The Nike Vomero Premium is an absolute behemoth of a running shoe, one of the tallest and heaviest on the market today. Nike claims that the Vomero Premium's impact-reducing midsole is meant to recreate the sensation of an anti-gravity treadmill; the dual Air Zoom units in the midsole do give the shoe a space suit aesthetic, but the final product is too bulky to feel like you are bounding weightlessly through space. The massive midsole contains full-length ZoomX foam (a PEBA-based compound) and two Air Zoom units, which are rigid plastic capsules that help to add some structure to the big, bouncy stack of foam. For such a monstrous, unconventional shoe, the ride is surprisingly cohesive. Although running in the Vomero Premium might not feel like floating through space, it does provide superb protection from the ground and feels specifically designed for recovery runs.
Our Verdict
The Nike Vomero Premium is a passable shoe for running a marathon. The cushioning is superb and will ensure that your legs feel less fatigued after the effort. But this shoe is enormous, and as the miles wear on, it's more likely to get in your way than to help you keep moving forward.
Cushioning stays remarkably protective over time.
One of the heaviest shoes on the market.
The Nike Vomero Premium would be a poor choice for a 5K or 10K race. It's simply too bulky and cumbersome to sustain aggressive paces for more than a few minutes. Racing around corners in such high platform shoes isn't the most stable experience, either.
One of the heaviest shoes on the market.
The Nike Vomero Premium has satisfactory energy return. All that ZoomX foam underfoot decompresses relatively quickly, but the ride feels fun and bouncy rather than speedy and propulsive. The Air Zoom pods in the midsole seem to dampen rather than enhance overall energy return.
Full ZoomX foam is bouncy and fun.
One of the heaviest shoes on the market.
The Nike Vomero Premium has exceptional cushioning. There is so much shock-absorbing material between your foot and the ground that the impact of each foot strike on your body is remarkably diminished. All this cushioning makes it a fantastic shoe for recovery runs.
Massive stack of ZoomX foam.
The midsole can absorb an incredible amount of force.
Cushioning stays remarkably protective over time.
The lateral stability of the Nike Vomero Premium isn't bad. Inevitably, its enormous stack height and soft midsole make it shakier than most running shoes. The outsole platform is also wider than most, but it still doesn't feel proportionally big enough to be completely stable. For heavier runners, the malleability of the midsole could add further instability.
Air Zoom units help add structure to thick stack of foam.
Tall, malleable midsole feels unstable around tight corners.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the Nike Vomero Premium in men's US size 9, as indicated by the label on our pair. Our pair is the Barely Green/Barely Volt/Volt/Clay Green colorway, but you can also find the shoe in other colorways depending on your region. Currently, the Vomero Premium is only available in standard widths for both men and women. The design section applies only to the exact model we tested, but we expect other size and gender variants to perform similarly.
Popular Running Shoe Comparisons
In terms of sheer physical proportions, the Nike Vomero Premium is one of the biggest running shoes ever. It towers above maximalist shoes that seemed absurdly tall when they were released, like the Mizuno Neo Vista 2, the adidas Adizero Prime X3 STRUNG, and the HOKA Skyward X. Time will tell if it's just another skyscraper in the rapidly evolving landscape of max stacked shoes, or a high watermark of how much cushioning a brand can stack in a shoe before it becomes unstable. But as with other gigantic shoes that have been released in recent years, the Vomero Premium's size seems inversely correlated to its usefulness: like the Neo Vista 2 or the Brooks Glycerin Max, it's a great shoe for recovery runs, but it's too big and wobbly for anything beyond easy mileage.
Within Nike's daily trainer lineup, the Vomero Premium is one of the most ambitious new shoes to be introduced as part of the brand's restructuring of its daily trainer offerings. Nike now centers its lineup around three core pillars: the Pegasus, a classic daily trainer, currently represented by the Nike Pegasus 41; the Nike Structure 26, which is a dedicated stability shoe with multiple support features; and the Vomero, which is the most cushioned of the legacy trainers. Like the Pegasus family, the Vomero has three different interpretations: the "legacy" model (currently the Nike Vomero 18), which continues the series' core design principles in the most conventional package; a Plus version (the Nike Vomero Plus), which has a more plush, full ZoomX midsole; and a Premium model, which incorporates Air Zoom units into a ZoomX midsole.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best Nike running shoes, the best running shoes, as well as the best running shoes for men and the best running shoes for women.
