Nike Tech Hera review

Don't let the Nike Tech Hera stay forever on the Olympus of your wish list if:

• You don't settle for anything else but the best regarding design (durable, high-quality and authentic suede).
• You're looking for a comfortable shoe underfoot that boosts your height.
• You want something supportive and stable, but anything that's not a looker is a no-no.
• You're loving the chunky aesthetics trend.

If you want a pair of sneakers to wear all day, every day... forget about the Tech Hera. Its outsole lacks durability, and it doesn't have the best design for hours of use (its upper materials are neither stretchy nor breathable). We believe the Nike Zoom Vomero 5 is a great alternative, and it also has similar aesthetics.

If you're looking for something cheaper that's comfortable from the very first minute you put it on, the Nike V2K Run or the Nike P-6000 might also be a couple of nice choices.

At 35.8 mm, the Tech Hera's heel stack is fairly higher than average. This means your feet will be shielded and separated from the ground, as this Nike falls into the maximalist category of sneakers, which are really trendy nowadays.

The forefoot stack is also higher than average at 24.7 mm. If you want to feel slightly taller, this pair sounds like a great option!

Even though both stack heights are pretty high, there's a big difference between them, which leaves us with a high drop of 11.1 mm. This is pretty much average, and it only indicates that the muscles of your hips and knees will work slightly harder than the ones on your ankles and calves.

During our wear tests, we felt the Tech Hera had that cloud-like comfort of the Hokas. It all made sense when we took it to our lab and our durometer returned 25.0 HA, indicating this shoe's foam is softer than average.

As this Nike pair already has a soft and cushy midsole, the brand decided not to go for a massive insole. At 3.8 mm, our caliper demonstrated Nike decided to save some weight here, as the comfort levels of the Tech Hera were already pretty high.

Right out of the box, we could tell the Tech Hera has a chunkier profile. Our caliper confirmed it at 101.7 mm when we measured its toebox width at the widest part, which is, once again, higher than average.

Our standard-sized feet enjoyed this extra space, especially when we had been the whole day walking and they started to get swollen. Despite its width, we can't recommend this Nike pair to sneakerheads with wider feet, as its upper materials are not stretchy at all, which might lead to discomfort after hours of use in their case.

Breaking the standards once again, our caliper marked 77.3 mm when we measured the Tech Hera's toebox width at the big toe.

Even though this result is wider than average, don't let it trick you. During our wear tests, we found out this shoe doesn't have a lot of vertical space. Consequently, we believe people with wide feet or whose toes are pointing up might find it uncomfortable or way too snug.

The running heart of this Nike pair started beating once again during our lateral stability test. Even though we don't believe this shoe is made to play sports with, its foot-hugging structure made us feel pretty confident when we were walking around town, as it stopped our ankles from overextending themselves.

The high lateral walls of these sneakers didn't even give our fingers a chance. Twisting the Tech Hera was just mission impossible, which earned it a perfect 5/5 on our torsional rigidity test. To us, this translated into a break-in period. It wasn't too bad, but this shoe needs to warm up to you before offering all its comfort.

We were really thankful that the heel wasn't as rigid. Even though the top part bowed down easily, the lateral rubberized wall surrounding the bottom gave this area some extra structure. Scoring a well-deserved 3/5 on our stiffness test, it offered us a nice mix of support and comfort during our walks.

As soon as we turned this shoe upside down, we were welcomed by a fairly wide midsole. At the forefoot, our caliper returned 114.0 mm, which is way higher than average. This translated into a more stable ride, as our feet had more space to land comfortably after every step.

We can happily say the midsole at the heel follows its counterpart's example. At 92.2 mm, it's also on the wider side, adding some extra points on support once again.

When we took the Tech Hera to our lab and bent it to 90 degrees, our force gauge marked 29.1N. This result is higher than average, which means this shoe is not as flexible (longitudinally) as most sneakers. But that's something we expected from the chunky build of this pair, to be honest. Even though it takes them a while to warm up, once we wore these sneakers for a while, they started bending alongside our feet more and more easily, which translated into our overall comfort levelling up.

The chunky vibe of this pair might be tricky at first sight, but it didn't feel heavy on foot. At 13.4 oz/381.0g, our scale confirmed it's lighter than average, which is great news for anyone who's thinking about wearing the Tech Hera all day, as their feet won't get as tired.

