Nike Wildhorse 10 Review: Is it a Workhorse? Or a Horse with Wings?

Introduction to the Nike Wildhorse 10

SAM: Final time we received our ft right into a Nike Wildhorse, Michael nicknamed it the “Horsey Ocho” and wrote an entire haiku about it. That should have been too wild for the Wildhorse, as a result of Nike skipped the Wildhorse 9 fully. Simply jumped the quantity from 8 to 10 like this shoe was an iPhone or one thing. Regardless of the cause, this yr we received that ninth iteration, the Nike Wildhorse 10. It has 3 mm extra ReactX underfoot, and an entire new styling and higher materials that hews nearer to the place the remainder of Nike’s path lineup presently lives.

Wild nicknames apart, we discovered a lot to like with the Horsey Ocho. It was nimble, snug, and enjoyable, and it featured the reformulation of Nike’s once-infamously dangerous path outsole rubber. With the Wildhorse 10, they’ve named that once-bad, now-fine rubber the Nike All Terrain Compound, or ATC. Extra foam underfoot and a good outsole ought to solely equal extra of factor, so I used to be wanting ahead to my miles within the Wildhorse 10.

ALLISON: No, I didn’t speak like a cowboy once I received the Nike Wildhorse 10 within the mail like Michael did in his earlier evaluation of the Wildhorse 8, however I did begin singing Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones. Completely the identical factor, proper? Properly, see under if I needed to be “dragged away” from the sneakers in our evaluation.

MICHAEL: Sadly, buckaroo Michael is taking his annual journey round Wyoming to sing campfire songs and howl on the moon or no matter he does, so it’s simply plain ol’ Michael reporting this time on model 10 of the Wildhorse. I attempted giving buckaroo Michael a name since he had a lot enjoyable reviewing the beloved ocho, however he mentioned he was just lately bitten by a rattlesnake and couldn’t take part on the enjoyable.

I feel it’s only a lame excuse. He expressed a lot frustration earlier that the identify “Horsey Diez” doesn’t sound fairly as good as “Horsey Ocho,” however I feel he’s simply enjoying hooky. So sufficient with the tall tales, let’s get on with the evaluation.

What we like in regards to the Nike Wildhorse 10

SAM: When Tolkien wrote of Bilbo Baggins’ Bag Finish within the opening traces of The Hobbit, his insistence that it “was a hobbit gap, and meaning consolation,” might be transcribed to confer with the Nike Wildhorse 10. This shoe significantly feels nice on foot. And whereas it won’t be fairly as spacious inside as Bag Finish, the gentle engineered mesh does match true to dimension. Even the place it ran a bit of slim for my foot, I didn’t expertise any discomfort.

The Wildhorse 10’s visible styling has been scaled again from the brand new tech-outdoors look of the Wildhorse 8. A easy, single-layered engineered mesh replaces what was a skinny, two-tone double-layered mesh. The highest of the toebox has an elastic extension of the tongue that reaches out over your toes, a la Hoka’s Speedgoat sequence.

It seems cool right here, however I couldn’t level to something particular that it added to my check runs. It might be in an effort to absorb among the higher extra simply, however see under for extra there. On the instep of the shoe is an outsized Nike Path brand that stretches down over the midsole. That is my favourite a part of the design. I don’t essentially go for ostentatious brand placement, however this one, positioned the place it’s, simply works.

The true locus of consolation on this shoe, nevertheless, is within the ReactX Midsole. It’s so gentle. You see Michael speak under in regards to the nearly 9.5 mm heel-to-toe drop on this shoe, and I’m going to put all of it out up right here: I didn’t discover as a result of the ReactX within the heel is so gentle and squishy. Standing nonetheless, I felt like my weight pushed the heel nearly to a reverse drop. Fortunately, you don’t really feel that on the run. Nonetheless, the magic of ReactX is that the froth retains a nice responsiveness regardless of how gentle it feels.

The Wildhorse 10 follows its predecessor in making a nimble feeling by means of foam that feels barely firmer and responsive when compressed beneath the longline of your foot. Aspect-to-side, the ReactX platform feels prefer it has a slight roll, which walks proper as much as the road of being too wobbly on flat trails and pavement (extra on that under).