The Nike Pegasus Premium and the Nike Vomero Premium are Nike's first two running shoes to bear the Premium label, and each pushes the limits in different directions. The Pegasus Premium feels more experimental and is a flashy, noisy shoe that has a crazy mishmash of technology. It incorporates three different midsole compounds (dense ReactX foam, bouncier ZoomX foam, and two AirZoom units), and the overall experience feels less refined, with more chaotic transitions and a forefoot that goes from exceptionally protective at easy paces to somewhat harsh under heavier impacts. The Vomero Premium is still a very unconventional shoe as well, but feels more refined, with a thicker but simpler midsole (ZoomX wrapped around two AirZoom units), which delivers more consistent cushioning and energy return.
The Nike Vomero Plus and the Nike Vomero Premium are the two new additions to the Vomero family within Nike's revamped lineup. The Plus version sticks closer to the Vomero family tree, maintaining a reasonable stack height but incorporating a full ZoomX midsole that delivers great bounce and excellent cushioning. The Premium version is the more experimental and "out there" shoe, towering nearly 10 mm higher than the Plus and integrating two AirZoom units into a ZoomX midsole. Although the Vomero Plus is heavier than the average running shoe, it's much lighter and more versatile than the Vomero Premium, which feels mostly suited to easy, recovery runs.
The ASICS MEGABLAST and the Nike Vomero Premium are two shoes surrounded by hype and packed full of cushioning. They are a great study in the contrasting innovation strategies of their respective brands: ASICS has been at the forefront in developing Aliphatic-TPU-based foams, and the FF Turbo² in the MEGABLAST is one of the lightest and bounciest of any training shoe. Nike, meanwhile, has been experimenting with incorporating multiple technologies into its midsoles, and the Vomero Premium's combination of PEBA-based ZoomX foam and AirZoom capsules feels fun and wildly different from almost any other shoe. But by keeping it simple, the MEGABLAST can deliver better energy return and almost as good cushioning in a significantly lighter shoe. The Vomero Premium's edge in cushioning is achieved by having a significantly taller stack underfoot, which also makes it less stable.
The Nike Vomero Premium and the Brooks Glycerin Max 2 are both massive, comfort-focused trainers, but they take very different approaches to how that comfort feels underfoot. The Nike is even heavier overall, with an ultra-high stack that requires a very wide platform to stay somewhat stable, so it feels noticeably more cumbersome and bulky than the Brooks when jogging along. In return, the Nike's ZoomX foam and Air units create a much bouncier, more cushioned ride. The Brooks still offers plenty of cushioning for daily miles and long runs, but it's firmer, so it feels less towering and less chaotic underfoot, even if it's not as exciting or energetic. If you want maximum protection and a plush, springy feel and don't mind carrying extra weight and bulk, the Nike is the more luxurious choice; if you prefer a slightly more grounded, straightforward max cushion trainer that's easier to live with day to day and still very well cushioned, the Brooks is the better fit.
We've recently started buying and testing running shoes with a very data-oriented approach. While we're just getting started, our methodology already has dozens of tests to help you make the right purchasing decision for your needs. Not only do we use high-end equipment to gather objective data, but we also order multiple sizes of the same shoes for team members to be able to log in miles. This real-world testing is done at various paces and conditions, and with different types of workouts, to cover all the bases. This allows us to verify our results and ensure they align with what you might feel with a specific pair.
Test Results
The Nike Vomero Premium is currently the heaviest shoe we've ever measured in our lab. The incredible amount of cushioning protects your legs but also weighs down each stride.
Currently, the Nike Vomero Premium is the tallest shoe we have ever measured in our lab. There's so much material between your foot and the ground that impact forces are significantly reduced, but so too is lateral stability.
The Nike Vomero Premium is decently responsive in the heel, doing a satisfactory job of bouncing you forward from your heel to your toe. It's a much livelier sensation than in the Nike Vomero 18, but not quite as noticeable a bounce as in the heel of the Nike Vomero Plus.
The Nike Vomero Premium gives good energy return in the forefoot, once again easily outperforming the forefoot bounce of the Nike Vomero 18, but not quite matching the Nike Vomero Plus. Each push-off feels bouncy, but not explosive.
The heel of the Nike Vomero Premium is so incredibly cushioned that the 52 mm midsole absorbs most of the impact before it reaches your foot. Over the course of a run, that means significantly lower stress on your body.
The forefoot of the Nike Vomero Premium is the most absorbent of any shoe we have lab tested so far. In practice, that means that the impact on your joints will be lower than in any other shoe available.
The heel of the Nike Vomero Premium isn't firm at all. The tradeoff of having such a malleable midsole is a less stable ride.
The forefoot of the Nike Vomero Premium isn't very firm, which can challenge your proprioception and make it difficult to firmly plant your foot.
The Nike Vomero Premium's forefoot cushioning is exceptional out of the gate, and it retains its top-class impact absorption even after 40 kilometers. That said, it may not necessarily be the most comfortable shoe over long distances, as its inherent instability will more heavily recruit your stabiliser muscles.