free Metcon 5. Those who are willing to try other brands might want to start with the Adidas Dropset 2.

Exercisers who want to do more with their shoes may find the SuperRep Go 3 lacking, especially in terms of durability. The Nike Metcon 9 is a good alternative for them, though they would have to shell out more dollars for this shoe.

We loved running and doing a lot of agility exercises while wearing the SuperRep Go 3. Its heel stack height didn't feel lacking and it didn't feel too much as well. When we brought it to the lab and did some measuring, we learned why: the heel is just as thick as the average at 24.7 mm

Just like the heel, the forefoot felt natural and well-balanced. There's nothing too emphasized in our experience. Our caliper showed that it's just as thick as the average at 19.4 mm.

What made the whole midsole setup a bit more special was the amount of springback that it delivered. We truly felt more efficient as we experienced so much bounce that fueled our steps, jumps, and leaps.

The SuperRep Go 3 from Nike felt flatter than usual. The reduced difference between the heel and the forefoot made this shoe good for exercises such as squats and agility ladders that require a good feel of the ground.

Still, it is important to note that the SuperRep 3 is not as flat and as close to the ground as the minimal trainer Minimus TR from New Balance.

Though it is still not as soft as the Reebok Nano X3, we are already pretty satisfied with the softness that the SuperRep Go 3 from Nike delivered. We used this trainer several times, and not once did we end up with a lot of pain even if we were already striking and jumping with a lot of vigor.

Our flexibility lab tests reveal that the Nike SuperRep Go 3 is 46% more flexible than the average trainer. We took advantage of this flexibility as we leveraged our box jumps and made quick direction changes during relays and sprints.

It was also because of this shoe's structural flexibility that breaking it in was not an issue. It didn't even take so much time.

We didn't expect breathability to be a problem, and we are right! Wearing this shoe felt like it had built-in electric fans that keep our feet well-aerated.

When we put the upper material under the microscope, the airiness that we experienced became a lot easier to explain.

The upper material is pretty porous, so air doesn't have problems going in and out of the shoe. We put a white cloth under the upper to make the pores more visible.

The Nike SuperRep Go 3 is just as breathable as the Reebok Nano X3, which for us is the most comfortable trainer there is.

Both shoes got a 4 out of 5 from us for ventilation. We felt truly comfortable and airy no matter how intensely we jumped rope or did our sprints.

We did not experience issues when it came to stability. The side walls were responsive enough to keep our feet in place during squats, ladders, and even some simple weightlifting.

Even if the upper material is porous, it never felt flimsy. It had enough response to counter the movements of our feet as we ran and did both lateral and vertical exercises.

The SuperRep Go 3 from Nike felt like it was made to accommodate the natural flexions of the foot. Because of the softness and flexibility (it scored only a 1 out of 5 for firmness!) of its base made it such a good companion for burpees, mountain climbers, and even prolonged planks. It was also great to wear when we did standing calf raises.

The moderately stiff heel counter also contributed a lot to the rearfoot stability that we enjoyed. After giving it a good squeeze in the lab, we gave this shoe a solid 3 out of 5 for firmness. This rating makes it better than the majority of the shoes that we have on record.

The Nike SuperRep Go 3 is good news for gym rats who want shoes that last. This shoe fared slightly better than the typical trainer in our Dremel drill test.

We hit the toebox on some equipment during our text workouts, and it held up well. Even our high-pressure Dremel drilling only left moderate damage on the upper material. This trainer deserves the 3 out of 5 that it got from us.

It's a very welcome bonus that this trainer looks great on the feet. We did not have problems wearing the SuperRep 3 in places other than the gym!

We did not expect much heel padding durability from a budget trainer like the Nike SuperRep Go 3. Even the Nike Legend Essential 3, which is currently the best budget trainer in our books, did not fare well in this regard.

True enough, the SuperRep Go 3 did not show any resistance to our Dremel drilling. It only got a rating of 1 over 5 from us, and this is already the lowest that we could give.

Surprisingly, the outsole delivered a little more hardness. It got a slightly better-than-average rating of 87.6 on our HC durometer. Because of this, we felt confident that this shoe can resist the normal abrasion that a training shoe is exposed to in an indoor gym.

Given the outsole's hardness, we expected it to be quite abrasion-resistant. And we were not disappointed. Our Dremel drilling on the outsole resulted in a dent (1.2 mm deep) that did not deviate much from what the average trainer incurred after going through the same test.

Because of the shoe's durability performance, we could even recommend the Nike SuperRep Go 3 for occasional outdoor use. Still, frequent outdoor exercisers are better off with the Reebok Nano X2 TR Adventure.

Our caliper measurements revealed that the Nike SuperRep Go 3's outsole is just as thick as the average at 3.3 mm. With the proper care, this shoe lasts long even when used outdoors at times.

The removable insole did not pose any problem in our experience; but there was nothing special about it, too. It's just as thick as average at 3.9 mm.

That the SuperRep Go 3 has a removable insole is good news for exercisers who like to use additional inserts and orthotics when they are working out. 

If you focus only on the tongue padding, the Nike SuperRep Go 3 definitely felt like a minimal trainer. Our caliper measurements reveal that this part of the shoe is thinner than the average by a staggering 82%. Good thing this setup did not lead to any discomfort on top of our feet.

This Nike trainer does not a heel tab. Fortunately, we did not have problems putting on and taking off this shoe. We really did not feel that we are missing something.

It's clear to us that the Nike SuperRep 3 is more about flexibility than anything is. Its non-gusseted design works in serious synergy with the overall flexibility of the shoe to give us as much freedom as possible to move in all directions.