Nike Streakfly: My Review

The Lightweight, Speed-Boosting, Racing Flat

The Nike Streakfly is an elegantly designed racing flat provides excellent speed and recovery to help you achieve new heights. Its simple, sleek design has made it one of my go to shoes for faster workouts and helps to set it apart in my shoe rotation. Designed as a 5k and 10k race flat, this shoe is one of the lightest running shoes you can find. Furthermore, it is delightfully comfortable for such a thin, flat-like shoe.

Nike Streakfly: The Basics

The Nike Streakfly is an ultra-lightweight racing shoe engineered for speed and comfort. With a focus on responsiveness and performance, this shoe features a breathable mesh upper, a responsive midsole, and an aggressive outsole designed for traction and grip. Ideal for workouts and longer distance racing, this shoe is an excellent addition to a shoe rotation. As far as durability goes, I have put a little over 200 miles on my pair and they are nearing the end of their life. I have heard many similar stories about Streakfly’s getting to about 200 miles. While they are not the shoe put mileage on, they are great for workouts and as flats for faster repeats and races.

Key Features & Benefits of the Nike Streakfly

1. Nike Streakfly’s Lightweight Design

The Nike Streakfly is exceptionally light, weighing in at just 185g (6.5oz) for mens size 10. The combination of the foam and the lightweight breathable upper allow for an ultralight shoe that still provides plenty of comfort and support. Personally, I have never worried to much about the weight of my running shoes. However, when I put on the Nike Streakfly’s I experience a readiness to move fast simply due to the absurdly lightweight feeling.

2. Responsive ZoomX Foam

The Nike Streakfly features Nike’s ZoomX foam—the same technology used in their top-tier race shoes. ZoomX is known for its responsiveness and energy return, which helps propel you forward with every stride. I personally really like the simplicity of the shoe. It is essentially just a solid piece of foam with no fancy carbon fiber plates or layered foams. It does have a small Pebax shank imbedded under the arch to help support the arch and provide extra stability. I love the comfort of the ZoomX foam and the responsiveness of the shoe. Even though it may not have the carbon fiber plates of many super shoes, I find that the lower stack height allows me to feel the ground a little better and seems to allow me to run faster paces very comfortably.

3. Nike Streakfly’s Breathable Mesh Upper

The upper of the Nike Streakfly is made from a lightweight, breathable mesh material that ensures your feet stay cool, even during intense workouts or race day. The upper mesh is very comfortable, although some narrow footed runners may have issues with lock-down especially in the forefoot. I, however, find the forefoot fits me perfectly and is very comfortable and secure. The tongue is very similar to the Next% and sits comfortably on top of the foot. The laces are decent but not amazing. They hold knots well if you tie them snuggly or double knot them, but tend to slip a little if not tightened.

4. Aggressive Outsole for Traction

The rubber outsole on the forefoot is well designed, which provides excellent traction regardless of the surface you are running on. I have run on trails, tracks, and roads in many conditions in the Nike Streakfly with no traction issues. I have never had issues with the outsole peeling off of the foam like I have for so many other shoes. The outsole also features two similar rubber strips on the heel and exposed ZoomX foam throughout the arch.

I am a consistent forefoot striker, this shoe fits my style perfectly and it is interesting to look at the wear pattern on the sole. I have over 200 miles on this pair, mostly from workouts, and I am impressed with how well they have held up. You can see the tread pattern in the above picture (the white is dust from a crushed limestone trail) and how I have the most wear under where the ball of my foot would be.

5. Flat, Minimalist Feel

The Nike Streakfly offers a low heel-to-toe drop of about 6mm, which gives it a more natural, responsive feel on the road. Many shoes today have heel drops of 10mm or more. I like this contrast the Streakfly offers and it helps me to really feel the ground as I run. Most of my miles in the Streakfly’s have come on crushed limestone trails and paved roads, and I have found that I really prefer to have the lightweight feeling yet comfortable close to the ground ride that the Streakflys offer.

6. Nike Streakfly’s Cool Colorways

The Nike Streakfly is available in many colorways, and Nike has done a good job making the shoe appealing. Currently my favorite colorway is the White/Vivid Grape/Purple Agate/Black model.

Ideal For:

• Harder workouts, tempo runs, repeats, fartleks etc.
• Long races on harder even surfaces
• Athletes who want lightweight, responsive training or racing flats

Is the Nike Streakfly for everyone?

The Nike Streakfly is a lightweight shoe designed for experienced runners that primarily strike in the forefoot or balls of their feet. If you are someone who heel strikes or prefers more cushion, the Streakfly wouldn’t be my top choice. The Nike Vaporfly Next% is another shoe in Nike’s racing line that provides much more cushion and is perfect for faster runs.

NCAA regulations:

If you are a college athlete, this information will be helpful to you. The NCAA has more recently aligned its competitive regulations to the World Athletic’s rules for competitive shoes. This means that for competitive Track meets in the NCAA, the maximum thickness of the shoe is limited to 20mm. The Nike Streakfly is no longer a legal shoe to race Track races in because it has a stack height of 32mm. The Streakfly is still a legal shoe to race NCAA Cross Country meets in because the regulations state that the maximum stack height for “non-spike shoes” is 40mm. Of course, you can still train in the Streakfly for whatever you want, but it is not allowed in official track races and longer. Hopefully, Nike can go back to the drawing board and provide a legal racing flat option for runners soon.

To clarify: Can I race in the Nike Streakfly in the NCAA?

Track and Field : NO

Cross Country : YES

Where to Buy the Nike Streakfly

• Nike Streakfly at Amazon

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Final Thoughts on the Nike Streakfly:

The Nike Streakfly is a standout option for runners seeking a lightweight, responsive shoe that doesn’t skimp on comfort or performance. Whether you want a new workout shoe, are looking for an alternative to spikes for cross country, or just think the Streakfly looks cool I encourage you to try the Streakfly out.