The Nike Vapor Tribute Thread

Hi Gang, can someone please help confirm if there are any differences between the different Nike tennis shoes models with regards to the US sizing? I feel like the Vapor Cage 4 + VP2 size US 11.5 is too small for me so I had to wear US 12 but then when i have acquired VP1 and V10s in size US12, they feel larger and US11.5 is still feeling a bit small but larger than the new models (being vapor Cage 4 and VP2) - I'm trying to find the right fit because I need room for feet expansion during matches/ training. Thank you :)
 
FedalSamAga said:
Hi Gang, can someone please help confirm if there are any differences between the different Nike tennis shoes models with regards to the US sizing? I feel like the Vapor Cage 4 + VP2 size US 11.5 is too small for me so I had to wear US 12 but then when i have acquired VP1 and V10s in size US12, they feel larger and US11.5 is still feeling a bit small but larger than the new models (being vapor Cage 4 and VP2) - I'm trying to find the right fit because I need room for feet expansion during matches/ training. Thank you :)
Click to expand...

I take a half size smaller in VC4 than anything else
 
FedalSamAga said:
Hi Gang, can someone please help confirm if there are any differences between the different Nike tennis shoes models with regards to the US sizing? I feel like the Vapor Cage 4 + VP2 size US 11.5 is too small for me so I had to wear US 12 but then when i have acquired VP1 and V10s in size US12, they feel larger and US11.5 is still feeling a bit small but larger than the new models (being vapor Cage 4 and VP2) - I'm trying to find the right fit because I need room for feet expansion during matches/ training. Thank you :)
Click to expand...
V10 and VP1/VP2/V11 for me run true to size (9)

Vapor 9, 9.5 and VC4 like @Rosstour mentioned I take a half size smaller (8.5)
 
Gino, this is an amazing thread.

The Oreos were beautiful, but that model of Vapor was like plastic. They were never comfortable for me.

The Nishikori 10s look incredible. I also like the Kyrgios/Kyrie Wimbledon version.

I am a 9/9.5 guy through and through. These are a favorite of mine. They look better in person.
41yqAJZxv6L._AC_SY900_.jpg
 
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Al Czervik said:
Gino, this is an amazing thread.

The Oreos were beautiful, but that model of Vapor was like plastic. They were never comfortable for me.

The Nishikori 10s look incredible. I also like the Kyrgios/Kyrie Wimbledon version.

I am a 9/9.5 guy through and through. These are a favorite of mine. They look better in person.
41yqAJZxv6L._AC_SY900_.jpg
Click to expand...
Cheers man! Thanks for the support. I need to go in an update the OPs to include the VP2/V12 when I get some time

This 9.5 pair was sublime, Cincy colorway I believe. What a beautiful colorway. Long live the vapor !
 
gino said:
2025 Nike Vapor 12: A return to design features of legendary vapors. According to Nike, inspired by the V6 aesthetic, but has performance design features of vapors old vapors (adaptive upper fit bands like V9/9.5, exposed midfoot shank dividing the outsole like the Vapors 6/7/8/9/9.5/10, zoom bag in the heel like Vapors 3/6//9/9.5/10, and relatively tradition herringbone like nearly any vapor ever made).

Price: $180

Specs:
  • Upper: High deneer engineered mesh provides comfort, and ventilation. Cast PU reduces weight, while making sure high wear zones are protected; tip of the toe and medial toe box.
  • Midsole: Zoom Air unit located in the heels for shock absorption on hard landings. TPU full length Footframe from heel to toe supplies lightweight stability. Mid- foot shank located in between two-piece split outsole design. 22mm heel stack, with low to the court 10mm stack in the forefoot.
  • Outsole: Hart rubber compound creates more durability; added abrasion resistance. Herringbone tread pattern for optimal grip on hard courts, but performs well on a variety of court surfaces.

rs.php


1999973_1.jpg




2025 Nike Vapor Pro 3: A continuation of the VP2 chasis/design, but the a smaller zoom hex bag replaces the larger VP2 zoom unit, despite the outsole encasing unit remaining the same size (thanks to Foot Doc Zach for that shout)

