Nike Pegasus Premium Introduction

Back in 2016, Nike launched a performance running shoe called the Air Zoom All Out with a visible, 3-quarter length Zoom Air cushioning system. There were 2 versions of it: a Flyknit version and a Low version.

It was marketed as a speed shoe and Nike claimed that it was the most responsive ride for your fastest runs. This was one of the more innovative trainers that Nike launched in the last 10 years- it had the wow factor. The price was $200 for the Flyknit version and $150 for the Low version.

I bought the Low version when it came out. As a running shoe, it really disappointed me. It was heavy, coming in at 11.1 oz (315g) for a men’s US9 and it was way too firm. I couldn’t run more than 10 kilometres in it without my feet hurting. I used it mainly as a gym & cross training shoe.

The problem with this shoe was its Phylon (EVA) midsole foam. It was too firm and there wasn’t enough of it. This was before the days of ZoomX foam and it felt very bottom-heavy. The All Out Low was one of the most clunky shoes I’ve ever run in.

The Pegasus Premium was inspired by that shoe. To improve the ride, Nike has replaced Phylon with a combination of ZoomX and ReactX. They’ve also made the Zoom Air unit full-length for more consistent transitions.

The stack heights are much more, 45 mm/35 mm, compared to the All Out’s 31 mm/21 mm. The Pegasus Premium is even heftier than the Air Zoom All Out Low, weighing 11.5 oz (325 g) for a men’s standard size. This isn’t surprising considering the Zoom Air unit is longer and the midsole is much thicker.

The Pegasus Premium is the top-of-the-range trainer in the Pegasus road family. The Pegasus 41 is the entry level Pegasus, the Pegasus Plus is mid-range and the Pegasus Premium is the sovereign.

To create more hype, the Pegasus Premium was announced in April of 2024, which was very, very early. Typically, new iterations are only announced a couple months before the launch date, not 10 months before.

This strategy seemed to have worked because the Pegasus Premium in the launch colourway was sold out after a couple of hours (in the regions where it launched).

Nike Pegasus Premium First Impressions

My first run was a 17 km recovery run. I was relieved because the Pegasus Premium had a much better ride than the All Out Low: more stable and more cushioned. I was surprised how much energy was returned with each footstrike and the ride was one of the most fun that I’ve experienced in a while.

It didn’t feel like a speed shoe but I could do a steady pace relatively easily (for short bursts) thanks to the energetic ZoomX and the springy Air Zoom unit. The upper was comfortable and breathable but the heavy sole made it feel bottom-heavy.

It reminded me of the discontinued Nike Tempo Next%, the training companion of the Alphafly but a much heavier version. The Tempo Next% also had Zoom Air and a combination of ZoomX and React.

Nike Pegasus Premium Upper

The Pegasus Premium’s upper feels like a hybrid between a racer and a daily trainer. The mesh is thin and lightweight. It has big holes on the top of the toe-box and on the tongue so breathability is excellent.

The collar and the heel tab are generously padded for extra comfort and I experienced no heel slippage. Reflectivity is the best of any shoe I’ve tested. There’s a thick, reflective strip that goes around the entire upper so there’s 360 degree reflectivity. The laces are also reflective which gives it a very classy feel.

It has the typical Nike narrow fit and I don’t recommend it for wide feet. The midfoot and the toe-box are particularly very narrow. It fits true to size and it works best for me with thin socks.

Nike Pegasus Premium Sole Unit

If you’ve ever run in the Alphafly, you would have experienced the feature that makes it feel different to every other racer on the market: the 2 Zoom Air pods in its forefoot. These make it feel super springy during toe-offs.

In the Pegasus Premium, you get a similar feeling but throughout the entire length of the shoe. The giant airbag compresses when you load it, and then decompresses, propelling you like a coil spring.

The caveat is that you have to be running below a certain speed to benefit from the Zoom Air, otherwise it just feels firm and unresponsive. For my weight and running form, I need to be running below 5:45 minutes per kilometre to properly engage the Zoom Air.

There is no plate or shank in the Pegasus Premium’s midsole but the thick Zoom Air unit acts as a stiffening device. This makes the forefoot stiffer and makes it feel snappier than your average max-cushioned trainer.

There are 2 different midsole foams in the Pegasus Premium, ZoomX above the airbag and ReactX below the airbag. The softer ZoomX provides the energy return and the firmer ReactX provides the stability and durability.

The Pegasus Premium is the tallest Nike running shoe that you can buy, but weirdly, it doesn’t feel very soft or as cushioned as other 45 mm stack height trainers. This is because the Zoom Air cushioning gives the ride a firm undertone.

It feels softer and more cushioned than the Pegasus 41 which has no ZoomX in it. Compared to the Pegasus Plus, it feels firmer but more deeply cushioned. The ZoomX midsole of the Pegasus Plus has an insane amount of compression but bottoms out very easily.

As far as stability goes, the Pegasus Premium is not stable. The problem is that it has a very narrow midfoot and rearfoot so heel or midfoot strikers might struggle on longer runs. The longest run I did in it was 21 kilometres and I wouldn’t do anything longer. Not only is the rearfoot unstable but the substantial 11.5 oz (325 g) starts to become very noticeable from 15 km onwards.

The grip of the Pegasus Premium is really good. It has the signature Pegasus waffle lugs throughout the entire length of the outsole and the rubber feels softer than the Pegasus 41 rubber so it feels more tacky. Outsole durability is average for a trainer.

Nike Pegasus Premium Conclusions

The Pegasus Premium lives up to the “premium” in its name: it feels and it looks like an expensive shoe. It’s the most innovative and most exciting Pegasus to date but it doesn’t really feel like a Pegasus workhorse. I think they should have given it a fresh name.

Nike claims that it’s the most responsive Pegasus ever and I agree with that statement. The problem is that its heavy weight cancels out the energy return and there’s no way to bring down the weight because the full-length Zoom Air unit is so heavy. It’s one of the heaviest trainers I’ve ever tested.

If you look at what the elite Nike athletes are training in, none of them use the Pegasus Premium. Most of them do their daily training in the Pegasus 41, Structure 25 or Vomero 17. The Pegasus Premium feels too much like a lifestyle sneaker.

I enjoyed testing the Pegasus Premium because it has such a unique ride but it won’t stay in my rotation- it doesn’t feel particularly good at slow paces. For faster paces (steady state running), there are more efficient trainers which are lighter and more propulsive.

I think $210 is too high for the Pegasus Premium. Comparative trainers such as the Superblast, Glycerin Max and Kinvara Pro have more pace and distance range than the Pegasus Premium and they are all cheaper.