Nike Alphafly 3 First Run Review

[@timtrenholm3698]

I won a contest with a Canadian retailer which I have done a lot of business with to get access to their order system 10mins before the general public. So I got my pair delivered on Monday. Used them last night on treadmill on my 2nd workout of the day (40mins with 15mins at target race power), after using my AF V2 for my first workout in the morning (45mins with 5x4mins on, 60sec off). And the comment I put on my Strava post run was: AlphaFly V3 are the perfect blend of V1 and V2, all the good and none of the bad. Light, smooth, stable and not crazy bouncy. I liked the AF V1, but felt I wasn't strong enough of a runner to maximize the shoe at 3:30hr marathon I ran in May '23. AF V2 was a great shoe for me at 3:23hr in Oct '23, but felt it was a tad bulky and heavier than I'd like. The V3 is perfect...I might wear them one more time deep in my marathon block...but there's no need. I hope they are my missing edge I need to get me on the startline in Boston 2025. Additional context, here are the weights of my 3 pairs of AlphaFly versions US 9.5 AF V1 7.9oz / 225g AF V2 8.65oz / 246g AF V3 7.55oz / 215g

[@OldManRunner]

Tim. Thanks for all of this, really up my street sort on information. The weights are super useful to see. Best wishes for Boston!

[@Chris_Baily]

Thanks for a very interesting and informative initial review. I can't wait to watch your upcoming alphafly videos with even more data to compare them to other shoes.

[@OldManRunner]

Cheers Chris. Three runs in and really enjoying the shoe. Performance testing this weekend…!

[@ILIUSCOV]

I love the alphafly 3 - only tested mine on the treadmill at the momeny

[@OldManRunner]

I’m doing the opposite. On to the treadmill tomorrow …

[@al_conroy]

Very detailed review as always Barry, thank you. Looking forward to your vf3 comparison video. Will these be the shoes of choice for Boston or is the jury still out?

[@OldManRunner]

Almost certainly. Even if the VF3 would be faster or some other shoe comes along. I really want to get a marathons worth of data out of them...

[@NeillyVille]

I was waiting for this one Barry. I have not run in mine yet as it's too pretty and not fit yet to go fast in them, I feel like I won't do it justice especially for the price, £285, ouch !!! 😅 but in hand they look absolute stunning especially in the Proto colourway. Amazing how light they are for such a high stacked supershoe. Fit and lockdown better than v1. So lucky me and you got these as it's now sold out everywhere! Just ran a 15 miler today on the v1 (I have 4 pairs!) and it's still an absolute joy to run in, I hope the v3 will be the same or even better. This will be my race shoe of 2024 from half to the full.

[@OldManRunner]

Were you tempted to colour in the white streaks through the logo on the foam like I was with a black sharpie? I ran again last night and kept looking out the door in the afternoon to check the weather. I say it was the grip and traction, but in reality I am not quite ready to get them wet...Really enjoying them to run in...

[@jamesb.walker9177]

Very nice and detailed review, thank you!

[@OldManRunner]

Cheers James!

[@i.p2088]

In the Alphafly V1 I had to add heel insert of about 6mm because I felt like I was falling backwards. Adding the heel support saved me. How is the Alphafly V3? I LOVE the drop of the Vaporfly V2.

[@bev9708]

SUCH a thorough initial review, as always Barry!! They do seem quite promising indeed!! Btw, have you seen Brodie Sharpe's podcast episode and recent video shorts on his review of a paper showing a correlation between plated shoes and mid-foot stress fractures?? VERY interesting!! The one and only recurring "niggle" I get is from a mid-foot injury mid-2022 after I started using the Alphafly. I'll be far more careful to ease into using plated shoes, rather than just jumping into them out of the blue only for the odd fast long-run and the big events!!

[@OldManRunner]

I saw a few links to Brodie's review. I wan't to review the paper myself, but there has been a lot going on and the AF3 has been pleasantly consuming my time...did you run a marathon at the weekend?

[@bev9708]

@@OldManRunner YES indeed I did Barry, thanks for asking, and I am gleefully enjoying my well-earned DOMS!!! So so SO hard in the freezing cold and wind, with 700+m gain and yet I still managed 3h40, only 3min off my marathon PB only 8 weeks before ... so I'm pretty chuffed with myself to say the least !! I can feel that big 3h30 marathon is very close now!!!💪🏻🏃🏻‍♀🏅💪🏻

[@OldManRunner]

@@bev9708 I hear Rotterdam calling! Or Valencia. Either of those and you will nail the PB…

[@bev9708]

@@OldManRunner YES, you’re so right!!!!!! But this year is already filling up with ultras!! So I’ll find a little quiet local marathon somewhere, where we have all the space in the world to run without playing dodgem cars!😂😂

[@OldManRunner]

@@bev9708In that case I 100% recommend the Race to the Runway marathon in Buckeye Arizona in 2025!

[@knifenates8747]

The Alphafly 2 is my favorite shoe. Instead of trying to get the 3, I bought the Ekiden colorway that dropped on January 1. Now I have three pairs of the 2 😂. Looking forward to a speed test between the 2 and 3.

[@OldManRunner]

Last week Nike dropped another colourway in the AF2. One shoe is luminous green and one crimson. Again I made a piece to camera but cut it for brevity: www.nike.com/ie/t/alphafly-2-road-racing-shoes-fvDSdT/FQ8110-331 So still life in the AF2! Will do a speed test in AF1/2/3

[@ChilledNurse]

My pair just came in from Nike but Ofcourse we are getting a bad snow storm coming today and the next couple days. Ugh. Need an indoor track.

[@JohnBirtchetSharpe]

A good initial review , congrats (as a reviewer) in getting a pair .. is it really worth all that hard work? (and heartache for some), that will remain to been seen. I look forward to your future postings on the shoe.