Price: $120-130

Specs:
  • Upper: Durable mesh allows for breathability and comfort. Rubberized TPU reinforces drag zones of the upper for protection, and reduces slippage when sliding on hardcourts.
  • Midsole: Hex forefoot Zoom Air unit strategically placed in highest impact zone (metatarsal head). Re-engineered lateral TPU with deeper flex grove for easier flex during push-off.
  • Outsole: A data informed herringbone tread pattern, now with Hart rubber compound that delivers more durability. Tread pattern allows for an ideal balance of grip and give for traction and hard court sliding.
rs.php


2025-01-17T135445Z_974944607_UP1EL1H12N8HF_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-AUSOPEN.jpg




Random videos about vapors:





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Welcome two new Vapor shoes to the lineage. Just updated one of the OPs to include details about the Nike Vapor Pro 3 and highly anticipated Vapor 12
 
I just ordered a pair of the black/white V12s from a big box sporting goods retailer. They also have the white/black ones in stock, too. No pictures, though. Don’t know if it’s a technical issue or they’re not supposed to display the pics until launch. Regardless, the shoes shipped already and I should have them this Friday…
 
XFactorer said:
I just ordered a pair of the black/white V12s from a big box sporting goods retailer. They also have the white/black ones in stock, too. No pictures, though. Don’t know if it’s a technical issue or they’re not supposed to display the pics until launch. Regardless, the shoes shipped already and I should have them this Friday…
Click to expand...
What retailer if in the states?
 
gino said:
I ordered a black pair from d1cks but also took the plunge on the PRM color direct from Nike. We’re so back baby

mcHQ5SJ.jpeg
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Oh wow, I've been checking everyday and didn't know the mens went up.
Did it go up on the site last night?
How did you get that slick 10%? :)

Lmao, I just saw the +15 for shipping. Man you wanted this ASAP for the weekend.
 
mrpuddles said:
Oh wow, I've been checking everyday and didn't know the mens went up.
Did it go up on the site last night?
How did you get that slick 10%? :)

Lmao, I just saw the +15 for shipping. Man you wanted this ASAP for the weekend.
Click to expand...

10% is the birthday month promo code! Sadly it only wipes away my CA sales tax. & ya man couldn’t help myself on the incremental shipping lololol
 
I can’t believe they sell Vapors for 180 US dollars in US and at the same time for 190 AUD in Australia :D
It’s almost double the price..
 
I went ahead and put my thoughts on the v12 into a video relative to a few of its predecessors - Nike Vapor 12 review

In my opinion this is a great return to form for the vapor line. That being said, a few flaws that bug me (mainly the shank rising into the midsole). Let me know what you guys think and if you have any questions
 
d-quik said:
you know, when you first made that "Vapors tribute" thread, I had thought it was a bit over the top. I remember telling myself "there is no way someone loves a shoe (line) THIS MUCH!", and distinctly recall having an impression that you were more into the hype, rather than the passion. Today, I would like officially proclaim that I was WRONG. I see the videos. I see how blazingly/ruthlessly fast you went after the V12s on release and actually put court-time on them right away. This can not just be based on hype. The passion is genuine. You truly ARE "Mr. Vapor". I thought that you were just criticizing the V11s "just because everyone else was doing it", but now I know the scrutiny actually stemmed from a genuine appreciation for what the Vapor line is ACTUALLY supposed to represent.

With that in mind though, what were you wearing before the Vapor line came out?
Click to expand...

Hope you don't mind me quoting/replying to you here, but feels like a more relevant place to reply & I want to memorialize this high compliment in the place where it belongs.

Thank you man, I say this with as much humility as possible, but I feel like I know more about the Nike Vapor lineage than most tennis players with a passion for Nike. One flattering/validating moment was a former Nike employee who worked on the vapors chiming in on this thread and letting me know I did a great job documenting the history of the line. If you look back on one of the first pages you'll find that back and forth.

