Pegasus Premium: Quick Facts
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What’s the Pegasus Premium all about?
Nike are revamping their road running shoe line up into three distinct silos - Pegasus, Structure and Vomero. Within each silo, they'll have a standard, plus and premium model. The Pegasus Premium sits at the top of the Pegasus silo, above the Pegasus 41 and Pegasus Plus and aims to provide runners with a premium daily training experience. Nike have literally thrown the metaphorical kitchen sink at the Pegasus Premium by adding all the best of their running technology into one package. So how does the Pegasus Premium ride and what do we think?
What makes the Pegasus Premium so unique?
It's all in the midsole...
The real star of the Pegasus Premium is the midsole. Nike are showcasing three different types of midsole cushioning here. On the top, you get a full length layer of ZoomX which is their most performance based and highest rebounding midsole foam. We've seen this perform super well in the Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly. The bottom layer through the heel gets ReactX to provide more stability and durability with the aim to stabilise the shoe. Sandwiched between these foams is a visible Air Zoom unit which Nike has contoured to the profile of the foot.
As a result of this midsole makeup, the Pegasus Premium offers a unique ride. You get the softness of the ZoomX on landing, but the bouncy responsive toe off thanks to the Air Zoom unit. There's a lot going on here in the midsole, it's definitely not the smoothest or most stable shoe Nike have made, but I don't think that's what Nike were going for. It's clear they wanted to throw the very best of their running tech into a shoe to provide a distinct unique running experience for runners during their daily training miles.
Although the shoe does feel bouncy, it's not as versatile as you might think. This is a pretty heavy thing, probably from the amount of tech in the midsole and the outsole which is almost fully covered in hard wearing rubber. We reckon it'll be durable, but the Pegasus Premium weight really zaps the versatility out of the overall experience. Another thing to note is stability, the midsole platform is narrow, particularly through the midfoot which goes against the trend of broad platforms we are seeing across the market.
Running shoe or lifestyle casual?
It's hard for the Pegasus Premium to not pass as a lifestyle shoe given it's unique visual appearance and premium upper. We found the engineered knit upper with reinforced overlays (plays into that lifestyle look) to hold the foot well. The heel collar and tongue are decently padded, but the main area of breathability is found in the forefoot where the knit opens up. In terms of fit, we found it to be a little narrow, but runs true to size compared to other Nike models.
Our first thoughts
The Nike Pegasus Premium really does a solid job at rounding out the Pegasus family to offer runners three different running experiences depending on their preference. We can see the Peg Premium being used by runners as a daily trainer, but also for people wanting something they can run in and wear casually. While it may not be the most versatile, stable or affordable shoe, it's an interesting direction Nike have taken to give the best of their innovation condensed into one (heavy) shoe.
About the author
Nathan Pope - Runner and Shoe Nerd
I'm really passionate about running footwear and how shoes can be used as a tool to get the best of your running, whether that be general fitness or performance.
My favourite event is the marathon. I feel as though the marathon is the ultimate test both physically and mentally! It requires careful planning both within the race and during the training block and it can be super satisfying when it comes together on race day.
