Nike Red Rocks II Shoe Review
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010RRP £49.99 save £10.04
Nike Air Zoom Red Rocks II Trail Running ShoeS
A couple of weeks ago I pulled on my brand new Nike Red Rocks 2 shoes and went out for a run - 50 miles around the Calderdale Way – they certainly don’t look new anymore but how did they perform?
With a number of specialist off-road shoe manufacturers springing up over the past few years it’s easy to forget the established brands and get swept along with the hype and the latest trends and buy what everyone else is using.
A few weeks ago I walked into Sportsshoes, saw these and thought ‘now there’s an interesting looking shoe’ – when I picked them up I was struck by two things. Firstly they are incredibly light and secondly Nike have given them a proper grippy sole, not just a slightly reworked road tread with a useless smooth heel.
I tried them on and liked the way they fit, felt and looked so thought I’d give them a try. I’ve only worn them for one day so maybe a review seems a bit premature but having done 50 miles in them across moorland, track, road and rock I think I given them a descent test.
What I would say is that someone at Nike knew exactly what they were doing when they designed and built this shoe. It’s almost as if they’ve created them for English conditions rather than the hot, dry and grippy desert terrain that their name conjures up.
The fit is excellent and the lacing draws the shoe around the foot creating a very solid feel despite their ultra light weight. They also have a neat little ‘wire’ that runs around the heel cup and tightens via the main lace and the last eyelet.
The shoes use Nike’s Zoom Air technology in the forefoot which is a very thin air pocket to cushion the ride without adding bulk, weight or height.
Off-road the shoe performs flawlessly offering seriously impressive amounts of grip on ALL surfaces. More than this, I was struck by the overall stability of my feet in the shoes. They offer comfort, support, cushioning and grip in one package – there are not many that can do that.
Some time ago I declared the Inov8 315 ‘the Holy Grail of trail shoes’ but here’s a new contender for the title. Since the 315s which took me around Mont Blanc in the 2007 UTMB, I’ve tried the Inov8 320 and the Adidas Kanadia II both of which are decent shoes but neither of which come anywhere close to the Nike.
I would go as far as to say that if I had to choose one shoe that could do everything from road marathons to fell races to alpine ultratrails – this would be it.
At 50 quid it’s an absolute steal and whilst I doubt it’ll sell in massive numbers as it looks a little like a ‘pub shoe’ I can tell you that those that do buy it will definitely sing its praises – I know they’re a corporate giant with millions to spend on R&D but I have to say ‘well done Nike!’
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