Then came everything else, as everyone from Altra to Xtep came out with their own version of the carbon-plated racer. Nevertheless, the Vaporfly always stood tall amongst the crowd. Go to any race and you’ll see that it still reigns supreme, right alongside the Alphafly.
Naturally, we were excited to test out the fourth version of this legend. It’s been two years since the last version and a lot has changed since then. So has this shoe.
The most important thing about the Vaporfly 4 is that it has somehow lost a ton of weight. It was already a light race day shoe, but now it’s officially one of the lightest out there, coming in at an incredibly light 6.4 ounces (184 grams) for a US M10.5. For a sample size 9, we’re talking high five-ounce range, which is rare to see in any shoe, let alone a marathon racer.
A stack height reduction in the midsole cuts even more weight, while the bulges on the sides of the heel seek to provide an initial cushion sacrificed by the underfoot geometry. Instead of the Flyknit from the last version, we get an engineered mesh upper that is ultralight but still breathable. Standard lacing comes back in this version, as opposed to the offset lacing found in v3. The shoe retains the carbon fiber Flyplate and ZoomX foam in the midsole. Lastly, the outsole leapfrogs backwards to the Vaporfly 2 design, with more of a full coverage rubber in the forefoot area.
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s pull out the vape and get to pullin’ and puffin’.
