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Nike Zoom Terra Kiger – Shoe Review

In August, I was fortunate enough to get invited to a “secret” Nike event in LA called “Camp Kiger” that was held in connection with the launch of their Nike Zoom Terra Kiger trail shoe. They gave us a free pair of Terra Kigers and had us run around Temescal and play some games. It was a really fun event and getting a free pair of running shoes is always rad. I wrote about the event in a blog post in August, but at that point, I didn’t review the shoes because I’d only run in them twice.

Now, a few months have passed and I’ve put in about 170 miles in the Kigers and have some thoughts to share.

First off, I really like the shoe. I like it much more than I expected to based on my prior experience with Nike running shoes and even based on that first run during the Nike event when I was worried that they might be too narrow for my feet. I’ve never had success running in Nike shoes – it’s been years since I’ve tried any Nike running shoes, but my experience was always that they were too narrow with uncomfortable arch support and/or too “built-up” for my liking. I figured I would find the same thing to be true in the Kiger.

But I’ve found that I have a ton of fun running in the Kiger and feel lighter and more nimble in the shoe than pretty much any other trail shoe I’ve owned. (The only other shoe I remember enjoying like this was the original New Balance MT100; man, I miss that shoe.) The shoe is low profile and relatively lightweight (8.3 oz for the standard size 9) and has a 4mm drop. I feel like it has the right mix of firmness and cushion. The upper is comfortable and soft and it breathes pretty well.

If I had to use one adjective to describe the Kiger, I’d say that the shoe is “precise“. I feel like I can put my feet exactly where I want them and transition quickly to the next step. They grip my forefoot and heel really well, giving me confidence to run fast. Climbing and descending feel equally fluid in the shoe and the lugged outsole works great on technical, rocky terrain. I also feel like this is a shoe that handles the road really well and as a result, it’s my go-to shoe for runs with road-to-trail transitions.  Over the past five or six weeks since I really started wearing them consistently, I’ve used the Kiger for most of my trail runs of less than 15 miles.

And after 170 mostly trail miles, neither the sole nor the upper is really showing any wear. Durable shoes are a huge plus for me.

 

The inside side of the tongue is attached to the upper of the shoe (you can sort of see that in the picture below) and I think that plus the flywire lacing system (the laces go through string eyelets attached a little lower on the sides of the feet) helps with a secure fit around the midfoot.

So what’s not to like? 

My problem with the Kiger is that it’s not a shoe I can wear for more than 15-ish miles at a time. While it doesn’t seem as narrow as what I remember from Nike shoes and the toe box in particular is supposedly “slightly” wider than most of their shoes, once my feet start to swell during a run, I feel the shoe constricting around my forefoot and toes. I had one particularly painful 18 mile run where the final 5 mile descent sucked due to this swelling/fit.

That leaves me with a shoe that I pretty much love for any run under 15 miles but won’t wear for anything longer than that. (I might consider sizing up but when I originally tried them on a half-size bigger, I was concerned that the extra room in the toe box would make them feel sloppy. I’m not sure I feel like spending the money on a pair to find out.)

I don’t think my feet are particularly “wide”, but if yours are normal width or narrower or if you don’t have the stupid Morton’s Toe, this shoe might be perfect for you for any distance!

Also, as I was writing this review today, I got an email from Nike about a sale and the Kiger’s are currently on clearance sale on Nike.com. (I’m not sure why they’re on clearance. Maybe v2 is coming out or maybe just new colorways?) Depending on your color choice, they’re either $99.97 or $74.97 and if you use code “MOVEMORE” before December 3, you can get an additional 25% off that clearance price! Great deal!

BTW: Nike never did give us our jacket for winning the competition at Camp Kiger 🙁