How to Choose Among 10 Nike Running ShoesPegasus, Vomero and Vaporfly compared by weight

The difference between Nike's Pegasus and Vomero is "rebound" versus "maximum cushioning" in the brand's own grouping. For daily wear, the Pegasus 42 (about 287g at 27cm, JPY 17,600); for racing, the Vaporfly 4 (about 190g at 28cm). If you're torn, decide first whether you want rebound, cushion or support.

There are 3 shoes named Pegasus

The Pegasus vs Vomero question comes down to rebound versus cushion. For a daily pair, the Pegasus 42; if softness comes first, the Vomero Plus.

Nike's Japan site lists 3 road shoes with Pegasus in the name: the Pegasus 42, Pegasus Plus 2 and Pegasus Premium. Prices are JPY 17,600, JPY 22,000 and JPY 29,700.

You tend to think the pricier shoe is lighter. But at 27cm the weights are about 287g, 249g and 313g. The most expensive, the Premium, is the heaviest.

You cannot choose Nike shoes by name and price alone. This article lines up the numbers and descriptions on the official pages to sort out what each shoe is for.

Pegasus, Vomero and Structure compared: Nike splits them into 3

In its announcement of Nov 20, 2024, Nike sorted its road shoes into 3 lines. The same 3 groupings appear on the Japan official product pages.

Each line has a base model and, above it, a "Plus" and a "Premium." The announcement calls the base model the "icon" and describes the Plus and Premium as the upper models that differentiate within a line.

So there are 3 across (rebound, cushion, support) and 3 tiers down (base, Plus, Premium). The 3 Pegasus shoes are the 3 tiers. The race shoes (Zoom Fly, Vaporfly, Alphafly, Streakfly) sit on a separate shelf outside this table.

Three sole materials, each with a different job

This is the part I most want to get across. Nike's sole materials come down to roughly three.

ZoomX is said to be the lightest and bounciest material, and all 4 race shoes use it. ReactX is the "durable" one and forms the base of the base models. Air Zoom is not a foam but an air-filled unit that is buried inside the foam.

What is interesting is how they are stacked. The Vomero 18 has 2 layers: ZoomX on top of ReactX, advertised as "2 midsoles of different densities." A soft material goes near the foot and a durable one near the ground.

The Pegasus Premium has 3 layers: ZoomX, Air Zoom and ReactX. Because it holds all three, it ended up the heaviest at 313g. That is the answer to the opening question of why the pricey one is heavy.

How to choose Nike running shoes: the conditions I used

From the current road shoes whose product pages opened on Nike Japan on Oct 13, 2026, I chose the 10 below by these conditions.

• The official page lists weight and drop (the height gap between heel and forefoot)
• At least one from each of the 3 lines and the race shelf
• Color variants, waterproof and wide versions are folded into the base model

For each role, the pick is decided by which is lightest or cheapest within the same job.

The 6 daily shoes, including the Pegasus and Vomero

Scroll the table sideways →

All 6 share a 10mm drop. What differs is the weight, the sole materials and the price.

Re-compared at 28cm, the Pegasus 42 is about 300g, the Structure 26 about 321g and the Vomero 18 about 325g. The rebound line is lightest and the cushion line heaviest, by 25g (325 − 300).

The 4 race shoes

Scroll the table sideways →

All 4 have a carbon plate (Nike calls it Flyplate) running end to end inside ZoomX. The difference shows clearly in the intended distance. From shortest, it goes Streakfly, Vaporfly, Alphafly.

Best pick by role (how to choose Nike)

One pair for every day: Pegasus 42

Why this one: It is the cheapest of the 10 and the base of the rebound line. The sole is ReactX with one Air Zoom running end to end. The previous Pegasus 41 had two separate units, at the front and heel; the 42 joined them into one.

The toe area is also a little wider than the 41. Wide and waterproof (GORE-TEX) versions under the same name are a strength of a base model.

What to watch: It has no ZoomX. If you want lightness, the next one, the Plus 2.

What changed from the previous 41 is dug into, for this one shoe, in the Pegasus 42 review.

For cushion: Vomero Plus

Why this one: The whole sole is ZoomX and it is lighter than the base Vomero 18. At 28cm it is about 292g, 33g lighter than the Vomero 18's about 325g (325 − 292). Though it is a cushion-line shoe, it is lighter than the Pegasus 42 at 28cm (about 300g).

The Vomero 18 is 2 layers with ReactX under the ZoomX. The Plus drops that durable layer and keeps only ZoomX. The price gap is JPY 3,300 (22,000 − 18,700) for 33g, which works out to JPY 100 per gram saved.

What to watch: The stack is not on the official page. If you want to buy knowing the thickness in numbers, the Vomero 18, which lists 46mm and 36mm, is safer.

For stability: Structure 26

Why this one: It is the base of the "support" line. A support mechanism sits in the midfoot, wrapping the arch and heel. The sole is ReactX only, the simplest build.

