Nike 2025 General Thread

I think one thing a lot of people are forgetting to look at on the vapor pro 3 is the fact that there still could be changes to the actual midsole itself. maybe a shank added.
 
The Hypersmash seems to be a one off model similar to the Foamposite Vapor X. Not sure what the plan was for the Foamposite Vapor but I have a hard time seeing the Hypersmash not following that trajectory.
 
Idk about anyone else out here, but I noticed the prototype of the Vapor 12 compared to the official ones worn by Rune and Korda are more higher in the uppers (ankle) The official ones looks more low in profile, sleek if you will from photos. Time will tell but I much prefer the prototype look. More of the 9/9.5 than ZV10/VP1 which I didn’t like at all.
 
Idk about anyone else out here, but I noticed the prototype of the Vapor 12 compared to the official ones worn by Rune and Korda are more higher in the uppers (ankle) The official ones looks more low in profile, sleek if you will from photos. Time will tell but I much prefer the prototype look. More of the 9/9.5 than ZV10/VP1 which I didn’t like at all.
Hi, yes, in the other thread we noticed the same things...even the swoosh seems slightly bigger than the Rune prototype (before the match with Ruud)
 
The Hypersmash seems to be a one off model similar to the Foamposite Vapor X. Not sure what the plan was for the Foamposite Vapor but I have a hard time seeing the Hypersmash not following that trajectory.
It was said that the Vapor foamposite was supposed to be worn by Federer, but then he reached an agreement with uniqlo; some specimens were in the distribution phase and are in fact for sale on the bay
 
It was said that the Vapor foamposite was supposed to be worn by Federer, but then he reached an agreement with uniqlo; some specimens were in the distribution phase and are in fact for sale on the bay
Yeah I had a pair and they were fairly easy to get unofficially then like a year later they were released at random retail sites. At that point all Foamposite rerelease hype had faded
 
If I remember correctly, the Nike hyperdunk was also one of Kobe Bryant's shoes (so-called Nike Kobe V...2008) :)
 
Yeah I had a pair and they were fairly easy to get unofficially then like a year later they were released at random retail sites. At that point all Foamposite rerelease hype had faded
I was given a pair for my birthday a few years ago, they are cool in principle, but can't imagine any benefit for playing in them, they are stiff, Fed would have never worn them outside of the Nike team promo hit prior to the USO.
 
thoughts on new vapor pro 3?

Remains underwhelming from a design perspective for these reasons:

Worst traction/outsole on a vapor in its history (although vapor iii from 2006 was terrible)

Heavy/stuffy upper not consistent with vapor moniker. Really firm/thick plastic

Same pathetic midsole

Same terrible rocker heel

Vapor 12 is going to run laps around this one
 
Remains underwhelming from a design perspective for these reasons:

Worst traction/outsole on a vapor in its history (although vapor iii from 2006 was terrible)

Heavy/stuffy upper not consistent with vapor moniker. Really firm/thick plastic

Same pathetic midsole

Same terrible rocker heel

Vapor 12 is going to run laps around this one
You tried it on?
 
You tried it on?
You couldn’t also infer the same from the dozens of photos ? It’s clearly built on the same last/using all the same materials & tooling for the midsole/outsole/upper as the VP2. A clunky and non-traditional vapor offering imo
 
The upper looked quite different to me

in what way? swoosh placement? let's break it down:

  • Same last/chasis
  • Same plastic overlay pattern/placement in the medial toe/toebox - they made it thicker even. Great. More weight.
  • Same mesh on interior lining
  • Same ankle collar height
  • Same tongue WITHOUT the mesh
  • Same lacing system with seemingly less eyelets embedded into the upper itself (only top 2 on VP3, whereas every eyelet on VP2)

nike-court-air-zoom-vapor-pro-2_497628.jpg
Gci1fI0bcAEB1od

Before you make quippy statements maybe you should have looked closer at the two side by side? Im just letting people know my opinion based off of the actual specs. For the record, I want this shoe to be great, but looks like were getting another pair of fake vapors/total garbage. So many pros moved away from the VP2 because it was awful (albeit not as bad as the v11), I wouldnt expect many to use the VP3 unless they are young and nike is paying them extra bread to endorse this line (likely they'd have custom last/cushion layup anyways). Youre chugging the Nike koolaid if you think its at all a significant departure or improvement. Let's not forget they just copy/pasted the midsole and outsole. I historically love nike, but I remain highly critical when it's warranted
 
in what way? swoosh placement? let's break it down:

