Article by Peter Stuart
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| Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 |
The
Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 is a 10 oz/283g (men’s size 9), 8.7 oz/247 g (women's 8) daily trainer. Stack height
is 29mm in the heel and 19mm in the forefoot. The Zoom Pegasus 34 keeps most of
the DNA of the Pegasus 33 with some changes in the upper to make it a slightly
more elegant and breathable shoe. If you liked the 33, you’ll be right at home
in the Peg 34. The Peg 34 weighs an insignificant 0.1 oz more than the Peg 33. Retail is $110
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| Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 |
The
Zoom Pegasus 34 runs true to size. Most of the changes to this version of the
Pegasus come on the upper. The new upper is flymesh material with monofilament.
What that means, exactly, I’m not sure. The result is a slightly softer,
smoother and more breathable upper. Everything feels just a little more refined
on the upper of the Peg 34 compared to the Peg 33.
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| Zoom Pegasus 34 ] Zoom Pegasus 33 |
The Pegasus 34 clearly has a more open and more breathable mesh over the toes and midfoot than the Pegasus 33.
The
laces feature a flywire closure system which allows for a super dialed-in fit. The
laces connect to the flywire straps which then pull a partial bootie that wraps
the midfoot. That’s a lot of technology that you really don’t have to worry
about. Simply put, the Pegasus 34 is a shoe you put on, lace up, tighten to
preference and go run. All of the elements of the upper work together to
provide a great, supportive fit for lots of different types of foot.
The
heel collar is nicely padded and the internal heel counter helps lock the foot
down.
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| Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 |
My
only knock on the upper is that the laces are a bit long and have tended to
come undone. I’ve taken to double knotting them which completely solves the
problem.
The
footbed is supportive and now says “running” rather than “fast”. This seems
more appropriate to the nature of the shoe.
Midsole
and Outsole:
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| Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 |
The
Pegasus 34 basically retains the midsole and outsole from the 33. I’m so happy
that they didn’t change things here. I was a big fan of the 33 and love that
the ride has stayed the same. I’ve seen others complain about the inclusion of
Zoom Air units in both the forefoot and the heel of the shoe, but I think they’re
sublime. The Zoom Air pocket in the forefoot adds a nice pop off of the
pavement at speed and a decent amount of cushioning when going slow.
The
specs are as follows. The midsole is a full-length Cushlon ST foam with the
aforementioned Zoom Air Pockets in both forefoot and under the heel.
The
outsole is a combination of Duralon and Carbon rubber with a waffle pattern and
lateral side ‘crash rail’. There are flex grooves in several places on the
crash rail and then one flex groove across the whole shoe near the toe line.
Ride:
Word
of warning. This shoe felt like shit to me out of the box. There, I said it. I
remember this from the Pegasus 33 now, but my first run in the 34 was a real
disappointment. The shoe felt like a stiff brick. Yuk. Somewhere between 15 and
20 miles the Pegasus something sort of magical happens. So, yeah, there’s
a little break-in period. If you push through those first stiff miles, the
Pegasus opens up into a really comfortable ride.
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| Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 |
It’s
not a super soft shoe. In fact, I think some people might find it a touch too
firm. For me, it sits in the perfect zone between firm and cushy. I’ve taken
the Peg 34 out on recovery runs, long runs and on long runs with some
speed-work. It’s not the fastest shoe I own, but it performs admirably for any
workout.
Conclusions:
The
Nike Zoom Pegasus 34 is great all-purpose trainer. It’s super smooth for long
runs and recovery runs and pops off the pavement when you push the pace. I’d
highly recommend it for a go-to daily trainer for pretty much any runner.
Comparisons:
Zoom Pegasus 34 vs. Skechers GOmeb Razor (RTR review)The
Pegasus and the Razor have a lot in common when it comes to feel. Razor is 7.7
oz with stack heights of 18 heel and 14 forefoot. Pegasus 34 is 9.8 oz and 29mm in the heel, 19mm
in the forefoot. The specs are different, but the rides and the versatility are
similar. I’d highly recommend both of these shoes.
Zoom Pegasus 34 vs. Hoka Clifton 4 (review to come)The Pegasus is a more flexible and nimble shoe than the Clifton 4. The Clifton is a bit softer, and is ultimately too much shoe for me.
The
GoRun is much softer, much more flexible shoe than the Pegasus. This is a
matter of preference really. I like both of these shoes very much, but they
share very little in terms of feel.
The
Pegasus, while more shoe, reminds me of what I liked about the first version of
the Zante. There’s just a little more give in the forefoot than you find in the
Zante V3. I find the fit of the upper on the Pegasus to be better overall.
Peter's Score
9.5 out of 10—nothing’s perfect, right?
Peter Stuart's Running Bio
My running career got off to a slow start…in high school I was told I ran like a race walker and was thus relegated to race walking on the track team. I got back into running about 15 years ago and then into triathlon. Triathlon really rekindled my love for running, so about two years ago I hired a coach and really focused on the half and full marathons. I broke a bad habit of putting in tons of moderately hard miles (and no easy or hard ones) and after plateauing at 3:25 (with some disastrous marathons in there), this past year I brought my marathon under 3:00 and my half under 1:25. Along the way I’ve developed a bit of a shoe problem.
The Pegasus 34 was provided at no charge. The opinions herein are entirely the author's.
Photo Credit: Peter Stuart
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Comments and Questions Welcome Below!
1 comment:
Have you ever heard of people complain about the zoom unit in the forefoot bulging out very noticeably and aggravating the ball of the foot? My new Pegasus have this, especially bad on long run or speed day. It feels like hard sand under the in-sole, not an air cushion. Gonna have to return, a shame because on my first 10 miler in them I thought I found my new distance trainer :(
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