The Structure Plus above it has 2 layers, ZoomX on top of ReactX, and lists at JPY 22,000. At 27cm it is about 289g, only 8g lighter than the 26 (about 297g). I would take the 26 over paying JPY 3,300 for 8g.

What to watch: It is on the heavy side among the 10. It is 10g heavier than the Pegasus 42 at 27cm (297 − 287).

A plated shoe at a lower price: Zoom Fly 6

Why this one: You get the same pairing as the Vaporfly, ZoomX plus a carbon plate, for JPY 18,700. The gap from the Vaporfly 4 is JPY 11,000 (29,700 − 18,700).

What to watch: It weighs about 240g at 27cm, a different class from the 3 race shoes.

One for racing: Vaporfly 4

Why this one: Its intended distances are the widest: 10km, the half and the marathon. One shoe covers 3 distances, and it is JPY 9,900 cheaper than the Alphafly 4 (39,600 − 29,700).

From the previous 3, it lightened 3 areas: the upper fabric, the sole foam and the outsole rubber. The drop also got smaller, to 6mm.

What to watch: It is not a daily shoe. Compared at 28cm with the Pegasus 42, it is 110g lighter (300 − 190). To get there, both rubber and foam were trimmed.

Telling the siblings apart

The 3 Pegasus siblings

The Plus 2's sole foam is ZoomX, not the 42's ReactX. It is 38g lighter, about 13% (38 ÷ 287). For a JPY 4,400 gap, the whole material is swapped for the better one.

The Premium is not a shoe for losing weight. It stacks all 3 materials to make what the official wording calls "the most resilient sole in Pegasus history." It is 26g heavier than the 42 and costs JPY 12,100 more.

• First pair, rainy days or wide feet → Pegasus 42
• Want it lighter at the same 10mm drop → Plus 2
• Don't mind weight and want every sole feature → Premium
• If lightness is the goal, skip the Premium. It is the heaviest of the 3 siblings

What the 38g of the ZoomX swap means is written in the Pegasus Plus 2 review.

Vaporfly and Alphafly

The difference between the two is whether there is an Air Zoom. The Vaporfly 4 is ZoomX and a plate only. The Alphafly 4 adds an Air Zoom unit.

The intended distances differ too. The Vaporfly starts at 10km, the Alphafly at the half. The Alphafly, with more parts, is narrowed to long distances only.

The weights are not given at matching sizes. The Vaporfly is about 190g at 28cm and the Alphafly about 188g at 26.5cm. With the sizes 1.5cm apart, the natural reading is that the Alphafly is heavier at the same size.

• Race everything from 10km to the marathon in one pair → Vaporfly 4
• Only the half and marathon, and you want the Air Zoom sole → Alphafly 4 ("coming soon" on the day I checked)
• Mostly 5km or 10km → neither; the roughly 127g Streakfly 2

Counting a 110g gap in marathon steps

The gap between the Pegasus 42 and the Vaporfly 4 was 110g per shoe at 28cm. Let me work out how much that is.

At a 1m stride, 42.195km is 42,195 steps, so one foot takes about 21,100. 110g × 21,100 = about 2,321,000g. That is the total one foot lifts, a gap of about 2.3 tonnes.

Strides vary by person, so this is a rough calculation. Even so, the number shows why race shoes thin the rubber to cut a few dozen grams.

Who is it for?

• If your Pegasus 41 soles are still good, you have time to wear them out first. The 42's changes are the Air Zoom becoming one piece and a wider toe.
• The Vaporfly and Alphafly are for road racing. For a training pair, the Pegasus line fits.
• If you want to decide by comparing stack in numbers, the PUMA Deviate Nitro article has the numbers for every model.

FAQ

Pegasus or Vomero: which one for a beginner?

Start with the Pegasus 42. It is the cheapest of the 10, and wide and waterproof versions come under the same name. If softness comes first, the Vomero 18 or the Vomero Plus.

How does the Vomero Premium differ from the Vomero 18?

The stack is 55mm. ZoomX holds one Air Zoom unit each at the front and the heel. It weighs about 351g at 28cm and costs JPY 29,700. I left it out of the table of 10 because it is 26g heavier than the Vomero 18 (351 − 325), and for a daily pair the gap in weight and price is too wide.

Can I still buy the Alphafly 3?

I could not find it on the Japan official site. On the day I checked, the only Alphafly in Nike Japan's search was the 4, men's and women's. The 3's product page would not open. The 3 is a generation on its way out.

How do Nike and On running shoes differ?

The big difference is the range of drops. Nike's daily shoes are all 10mm, while On ranges from 5 to 9mm. Our On shoes article lines up the weight and drop of 18 models.

Gear in this article

Ads and images: Rakuten Ichiba

Nike Pegasus 42Nike Vomero PlusNike Vomero 18Nike Structure 26Nike Zoom Fly 6Nike Vaporfly 4Nike Pegasus Premium

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