  • Same last/chasis
  • Same plastic overlay pattern/placement in the medial toe/toebox - they made it thicker even. Great. More weight.
  • Same mesh on interior lining
  • Same ankle collar height
  • Same tongue WITHOUT the mesh
  • Same lacing system with seemingly less eyelets embedded into the upper itself (only top 2 on VP3, whereas every eyelet on VP2)

nike-court-air-zoom-vapor-pro-2_497628.jpg
Gci1fI0bcAEB1od

Before you make quippy statements maybe you should have looked closer at the two side by side? Im just letting people know my opinion based off of the actual specs. For the record, I want this shoe to be great, but looks like were getting another pair of fake vapors/total garbage. So many pros moved away from the VP2 because it was awful (albeit not as bad as the v11), I wouldnt expect many to use the VP3 unless they are young and nike is paying them extra bread to endorse this line (likely they'd have custom last/cushion layup anyways). Youre chugging the Nike koolaid if you think its at all a significant departure or improvement. Let's not forget they just copy/pasted the midsole and outsole. I historically love nike, but I remain highly critical when it's warranted

Agreed!

Although not sure if anyone outside of top 10 gets custom lasts unless they are really special (NK, or when a legend falls out of top 10), and the current top 10 Nike guys are in highly custom shoes. Do you think guys like Draper get to pick from the line up or told (or bonus $) to wear certain shoes just for public visibility? I have not clue but at that level the prob just pick what they like best from the retail lineup, then add their orthotic.

I cannot imagine Lorenzo, Draper, Tiafoe, Rublev (when both were sponsored), etc getting the custom treatment -- but I don't know at what level you start getting the very special Nike treatment even if its just shoe molds; and they all use orthotics so not talking about that. Only real evidence of special versions are Fed, Rafa, Grigor, Kei, Carlos. Jannik's ZZs seem to be stock upper/mid/out, but he might have a custom mold; same with NK's flytraps, they just look retail although a PE.

If that is the case, it's a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy to keep potential top players NOT wearing your current shoes: they don't get a custom last coming up, they get used to a certain stock/retail shoe, don't want to swap to newer once they hit it big years later (even if they can get custom at that point!).

Someone needs to ask a former Nike player when they started getting the full custom treatment, top 100? top 50? top 10? Built into contract?
 
-I see some mesh on the tongue still.
-The top eyelets look like they’ll help with lockdown.
-The extra material in the toe drag guard adding weight? Bruh that’s 5 grams maybe. Completely inconsequential
-The toe guard was fine otherwise even in the VP2
-higher ankle is good
- maybe they’ve changed the chassis inside who knows. I see improvements across the board which is exactly what you want

Jack Draper wore the VP2 and had a breakout year? I know that’s just one person but still. It shows it has potential

Let it sit on your foot before you judge?
 
in what way? swoosh placement? let's break it down:

  • Same last/chasis
  • Same plastic overlay pattern/placement in the medial toe/toebox - they made it thicker even. Great. More weight.
  • Same mesh on interior lining
  • Same ankle collar height
  • Same tongue WITHOUT the mesh
  • Same lacing system with seemingly less eyelets embedded into the upper itself (only top 2 on VP3, whereas every eyelet on VP2)

nike-court-air-zoom-vapor-pro-2_497628.jpg
Gci1fI0bcAEB1od

Before you make quippy statements maybe you should have looked closer at the two side by side? Im just letting people know my opinion based off of the actual specs. For the record, I want this shoe to be great, but looks like were getting another pair of fake vapors/total garbage. So many pros moved away from the VP2 because it was awful (albeit not as bad as the v11), I wouldnt expect many to use the VP3 unless they are young and nike is paying them extra bread to endorse this line (likely they'd have custom last/cushion layup anyways). Youre chugging the Nike koolaid if you think its at all a significant departure or improvement. Let's not forget they just copy/pasted the midsole and outsole. I historically love nike, but I remain highly critical when it's warranted
The upper fabric looks different to me.
 