[@OldManRunner]

Hell no! I enjoy the fun of it but the reality for most people is that the marathon season will kick off in a few months when there will be loads of Alphafly 3's available...and then the usual cycle of discounts and then the Alphafly 4's...

[@rajkumarraosinhji1397]

Fantastic video and looking to your video on AF3 vs VF3. Oh, BTW, AF3 sold out before I could even login to the site. Had same experience with Adidas Evo. Must be my slowness…

[@OldManRunner]

It is not just that, apparently the Adidas Evo is getting $50 more expensive in the next release!

[@TolunayOrkun]

@@OldManRunner I am sure Evo 1 is good, but I think Adidas is overselling the athlete performance. I am not willing to pay the current price given the race longevity and with $50 more, heck no way! Obviously, it is a shoe they made for their elite athletes to get their name on in the top 3 of the races as Nike was sweeping most of the races. BTW, kofuzi ran Houston half in them and got a new PR. I am nowhere close to his level of performance. That said, he didn't pay for his pair.

[@OldManRunner]

@@TolunayOrkun I nearly bought the Evo 1 a few times just to see and test. I would love to see someone properly test both head to head. Outrageous price.

[@solefreak2]

Managed to pick up 2 pairs a little later when they seemed to have all sizes available.

[@OldManRunner]

Well done!

[@i.p2088]

Great review, all versions TTS? I have V1 and they are a bit long.. Not enough to go down half a size..

[@OldManRunner]

Yes. For me in the size I wear.

[@levandmarthapolyakin-aaron2183]

TTS for me too, with just enough space in front of the toes, and great midfoot lockdown on my medium (average) width feet. The first time I’ve tried on a Nike race shoe that I’ve found them exceptionally comfortable.

[@kophotography895]

Well done on a well presented & all together video, addressing points like ECO etc BRANDS need to be held accountable, however in my findings the box manufacturers are actually more too blame here as well, they have hoards 10's millions of left over and always do deals to get rid of this stick, which is one of the main reasons this happens. .

[@OldManRunner]

Funnily enough Nike sent shoes in a great box previously. It was small and there was no box within a box. Just one box. I’m hoping this time they just have a set of old large boxes they are phasing out…

[@TolunayOrkun]

@@OldManRunner at least cardboard is truly recyclable. They sometimes put the inner box in a plastic bag which often goes to landfills or worse to the oceans. A lot of plastic variants that we put in recycle bin are not actually recycled.

[@OldManRunner]

@@TolunayOrkun True. My main problem with the size of the box is that less boxes of that size can fit in a container or plane or van. Which means more journeys to carry the same number of shoes as those in a smaller box. It’s all that waste that really concerns me.

[@TolunayOrkun]

​@@OldManRunner Yes, you are right.I didn't think of the transport.

[@TheSiameseDreamer]

The shoes traction in the wet is just as good as in the dry.

[@OldManRunner]

Perhaps, but not the grip.

[@TheSiameseDreamer]

@@OldManRunner traction is grip.

[@OldManRunner]

@@TheSiameseDreamerDefinitions vary and I typically refer to traction as the lugs and profile of the outsole and grip the relative stickiness between the outsole and running surface. Happy to be advised otherwise… but either way I think these would be slippery on a wet road.

[@TheSiameseDreamer]

@@OldManRunner try them on the wet.

[@OldManRunner]

@@TheSiameseDreamer Will do. Greetings from A+ E! Seriously I will and happy to be proved wrong.

[@patrickfarrell913]

Did you get the alphafly 2 burn?

[@OldManRunner]

No. They have been fine, 150k in. The weight is the only issue for me. Still love them for training.

[@willwu1688]

Does you pair make squeaky noise? Any suggestions how we might dampen that annoying noise?

[@OldManRunner]

The noise not as bad is the Alphafly 1. At least I didn’t notice it when running. But I did notice it looking at the footage of me running. And the shoe squeaked a bit when walking. I will do some more tests…

[@HawaiiFranke]

Run with (loud) music in your earpods.

[@willwu1688]

@@HawaiiFranke I fear it will block the sounds from the vehicle too.

[@davidh5429]

Bought 3 brand new sets of the V1 instead for 200 euro. Didn't like the V2 because it was heavy and high drop. Heard this is again a high drop which isn't exactly great for someone who naturally only runs on the ball of the foot

[@OldManRunner]

If I ran on the balls of my foot that is exactly what I would do, ah if only...

[@shanegill5091]

Apparently bots are buying up the shoes.... Such a shame....

[@OldManRunner]

I made a piece about that but for brevity cut it out. I wonder if that is why Nike released so few shoes. I thought they might release them in waves but seems not. I will keep my eye out and post as soon as I see them coming online. As of today the app is still saying March 7th 08:00 GMT

[@bev9708]

@@OldManRunner But WHY? I don't get it!! Is it to boost the hype??

[@OldManRunner]

Nike know the shoe will be popular and they have had a long time to gear up. I thought that they would therefore release a large batch and kill off pent up demand and also dilute the opportunity fro scalping sites. This did not happen. Then I thought maybe they would randomly release stuff but it seems not. The hype was way bigger than the AF2 or VF3, but it will die down soon in the run up to the spring marathons if more become available...

[@TolunayOrkun]

@@OldManRunner I think scalpers will have to lower the price to recuperate their investment as I don't think they will have a lot of people willing to pay knowing that in a month or two there will be an abundance of shoes. In some markets February is when the new colorway is being released, others in March or April (US).

[@OldManRunner]

@@TolunayOrkun Very strange the release times in different countries. I have seen March here on my app and April in the US on the web. Do you know where they release in February?