Nike LunarLaunch

Color: Volt/Photo blue-black

Intended use: Recovery runs, long distance. Use on all surfaces except trail.

Surfaces tested on: Road, 21° C/70° F

Upper: Synthetic overlays, welds.

Midsole: Single density Lunarlon foam

Outsole: Carbon rubber

Weight: 254 gms/8.95 Oz for a half pair of US11/UK 10/EUR 45

Widths available: D-standard (reviewed)

US Retail: $ 100

At first glance, the midsole appears to be made of multi-density foam like the LG6, with differently colored forefoot and rear suggesting a combination of soft and firm foam. That assumption would be incorrect, as Nike uses midsole paint to create that illusion. This is our second encounter (first being LG6) with a paint job skilfully done; almost as if Nike has cut a tasty deal with a midsole paint supplier, there’s so much of it going around. Also, as we are used to seeing the Lunarlon foam inside a firmer base, we thought that to be case for LunarLaunch too. 

 We discovered that the consistency of midsole cross section was identical to the Lunarlon foam found inside the Lunarglide 6. This meant that the entire midsole is one piece, and made of Lunarlon foam. The Lunar Launch is a softly cushioned neutral runner, with no pronation control elements to speak of. The brand also specifies the heel to toe drop as 4 mm, which we believe is a first for the brand in context of the mainstream neutral running category (non-Free). But do keep in mind that 4 mm is the unloaded drop, and very different from a loaded drop, which happens when full body weight is applied on the shoe. Most of the brands try to sell the heel offset number to runners, but the true measure of a heel drop should be considered when the shoe is in motion, and not while sitting on the shelves. A 4 mm drop of a Kinvara is not the same thing as that of the LunarLaunch, because midsole densities are different, which in turn makes them behave accordingly.

In this case, the Lunarlon foam midsole results in a very soft ride, causing the heel to compress a lot in relation to the forefoot, possibly creating a zero or negative heel offset while in motion. 4 mm is much smaller than most people make it out to be; to give you a perspective, the tiny conical tip of a Bic ballpoint pen is 3 mm. Add 1 mm to that, and then picture 150-180 pounds of bodyweight crushing a 4 mm thickness of soft foam. During the Lunar Launch weartest, it felt absolutely certain that the effective heel offset was zero millimeters or lower. During rear-foot strikes, the foam tends to briefly bottom out, a result of material softness and lower heel stack height. There is plenty of softness to go around which also feels very uniformly spread – much due to the use of singlular density, Nitrile rubber blended Lunarlon. But compared to compounds/systems like the Boost foam and Zoom Air bag(s), responsiveness levels are lower. There is some additional spring-back in the forefoot – because of the ‘pressure-map’.