-I see some mesh on the tongue still.
-The top eyelets look like they’ll help with lockdown.
-The extra material in the toe drag guard adding weight? Bruh that’s 5 grams maybe. Completely inconsequential
-The toe guard was fine otherwise even in the VP2
-higher ankle is good
- maybe they’ve changed the chassis inside who knows. I see improvements across the board which is exactly what you want

Jack Draper wore the VP2 and had a breakout year? I know that’s just one person but still. It shows it has potential

Let it sit on your foot before you judge?

Nah dude way more fun to turn one's nose up at something that isn't even out yet
 
-I see some mesh on the tongue still.
-The top eyelets look like they’ll help with lockdown.
-The extra material in the toe drag guard adding weight? Bruh that’s 5 grams maybe. Completely inconsequential
-The toe guard was fine otherwise even in the VP2
-higher ankle is good
- maybe they’ve changed the chassis inside who knows. I see improvements across the board which is exactly what you want

Jack Draper wore the VP2 and had a breakout year? I know that’s just one person but still. It shows it has potential

Let it sit on your foot before you judge?

appreciate you actually looking at the shoe before blindly defending it, but those "counters" dont really hold up. how would the chasis change if the midsole and outsole (what defines the chasis) has remained identical? I see doubling-down on terrible design features across the board, which is exactly what you don't want

the vp2 had terrible terrible reviews. its not at all the case of the vapor 9/9.5/x where people clamored for those shoes to come back (and some did). this is the case of the vapor 3, 7, and 8 - just another awful shoe and design. You seem to think everyone will worship the prior vapor gens just because they are discontinued. no bro, the vapor pro 2 and vapor 11 are objectively bad offerings, just like the aforementioned ones, no one will want those back or stock pile them. if you talk to anyone who's used them you'll hear that feedback. im not at all sold draper was wearing a stock vp2, no chance. no top 50 tour pro is wearing off the shelf nikes, but you can dilute yourself into thinking that if you want to feel better about the vapor pro 3. also, if it's the same shoe as the prior gen, no need for it to sit on my foot to know it's terrible

havent heard me throw shade at the vapor 12, because they actually listened to the market when building that out. im just calling balls and strikes

The upper fabric looks different to me.

clearly just a mesh overlay on hard plastic, one fairly meaningless aspect to the design of the upper

Nah dude way more fun to turn one's nose up at something that isn't even out yet

lol it's like you forgot about all those posts you liked where i praised the vapor 12
 
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Agreed!

Although not sure if anyone outside of top 10 gets custom lasts unless they are really special (NK, or when a legend falls out of top 10), and the current top 10 Nike guys are in highly custom shoes. Do you think guys like Draper get to pick from the line up or told (or bonus $) to wear certain shoes just for public visibility? I have not clue but at that level the prob just pick what they like best from the retail lineup, then add their orthotic.

I cannot imagine Lorenzo, Draper, Tiafoe, Rublev (when both were sponsored), etc getting the custom treatment -- but I don't know at what level you start getting the very special Nike treatment even if its just shoe molds; and they all use orthotics so not talking about that. Only real evidence of special versions are Fed, Rafa, Grigor, Kei, Carlos. Jannik's ZZs seem to be stock upper/mid/out, but he might have a custom mold; same with NK's flytraps, they just look retail although a PE.

If that is the case, it's a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy to keep potential top players NOT wearing your current shoes: they don't get a custom last coming up, they get used to a certain stock/retail shoe, don't want to swap to newer once they hit it big years later (even if they can get custom at that point!).

Someone needs to ask a former Nike player when they started getting the full custom treatment, top 100? top 50? top 10? Built into contract?