I'll gladly assume the title of "Mr. Vapor" - I think that comes with the responsibility of calling them out for wins and losses. The vapor line has had a good run, only the V3/V7/V8/V11/VP2 were highly criticized due to a clear departure from the design elements that made a vapor a vapor. Now, that being said, they have mostly done a terrific job at created a light & supportive match day shoe over the years, which is all the Nike Vapor is about.

Onto your direct question, I'm 32. I've been playing since I was about 6 and I got my first vapors when I was 12 (2005 vapor speed like Fed). I won my first tournament in those shoes. I won my last tournament in a pair of vapors. I met my wife wearing vapors. I won my first and last collegiate tennis match wearing vapors. These shoes are quite frankly really intertwined with my life. I will do whatever I can to stay loyal to them, including stock piling the iterations I love (still working on a lot of V9s, V9.5s, and VP1s). Is there a lot of inherit logic in that degree of loyalty? Not really, but who cares. I also have a long history with the cage line. I would essentially train in cages and play matches in vapors, dating all the way back to 2006 where I would use the breathe free II for practice and vapor speed for matches. 20 years later Ive stuck to that formula, Ive tried some adidas barricades throughout the years, but could never get along with the clunky/heavy nature. In short, my whole competitive tennis career has been largely tied to the vapor. Before the vapor line came out I was 9, so I was really only using random stuff my club stocked (Wilson, K-swiss, and Asics). I don't remember any of those shoes well & tbh they aren't really worth discussing. I have had a strong general interest in the tennis shoe market, but not enough interest to take the plunge away from Nike. Lately I've been tempted to try some of the Mizuno, Diadora, adidas, Asics, etc bc of the V11/VP2/VP3 downfall. I think with my discovery of the Sabrina 2 as a viable tennis option and the V12 resetting the vapor line momentum, I should be alright. Also plenty of GPTs and Vapors from old era still NIB.

Thanks for the shout & engaging us/all the Nike heads, your inquisitive nature is a great catalyst for productive discussion. Cheers bro and long live the Nike Vapor

Mr. Vapor
 
gino said:
I've been playing since I was about 6 and I got my first vapors when I was 12 (2005 vapor speed like Fed). I won my first tournament in those shoes. I won my last tournament in a pair of vapors. I met my wife wearing vapors. I won my first and last collegiate tennis match wearing vapors. These shoes are quite frankly really intertwined with my life. I will do whatever I can to stay loyal to them, including stock piling the iterations I love (still working on a lot of V9s, V9.5s, and VP1s). Is there a lot of inherit logic in that degree of loyalty? Not really, but who cares.
Click to expand...
Actually with that explanation, I would argue that your loyalty is completely, fool-proofedly logical. If I had that many formative experiences that involved something, some place, or some person, I would be like you as well. Perhaps even MORE fanatical, actually. Anyone with even a grain of knowledge about psychology would tell you this is totally normal.

I know we are just strangers on the internet at the end of the day, but I feel like I just was offered a welcoming glimpse into someone else's entire life for a second. Lots of facts and opinions (both good and bad ones, which people are entitled to I guess) on TTW, but actual experiences are harder to find so thanks for sharing, Mr. Vapor! It made it make even more sense. :giggle:
 
d-quik said:
Actually with that explanation, I would argue that your loyalty is completely, fool-proofedly logical. If I had that many formative experiences that involved something, some place, or some person, I would be like you as well. Perhaps even MORE fanatical, actually. Anyone with even a grain of knowledge about psychology would tell you this is totally normal.

