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Nike Mens Free Rn Flyknit 2017 Running Shoes Review

With an 8mm offset and eight.ii oz (Men'southward 10) weight, you're getting a fairly calorie-free shoe that tries to give you a barefoot running feel.

The $120 MSRP is a pretty boilerplate price for a daily trainer, although y'all will probably get more mileage at the same toll with other daily trainers that use more safe and harder materials in the upper.

Similar shoes to the Nike Costless RN Flyknit 2017 shoes are Nike'south own Gratis RN Motion Flyknits which feature a taller 'bootie' for your feet and a more open outsole pattern.

The Skechers GORun 5 shares the minimal employ of rubber on the outsole with a knitted upper and lightweight pattern, which might exist a skillful choice for runners who want a faster shoe.

If you're primarily interested in the Free 2017 shoes for the casual styling and soft feel, you might want to try the Under Armour Speedform Slingride shoes which share the flexible upper and soft outsole, but have an even more minimalist upper that'southward so shine you tin can article of clothing them barefoot.

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 Full general Info

This is the Nike Free RN Flyknit line, which shares many design features with the Free RN, Free RN Motion Flyknits, and fifty-fifty the Costless RN Commuter shoes. Let'south pause downwards the name of the shoe and acquire what it's designed to exercise.

The "Costless" section of the shoe name is really the core part of the shoe. Information technology represents Nike's attempt to make a barefoot feeling shoe where the runner feels "Free" fifty-fifty when laced up.

The "RN" in the name only indicates this shoe is designed for running, rather than only for full general training. Lastly, "Flyknit" means this shoe is made from a knitted and stretchy fabric that's virtually seamless.

You lot can see a few design changes in the upper when comparison the 2017 version to the 2016 version.

Nike smoothed out the channels that the Flywire cables run through, slapped a slick (and reflective) logo over what used to be a meek looking printed logo, and updated the knitted design effectually the toebox.

The sole+outsole remains substantially unchanged, and then you might want to consider getting the 2016 model if you like the feel of the Gratuitous shoes and don't mind missing subtle upper changes.

When I got the box from Nike, I was expecting either a super bright neon color to say"look at me I'm a runner", or a laid-back casual color scheme that would allow this shoe blend into everyday clothing.

I ended up getting nearly ALL the colors in the rainbow doused upper. If y'all're not ready to wear shoes that wait like they're from a Color Run, Nike has you lot covered in a few other normal colors and Nike fifty-fifty lets y'all design your own shoe if you don't see what you want.

After getting over the rainbow coloring, I laced up the shoes for my get-go run. The shoes had the aforementioned familiar Free feeling: very flexible and calorie-free.

I tried to get a tight fit since I felt a footling slop in the toebox, merely the lacing arrangement doesn't really let yous do that. I suppose that's a good thing for runners who desire unrestricted toe movement without wearing toe shoes.

I put in a little over 50 miles in these shoes and came back to finish this review and figure out how "free" feeling these shoes really are.

Nike Complimentary RN Flyknit 2017 Sole Unit

Your outsole, midsole, and topsole are effectively just one piece of foam in the Complimentary 2017 shoes. Nike does dab a nuance of safe on the border of the toe and back of the heel to add some extra durability + traction.

The safety underneath your big toe and summit of the toe makes sense, as a normal stride push off this section. The prophylactic well-nigh the edge of the heel on the other mitt is puzzling.

A forefoot, or even light heel striker won't ever land on this area of the shoe. Yes, some heel strikers volition land on this surface area of the heel, only these shoes are designed to recreate the barefoot running feel.

You should not be heel striking in a shoe designed for barefoot running. My theory is that Nike put that oddly placed piece of rubber on the heel only to entreatment to the running crowd that does not trust a full foam outsole.

The rest of the outsole is a grid of triangular cuts along triangular depressions (tri-star design) which gives the sole the signature free feel.