The custom lasts are much more prevalent then we might consider. All Nike athletes, even collegiate ones, get tons of special treatment. If a nike athlete has a wide foot, they need 2E width, they have to make a custom last

Nishkori is the perfect example. He has a completely custom tooled vapor, im not sure his ceiling is that much higher than Musetti, Draper, etc or any of the modern nike pros

Kei was getting a custom last, upper, midsole, and outsole. All in the twilight of his career when his likeness wasnt as marketable
 
The custom lasts are much more prevalent then we might consider. All Nike athletes, even collegiate ones, get tons of special treatment. If a nike athlete has a wide foot, they need 2E width, they have to make a custom last

Nishkori is the perfect example. He has a completely custom tooled vapor, im not sure his ceiling is that much higher than Musetti, Draper, etc or any of the modern nike pros

Kei was getting a custom last, upper, midsole, and outsole. All in the twilight of his career when his likeness wasnt as marketable

Feel like Musetti is another one that Nike just won't appreciate and will kick to the curb at some point
 
& a broad question for all who blindly stroke off nike or any other gear manufacturer. What do you have to gain from blindly subscribing to the latest and "greatest"?

it's been proven out that the latest releases arent always the best

weve seen so many nike ideas flop in the past 15 years. for the uninformed, google these products:

  • Nike zoom revive - the replacable outsole on an aging midsole/upper. awful idea
  • Nike zoom vapor III - shallow traction that caused fed to turn his ankle testing them. blake has multiple bad ankle turns in this shoe
  • Nike zoom vapor 6 upper - while I loved the midsole and outsole, the upper was objectively too stiff and not breathable
  • Nike zoom vapor 8 upper - terrible stiffness and lack of breathability made this shoe impossible to use in summer months
  • Nike zoom ultrafly - perhaps the worst nike design for tennis ever. a plastic hard upper, heel cushion that resembled a women's formal dress heel design, slippery outsole, and the most insane embedded "ankle brace" concept ever
  • Nike air zoom NXT - another insane design. the random plate that likely allowed for cost savings not at all comfortable. another botch design concept for the average consumer. im sure great out of the box as sabalenka uses, but for the average consumer using a shoe for a year, total joke
  • Nike vapor react NXT - awful TPU wrap around upper combined with midsole cushion that had plastic spikes running through it
  • Nike vapor pro 2 - the worst outsole design of any vapor ever. Stiff and not breathable upper. Dense heel cushion with no energy return
  • Nike vapor 11 - the worst outsole/midsole design of any vapor ever

Let's be fair. Call them when they miss and praise them when they win. I love nike shoes and still own dozens included many vapor 6s, 9s, 9.5s, Xs, GP turbos, breathe cages, and vapor pro 1s. they arent perfect, however, so lets be the informed consumers we claim to be and impart criticism when warranted. happy hitting nike heads
 
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he feels destined for the tiafoe/fritz/rublev path, nike will probably cut bait right before his greatest career achievement

The Tiafoe thing is very weird.

Do you think "fukyoufykyoufukyou" was what did it?

He's a ripped black American guy, literally the Nike aesthetic to a T. Why would they cut him loose
 
The Tiafoe thing is very weird.

Do you think "fukyoufykyoufukyou" was what did it?

He's a ripped black American guy, literally the Nike aesthetic to a T. Why would they cut him loose

lol that may have played a role. If I had to guess, I bet he got more assured money from NB. Nike layers all kinds of incentive structure into their deals, which makes me think he didnt have the confidence to bet on himself

i agree he's the ideal target endorsee for them. basically american kygrios with less off court trouble. shocking decision, i hope its a wake up call for frances to lose a major sponsor. he seemed so promising 7 years ago when he took fed to 5 in NYC
 
lol that may have played a role. If I had to guess, I bet he got more assured money from NB. Nike layers all kinds of incentive structure into their deals, which makes me think he didnt have the confidence to bet on himself

i agree he's the ideal target endorsee for them. basically american kygrios with less off court trouble. shocking decision, i hope its a wake up call for frances to lose a major sponsor. he seemed so promising 7 years ago when he took fed to 5 in NYC

I'd think that his "losing to clowns" comment and "fukyou" would have played right into their image of rebellion and irreverence. But maybe his performance didn't match up. Dunno. His USO tank sold out quick.
 
