Super shoes, where are they now?

Super shoes have become a big part of track and field today. If you don’t know what super shoes are, I have written about them before and I have linked them below, If you don’t know what they are, I would highly suggest reading.

I have concluded that super shoes don’t do much, but big shoe companies don’t stop making them, and they always look for the next best innovation. considering this I have still decided to talk about some of the latest ones here today.

New Nike Spikes

Nike is the leading brand in track and field and it is fitting for them to go first. The three shoes you can see below (in descending order) are the Nike Victory 2 Proto, Dragonfly 2 Proto, and the Maxfly 2 Proto. If you run track and field in any setting these three shoes will most likely sound and look familiar. The proto at the end shows that they are prototypes and that they will most likely be tweaked a little before they are officially released in their official colorways. However, as I said their predecessors are extremely popular and these are too. In the short amount of time since the prototypes have been available to the public the $190 (Maxfly and Victory) and $160 (Dragonfly) price tags have not stopped the spikes from selling out fast. As we stand here today the Maxfly is completely sold out and the Dragonfly and Victory will too soon.

Now for a bit about the specs of each shoe. All three of these models feature a carbon fiber plate which provides an energy return with each step, for more on our carbon fiber plates, I would read the newsletter I linked above. All three shoes feature different upper materials the Victory has Nike’s ‘Atomknit’, the Dragonfly has a new mesh upper, and the Maxfly has a lightweight and secure upper made out of ‘Flyweave’ yarns. Unlike the Dragonfly, the Maxfly and Victory feature an Airzoom unit also known as an air bubble within their midsoles. In comparison to the prior models, Nike has made these better. I’m curious to see what colors Nike picks for these shoes once they come out in their official launch. There is no doubt in mind that once they do they will sell out fast.

Hoka Cielo X1

The next shoe I will talk about is the Hoka Cielo X1. I know, this shoe is not particularly new, however, it is the first of its kind, made by Hoka. Hoka as you may know is a running brand that’s shoes mainly focus on having as much cushion as possible. But, this has begun to change a bit over the past year. Hoka has continued to make their max cushion shoes, except now they are also starting to get into the world of running fast. They have released countless new racing shoes such as spikes, a racing flat, and the Cielo X1 below.

The Cielo X1 is made for fun and is not as hardcore or strict as, say the Nike Alphafly or Vaporfly. Another thing this shoe doesn’t do is get rid of the cushion, it features two layers of Peba foam, which includes a smoother midsole rocker, and in that outsole, it has a carbon fiber plate. On the contrary, compared to the Nike spikes I mentioned before, it has a winged carbon fiber plate. What does that mean though, well it allows for more support while giving that energy return. This shoe also is not overly expensive in comparison to the other leaders in this space, It comes at $275 which is 10 dollars cheaper than the Nike Alphafly 3.

Before I conclude today’s newsletter, I would just like to say that I am against super shoes. However, I am not saying they are bad, I am just saying that you don’t need them to run fast, and to be honest they don’t last as long and they cost way more than a non-super shoe would. While lasting longer and costing less they almost always get the job done the same way. That’s all I’ve got to say about super shoes, but I have one more thing to mention.

As I said in last week’s newsletter and on my Instagram, I have launched Kicking For Home merch and you can get your own now. I have put a link right below and you can check out the products yourself. I got the navy classic tee and I love it, so take that how you will.