I know we are just strangers on the internet at the end of the day, but I feel like I just was offered a welcoming glimpse into someone else's entire life for a second. Lots of facts and opinions (both good and bad ones, which people are entitled to I guess) on TTW, but actual experiences are harder to find so thanks for sharing, Mr. Vapor! It made it make even more sense. :giggle:
Click to expand...

haha appreciate that mate. I will say, I own an unhealthy amount of them & I appreciate you validating that behavior lolololol definitely too nostalgic at times, but that's okay. I think nostalgia informs what we want in the future. Thanks for being a homie & all the banter of the years. Cheers bro
 
I was born in 2000. I started watching tennis really late in late 2017. After watching Federer play, I fell in love with the sport and my love for the sport has grown strong at each passing day. After a couple of years of watching it, I found that I could play on a local club that wasn't really expensive. In 2021 I started playing in my ultraboost 1.0 NASA edition and just found out running shoes were not meant to be used on court. Started looking for tennis shoes and found a nice deal on the Vapor Pro 1 and got'em. It was amazing, I felt it was really light, nice fit to my feet, well designed and stable, very noticiable while I was on the subway and it was braking, if I had my ultraboost on, I had to force my legs to be stable while standing and with the VP1 I barely had to apply any force with the legs. As I was progressing on tennis, I was demanding more from the shoes and I guess I did it to the extreme. I wore the hell out of my VP1. I'm now a very decent player, playing every day 2-3 hours, except for Sundays. As I'm playing to much, I decided to go for a more durable shoes and decided to go with the Court FF 3 Novak (which I removed from the pic, for not being a nike shoe) and found it to be a good shoe, a little heavier than the VP, but not that much, but what really bothered my compared to the VP1 was the FF3 not being as low to the ground as the VP1, which is uncomfortable to me if I have to make a long run for a ball. This week a friend of mine, that owns a couple of Vapor 9.5 and knows that I've become a tennis gear nerd after I started playing and after following this forum, found a extremely nice deal on a Vapor Pro 9.5 which you can never find in Brazil, and it was not his size, so he immediately told me and I got'em as fast as I could. I received them on monday, but couldn't play this week because I was helping my aunt that has moved to my street. Had the chance to try them today and unfortunately after a couple of minutes on court in the warm up, the front outsole just unglued. I'd really like to try the VP12 as they release this week in Brazil as well, but for US$260, I will have to wait a friend that is going to Alabama to play the World Police and Fire tennis game in June. What is the best way to fix my VP9.5? Also I'd like to say that my favorite vapor design is the VPX hot lava AO18
vp9-5.jpg
vpoutsole.png
3838eea5-ab59-4e5c-8dc1-b3f838de9525.jpg
 
Janderson said:
I was born in 2000. I started watching tennis really late in late 2017. After watching Federer play, I fell in love with the sport and my love for the sport has grown strong at each passing day. After a couple of years of watching it, I found that I could play on a local club that wasn't really expensive. In 2021 I started playing in my ultraboost 1.0 NASA edition and just found out running shoes were not meant to be used on court. Started looking for tennis shoes and found a nice deal on the Vapor Pro 1 and got'em. It was amazing, I felt it was really light, nice fit to my feet, well designed and stable, very noticiable while I was on the subway and it was braking, if I had my ultraboost on, I had to force my legs to be stable while standing and with the VP1 I barely had to apply any force with the legs. As I was progressing on tennis, I was demanding more from the shoes and I guess I did it to the extreme. I wore the hell out of my VP1. I'm now a very decent player, playing every day 2-3 hours, except for Sundays. As I'm playing to much, I decided to go for a more durable shoes and decided to go with the Court FF 3 Novak (which I removed from the pic, for not being a nike shoe) and found it to be a good shoe, a little heavier than the VP, but not that much, but what really bothered my compared to the VP1 was the FF3 not being as low to the ground as the VP1, which is uncomfortable to me if I have to make a long run for a ball. This week a friend of mine, that owns a couple of Vapor 9.5 and knows that I've become a tennis gear nerd after I started playing and after following this forum, found a extremely nice deal on a Vapor Pro 9.5 which you can never find in Brazil, and it was not his size, so he immediately told me and I got'em as fast as I could. I received them on monday, but couldn't play this week because I was helping my aunt that has moved to my street. Had the chance to try them today and unfortunately after a couple of minutes on court in the warm up, the front outsole just unglued. I'd really like to try the VP12 as they release this week in Brazil as well, but for US$260, I will have to wait a friend that is going to Alabama to play the World Police and Fire tennis game in June. What is the best way to fix my VP9.5? Also I'd like to say that my favorite vapor design is the VPX hot lava AO18
vp9-5.jpg
vpoutsole.png
3838eea5-ab59-4e5c-8dc1-b3f838de9525.jpg
Click to expand...

