Nike Zoom Fly 5 review

We think that this Nike shoe is most suitable for steady efforts and medium to long-distance runs. This is all thanks to its smooth and rockered ride. 

The Zoom Fly 5 also has its downsides, and one thing that sticks out is its slightly heavier weight. On top of this, it's not the tempo trainer Nike says it is. This said you're better off with the newer Nike Streakfly.

If you want comfort and speed combined, the Nike Pegasus Turbo might suit you better than the Zoom Fly 5.

Here is the main reason why we prefer the Zoom Fly 5 for relaxed and easy days - 37 mm of stack in the heel!

Not only is it 3.5 mm taller than average, but we also found it among the best vibration-dampening trainers on the market!

The Zoom Fly 5 is a high-stacked shoe in every way! Even in the forefoot, our caliper showed 29.4 mm which is 5 mm taller than average.

The difference in stack heights gives us a heel-to-toe drop of 7.5 mm. That's a middle-ground drop that will perfectly work for the majority of runners. 

After years of having a Nike React foam in this tempo shoe series, Nike finally introduced its cutting-edge ZoomX foam in the Zoom Fly 5! However, it was rather disappointing because the ZoomX doesn't go full length. 

How does this translate on the run? Well, it doesn't feel very soft or spongy, and the ride is rather firm. That's a real bummer because the ZoomX portion of the midsole appears to be SO plush in our durometer measurement. At 11.0 HA, this foam is extremely soft (79% softer than average).

Most likely, this happens for three reasons:

• firstly, as you can see in the picture below, in the forefoot the plate gets much closer to the outsole, changing the feel in this area;
• secondly, the recycled ZoomX foam used in this shoe is firmer than the regular ZoomX;
• lastly, there's also a thinner layer of EVA foam (SR-02 type) just above the outsole, which is much firmer than the ZoomX. 

What's more, even when the shoe is put into cold temperatures, its ZoomX foam retains its soft properties! We were shocked to see a durometer reading of 14.5 HA whereas most shoes firm up to 30 HA!

Even when frozen, the Nike Zoom Fly 5 is over 100% softer than most shoes!

The shoe's insole has a thickness of 3 mm. It is actually thinner than most shoes we tested (4.5 mm on average) but we didn't have any problems with that.

We have come to the conclusion that the Nike Zoom Fly line is no longer a tempo running shoe. With its maxed-out cushion, it feels pretty heavy and cruisy. And when it comes to energy return, the shoe is not giving much back! 

Even the rockered geometry doesn't do much to make the shoe more propulsive. That's a real shame for the Zoom Fly collection. 

Nike Zoom Fly 5 (top) vs. New Balance Fuelcell SuperComp Trainer (bottom)

So where does it fit better? We believe that it now belongs to the daily trainers for long distances. 

The Fly 5 uses a no-nonsense upper that just works! A real workhorse type of upper. We found it to be very comfortable and form-fitting. Once we laced it up, a solid foothold was guaranteed.

We measured the shoe at the widest part and the result was 95 mm, which is just a little bit narrower than the average.

What's more, the toebox narrows towards the toes more than other running shoes' toeboxes we measured. Overall, this is in line with Nike's trend to have narrower toe boxes in general.

Also, as often happens with Nike, the shoe's toebox has a notably tapered shape.

Our calipers returned a really narrow width measurement around the big toe - only 71.1 mm.

What's great about this Nike shoe is that it has enough stiffness to deliver a well-supported underfoot experience. Relatively supportive, of course, given its stack height and plate.

At least the shoe made us feel surefooted enough when cornering.

We could feel how stiff the shoe was by merely twisting it in our hands. On a 1-5 scale where 5 is the stiffest, we gave its torsional rigidity a score of 4. 

Having this bit of stiffness helps to prevent the ankles from rolling over the sole edges too easily.

The heel counter also plays an important part in making the shoe more supportive.

Testing its stiffness in the Nike Zoom Fly 5, we rated it as 3 out of 5 (5 being the stiffest). Stiffer heel counters are typically associated with a better foothold and a lower risk of ankle rolling. But on the downside, they can feel restricting to some runners. In that way, this Nike shoe hits a sweet spot.

With the help of a caliper, we measured the sole at the forefoot and found that it is 111.5 mm wide, very close to the average. It's also wider and more flared out than the previous version, which was 106.7 mm.

At the heel, the shoe is almost 4 mm narrower than the average, yet it can still be considered mid-range.

Given that the sole is not very wide in the Zoom Fly 5, we can assume that the stability is provided mainly by the torsional rigidity of its platform.

Most plated running shoes are stiff, and the Zoom Fly 5 is no exception.

Measuring how much force it takes to bend the shoe to a 90-degree angle (71.0N), we found that it is a whopping 60% stiffer than the average road running shoe!

The good news is that in cold temperatures it doesn't get much stiffer, only by 5.1%. On average, running shoes are 44% less flexible.

The weight of the Zoom Fly 5's weight is a downer—quite literally. For what is supposed to be a fast shoe, this trainer is very heavy.

The rubber-covered outsole plus the very padded upper are not helping to shave off the weight!

Perhaps you may find the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 or the ASICS Novablast 3 better options for tempo runs. They come belong to the same type as the Zoom Fly but are much much lighter! 

It was very unfortunate to find out about the shoe’s lack of ventilation. In our breathability test, it scored only 2 out of 5 (5 is the most breathable). It is clearly not the airiest shoe. 

Nike Zoom Fly 5 (left): some smoke is coming out from the shoe; Adidas Runfalcon (right): its toe box is not breathable at all. 

To carry out this test, we use a smoke-pumping machine and cover up the shoe mouth entirely. This way, the smoke is only able to escape through the upper of the shoe.

As a further check on breathability, we also test how transparent the upper material is. As you can see in the video above, the Nike Fly 5's upper material lets light through, confirming that the shoe, while not the best, has some degree of breathability.

We don't expect much from the outsoles on tempo trainers. This category of running shoes tends to sacrifice outsole durability for lighter weight and softer ride. And the Nike Zoom Fly 5 is no expectation. 

Using a durometer to check the firmness of its rubber, we found that it is in fact 14% softer than the average. Unfortunately, softer outsoles tend to wear out quicker than hard ones.

But on the bright side, this Nike shoe chose to cover a wider surface of the bottom for added protection in the high-wear areas. That looks promising to us!

The thickness of the outsole is another parameter that can tell whether it's durable or not. And this is where the Zoom Fly 5 truly surprised us.

Our caliper showed 3.6 mm of rubber thickness! That's about 1-5-2 mm more than what's typical for a tempo shoe. From here on, we started to question whether this Nike shoe is really a tempo trainer or is it a daily workhorse after all?

The outsole's rubber coverage is generous, which makes it grippy on wet, dry, and gravelly surfaces.

We immediately noticed the shoe's amazing step-in feel courtesy of the well-padded upper. Its tongue is also very generously padded, which helps to prevent lace pressure beautifully.

At 7.9 mm, the Nike Fly 5 has a noticeably thick tongue. For reference, the average of shoes that we tested is 5.6 mm.

The tongue is not gusseted on the Nike Zoom Fly 5 but it wasn't an issue given its generous padding.

• It has a more flared-out heel and forefoot for better stability
• It integrates a ZoomX foam for a mellower ride 
• It's gone from clunkier to clunkiest! The Nike Zoom Fly 4 was 249 grams/8.8 ounces in US men's 9, which was already too much for some runners, while the Zoom Fly 5 now weighs in at 286g/10 ounces.