The custom lasts are much more prevalent then we might consider. All Nike athletes, even collegiate ones, get tons of special treatment. If a nike athlete has a wide foot, they need 2E width, they have to make a custom last

Nishkori is the perfect example. He has a completely custom tooled vapor, im not sure his ceiling is that much higher than Musetti, Draper, etc or any of the modern nike pros

Kei was getting a custom last, upper, midsole, and outsole. All in the twilight of his career when his likeness wasnt as marketable
The funny thing is that this “custom treatment” is something really chep, you can go on alibaba and search shoe manufacturers and the can actually provide you a mass production of a shoe for like 10 euros a piece, so it would be fairly easy and cheap for nike
 
The Tiafoe thing is very weird.

Do you think "fukyoufykyoufukyou" was what did it?

He's a ripped black American guy, literally the Nike aesthetic to a T. Why would they cut him loose
Tiafoe is not a ripped guy. He has a nice and athletic physique but nothing more. And also that behaviour may be costed him the contract
 
Tiafoe is not a ripped guy. He has a nice and athletic physique but nothing more. And also that behaviour may be costed him the contract

Tiafoe is pretty ripped sir

Maybe you have a different definition of the word but he's got one of the more muscular physiques on tour
 
Tiafoe is pretty ripped sir

Maybe you have a different definition of the word but he's got one of the more muscular physiques on tour
For me he is not ripped, lean and athletic, a bit muscolar but not a bodybuilder for shure. Still has one of the best bodies on tour
 
For me he is not ripped, lean and athletic, a bit muscolar but not a bodybuilder for shure. Still has one of the best bodies on tour

A bit muscular?

lol

"Ripped" generally refers to how cut someone is, even a small guy can be ripped, you are talking about words like "swole" which absolutely no tennis player qualifies for
 
question how are people getting such high quality photos showing every angle of the vapor pro 3? where you get those lol? also why don't people got thos for vapor 12? I wanna see this new shank and outsole alittle closer.
 
in what way? swoosh placement? let's break it down:

  • Same last/chasis
  • Same plastic overlay pattern/placement in the medial toe/toebox - they made it thicker even. Great. More weight.
  • Same mesh on interior lining
  • Same ankle collar height
  • Same tongue WITHOUT the mesh
  • Same lacing system with seemingly less eyelets embedded into the upper itself (only top 2 on VP3, whereas every eyelet on VP2)

nike-court-air-zoom-vapor-pro-2_497628.jpg
Gci1fI0bcAEB1od

Before you make quippy statements maybe you should have looked closer at the two side by side? Im just letting people know my opinion based off of the actual specs. For the record, I want this shoe to be great, but looks like were getting another pair of fake vapors/total garbage. So many pros moved away from the VP2 because it was awful (albeit not as bad as the v11), I wouldnt expect many to use the VP3 unless they are young and nike is paying them extra bread to endorse this line (likely they'd have custom last/cushion layup anyways). Youre chugging the Nike koolaid if you think its at all a significant departure or improvement. Let's not forget they just copy/pasted the midsole and outsole. I historically love nike, but I remain highly critical when it's warranted
As I have mentioned long ago, VP3 is just "facelift" of VP2
 
& a broad question for all who blindly stroke off nike or any other gear manufacturer. What do you have to gain from blindly subscribing to the latest and "greatest"?

it's been proven out that the latest releases arent always the best

weve seen so many nike ideas flop in the past 15 years. for the uninformed, google these products:

  • Nike zoom revive - the replacable outsole on an aging midsole/upper. awful idea
  • Nike zoom vapor III - shallow traction that caused fed to turn his ankle testing them. blake has multiple bad ankle turns in this shoe
  • Nike zoom vapor 6 upper - while I loved the midsole and outsole, the upper was objectively too stiff and not breathable
  • Nike zoom vapor 8 upper - terrible stiffness and lack of breathability made this shoe impossible to use in summer months
  • Nike zoom ultrafly - perhaps the worst nike design for tennis ever. a plastic hard upper, heel cushion that resembled a women's formal dress heel design, slippery outsole, and the most insane embedded "ankle brace" concept ever
  • Nike air zoom NXT - another insane design. the random plate that likely allowed for cost savings not at all comfortable. another botch design concept for the average consumer. im sure great out of the box as sabalenka uses, but for the average consumer using a shoe for a year, total joke
  • Nike vapor react NXT - awful TPU wrap around upper combined with midsole cushion that had plastic spikes running through it
  • Nike vapor pro 2 - the worst outsole design of any vapor ever. Stiff and not breathable upper. Dense heel cushion with no energy return
  • Nike vapor 11 - the worst outsole/midsole design of any vapor ever