Great hearing about your shoe journey and passion for RF/the Vapor. VP1 and 9.5 are amongst my favorites. Sadly, when you play w/ old shoes that have been in varying weather conditions, the shoe glue can dry/crack/unhinge. This is fixable (if the outsole is new/near new), but will require a top tier shoe repair service & some inherent risk that the shoe glue might not adhere again. I always think anything that is 10+ years old should be reserved for a light hit, not all out competitive play. Hope you can get these fixed or at least put them on a shelf for display, beautiful color!

Also 2018 AO Vapors are awesome. One of my favorite colorways of all time as well. I love the 2009 vapor 6 US Open, 2017 AO, and 2017 Wimby
 
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Janderson said:
I was born in 2000. I started watching tennis really late in late 2017. After watching Federer play, I fell in love with the sport and my love for the sport has grown strong at each passing day. After a couple of years of watching it, I found that I could play on a local club that wasn't really expensive. In 2021 I started playing in my ultraboost 1.0 NASA edition and just found out running shoes were not meant to be used on court. Started looking for tennis shoes and found a nice deal on the Vapor Pro 1 and got'em. It was amazing, I felt it was really light, nice fit to my feet, well designed and stable, very noticiable while I was on the subway and it was braking, if I had my ultraboost on, I had to force my legs to be stable while standing and with the VP1 I barely had to apply any force with the legs. As I was progressing on tennis, I was demanding more from the shoes and I guess I did it to the extreme. I wore the hell out of my VP1. I'm now a very decent player, playing every day 2-3 hours, except for Sundays. As I'm playing to much, I decided to go for a more durable shoes and decided to go with the Court FF 3 Novak (which I removed from the pic, for not being a nike shoe) and found it to be a good shoe, a little heavier than the VP, but not that much, but what really bothered my compared to the VP1 was the FF3 not being as low to the ground as the VP1, which is uncomfortable to me if I have to make a long run for a ball. This week a friend of mine, that owns a couple of Vapor 9.5 and knows that I've become a tennis gear nerd after I started playing and after following this forum, found a extremely nice deal on a Vapor Pro 9.5 which you can never find in Brazil, and it was not his size, so he immediately told me and I got'em as fast as I could. I received them on monday, but couldn't play this week because I was helping my aunt that has moved to my street. Had the chance to try them today and unfortunately after a couple of minutes on court in the warm up, the front outsole just unglued. I'd really like to try the VP12 as they release this week in Brazil as well, but for US$260, I will have to wait a friend that is going to Alabama to play the World Police and Fire tennis game in June. What is the best way to fix my VP9.5? Also I'd like to say that my favorite vapor design is the VPX hot lava AO18
vp9-5.jpg
vpoutsole.png
3838eea5-ab59-4e5c-8dc1-b3f838de9525.jpg
Click to expand...

There's nothing to do for those in terms of tennis, man. That's the problem with buying old shoes.
 
The upcoming twenty-year anniversary proves to be a major reason for celebration. The upcoming historical and updated content excites me greatly. When I received my first pair twenty years ago they seemed created to push me faster.
 
stules said:
The upcoming twenty-year anniversary proves to be a major reason for celebration. The upcoming historical and updated content excites me greatly. When I received my first pair twenty years ago they seemed created to push me faster.
Click to expand...

I’m really glad to hear that the thread is provided you with some happiness. The purpose of this thread was for people to relive their past with the shoe and also talk about the future of it. Thanks for posting and hope that you are still enjoying some vapors on the court. Happy hitting
 
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