Trail and Scramble Shoes

Nike Pegasus Trail | Review

Nike have tweaked their classic model to make it suitable for those who like to take their running off the road

First brought to the road running world in 1983, the Nike Pegasus has been a mainstay within the running community; a go-to training shoe to suit everyone from athletes, to beginners. Hell, Mo Farah even has his own version.

The most important iteration of the Pegasus, the one that was worn by Eliud Kipchoge when he broke the marathon world record, featured ‘Zoom’ foam in the midsole, and that tech is featured here in this new model, the Zoom Pegasus Trail as well.

“You could call this new Pegasus Trail the road car that just got converted for rally driving.”

You could call this new trail shoe the road car that just got converted for rally driving. There are aggressive lugs and a sticky rubber on the outsole, the stance is wider and again, there’s that Zoom suspension in the midsole. This Pegasus is made to go off-road.

This is my first pair of Nike trail-specific shoes, so I was keen to give them a go. My current road shoes are a pair of Zoom Flys and I love them; the Zoom midsole, combined with the carbon plate is that ideal level of cushioning and rebound for road flats.

The Zoom midsole provides a 10 mm drop: 30.5 mm of cushioning in the heel and 20.5 mm forefoot

The perforated mesh upper has been protected by a tougher fabric in the toe, heel and around the laces

Whilst the midsole on the Pegasus Trail is said to use the same Zoom foam, it certainly feels firmer than that found on my Flys, but I understand why they’ve done that – the Pegasus Trail has all the stability you’d want in a trail shoe (which is further helped by a 2mm additional width underfoot).

I haven’t felt too much instability from the Pegasus Trail, certainly not as much as I’d first expected on account of the wide and thick cushioning found on the heel and toe. The shock absorption and protection this sole unit provides certainly makes it a great shoe for long distance, not-too-technical trails. The wide forefoot helps on that front as well.

I haven’t managed to test these on a super steep sodden fell yet but I have used them on some short and steep hills which consisted of loose or highly polished chalk. After being initially cautious about the amount of grip these would have, I soon gained confidence in the performance and felt like I could push on through these loose sections just like I would in say, a pair of my trusty Inov-8s.

A wider 2mm platform and opposing lugs provide increased stability underfoot

Although I can see that Nike have left some of the Zoom foam exposed on the outsole in an effort to cut down the overall weight of the rubber, I can’t see this being an issue in terms of durability. It’s only a small amount of foam left unprotected and nothing like that typically found on say, a Hoka One One trail shoe.

On the subject of durability, Nike have added PU reinforcements over the lightweight mesh upper in an effort to make the shoes survive the rigours of trail life. This reinforcement runs around the toes and laces whilst stiffening up the heel and can be identified by a more florescent yellow colour.

These are going to be taking the place as my trail-training shoes over long distances. There are of course lower drop, lighter weight shoes out there (Nike produce the minimal 4mm drop Terra Kiger Trail which looks ideal for this category) that would be suited towards going for that new PB, but in terms of long-distance comfort, the Nike Zoom Pegasus Trail are going to be pretty hard to beat.

Price: £115
Weight: 290g (per shoe)
Drop: 10mm – 30.5mm heel / 20.5mm forefoot
nike.com