Nike Court React Vapor NXT. Coach review.

[CoachDanHouston]

Hey tennis gear fanatics. My name is Dan and I'm a tennis coach out of Houston. I've been loving the Vapor X and really excited for the new Vapor NXT to drop. I use Nike react to run and glad to see it in its first tennis shoe. Coming in at $160, Nike only added the react in the arc of the foot for better lateral movement which is ok but I would like more of it. This shoe is built like the Nike Zoom Vapor Cage 4. It's a meatier shoe than what we're used to in the Vapor line. To me, this shoe is designed for an aggressive mover and designed to take a beating from the court.

Pros
-Beautiful shoe. Really pops and people notice.
-Comfortable thick midsole. React does it's job in the arc of the foot.
-Flyweave is new to tennis, it's light, supportive and breathable.
-Outsole is the best in the business. Thick and tread pattern is grippy.

Cons
-Lots and lots of plastic on the midsole and upper.
-Stiff upper due to the plastic wrap to prevent wear.
-Bad for toe jamming. Jamming into the plastic.
-Tongue is too thin. Shoe laces hurt if you really synch it up.

The Nike Vapor React NXT is an ok update. The collar of the shoe reminds me of the previous Nike React. I would definitely go down a half size to insure the heel doesn't slip and you don't want too much room as toe jamming will occur. The outsole is the star of the shoe, stick and it cuts beautifully on the court. I'd give this shoe a 7/10. It's like a lighter version of the cage. I'd like it to have an identity of its own. Lookin forward to the Vapor X Pro. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Hi Coach Dan, what other shoes have you used in the last 3 years, how would you describe your needs from a shoe, and are you affiliated in any way with Nike?

Also, the Vapor NXT is heavier than the Cages 15.8 vs 15.6 ounces, so why do you say it is a lighter version, when it is in fact heavier?

 

[CoachDanHouston]

Hi Coach Dan, what other shoes have you used in the last 3 years, how would you describe your needs from a shoe, and are you affiliated in any way with Nike?

Also, the Vapor NXT is heavier than the Cages 15.8 vs 15.6 ounces, so why do you say it is a lighter version, when it is in fact heavier?

Sup dude, I've had every Nike tennis shoe from the Air Zoom Breathe free/Zoom S2 Vapor. I am not affiliated with Nike. I thought I'd share my excitement for this shoe with the board. The Cage 4 is a tank! Those shoes are super thick and clunky. I do like them for practice days. The Vapor NXT definitely performs better and feels speedier due to the livelineas of the midsole.

 

[vsbabolat]

Hey tennis gear fanatics. My name is Dan and I'm a tennis coach out of Houston. I've been loving the Vapor X and really excited for the new Vapor NXT to drop. I use Nike react to run and glad to see it in its first tennis shoe. Coming in at $160, Nike only added the react in the arc of the foot for better lateral movement which is ok but I would like more of it. This shoe is built like the Nike Zoom Vapor Cage 4. It's a meatier shoe than what we're used to in the Vapor line. To me, this shoe is designed for an aggressive mover and designed to take a beating from the court.

Pros
-Beautiful shoe. Really pops and people notice.
-Comfortable thick midsole. React does it's job in the arc of the foot.
-Flyweave is new to tennis, it's light, supportive and breathable.
-Outsole is the best in the business. Thick and tread pattern is grippy.

Cons
-Lots and lots of plastic on the midsole and upper.
-Stiff upper due to the plastic wrap to prevent wear.
-Bad for toe jamming. Jamming into the plastic.
-Tongue is too thin. Shoe laces hurt if you really synch it up.

The Nike Vapor React NXT is an ok update. The collar of the shoe reminds me of the previous Nike React. I would definitely go down a half size to insure the heel doesn't slip and you don't want too much room as toe jamming will occur. The outsole is the star of the shoe, stick and it cuts beautifully on the court. I'd give this shoe a 7/10. It's like a lighter version of the cage. I'd like it to have an identity of its own. Lookin forward to the Vapor X Pro. Feel free to ask any questions.

They look awful

 

[ArliHawk]

Sup dude, I've had every Nike tennis shoe from the Air Zoom Breathe free/Zoom S2 Vapor. I am not affiliated with Nike. I thought I'd share my excitement for this shoe with the board. The Cage 4 is a tank! Those shoes are super thick and clunky. I do like them for practice days. The Vapor NXT definitely performs better and feels speedier due to the livelineas of the midsole.

as someone who uses the cage4,i must respectfully disagree. My experiment with the nxt lasted about 2 weeks. Went back to the cages because they sit lower, faster shoe for me. The nxt sat too high for me and hurt my knees, due to pronation. Wanted them so badly to work but did not.