It looks like that is from the froth across the edges of the midsole having much less resistance to compression. I do know this feels like a nasty factor, however similar to on the Wildhorse 8, this slight side-to-side roll creates a notion of narrowness underfoot that reads as nimbleness. I feel it’s a enjoyable twist in how a thicker, wider midsole runs.

Fortunately, with all this gentle foam underfoot, the forefoot of the Wildhorse 10 had a versatile rock plate that sits proper between the midsole and outsole. It appears Nike desires to show it listened after the Wildhorse 8, and the rock plate it (supposedly) had didn’t actually carry out. So this one is brightly coloured and visual by means of the gaps within the outsole.

That outsole with its new Nike ATC branding is completely serviceable on nearly all surfaces. It received’t be coming for Vibram’s crown or something, however I additionally felt fairly assured when situations had been sloppy.

MICHAEL: Like its storied predecessor, the Wildhorse 10 makes wonderful use of Nike’s softest, most luxurious midsole foam underfoot – ReactX. The result’s a shoe that’s unbelievably snug on step-in. Actually, it seems like somebody took a pair of these Oofoos flip-flops that everybody likes to fake look cool and tacked on path garb, besides make the midsole much more sturdy and bouncy underfoot. Positive, all of the softness has some downsides we’ll get to later, however there’s no denying this can be a snug midsole for munching up miles.

Including to the consolation of the shoe, a single-layer mesh higher offers adaptable consolation, particularly by means of the lacing chain. Harking back to Saucony’s previous ISOFIT know-how, every lace eyelet is remoted from the opposite, permitting for a extra adaptable match over the contours of the bony elements of the highest of my foot.

Oftentimes, to keep away from irritation within the protruding bone within the prime of my foot (I consider it’s my medial cuneiform? Thanks, Google), I’ve to sacrifice some safety throughout one of many eyelets. Such isn’t the case with the Wildhorse 10, and I adore it. Including to the consolation, a tastefully padded heel counter and roomy toebox spherical out the higher.

Beneath the midsole, Nike incorporates a forefoot rock plate to abate among the path chatter that inevitably seeps by means of the ReactX. It’s no secret that I really like rock plates, and after there was reportedly one (?) within the Horsey ocho that was hidden from sight, it was nice to put eyes on it this time in all its vibrant orange glory. Maybe it was the seems, however I felt like I may really feel the plate working extra this time, offering a professional enhance of safety that makes the technical trails in Huntsville way more fulfilling, a profit hardly noticeable in model eight.

Lastly, the Nike Path aesthetic is all the time a bonus. That being mentioned, I really feel just like the extra rugged styling of the Horsey Ocho did a greater job of speaking the shoe’s proposed functionality on extra technical terrain than the extra road-to-trail-oriented mannequin of Nike’s lineup, just like the Pegasus Path. So whereas it’s nonetheless a great-looking shoe, I feel model 10’s unmistakable visible similarities to the Peg Path line will carry me to a few of its downsides.

ALLISON: I received’t take up an excessive amount of time speaking in regards to the optimistic elements of the shoe, as the fellows above have nailed the subjects I used to be going to debate. At the start, the shoe matches true to dimension, which was a reduction after experiencing inconsistent sizing with manufacturers like Inov-8 and Ronhill in the previous couple of opinions I’ve carried out. The safe, dialed-in match offered confidence on diversified terrain with out feeling too tight or restrictive.

One of many highlights is the gusseted, padded tongue, one thing Nike completely nailed right here. It prevents particles from getting into the shoe and provides a layer of consolation throughout the highest of the foot, decreasing stress from laces on longer runs that I’ve skilled with different sneakers.

Aesthetically, the Wildhorse 10 is without doubt one of the best-looking path sneakers available on the market. Nike has managed to mix performance-ready design with glossy, eye-catching colorways that look simply nearly as good on a post-run espresso cease as they do out on the path. The fabric of the ReactX midsole feels sturdy, because the shoe total delivers a clean, cushioned journey on gravel, hard-packed grime, and even some mild technical terrain. For runners who like considerate design options of a Nike Pegasus with a little bit of path fashion, the Wildhorse 10 makes a compelling case.

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What we don’t like in regards to the Nike Wildhorse 10

SAM: After the roomy-yet-nimble match within the Wildhorse 8, I used to be shocked that the Wildhorse 10 felt a bit of tighter throughout the ball of my foot. The higher is forgiving sufficient that I didn’t thoughts this a lot, however the lateral fringe of my foot simply pushed over the sting of the midsole. It feels a bit of constricting throughout, truthfully.

