The Nike 2020 Forum Unveils The Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%

The Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% evolves the learnings of the Vaporfly franchise, adding Zoom Air Pods in the forefoot, more ZoomX Foam in the heel and a lighter Atomknit upper.

The Nike 2020 Forum, held at The Shed in New York, highlighted the brand's latest performance and sustainable innovations — including apparel for Tokyo, 2020 football kits, all-new performance footwear and the sustainable Space Hippie footwear collection.

One of the innovations is the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, which you may have seen on Eliud Kipchoge in Vienna when he broke the two-hour marathon barrier in October 2019.

Nike’s newest race-day shoe features two new Nike Zoom Air pods, more ZoomX foam and a single carbon fiber plate (all updates from its predecessor, the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%), and an ultra-breathable, lightweight Flyknit upper – all adding up to improved cushioning and running economy.

"For runners, records like the four-minute mile and two-hour marathon are barometers of progress. These are barriers that have tested human potential. When someone like Eliud breaks them, our collective belief about what's possible changes," says Tony Bignell, VP, Footwear Innovation. "Barriers are inspiring to innovators. Like athletes, when a barrier is in front of us, we are challenged to think differently and push game-changing progress in footwear design.”

The NEXT% platform is the ultimate expression of Nike's ambition to engineer footwear with measurable performance benefit. NEXT% is all about creating more efficient intersections between the body and technology to enable athletes to shatter personal boundaries — and sometimes, as our athletes have shown, break records. It is the ultimate meeting of sports science and purposeful design.

“The groundbreaking research that led to the original Vaporfly unlocked an entirely new way of thinking about marathon shoes,” says Carrie Dimoff, an elite marathoner and member of Nike’s Advanced Innovation Team. "Once we understood the plate and foam as a system, we started thinking about ways to make the system even more effective. That’s when we struck upon the idea of adding Nike Air to store and return even more of a runner’s energy and provide even more cushioning.”  

Breaking down the Nike NEXT% system

Nike NEXT% is a footwear innovation system engineered to give athletes a measurable benefit. Informed by sport science and verified by the Nike Sport Research Lab, the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% features three critical components, working together to help runners on race day:

Full-length Carbon Fiber Plate

Full-length Carbon Fiber Plate: Provides stability and a smooth transition; increases stiffness in the forefoot to provide a sensation of propulsion

Nike ZoomX Cushioning

Nike ZoomX Cushioning: Lightweight, provides optimal energy return, minimizes energy loss

Nike Zoom Air Pods:

Nike Zoom Air Pods: Added cushioning, increased energy return

Nike’s newest race-day shoe, the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% features two new Nike Zoom Air pods, more ZoomX foam and a single carbon fiber plate (all updates from its predecessor, the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%), and an ultra-breathable, lightweight Flyknit upper – all adding up to improved cushioning and running economy.

The shoe is part of a suite of products releasing in summer 2020, including the Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT% and Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT% FlyEase, complementary training shoes that translate the principles of the Alphafly to rigorous daily use, and track spikes (the Nike Air Zoom Victory) that extend the NEXT% design ethos to new disciplines.

For the Tempo NEXT%, the NEXT% system is specifically tuned to training. The plate shifts from carbon to a composite — softer for added comfort over higher mileage — but still serves to provide stability and transition throughout a runner's full stride. ZoomX, prized for its energy return and responsiveness, sits above the plate at mid and forefoot. For maximum impact protection and durability, Nike React Foam is used at the heel. The same Nike Zoom Air pods featured in the new Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% are also placed in the Tempo’s forefoot to offer responsive cushioning and a sensation of propulsion. 

The Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT% and Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT% FlyEase give athletes of today an opportunity to stamp their mark and motivate athletes (and designers) of tomorrow to set even greater goals.

Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT%

Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT% FlyEase

Designed for 800 meter to 10k races, the Nike Air Zoom Victory is a complete paradigm shift in distance track spike design.

Inspired by the Nike Alphafly NEXT%, the spike is built with a combination of Nike ZoomX foam, carbon fiber plate and Nike Air Zoom. The latter is supplied by a unique welded Nike Zoom Air sole, which divides the unit into two separate pockets, provides responsive impact protection and allows for a smooth transition without sacrificing control on the track. The Nike ZoomX foam is employed as a thin midsole between the carbon plate and ground, and the full system is tuned to minimize energy loss and maximize response. The spike's upper is formed from Nike Atomknit, a new version of Nike Flyknit.

Nike Air Zoom Victory 

Designed specifically for the 100 meter, the truest test of pure human speed, the spike incorporates an innovative new carbon plate — produced by a new process, Custom Fiber Placement (CFP), which allows for varying flexibility within the plate — and an unmistakable forefoot Nike Air Zoom unit. This composition, developed alongside the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, was designed to provide responsiveness and energy. It follows deep study of the strategy and performance of the race, and focuses attention on what athletes need most in the last 20 meters of the sprint.

The Nike Air Zoom Viperfly is completed by an Atomknit (a new version of Nike Flyknit) upper, which maximizes heel lockdown and decreases material waste. In addition, the foam in the heel provides impact protection and aids the transition from full-speed sprint to post-race walk.

Nike Air Zoom Viperfly

The above footwear will be available as part of Nike’s race day footwear offering in summer 2020.