Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2 Review: This Sneaker Made My Workouts Feel Faster and Less Terrible

This Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2 review is part of our 2022 SELF Certified Sneaker Awards, where the shoe won best racing shoe. You can see the rest of our award winners here.

Ever since I watched Eliud Kipchoge break the two-hour marathon mark in the wee hours of the morning in the fall of 2019, I’ve been intrigued by the pillowy blocks on his feet, the shoes the announcers said were making the record holder even faster. We didn’t know it at the time, but his shoes were prototypes of the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, a shoe that, when released to the masses in 2020, would change the game of distance running.

Now in its second iteration, the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2 ($275, nike.com) is continuing to build on that—and not only for elites, but for casual road runners too. So when I, a runner who’s squarely in the latter camp, was given the chance to try out these super shoes, I jumped on it. Could these shoes make me faster too?

There’s a lot to unpack with super shoes, a term often used to describe trainers like the Alphafly NEXT%: They’re high-tech and high stack, with carbon-fiber plates and responsive midsole foams to boost energy return and speed. They’re undoubtedly popular—pros have flocked to them for marathons and half marathons and have set personal bests and world records in them—but they’re certainly not without controversy. According to 2021 research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, female marathoners wearing Nike super shoes finished their race almost 3% faster (or just over four minutes) than those who laced up other shoes. And that raises a whole lot of questions about “technological unfairness,” as a Sports Medicine journal article called it, especially in regard to access, cost, and potential pressure to use them in order to remain competitive.

As the pro running world continues to grapple with these questions—the World Athletic Association frequently updates its rules on what is and is not allowed in competition shoes, and the Alphafly Next% has passed the bar for road racing—the super shoes have made their way to recreational runners who want a taste of the tech for themselves.

Enter: me. I’ll never be the runner that breaks the tape at a race, but I am one who always wants to get just a little bit better. So I laced up a pair of the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2 to see if it could help me get there. Here’s what I found out.

How I Tested

I followed SELF’s criteria for testing running shoes for the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2, meaning I focused on things like fit, shape, feel, and how my body felt during and after the activity. I also considered versatility since, as a recreational runner, my shoes often play double-duty. (I don’t have specific running shoes for easy days, speed days, and races!) Plus, since this shoe is marketed as a performance booster, I also considered my pace and how it felt getting there.

I took the Alphafly NEXT% 2 on two solid runs. The first was a 5.5-miler with three speed pickups ranging from a quarter mile to a mile. The second was a five-miler holding a quick pace throughout. The majority of that time was spent on the road, running on either sidewalk or asphalt, though just under a mile of that first run was on a finely milled trail.

Out of the Box

My first impression? Wow, are these shoes light! In fact, I was surprised that a pair of shoes with all that technology—curved carbon-fiber plate, Zoom Air pods, and resilient foam—didn’t feel more substantial.

Putting them on, though, was a little tricky. Even though these shoes were wide enough (more on that below), they weren’t the easiest to shove my foot into. These shoes don’t have a traditional tongue—they are more of a socklike bootie—and I really had to work with the lacing system to get my foot in there. (And I have to say, the tab on the back of the heel was 100% necessary for that.) But once my foot was in there, it wasn’t going anywhere: I really felt locked in during my miles, and didn’t feel any side to side motion of my foot in the shoes or any heel slippage.

Next impression? The shape of the shoe. If you’re not familiar with the look of super shoes, well, these are going to throw you off: The Alphafly Next% 2 look a bit alien-esque (in the best possible way, of course) and futuristic with their super-stacked, tapered-point heel, curvy body, and transparent, air-filled Air Pods underneath the front of the shoe. They’re pretty much the opposite of the minimalist running shoes that were popular back in the early 2000s.

This is pretty much the same overall shape as the first version, though there was one small but important change: According to Nike, this second version boasts a slightly wider heel, which helps provide more stability—an even bigger bonus if you’re a heel striker.

Fit

Nikes fit snugly for me—I always need to go up a half size from my normal shoe size, which I did in this case too—so I was surprised initially that these shoes seemed to run a little larger: I definitely had more room than I thought, especially in the midfoot and forefoot areas. This meant no pinching on the little toe, which, to someone with a wider foot at the top, was greatly appreciated.

My normal, everyday running shoes are also Nikes (the React Infinity Run), and I have to be sure to wear socks that go up a little higher so the shoe doesn’t rub at my ankle. The Alphafly NEXT% 2 went up higher in the back, so I had to change to even higher socks to make sure I didn’t chafe.

One more thing about socks: I felt like the shoe fit just a tad loose with the super-thin socks I wore the first day, even after I adjusted the lacing. But when I swapped to a medium-thickness pair for my second run, the fit felt way better.