The sole will flex as you bend your toes, twist with any rotation of your anxiety, and bend over any bumps in the road.

It's not as much flexibility as the Free RN Movement Flyknits I tested a while ago, which I found to exist too much at times.

Nike doesn't say which cream they use on their site, then I'll say information technology feels more squishy than regular EVA cream and stiffer than Nike'due south soft Lunarlon foam. I went on a few long runs (x+ miles) and found the sole stayed pretty comfortable.

The blueprint of the sole lifts the toebox upwardly slightly which takes a little time to go used to. I constitute the shoe to run virtually a half size large, so consider getting a smaller size if yous don't want a roomy toebox.

The sole underneath the midfoot is polish with a footling extra nether the arch, and the heel of the sole is slightly rounded to forbid your foot from rolling off the edge.

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 Upper Info

Flyknit makes up nearly of the upper and I'd bet Nike manufacturers almost the entire upper on one machine, with but a few actress steps to add the logo, reinforcement in the heel, and lacing system.

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 - Top

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 – Top

This Flyknit upper follows the knitted cloth upper trend also followed by Adidas' Primeknit, Skechers' Goknit, and Under Armors knitted upper.

The big benefit to this knitted textile is that it allows the upper to seamlessly transition into different types of knitted patterns for customized levels of breathability and durability that stick close to the foot.

Nike tightly weaves the threads together near the heel and have back up inlay to act as an internal heel counter for structure and some back up.

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 - Heel

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 – Heel

Nike then spaces out the threads a niggling effectually the sides of the shoe to allow the Flywire strings weave up to the laces, and finishes the knitted upper effectually the toebox by opening a few holes in the top for extra airflow.

Quick annotation on the swoosh logo: it's a smooth patch of reflective cloth that'southward on both sides of the shoe, just does start to peel a piffling at the corners when approaching 100 miles.

Holding your anxiety in this flexible shoe are the dual Flywire cables that run up to each lace loop which do a proficient job of keeping your middfoot in identify.

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 - Lateral Side

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 – Lateral Side

Laces loop into the tops of the Flywire cables and and then skid through holes in the upper to tighten everything in place.

Interesting to see that Nike didn't reinforce where the laces loop through the upper, every bit they practice this on their Lunar Tempo shoes.

Other shoe companies reinforce the lace loops, like Saucony who put a thin overlay over the lace loops as seen on many of their shoes, such as the Liberty ISO.

This overlay gives you almost the durability of an eyelet without the bulk, but maybe Nike decided the Gratuitous 2017 shoes don't need to be that durable.

I'thou a fan of depression profile tongues, and then I was pleased to encounter the sparse tongue grace the acme of these shoes.

You can't get away with thin tongues on shoes that don't take a nifty lacing system since you'll have pressure level points on the peak of your anxiety. Not the example with the Free RN Flyknit shoes, they practise well with the thin tongue.

Actually, the entire upper is basically thin everywhere, including the heel which I found to be just a petty bothersome.

Since the heel has no meat to it, you lot can wiggle around in it without much resistance and sometimes make the top ridge of the heel near the achilles fold onto itself. Not a big deal, simply something I hope to see fixed on the next model.

Nike Free RN Flyknit 2017 Conclusions

Did I really feel the same kind of barefoot freedom while running in these shoes? No, simply I did get much more liberty than your boilerplate trainer while still enjoying a cushioned ride in a smooth fitting package.

You should consider these shoes if you want the newest styling from Nike in a flexible shoe and you don't demand the about snug fit.

Relieve yourself a couple bucks and get the previous model if you can, but either version should brand you lot a happy runner if you liked everything mentioned.

We purchased a pair of Free RN Flyknit 2017 to test at full retail cost from RunningWarehouse. This did non influence the outcome of the review, written afterward running more 50 miles in them.

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Source: https://www.runningshoesguru.com/2017/06/nike-free-rn-flyknit-2017-review/