Nike Zoom Streak 7 Intro

A continuation of a popular racing shoe, the Nike Zoom Streak 7 makes minor updates to a lightweight responsive road racing shoe.

In previous versions the Streaks were considered to have excellent cushioning, responsiveness and traction while the shortcoming of the shoe was in the upper construction and fit.

The main differences between the Streak 6 and Streak 7 comes in minor changes to the upper which makes for a slight improvement over the previous version.

From the Streak 6 to the Streak 7, the Nike racing option continues to provide the same cushioning, plastic plate, and outsole. This is truly a minor update from the previous iteration to the current Zoom Streak 7.

Nike Zoom Streak 7 First Impressions

Nike Zoom Streak 7 – Pair

Out of the box the streaks feel light, look aggressively fast and very similar to the previous Streak 6.

Putting them on for the first time the new midfoot wrap held the foot down well and gave a locked in feeling one would hope for in a racing shoe. They felt fast and very responsive, in part for the plastic plate in the midsole.

Under the foot the Streak 7 felt responsive and snappy. The curvature of the plastic plate promotes an aggressive tempo and while minimal the Streak 7’s cushioning did not cause too much fatigue in the foot over longer tempo runs.

Nike Zoom Streak 7 Sole Unit

Nike Zoom Streak 7 – Sole

The sole of the Streak 7 seems virtually unchanged from the Streak 6 which is everything one could hope for when updating a shoe with a stellar sole unit.

The shoe feels responsive and firm. The Zoom Air pocket in the heel gives just enough cushioning without turning the Streak 7 into a strictly training option.

In the midsole is a plastic plate, as has been in previous versions. Unlike the Vaporfly 4% plate, the Streak 7 plate is heavier and even visible to the runner as under the outsole/midsole has areas exposed under the foot.

This is in the area that needs less of the cushioning due to the presence of the plate and exposing the plate reduces the overall weight of the shoe.

The outsole of the Zoom Streak 7 is made up of rubber areas that provide great traction on the road even in wet and slippery conditions. The outsole will outlast the upper and midsole of the Zoom Streak 7.

Nike Zoom Streak 7 Upper Unit

Nike Zoom Streak 7 – Toe

The big change here in the Streak 7 from the previous version is the mid foot wrap.

While the previous version of the Streak had a large piece of fabric with perforated holes for breathability the new mid foot wrap consists of straps that are each individually attached to loops.

These loops make up the lacing system for the upper of the Streak 7 and allows for a very tight locked down feeling which is easily adjusted to the runner’s foot.

One caveat to the individual strap design comes from putting the Streak 7 on when untied and loosened up. More than once my foot twisted a strap causing irritation in the midfoot.

I could immediately feel when it was twisted and was able to quickly fix the twisted strap; however it is important when wearing the Streak 7, especially for a race, to give yourself a short warm up run to ensure the fit is right for your run.

Once this is done there are no issues with the straps tangling during the run.

Otherwise the Streak 7 upper is made up of the same Flymesh, which isn’t incredibly durable, and lacing system. The visual swoosh logo is oddly cut off, similar to how the Flyknit Zoom Fly appears.

The tongue is connected in the same way as the previous model, is short and does not move whilst running.

One negative of the lacing system is that the laces are more susceptible to move if not fully tightened and over the course of a run they can loosen.

This can cause the shoe to come untied.Paired with the fact that the laces are a little long, double knotting becomes necessary with the Zoom Streak 7.

Nike Zoom Streak 7 Conclusion

Nike Zoom Streak 7 – Heel

The Zoom Streak 6 was a good lightweight road racing shoe with some issues in the upper of the shoe.

Because of the upper limitations with an incredible under foot feeling, the Flyknit Streak made a much more worthy purchase and feeling racing shoe.

The update to the new Streak 7 improves slightly on the upper, but in my opinion not enough to bring the Streak 7 as a must buy over the Flyknit version of this racer.

Generally speaking, when good running shoes are updated, one can only hope that the updates are minor and hit the problem areas of the previous model.

The Streak 7 does exactly that. It is a slightly better version of the previous Streak.

There are plenty of quality racing options on the market and Nike makes another one that is very highly lauded.

So when should a runner who is interested in a Nike Racing shoe look towards the Streak 7 (or Flyknit Streak) over the Vaporfly options including the 4%, Flyknit 4% and NEXT%.

For shorter distances the Streak 7’s firm responsiveness and low to the ground feeling may be preferred.

While both shoes include a plate, the Zoom Streak 7 plate is made of plastic which increases the weight of the shoe, however the Streak 7 still feels incredibly light under the foot.

In wearing both racing shoes I would give the traction edge to the Zoom Streak as well, especially in wet and slippery weather. And of course, the Zoom Streak is a much more budget friendly option.

In fact, at full retail price, a runner could purchase two pairs of Zoom Streak 7s for less than the cost of the Flyknit Vaporfly 4%.

The Zoom Streak 7 is right on the cusp of being a very good racing shoe.

The critiques of this option are admittedly minimal and runner’s looking for a quality racing option that has a firm responsive feeling, some give in the heel, and a snappy tight fitting feeling would be happy with the Zoom Streak 7 under their foot.

We purchased a pair of Nike Zoom Streak 7 from runningwarehouse using our own money. This did not influence the outcome of this review, written after running more than 50 miles in them.