Nike Air Zoom Elite 7

Color: Hyper Cobalt/Hyper Punch-Black

Intended use: All runs except trail and in bad weather.

Surfaces tested on: Road, synthetic track, 21° C/70° F

Upper: Single layer mesh, welded synthetic overlays, Flywire loops, inner sleeve.

Midsole: Single layer compression molded EVA, forefoot Zoom Air bag.

Outsole: Carbon rubber, exposed midsole foam.

Weight: 289 gms/ 10.19 Oz for a half pair of UK10/US11

Widths available: Only one standard width.

US Retail: $ 110

Because in real world, the Elite 7 is a shoe with a relatively unyielding ride. It’s a good shoe with many positives to write about, but ‘highly responsive’ is bit of a marketing exaggeration. The shoe uses a compression molded midsole which is way harder than, say a Pegasus 31. The heel area is particularly bereft of responsive cushioning; if the Zoom Elite 6 felt firm, the Elite 7 is even more so. There’s an unexpected layer of hard cardboard below the Strobel and above the firm midsole, a feature we previously thought was only reserved for shoes featuring a Zoom Air bag underneath.

Resultantly, rear-foot landings feel like running in a board-lasted, die-cut 1980’s EVA shoe. And per-chance if you happen to feel that the heel is cushioned, that’s only because you’re probably landing on its edge, where the midsole tapers to a thinner layer of foam. The fore-foot is responsive, yes, and snapback from the Zoom Air bag will be felt more by forefoot strikers than rear-footers. Yet, it runs firmer than the Elite 6 since the softer, blown-rubber (used on Elite 6’s lateral side) now switches places with regular hard rubber. And yes, the softer Cushlon crash pad of the Elite 6 bids adieu too.

And don’t read us wrong; a firm ride is not a lesser thing. The rather spartan heel area ends up in good ground feedback, and helps build tempo – something which the Elite 7 is meant for. Nike specifies a 8 mm heel to toe drop, and since the heel area is fairly hard, there should be little difference between unloaded and loaded heel drops. The common design language has a bearing on how the outsole is designed too, with layout and general aesthetics similar to that of the Pegasus.

Rubber covers most of the surface save for the medial (inner) side, where there’s an exposed area of midsole foam. This helps cut down the weight of the Elite 7; it weighs in at 289 gms /10.19 Oz for a half pair, which is an achievement for a shoe of its category. There’s a lower number of flex grooves in the front, and when coupled with an internal Zoom bag, you get a stiffer midsole more resistant to bending. The flexibility is in a similar league to the Structure 17 and the Vomero 9, and noticeably less than a Pegasus 31.

 The Elite 7 is not exempt from that trend, and the expanse of rubber now runs full length. It also features the ‘crash rail’ outsole structure, which are basically two parallel strips of rubber running along the outer side – meant for transition and marginal stability increase through splaying. Toss the firm ride, outsole design and the forefoot air bags together, and what you get is a ride which converts into forward motion in a very lean, business like way. With none of the mush or motion control variables, the Elite 7 is a good middle ground between a traditional trainer and road racer. The upper is a curious mix of plush and spartan, and strangely it appears to all add up together. In the back is a soft mesh topped, padded collar which is a straight lift from the Pegasus (and Vomero). The plush mesh with a soft Achilles dip is an improvement over the Elite 6. It is connected to a full fledged internal sleeve made of foamed sandwiched mesh, which as you might have already guessed, is part of Pegasus-Elite part sharing program. 

Top upper mesh is a breathable, single layer type overlaying the sleeve. Mid-foot takes a turn for minimalism, with a near-flat tongue, featuring a small patch of padding only near the lip. Haven’t talked about the insole yet, so we’ll quickly come to it. The sock-liner is the same as used in the Pegasus 31 – open-cell foam based which feels a bit like memory foam. It provides an immediacy of cushioning when sitting atop a firm midsole, and while at it, does some arch-support duties too. There’s a problem though; on our left shoe, we felt the sharp edges of the sockliner arch bite into the foot when worn without socks. It was pretty bad, to the extent that we couldn’t wear the Elite 7 without a pair of socks. The issue is how the fabric top cloth bonds with the foam around the edges; it seems that there’s too much pressure applied (during manufacturing) to get the two together. That results in a sharp edge which bites into the side. 

The dark spot aside, all in all, the Zoom Elite 7 is good value at $110. It’s got a firm ride conducive to building pace, the fit’s great and the outsole grip has a good enough bite. It does away with the relatively chunky heel of the Elite 6, and comes packaged with a sharper sense of function.