On another episode of why appearances can be deceptive, the Tech Hera technically looks like it would let some air come in and out, but we were totally wrong.

Not even our LED light helped us see a single ventilation hole. And why's that? Well, because there are none!

And things got even worse on our smoke test. We even had to check if the machine was working properly, as this Nike didn't let a single breath of air out. After comparing its terrible performance with the ASICS Gel NYC's, which scored a well-deserved 5/5 on this same test, we're even more sure of the 1/5 we gave the Tech Hera on breathability.

Our microscope shows us why this shoe's solid upper didn't favor airflow at all. If you don't want to end up with sweaty feet, forgetting about wearing this Nike pair in the summer might be for the best.

As expected from a Nike pair at this price, it features authentic suede. As you can see in the video below, we didn't have to deal with a massive flame or some smelly melted plastic.

After the terrible results on breathability, we expected the Tech Hera to offer great durability. And it did! Reinforcing once again the "low breathability = high durability" equation

At 5K RPM and with the typical 3.2N of force, the Dremel tried its best to destroy this Nike's toebox, but it was futile. The flying white materials were scary at first, but when we saw the results, we realized this shoe was almost as good as new. The mere scratch it got earned it a solid 5/5 on our toebox durability test.

But the story changed completely at the back. The heel padding showed awful durability, and the same 5K RPM and 3.2N of force were enough for the tool to destroy it in the blink of an eye.

The flying white materials were now a bad omen, and the heel padding didn't stand a chance against our Dremel. After seeing this horrifying performance, we decided to give the Tech Hera a mere 1/5. So don't expect much of a lifespan from this area if you overuse the shoe.

Our durometer returned 88.9 HC when we measured this shoe's outsole hardness. It's an average result, which indicates the Tech Hera should offer a healthy mix of durability and grip.

On our last Dremel test, the tool comes back stronger, at 10 K RPM but with the same 3.2N of force. And despite the previous hopeful durometer reading, we were welcomed by yet another disappointing performance on durability from the Tech Hera.

The rubber mountain building up like grated cheese right next to the tool almost spoke louder than our tread gauge, which returned 1.6 mm when we measured the depth of the damage. This means these sneakers will be worn out sooner than others, so they might not be the best choice if you're looking for a trustworthy daily beater.

We thought Nike might have gone for a thicker piece of rubber to compensate for the poor durability of this shoe's outsole, but we were wrong. Our caliper marked 4.4 mm, which is lower than average; but we can understand the brand's decision, as it most likely wanted to save up some weight.

As you can see, the outsole of the Tech Hera is pretty unique.

And we don't say that just because it features different patterns, but also because its shape is pretty unconventional. Looking somehow like a palm tree, this Nike pair offered great traction from the very first minute, and from the heel to the toes. Its massive white gaps favor flexibility, which is something we really appreciated, as it improved the overall comfort.

In conclusion, we're pretty happy with the Tech Hera's grip, as it bit urban surfaces with the hunger of PacMan.

We've got mixed feelings about the Tech Hera's price. On the one hand, its durable and high-quality upper materials, alongside its comfortable midsole, make it a great companion for your daily activities. But, on the other hand, its poor breathability and outsole durability make us think it's not suited for constant use. We understand its aesthetics earn it a fair amount of points, but the P-6000 and the V2K Run are two trendy options from Nike that offer great ventilation and durability for a more affordable price.

Despite its steeper price, the Tech Hera doesn't feature any reflective elements.

Our caliper returned 6.0 mm when we measured this shoe's tongue padding. This score is lower than average, but we found it ideal. It felt comfortable, protected us from any kind of lace bite, and reduced this pair's overall weight. What else could we ask for?

Apart from being functional, we found these sneakers' finger loop really cute. Even though the Tech Hera doesn't have a gusseted tongue, which means that putting the shoe on and off is pretty easy, we always appreciate some extra help.

We're huge fans of removable insoles, so we always appreciate it when a shoe features one.

If you want or need to change the Nike Tech Hera's to use your own orthotics, you won't have any problems. Nevertheless, please keep in mind the inner volume of this pair is limited, so if you add a thicker insole, it might ruin your experience (and add some unpleasant extra weight!).