Nike Shox R4 review

The Shox R4 deserves a spot on your rotation if:

• You're looking for a really trendy and durable pair of trainers with a futuristic vibe.
• You want something stable with a bouncy and tall structure.
• You love reflective elements and can't get enough of Nike's Shox technology.

One of the main reasons why these trainers might not be the best option for you is their breathability. The R4 got the lowest score on our smoke test, which means it'll make your feet sweat like a pig. Here you have some other breathable alternatives. But if you don't want to give up the Shox technology... having a look at its pricier TL sibling wouldn't hurt, right?

After hours and hours of walking, our feet felt tired due to this Nike's heavier build. Even though this wasn't a breaking point for us, we can see sneakerheads wanting a more lightweight pair for their all-day adventures. If you're nodding while reading this, these are the casual shoes we've tested that have made it to our "light as a feather" group.

With a pretty solid score on our shock absorption, the Shox R4 shielded our feet from the repetitive impacts during our wear tests. At 95 SA, it surpasses the average, which is fairly good for a pair of trainers.

This Nike pair offers a fun ride that adds some extra points to its already comfortable nature. With a higher result of 58.5%, you can expect a pleasant and bouncy experience that'll make your legs less tired at the end of the day. So, yeah, great news for any sneakerhead who's ready to rock these baddies from sunrise to sunset!

Showing off its massive Shox technology, the R4 reached a crazy high score of 42.4 mm when we measured its heel stack. This didn't only make us feel taller, but also separated our feet from the harshness of urban surfaces and any obstacles that we could run into.

As we expected after our wear tests, the Shox R4 follows the same logic at the forefoot. With a higher-than-average reading of 27.0 mm, these trainers definitely focus on being comfortable.

With its high stacks on both the heel and the forefoot, we knew the Shox R4 wouldn't have a low offset. Despite these massive results, the rearfoot is still fairly taller, which leaves us with a 15.4 mm drop. This is neither good nor bad; it just indicates that this Nike pair focuses on protecting the heel and the Achilles.

Once we cut this shoe in half, we had free access to its midsole. After pressing our durometer against it, it returned 35.0 HA, which is a pretty high score. Even though this indicates the ride should feel firmer, it wasn't what we felt on foot.

Why? Well, thanks to the brand's Shox technology, of course! Its columns compress and decompress in every step, softening the ride and giving us back a lot of the energy we use.

Another reason why this shoe's ride felt plusher is its secondary foam. When we measured it, our durometer returned 9.5 HA, which means this compound is as soft as a cloud. And no, it's not an On pair!

During our wear tests, our standard-width feet felt pretty comfortable. In other words, we can't say the Shox R4 offers an accommodating fit, yet it wasn't too tight or snug for us. To put these feelings into numbers, we took this shoe to our lab and created a gel mould to measure its interiors more precisely.

At the widest point, our calliper marked 93.8 mm, which is slightly higher than average. Nothing that welcomes wide feet, but a little bit of extra space for the average foot is always welcome.

As expected, this shoe isn't especially wide at the forefoot either. On the one hand, we're pretty happy to say it doesn't taper like crazy. On the other hand, you shouldn't expect any extra space! With an average reading of 68.7 mm, our calliper reminded us that the width of the Shox R4 is just average.

The toebox follows the same logic: it's not very spacious, but it doesn't sit too low on the toes either. Our calliper confirmed it by returning an average score of 27.6 mm.

We never felt unsafe or unstable wearing these trainers. After our wear tests, we can say its grip felt pretty good. Nothing otherworldly, but just enough to mindlessly explore the town.

With a slightly higher-than-average coefficient of friction in our controlled grip test (0.48), the Shox R4 proved it's tackier than many trainers. It worked pretty well on dry surfaces, but we believe you should be careful with smooth and slippery floors.

The R4 shows off its modified circular waffle outsole with a solid pattern at the forefoot. Then we can see two round cut-outs at the midfoot and heel that can act as suction cups, followed by 3 pivot points that add some extra sporty vibes to the whole design.

To be honest, the tall and... futuristic design of this Nike pair kind of screamed stiff when we looked at it. Nonetheless, it doesn't feature a mid-foot cage like its Shox TL sibling, so we did expect some extra give.

In our flex test, our machine marked it needed 19.8N of force to bend these trainers all the way up to 30 degrees. As it's higher than average, this indicates the Shox R4 is stiffer than most trainers. Nevertheless, we did feel it cooperated with our feet during our wear tests, so it was unbendable underfoot.

At plain sight, this Nike pair looks aerodynamic and pretty lightweight. Its futuristic aesthetics just give off that vibe, yet... we were completely wrong. That's why it's so important to thoroughly test every single shoe!

