30 years ago nike released their first Air Max shoe. and when the legendary tinker hatfield designed a shoe with a window in the mid sole people lost their minds! the heads over at nike were petrified that the airmax bubbles might pop while people wore them causing bad PR for the company. TInker Hatfield was almost fired! But what people didnt know was that they had just witnessed the birth of an icon. And now, Nike has released their all new Vapormax perhaps their most drastic design to date. Ok, hold on cause we’ve got a lot to cover

First up, the price. The Nike Vapor Max currently retail for $190. they dropped in 3 different color ways, pure platinum like the one thats currently on sale at finishline.com, university red, and a limited triple black color way. rest assured nike will continue to regularly release new color ways of the vapor max. if you want to pick these up i’ll have a link in the description below. and comment down below telling me which color way you like best. 

The upper on the vapor max is new. you’ve got nike’s fly knit material that makes the shoe extremely light weight and breathable. the fly knit on the vapor max is almost identical to the fly knit found on the new lunarepic low fly knit 2 except the toe box has much larger perforations woven into it. the vapor max also has nike’s double woven fly wire system, hopefully the extra fly wire will help with durability in the long run. for those who don't know, fly wire is specific to nike and it really helps with lock down when you tighten your laces. it really compresses your whole foot evenly. its quite nice actually. through out the whole shoe there are multiple overlays which help the shoe keep its shape. the vapor max also has a built in heel counter that really helps keep your heel in place when you walk. thankfully these shoes don't suffer from heel slippage like other nike shoes do. i do want to point out that three quarters of the tongue is attached to the upper of the shoe and I'm happy to report this shoe dosnt suffer from the tongue shifting all around like the OG Nike Lunar epic did. but just like other nike shoes, i just wish the tongue had more padding. The insole on the vapor max is also a little different. its much stiffer and its seems like its an ortholite and styrofoam hybrid. 

Alright, lets get into the actual bubbles. the sole is separated into two sections, we’ve got the forefoot and mid foot section and we’ve got the heel section. this gives the shoe a lot of flexibility, almost on par with the nike metcon 3. the bubbles them selves are very easy to press, but when they are on feet the air max bubbles do a very good job of keeping their shape. the bottom of the air max bubbles have extra rubber on them for traction and durability. there are also other sections of the shoe that has denser and stickier rubber on them. I guess Nike engineers put that rubber there because they determined thats where the most wear and tear would happen. but the rubber used on the bubbles seems tough enough and has proven to be pretty resilient in other youtube videos. I would really like to see a pair of vapor max after a marathon run, how worn out would the tread be and will the gas escape. 

I can tell you right now the Nike Vapor max feel very different when they are on feet. they’re ride is very soft but it does take some getting used to. since there is no midsole on this shoe its quit literally just your foot on the air max bubbles. and thats where my problem is. the air max bubbles kind of encase or hug the bottom of your foot, but i feel the shape of the heel is a little off. the fore foot and mid foot area feel fine, but the heel on this shoe feels like its a little too small and angled wrong. this ends up feeling like you’re wearing squishy cleats. don't get me wrong, the vapor max are fairly comfortable, but no where as near as comfortable as other you tubers will lead you to believe you. also when it comes to fit, just like other nike shoes they are a little narrow. but lengthwise they are true to size. 

Over all the vapor max is a very radicle shoe that has received massive amount of hype that last couple of weeks. the upper of the shoe is amazing. its a clean silhouette, the fly knit is very breathable and comfortable, and theres no heel slipping. the new air max bubbles give the shoe a completely unique look and ride but i think there is room for improvement especially in the heel area. the vapor max is a decent shoe, but don't expect it to be life changing like others will have you believe.