 

[airchallenge2]

They look awful

Agreed. In this photo it looks like the outsole wants to swallow up the entire shoe, hahaha

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Sup dude, I've had every Nike tennis shoe from the Air Zoom Breathe free/Zoom S2 Vapor. I am not affiliated with Nike. I thought I'd share my excitement for this shoe with the board. The Cage 4 is a tank! Those shoes are super thick and clunky. I do like them for practice days. The Vapor NXT definitely performs better and feels speedier due to the livelineas of the midsole.

I am trying to figure out what you are comparing them to, and since your review was somewhat of an optimistic take, I wanted to know how much of it is objective. So, you haven't tried any other shoes beside Nike shoes in the past 3 years? What is your movement style (light on your toes, heel striker, slider, all court i.e. also forward mover or predominantly baseline i.e. side-to-side mover etc.)?

 

[Gemini]

Hey tennis gear fanatics. My name is Dan and I'm a tennis coach out of Houston. I've been loving the Vapor X and really excited for the new Vapor NXT to drop. I use Nike react to run and glad to see it in its first tennis shoe. Coming in at $160, Nike only added the react in the arc of the foot for better lateral movement which is ok but I would like more of it. This shoe is built like the Nike Zoom Vapor Cage 4. It's a meatier shoe than what we're used to in the Vapor line. To me, this shoe is designed for an aggressive mover and designed to take a beating from the court.

Pros
-Beautiful shoe. Really pops and people notice.
-Comfortable thick midsole. React does it's job in the arc of the foot.
-Flyweave is new to tennis, it's light, supportive and breathable.
-Outsole is the best in the business. Thick and tread pattern is grippy.

Cons
-Lots and lots of plastic on the midsole and upper.
-Stiff upper due to the plastic wrap to prevent wear.
-Bad for toe jamming. Jamming into the plastic.
-Tongue is too thin. Shoe laces hurt if you really synch it up.

The Nike Vapor React NXT is an ok update. The collar of the shoe reminds me of the previous Nike React. I would definitely go down a half size to insure the heel doesn't slip and you don't want too much room as toe jamming will occur. The outsole is the star of the shoe, stick and it cuts beautifully on the court. I'd give this shoe a 7/10. It's like a lighter version of the cage. I'd like it to have an identity of its own. Lookin forward to the Vapor X Pro. Feel free to ask any questions.

@CoachDanHouston

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

A few things on your Pros/Cons:

• I agree with your take that it is a beautiful shoe. I've gotten quite a few compliments. It's all subjective as people have different takes on what is attractive.
• I agree on the Flyweave though I'm going to give it a couple of months of some hard testing. Especially as the weather heats up.
• The upper is "plasticky" but it sort of is what it is. As I mentioned in one of my posts, the upper is just stiff in general. The only other shoes I can recall feeling this way about is the Ballistec 3.3 which took me quite some time to break down. We'll see how it feels after 3 to 4 months of hard driving.
• No issues with the thin tongue on my side but then again I don't like cinching down on too hard on my laces. I want the laces snug and the knot tight but if I'm having to clamp down to keep the upper secure on my foot then it's not a good fit for me. So...the only caveat to this regarding this shoe is I do have some heel slippage (mentioned this before) and no amount of tightening the laces in a shoe without upper traditional eyelets is going to fix that.

The one thing you've said that stands out for me is regarding this shoe having an identity of it's own. For fans of the Vapor 9/9.5s/Xs, this AIN'T the replacement you've been looking for. This is something COMPLETELY different. The Vapor Pro is the heir apparent to what we all had come to know as the "traditional" Vapor shoe in my mind. And I'll most likely give that shoe a look as well.

And..I'll push back on one thing. I'm not sure the VNXT is an update. No one can seem to agree whole-heartedly as to what shoe the VNXT is the successor to. It has the DNA of a lot of different offerings past and present (ruggedized upper for example) and some new elements -- flyweave. It carries the Vapor name similar to the VC4 but neither shoe is a speed shoe like the Vapor X. Again, this is something complete different.

Right now, as part of my own experiment, I'm testing insoles to manage 1.) my plantar fasciitis that's prevalent in any shoe I choose, 2.) the somewhat pronated designed that ArliHawk mentioned, and 3.) heel slippage which is really the biggest decision factor for me in any shoe.