During our wear tests, the Shox R4 felt heavy. Not so crazy to the point where we didn't even want to wear it, but it did make our legs feel more tired after a couple of hours. When we took it to our lab, our scale returned 15.2 oz/432g, which is fairly higher than average. This is the main reason why we believe it might not be the best choice for all-day wear.

Let's just get one thing straight: the Shox R4 is not a breathable shoe. As you could most likely guess just by looking at its solid structure, it didn't let any air get neither in nor out. So... yeah, these are a couple of foot ovens!

No matter how bright, our light couldn't shine through this Nike's upper at all. Before losing all our hope, we conducted our smoke test, and once again... no luck. The Shox R4 lost the breathability battle against the Air Max 270 so bad that we could only give it a sad 1/5.

In order to know more about its structure, we grabbe our microscope and had a closer look to the material. Its synthetic and textile upper showed literally no airflow holes.

Even though the brand claims there are "laser perforation for ventilation", we really couldn't find any. Like, yeah, there are minimal rounded dots in the upper, but they don't let a single breath of air come through!

Despite being tall, this Nike pair offered us great stability. We moved our ankles side to side during our wear tests, but its solid structure kept us safe and sound. With such a massive sole, this safety feels like a record!

You can forget about twisting your ankle with this Nike. Its solid structure might not have the best airflow (not to say... it has none), yet it kept our feet right where they should be. When we took the Shox R4 to our lab and tried to twist it, we felt our fingers would give up before we could make it move. Consequently, it earned a perfect 5/5 on our torsional rigidity test.

The heel counter follows the same logic. Even though its sides did move a little bit more when we pushed them, the back of the heel stayed rock solid. This was enough for us to give it a high 4/5 on our stiffness test.

Nike knew what it was doing when it opted for a wider platform. At 111.6 mm, this shoe's midsole surpasses the average, adding some nice extra points to the overall high stability. During our wear tests, we felt really surefooted. And the best part is that we could enjoy this while being in style!

After our calliper confirmed it, we can happily say the R4 also offers a wider heel. At 87.1 mm, it surpasses our lab average by quite a bit, improving our overall balance in every step.

We needed nothing but a glance at the melted material our torch burned to instantly know the Shox R4 features fake leather. Just look at that massive flame!

Lower breathability usually comes with higher durability, and that's a lesson the R4 can easily teach us all. We drilled its toebox at 5K RPM and with 2N of force, yet it was not enough for our Dremel to even leave a scratch. Looking exactly like nothing happened after a whole 12 seconds of torture, we could only give this Nike pair our highest score: a 5/5.

And the heel padding doesn't fall short either! Its performance was also so good that we decided it deserved another perfect 5/5. Just look at the video below: there isn't even a single messy thread!

Last but not least, the outsole also hopped on the durability trend. With the same 2N of force but this time at 10K RPM, our Dremel drilled the rubber like there was no tomorrow. Once the time was over, our tread gauge measured the depth of the damage, and it returned 0.8 mm. This is way lower than average, and a very solid score for a pair of trainers.

Just like its Shox sibling, the R4 also has a thicker outsole (5.9 mm). Once again, taking into account how durable the rubber is and the already pretty high weight of this shoe, we believe Nike could have opted for a thinner bottom.

The 3.4 mm insole sounds like a win to us. With the dual-density midsole of the R4 and its wonderful Shox technology, we never felt that this Nike pair lacked cushioning. In fact, we do believe it's pretty comfortable! This thinner midsole acts as a much-needed reduction of the overall weight of this shoe.

The R4 features a removable insole, so don't worry if you want or need to change it. Just keep in mind that this shoe's inner space is nothing crazy, so if you add an extra padded insole, it might lead to discomfort due to the lack of room.

We were pretty happy to see that this Shox pair also features reflective elements. But hey, wanna know the best part? That you can see them from pretty much every angle!

Even though we can't get enough of how comfortable this Nike's instep is, once we cut it in half and saw the double-padded tongue... we realised it was a little bit too much.

In fact, when we measured its thickness, our calliper returned a massive 14.7 mm, which is way higher than average. To be honest, we believe a thinner tongue would have not only been comfortable enough, but it also would have shedded some unnecessary extra weight.

After thoroughly analysing this Nike pair, we honestly believe it's totally worth every penny. It offers a durable structure, solid stability, and a very cool retro-futuristic vibe that, even though it might not appeal to everyone, its trendy design is undeniable.

The Shox R4 doesn't have any kind of heel tab, but it's not like we missed it either. In fact, this is one of the areas where Nike decided to include some its wonderful reflective elements!