Let's be fair. Call them when they miss and praise them when they win. I love nike shoes and still own dozens included many vapor 6s, 9s, 9.5s, Xs, GP turbos, breathe cages, and vapor pro 1s. they arent perfect, however, so lets be the informed consumers we claim to be and impart criticism when warranted. happy hitting nike heads
Agree. Nike Zoom Ultrafly is the craziest tennis shoes I have bought in my 20 years of tennis. But that same period also produce goodies such as LB1.5, Vapor 9.5 and its flyknit counterpart.

It is just hit and miss for Nike. The only unfortunate thing is that for the past 5 years or so, Nike has way more misses than hits. The same can be said for Adidas as well maybe for a even longer time. The self-demise of Nike and Adidas simply hand the No. 1 tennis shoes brand to Asics which has not done any crazy improvement indeed.
 
Agree. Nike Zoom Ultrafly is the craziest tennis shoes I have bought in my 20 years of tennis. But that same period also produce goodies such as LB1.5, Vapor 9.5 and its flyknit counterpart.

It is just hit and miss for Nike. The only unfortunate thing is that for the past 5 years or so, Nike has way more misses than hits. The same can be said for Adidas as well maybe for an even longer time. The self-demise of Nike and Adidas simply hand the No. 1 tennis shoes brand to Asics which has not done any crazy improvement indeed.
Eloquently said man. That’s all it is, have to just call the hits and misses for what they are. It is wild that ascics has risen not as a result of their greatness, but the demise of their competitors
 
appreciate you actually looking at the shoe before blindly defending it, but those "counters" dont really hold up. how would the chasis change if the midsole and outsole (what defines the chasis) has remained identical? I see doubling-down on terrible design features across the board, which is exactly what you don't want

the vp2 had terrible terrible reviews. its not at all the case of the vapor 9/9.5/x where people clamored for those shoes to come back (and some did). this is the case of the vapor 3, 7, and 8 - just another awful shoe and design. You seem to think everyone will worship the prior vapor gens just because they are discontinued. no bro, the vapor pro 2 and vapor 11 are objectively bad offerings, just like the aforementioned ones, no one will want those back or stock pile them. if you talk to anyone who's used them you'll hear that feedback. im not at all sold draper was wearing a stock vp2, no chance. no top 50 tour pro is wearing off the shelf nikes, but you can dilute yourself into thinking that if you want to feel better about the vapor pro 3. also, if it's the same shoe as the prior gen, no need for it to sit on my foot to know it's terrible

havent heard me throw shade at the vapor 12, because they actually listened to the market when building that out. im just calling balls and strikes



clearly just a mesh overlay on hard plastic, one fairly meaningless aspect to the design of the upper



lol it's like you forgot about all those posts you liked where i praised the vapor 12
The weave of the fabric is crucial to the support. We have NO idea how that has changed.

Back when Nike used fly wire the geometry and placement of it (exposed or not) was crucial to lockdown. Those things are easy to change a bit between model generations. Let’s just see


The VP3 may blow. Maybe its better? Let’s just see after it released
 
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Eloquently said man. That’s all it is, have to just call the hits and misses for what they are. It is wild that ascics has risen not as a result of their greatness, but the demise of their competitors
Yes extremely sad indeed. Adidas old Barricades and Vapor 9.5 are/were still the golden standard. But if there are new players who come to coaches for shoes advices nowadays, 10 out of 10 they will recommend Asics shoes, no matter major lines like Court ff3 or GR9 or budget lines like the gel swift or challenger. They simply build better than Nike and Adidas offerings nowadays.
 
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