Key specs – Terrain: Road; Arch support: Neutral; Best Used for: Racing; Weight: 206g (UK 9); Heel-to-toe offset: 8mm Key specs – Terrain: Road; Arch support: Neutral; Best Used for: Fast training; Weight: 277g (UK 9); Heel-to-toe offset: 10mm Overall, there’s not much exciting to say about the upper, its low on features to keep costs and weight down. Nike Downshifter 11 Conclusion

For me, the Downshifter will remain a shoe for casual wear and for the odd shorter run on warmer days. It’s very expensive, not exactly good-looking, and feels huge when you first pull it on, but there’s no other shoe we’d rather have on our feet when it comes to racing the marathon than the Alphafly. It takes the best attributes of the Vaporfly – the ZoomX foam and the carbon plate – and adds Nike’s Air Zoom pods under the forefoot for a poppier toe-off that only adds to the speed of the shoe. The shoe is low cost, so I can’t really determine if it will last a long time, but the outsole is super hard at 88.5HC (average outsoles are just 80.5HC) so it should wear slowly, but where this may break down is in the upper if it’s manufactured poorly. Both versions felt exactly the same. Same cushioning, upper, fit, and shape. If you’re looking for an exact upgrade of your Downshifter 10, this is what this shoe delivers. Key specs – Terrain: Trail; Arch support: Neutral; Best Used for: Training; Weight: 321g; Heel-to-toe offset: 9.5mm

As for the grip, the outsole has mini 1.7mm lugs, which is great on a road shoe since they normally don’t have this much texture. It should be fine on gravel trails and dirt paths and had no issues on our road tests. On the foot, they feel lightweight, super flexible, and comfortable. On walking around the foam feels adequate, nothing too exciting about it depending on your expectations but all in all, a good first impression.

Consider sizing half or whole size up, or avoiding altogether if you have a wide foot (the same size shoe in the Nike React Miler has a much wider toe box). Key specs – Terrain: Road; Arch support: Mild stability/neutral; Best Used for: Training; Weight: 303g (UK 9); Heel-to-toe offset: 9mm But what really sets these shoes apart, is that the new Downshifter 12 is much softer and cushier. This is confirmed by our durometer measurements as well. We found the Downshifter 12 to be 19% softer than the 11. I’d recommend the Downshifter 11 for anyone looking to run their first 5km, 10km, or even half marathon. If you’re new to training and want to use this in the gym too it’s a great shoe for that. In the next version I’d love to see a few more features on the upper to improve breathability, and perhaps some longer laces.

The only downside of these was they gathered lots of mud and grass on a run and were quite difficult to get clean. There are no reflective elements on the Downshifter 11 so be sure to be careful after dark in these if you are out running on busy roads. The Downshifter is much more cushioned and responsive and feels more like a premium line running shoe. Given that you’re getting the same high level of performance from the shoe, that’s fantastic news. The Vaporfly pairs Nike’s soft and springy ZoomX foam with a carbon plate to produce a remarkably fast and efficient ride that’s helped runners of all levels set PBs at races of all distances in recent years. There’s no better option for 5Ks and 10Ks, and there’s only one shoe we rate as better than the Vaporfly for long distance races, and that’s Nike’s other carbon racer, below. I took the shoe out for a run mid-Dutch heatwave and it was super breathable. Of course the following day there was a downpour, on a wet run, my feet were soaked immediately. The shoe took over 24 hours to dry.

Key specs – Terrain: Road; Arch support: Neutral; Best Used for: Training; Weight: 310g (UK 9); Heel-to-toe offset: 10mm If you’re fairly new to running and don’t need loads of support, the Downshifter 10 will see you through runs and gym workouts superbly. The finish was detailed and sleek, yet minimalist, but by far the most stand out thing for me was how breathable and lightweight they felt. The Structure 24 has a crash pad under the heel that moves you through your footstrike in an efficient and stable manner, and both the midsole foam and outsole are built to last, making the shoe a great workhorse trainer for your base training. Although this foam isn’t one of Nike’s premium materials, e.g. React or ZoomX, it did a great job of cushioning the foot strike over short and long runs.If you’ve had gait analysis and have been told you overpronate – roll your foot excessively inwards when landing – then you may well need a stability shoe to provide extra support. Nike has a few great options here. If you don’t overpronate, then a neutral shoe is the best option for you. How much do you need to spend? The new outer sole footwrap was one of my favorite parts of the shoe, adding to the structure of the TPU cage to keep the foot secure. Flex grooves keep the weight of the shoe down and flexibility of the sole up. Key specs – Terrain: Road; Arch support: Neutral; Best Used for: Racing; Weight: 232g (UK 9); Heel-to-toe offset: 4mm All that adds up to quite a bulky and odd-feeling shoe, but it’s also an undeniably fast one, despite the weight. React foam is used at the heel to provide a cushioned landing while also increasing the durability of the shoe, then the bouncy ZoomX foam used in the Alphafly and Vaporfly is used in the midfoot before you hit the plate and the responsive Air Zoom pods in the forefoot. It all adds up to a springy and speedy ride that only feels better the faster you run in the shoe, but the slightly strange sensation produced by the different foams, the plate and the pods might not suit every runner.