They do bill it as a jack of all trades shoes, but the women’s model isn’t made with the nano chip.
Yes…I’m running in it. From the first run, I simply loved the shoe. Feels fairly lightweight, cushioned, responsive, yet sturdy. I wear it on the roads, opting for a different model for trails. Highly recommended.
ironically, I just bought a pair today (city sports - buy one pair, get the second half price). They feel like they have more cushion then some of the other shoes I’ve been wearing (brooks adreline, nike air span triax) and I think they’re a bit taller. I’m anxious to give 'em a try tonight.
Was just test running them at work the other day. I’m a fairly nuetral/light stability runner so they aren’t really my type of shoe, or at least categorically…
WOW, those babies are super duper cushioned. As in waaaaaaaay soft. But they do it without making it too unstable as in it’s not like the cushioning is going to let you roll too much side to side. They are very flexible (for a MC shoe) front to back and had a great smooth ride. The heel is a good bit wider than most shoes so it was a bit too sloppy on me to get a really good impression from the shoe.
Anyways, it’s definitely worth a try, a very nice alternative MC shoe or just a super durable stability shoe.
Note that if you land really really really lateral (outside edge) then the drastically radiused heel might make it a bit too easy to roll your ankle outwards on foot plant… just an observation
Equalon is equivelent biomechanically and structurally to Brooks Adrenaline. It has good rearfoot pronation correction extending through the arch to provide good mid foot support as well.
Brand new shoe from Nike to address their lack of strong supporting shoes. Is a step above the structure triax (which is pretty much rearfoot only)
I do Podiatry biomechanic gait assessments every day and fit people into equalons daily. Its as a good alternative to the adrenaline or Addiction, but usually not as strong as a brooks beast. Stronger support than Asics Evoultion or Foundation.
Just beware that for previous Nike users it is much more corrective than any model they have had previously and it may "over correct’ your foot posture and biomechanics which can load up and cause pain along outside of your leg (peroneals)
and shoe may colapse laterally very quickly.
Yes it does feel nice and cushioned and has great forefoot cushioning. and a large toe box.
Its nice to see Nike taking on board some constructive criticism and finally building a shoe that had a specific function and actually works.
I would get the Nike Air pegasus…have a look at the post I did…before i noticed this one!
So is this also equivalent to an Asics Gel Kayano?
Neutral shoes have high, medium and low cushion. Stability shoes have high, medium and low cushion. So, yes, a stability shoe can have a high amount of cushion, but will inherently be more structured. The Equalon is a stability shoe, but still sits below what they used to have in the Durham on the stability level. Since they discontinued that shoe, they were lacking in any big stability shoe (being the durham was a motion control shoe). The Equalon would be in the category on stability AND cushion with the Nirvana, 1222, Trance, Hurricane. Now are those all the “same” shoe? No, but all high end stability shoes for the respective companies.
Now, the women’s equalon + will be coming out,but they had problems fitting the chip slot into the midsole without redesigning where the shank, etc… are in the midsole. It will be out, so don’t worry.
As Tai said, if your foot is heavily supinated upon strike (like mine), you will notice the ridge leading from the heel strike to midfoot transition. Other than that, the instep fit seems to be a traditional Nike fit (trim).
And, the last answer: It will be a more stable shoe than the Kayano, but on the same cushion level.
Eric
By chance, has anyone compared them to the Air Cesium?
Steelo, you seem to know a lot about shoes so I’ll ask you: how does the use of orthotics influence a person’s running shoe purchase? I’m an overpronator and need a wide toe box. Currently I wear the New Balance 992s.
The 992 has some stability to it, but it’s in the form of a heel cap basically. I would compare it to something like the Kinsei. Now the orthotics, that’s a different deal. Generally, you may be able to fit someone with orthotics in a neutral shoe, but i cannot for myself. Generally, the further your foot is actually away from the footbed of the shoe, the less effect the shoe has on your foot. The idea is that you still want a end result of a neutral foot strike. Whether you can get that in a certain moderate stability shoe, versus a neutral shoe is going to be a matter of your mechanics of yourself and your orthotics. THe more rigid, personal experience tells me to go with more of a neutral shoe. The body still needs to do some of the work of absorbing shock with arch flexion. If the flexion is “completely” stifled, you may run into your body itself absorbing more of the shock. Have a good shoe guy check it out.
Eric
So would you say the 992 is a neutral shoe?
no. Each shoe does not fit into a nice, neat little category (unfortunately), and this just happens to be one of them. It is stable, but I would not recommend it to someone that needs a tremendous amount of structure to their shoe.
Eric
I ran in them last night for the first time (swim night, so I only put 30 minutes on them 7:15-7:30 pace). As stated earlier, I mostly run in Brooks adrenaline and Nike air span triax.
impressions:
you notice the extra cushioning immediately in the forefoot area, especially compared to the brooks shoe. As another poster mentioned, the rear foot platform is quite a bit larger, and feels different (not good or bad, you notice your foot hits the ground a little quicker). typical nike fit in the toebox area and heelcup - the lacing does seem to start higher up the foot than the others, again, not an issue - perhaps if you snug down the toebox this will make a difference. The shoe doesn’t (to me) feel any lighter or heavier than the others I’ve worn. They seem just like the Adrenaline with additional cushioning (perhaps just a tad less stability, like the air span). Can’t quite make an informed decision whether I’ll switch to these, they’re a bit pricey ($130) and I don’t really think I need the extra cushioning. I’ll give it until spring. Unfortunately, they discontinued the air span triax.
A little sore in the inside of my knee (Vastus Lateralis) area this morning, honestly can’t attribute that to the shoe though.
No not the same as the Cesium - that shoe is a very unique shoe for men with Tib Varium, or more commonoly called bow legs. they come in on an angle, causing the foot to need to pronate more to get flat to the ground.
The Cesium has a 3 degree varus wedge in the shoe, esentially bringing the ground up to the foot, alowing it not to overpronate too much. It doesnt have any medial posting in the shoe, but the three degrees wedging must fit your mechanic’s exactly or the shoe will be problematic.
Great shoe if it works but if it doesnt it can lead to many problems. Very specialist shoe and definatly not for most people.
the Equalon is Nike’s most controlling shoe, and great alternative to something like the Brooks Adrenaline.