 

[John]

The vapor nxt would make it the last vapor.....it’s designed to turn people for cage... or perhaps to ASICS!
weight, weight, weight is everything.
2021 onward is the year of extra cushioning. We even witnessed the extra thick foam in boost2021.

the cost of extra cushioning on vapor nxt is weight! evening sacrifice comfort but reducing proper protection at tongue, this beast still 1 oz heavier than cage 4 and court ff2!

why Nike let the running shoes department take over tennis? The recent Nike tennis line is getting worth every generation.

turn to ASICS guys. I had stocked up 25 pairs of Nike tennis shoes. I can safely last till least nxt discontinued.

vapor x may not be perfect, but it’s worse to change it.

 

[morten]

How about size compared to Vapor Cage ?

 

[Blake Wilde]

How was the durability of the outsole and the upper? I've heard a ton of mixed reviews.

 

[StefanosWillSaveTheWorld]

In my opinion, I thought Cage 4 was definitely the better shoe. the lacing system was way better and i could get a tight, secure fit with the two piece tongue. the Vapor React NXT tongue didnt allow you to secure the forefoot and It led to some toe jamming. The plastic guard didnt feel great. But it eventually broke in and felt better. I thought the cushioning was good on the react nxt and it ended up being my go-to shoe for walking around in all day. (i work retail). But as far as on court performance goes, the Cage 4 fit was better and was way more responsive. I feel fast in the cage 4 despite its weight. I had no confidence in the Vapor react nxt due to fit issues. Just my two cents.

 

[zaskar1]

Bought NXT Reacts on a whim
currently using the Vapor Pros as I transitioned from the Vapor X
Had some concerns with the Pros, lateral stability and thin tongue, but once I played in them, no issues for me, very comfortable shoe
Reacts seem to have more lateral support and feel slightly heavier than the Vapor Pros
Thin tongue is like the Vapor Pro, hopefully won’t be an issue
Right now I am breaking them in, inside the house
z

 

[morten]

React seems to have almost too much lateral support to me, they kind of tilt inwards...

 

[innoVAShaun]

 

[OldManStan]

I don’t know why they can’t give us a shoe with a nicely padded tongue and heel counter.

 

[mpournaras]

I don’t know why they can’t give us a shoe with a nicely padded tongue and heel counter.

because "modern" and "weight savings"

 

[innoVAShaun]

 

[innoVAShaun]

 

[RNBABOLAT]

There will be a blue Vapor Cage? Thanks

 

[Alex7778]

Which shoes are better for baseliners, the Vapor pros or the react Vapor NXTs?

 

[innoVAShaun]

Photos updated.

 

[innoVAShaun]

Also comes in clay:

Blue Chill/Photo Blue/Phantom/Midnight Navy
Style: CV0726-400

 

[Nostradamus]

Hey tennis gear fanatics. My name is Dan and I'm a tennis coach out of Houston. I've been loving the Vapor X and really excited for the new Vapor NXT to drop. I use Nike react to run and glad to see it in its first tennis shoe. Coming in at $160, Nike only added the react in the arc of the foot for better lateral movement which is ok but I would like more of it. This shoe is built like the Nike Zoom Vapor Cage 4. It's a meatier shoe than what we're used to in the Vapor line. To me, this shoe is designed for an aggressive mover and designed to take a beating from the court.

Pros
-Beautiful shoe. Really pops and people notice.
-Comfortable thick midsole. React does it's job in the arc of the foot.
-Flyweave is new to tennis, it's light, supportive and breathable.
-Outsole is the best in the business. Thick and tread pattern is grippy.

Cons
-Lots and lots of plastic on the midsole and upper.
-Stiff upper due to the plastic wrap to prevent wear.
-Bad for toe jamming. Jamming into the plastic.
-Tongue is too thin. Shoe laces hurt if you really synch it up.

The Nike Vapor React NXT is an ok update. The collar of the shoe reminds me of the previous Nike React. I would definitely go down a half size to insure the heel doesn't slip and you don't want too much room as toe jamming will occur. The outsole is the star of the shoe, stick and it cuts beautifully on the court. I'd give this shoe a 7/10. It's like a lighter version of the cage. I'd like it to have an identity of its own. Lookin forward to the Vapor X Pro. Feel free to ask any questions.

What the MOST comfortable and most cushioned Nike ? this one or Cage 4 ?

 

[innoVAShaun]

Mens
White/Glacier Ice/Midnight Navy
Style: CV0724-102

 

[innoVAShaun]

Womens
Glacier Ice/White/Midnight Navy
Style: CV0742-402

 

[innoVAShaun]

White/Light Bone/Orange Trance/Khaki
Style: CV0724-103