Feel of the Shoe

Simply standing in the Alphafly Next% 2 feels different than with a regular shoe. Yes, you feel higher thanks to the heel height, but you also feel a bit unstable—there’s a slight rocking motion going on. So you’re not going to want to use this shoe for walking or for strength training, where you need a solid base of support during lower-body moves, like squats, or when pushing weight overhead.

All that cushion, though, feels nice. The midsole is made of full-length ZoomX foam (which Nike describes as its “lightest and most resilient foam”), and it manages to feel soft yet supportive. And the pressurized air in the dual Air Pods adds to the cushiony experience (plus it helps with energy return as you stride). All this feels great when you stand, but when you start to run…that’s when you really feel the effect of that max cushioning: You spring, you bounce, you glide, you do everything except plod or drag.

In fact, that was probably the top overarching feeling I took away from testing this shoe: It supercharged my stride, giving me power that felt effortless. I felt almost buoyant, like I was getting better turnover with each strike.

Performance

If you’re thinking about getting the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2, it’s probably because you want it to do something for your running game. It is, after all, marketed as a performance shoe, and for its price, it better do a lot of performing.

And it did. I definitely saw a performance boost in my running while wearing these shoes in terms of both speed and effort. For instance, during my one-mile pickup during my first run, I logged one of my fastest miles in a year—and I felt fresh enough after to follow that up with two more pickups (albeit shorter ones). Basically, I was hitting really fast-for-me paces without feeling like I was at my max. (Of course, there’s always the impossible-to-quantify psychological effect that may be at play here too: I knew these shoes were supposed to help me run faster and easier, so maybe that unknowingly pushed me as well?)

How My Body Felt

During the run I felt pretty damn good. I’ve recently been bothered by some shin pain, especially during intervals or elevation change, but it didn’t feel as jarring while wearing the Alphafly Next% 2. The cushioning of the shoes really reduced the pounding with each step, especially when I was going fast.

As for after my runs? Because my runs were harder than normal with these shoes, I was expecting some aches and pains the next day. And while I did experience some soreness and tightness, it seemed to be concentrated mostly to my hips and quads—not in the lower shin/ankle area, where I tend to feel a lot of my harder training. So performance measures aside, I think this could make a good shoe to sub in for a longer-mileage workout when you’re training for a longer race and need to protect against the effects of too much impact.

In fact, that’s probably the second biggest take-home for me: These shoes can help you go long or go hard, without a lot of the aches and pains that go with it.

Versatility

If you’re looking for a shoe that’ll take you to the roads to the gym to the trails, this one isn’t it: This is a road-running—probably more accurately, a road-racing—shoe, and a damn good one at that. But it just doesn’t have the shape or stability to let you effectively do other workouts. I tried out a few bodyweight squats in them just for kicks, and it felt like I was squatting from a platform, which, well, makes sense when you think about the heel stack.

I also think there are kinds of running that are better suited to this shoe than others. For instance, I probably wouldn’t take them on an easy recovery run. I noticed that the super-slow paces didn’t feel nearly as natural as my quicker-paced strides—the shoes actually felt a little clumsy. Once your pace heats up, though, the whole process becomes so, so smooth.

I’d also be cautious about taking them on runs where you need to change direction quickly, like for turns, or when you need to hop up and down on lots of curbs. The shoes feel slightly unstable with more dynamic moves, and there were a couple times I almost landed weirdly coming on or off a curb. Finally, I’d stick to the roads for these: There’s a pretty smooth, nontechnical trail that I run on frequently, but the mile I spent on it in these shoes didn’t feel as great as on the road, and I don’t think the sole would be durable enough to handle a lot of time spent on uneven, rocky terrain.

The Bottom Line

There’s really a lot to love with these super shoes: They make your hard runs feel easier and give your legs the pep they need to eke out some quick paces without beating up your lower body in the process. Plus, they’re just plain fun. So far I’ve only taken them out on everyday runs, but I’m already looking forward to signing up for my next race so I can wear them then. Could I hit a PR? I think it’s definitely very possible.

But I do think it could be very easy to let your body become conditioned to the benefits of these kinds of shoes, though—if you have a hard workout on the schedule, these are going to be the ones you’ll want to reach for, especially if you have certain paces or times to hit. I feel like these are best used sparingly, though, both for durability issues and because you don’t want to become conditioned to the buoyant, springy ride as your new normal. So I’m definitely going to keep reaching for these, but I’m also going to be very cognizant to keep non–super shoes in my regular rotation as well.

If you’re looking for an everyday running shoe, this isn’t it. But if you’re a goals-oriented racer looking for a shoe that can help you elevate your game, take it to the next level, and help you feel great while getting there? Then lace these up and take them for a ride.