Nike Zegama 2 Early Impressions

Now if you told me a year ago that I'd be considering wearing Nikes, I'd have politely, but firmly, ask you to leave.

Then, if you'd told me I was using them not only for trail running, but even possibly a 200 miler, I'd have chase you out with my Altras!

Yet here we are good people, what the heck happened?

Context

I've been in a bit of a fuddle this year: my primary choice for ultra running, the Merrell Agility Peak 5s, haven't been giving me the love back recently. Notably my knees are aching a bit more than I'm happy with getting closer to the dread 200 miles, and I think it's related to the shoes high drop of 13mm.

So I've been looking elsewhere, frantically if I'm honest, and one shoe kept cropping up in my search results.

I've been looking for a low drop shoe (0-6mm) with a wide toe box ala Altra, that is reported to have a spacious fit, with good cushioning for long (really long) days and solid grip.

Last year Nike released the Zegama 2, and it got some great reviews, notably for ultra distance focused use over mixed terrain where long range comfort is king.

Run Repeat rated them well, with Conversational Pace absolutely raving about them.

I resisted for ages, but after a long run on hard ground in the Agility Peaks left me hobbling I gave in and went for them.

Features

Using the Run Repeat breakdown here for accurate stats. Shoe companies often get things like drop and stack height wrong:

• 30mm heel stack to a 26mm forefoot for a 4mm drop.
  • An unusually low drop for a Nike and the first thing that attracted me to them
• Weighing in at 302g, not a light shoe, definitely designed for longer efforts
• 4mm Vibram Megagrip outsole with Traction lugs.
  • The second thing that attracted me to them
• ZoomX foam in the midsole, a well received soft and bouncy foam Nike use on their road shoes
• Built in ankle gator (bit like a sock wrapping your ankle, similar to the Hoka Tecton x3) to reduce debris getting in
• Nicely padded gusseted tongue
• Light toe bumper
• Engineered mesh upper, which is a fancy way of saying it should be more durable whilst remaining breathable
• I think it as a rock plate, Nike don't mention it, but there is a hard surface just under the outsole below the midsole that acts as such, though this could also be what Nike call the harder "carrier foam" to keep the ZoomX foam responsive? Either way there's something hard that stops sharp things digging into your feet so tomato tomato.
• Finally, on my pair along the tongues the right shoe says "All Day" and the left shoe says "All Night" and I'm here for it

Fit & Feel

Length wise these are true to size, though slipping them on they felt tight immediately. I think from reading around the topic this is a Nike fit thing, that they tend to be more locked down inside the shoe.

The toe box height is fairly shallow, can feel it with my toes, especially in thicker socks. I ended up only using thin socks like the Feetures Elite Light Cushions, because any thicker felt tight.

I won't lie, on first try, though happy they "fit", I was disappointed. I thought I was going to hate them, they felt constrictive, narrow, like any amount of foot swelling would decimate my feet.

On the Run

I took them for a few hikes to break them in, and I'm telling you right now these shoes need breaking in, because after about ~15k of hiking they felt totally different. The upper and midsole had loosened up, they felt more forgiving and comfortable with every step.

Getting a good lock down required some work, despite the close feel of the toe box. I ended up doing a heel lock early on and really cinching down the laces. Thankfully the tongue is padded enough it didn't irritate the tendons across the top of my foot.

On my first run I was blown away, notably with the midsole. It is bloody gorgeous. Super comfy yet bouncy and responsive despite the weight of the shoe. On road it felt alive. Had some good fun in them.

Took them on a few more runs, mainly relaxed pace, varied runs mixing roads with trails, some hill climbing. I enjoyed them, they definitely felt well cushioned and comfy. I will note that, when others have said this is a wide toe box, what they mean is "this is a wide toe box ... for a Nike shoe", I'd called it medium width, it's no Topo / Altra / Inov8.

I didn't get any toe stubbing in them, which surprised me due to the above medium width toe box. I think the secret was a combination of the low drop, and the shoe having a bit of a "support shoe" feel to it with pronounced arch support railing my foot forward with a little less pronation.

For easy, long runs, they feel like a good companion, and after some testing I agree with the other reviews that these are solid mixed terrain ultra shoes. That's what they feel designed for.

For anything remotely technical, anything with scrambling or tricky descents, I think these would be a poor pick due to the heel cushioning. They are very high stack, and you can feel that underfoot in the form of instability, with the heel being prone to twisting underfoot on uneven ground.

They do run pretty warm due to that padding, again something that will likely improve with further breaking in, but something to be aware of on hotter days.

Durability wise they feel well made, that Vibram outsole will last nicely and the sheer quantity of midsole will keep on plodding for a while, whilst the upper felt strong and secure. There's a bulletproof feel to them not too dissimilar to Brooks Cascadias.

Early Review

What I Liked

• Super squishy soft midsole
• Rocker geometry for the go fast
• Solid Vibram grip
• Padded comfortable tongue and well placed lacing
• Road style comfort on a trail shoe, a smooth ride
• Cushioning in general is nice, becoming more comfortable as they break in
• Wider toe box
• Low, more natural drop
• Cope well on tarmac, make a good hybrid shoe for sure.
  • Would be a great VOGUM pick (mixed terrain race with lots of good runnable flats and road stretches)
• Feel a little like a stability shoe, guide your feet forward rather than letting them pronate, have pronounced arch support

What I Didn't

• Shallowness of the toe box and general constrictive feeling despite it's width
• Sloppy lockdown
• Heel does raise despite the built in gaiter, need to heel lock
• Took a while to break these in for them to be more comfortable
• Weight, not a light shoe
• Versatility, I can only wear thin socks with these and am worried about what will happen when my feet swell past 50 miles, however they seem to be getting more forgiving quickly
• Unstable on technical ground, especially in the heel, would be cautious descending in these over rough ground.
  • A poor EDDUM pick for that reason (technical race with lots of uneven, ankle twisty ground)
• Run warm, in a sunny 14c run at base pace felt warmer than expected

What's Next?

I don't think I've found my Wild Horse 200 pick in these. The constrictive feeling, even after some breaking in, means I'd be worried about how they'd feel with swollen feet later as the days creep by.

I think there is a "Nike fit" that some folks love, and some don't. It may be around foot shape (similar to Salomon, which tend to do well for more narrow feet, less so if you have a wide mid/forefoot), for me it didn't quite click.

I will however be taking these out for easy runs, grinning as the midsole bounces me along some light trails / tarmac and seeing whether the breaking in improves their comfort further.