Talking of the midsole, all that squishy ReactX is simply too gentle to deal with technical trails confidently. That nimble feeling from the compressed midsole alongside the center longline of your foot is sweet on flat trails and roads, however the edges of the froth appear to compress increasingly simply than the center. This ends in a wobbly, unsteady step on tilted or rocky trails.

Beneath the wobbly midsole, the Nike All Terrain Compound rubber struggled on moist rocks and boardwalks. It’s not fairly the fully dire state of affairs on moist surfaces that it was once, however I discovered that the grip was simply squirrelly sufficient to eat at my confidence. Perhaps understand that there’s a tiny, imaginary asterisk chasing the “ATC” labelling.

MICHAEL: First issues first, this midsole, like Sam talked about, is simply too gentle to be used on technical terrain. Every heel strike is unstable, and the single-layer mesh higher has an excessive amount of stretch to tug again the reins on this cowboy-buckin’ foam. Every time I despatched this shoe down a steep descent, my forefoot slid far and wide, rolling over the aspect of the shoe and whatnot.

The unstable heel and unfastened match within the forefoot had been solely additional amplified by a 9.5 mm heel-toe drop, which, in our expertise, isn’t a superb worth for a shoe making an attempt to be versatile. Additionally, whereas it has typically improved over time, Nike’s lackluster efficiency of ATC (extra like STC, Some-Terrain-Compound) leaves one thing to be desired on moist rocks.

This brings me to my remaining conclusion, specifically that we’re witnessing the Pegasus-ification of the Nike path line. Apart from lug depth and a skinny rock plate, I don’t suppose something appears to be separating model 10 of the Wildhorse from model 5 of the Pegasus path, particularly relating to technical terrain functionality. Like I discussed earlier than, they even look related. Fortunately for the Wildhorse, the Peg Path 5 is a good shoe to have a little bit of overlap with… You may simply need to handle expectations for it on “double black” singletrack.

ALLISON: Whereas the Nike Wildhorse 10 has some sturdy factors, a number of drawbacks held it again for me. Probably the most noticeable difficulty was the slim match. It felt tighter than anticipated, particularly within the midsole. This is likely to be uncomfortable for runners with wider ft or these doing longer distances. The shoe felt a bit heavy on the run, particularly in comparison with different path choices. The added weight, mixed with a considerably cumbersome design, made it really feel sluggish on extra demanding trails.

The traction additionally left a lot to be desired. On technical terrain, I discovered myself holding again, missing the boldness I get from different path sneakers. It’s paradoxically named the “Wildhorse,” however I wouldn’t get too “wild” carrying it on something too rugged. The higher additionally wasn’t very breathable, which turned an actual difficulty throughout sizzling summer time runs. Moreover, there’s restricted drainage, so water tends to linger contained in the shoe, which is certainly not preferrred for creek crossings or wet days.

Lastly, the $25 value improve from the earlier mannequin feels onerous to justify given these compromises. Whereas it could work nicely for smoother trails, the Wildhorse 10 falls quick for extra technical or excessive situations.

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Remaining ideas on the Nike Wildhorse 10

SAM: The Nike Wildhorse 10 is, by all accounts, an ideal operating shoe. The consolation of the ReactX midsole alone makes this shoe a pleasure to tick off miles in. High that off with Nike’s storied glossy styling and a cushty higher, and this can be a aggressive choose on most any shoe wall.

However should you learn this evaluation intently sufficient, you’ll see that we talked about the Nike Pegasus and Pegasus Path nearly as a lot as we talked about the Wildhorse, and I’m a bit of anxious that there’s not fairly sufficient that units this shoe aside from its slimmer sibling. For $10 extra, you get a bit of extra foam that may’t deal with distance or technical sections all that a lot better. If you would like a technical shoe from Nike, the Terra Kiger is correct there. That leaves our trusty Wildhorse out within the chilly as a shoe that basically runs and appears just like the Peg Path 5, simply dearer.

The tenth (ninth? I don’t know the way these items work) model of the Wildhorse can also be $25 dearer than the Horsey Ocho. And I do know that trainers are in an absolute bind proper now. Between inflation and ever-fluctuating tariffs, I’m counting it a win that we’re nonetheless getting fairly priced sneakers in any respect, however $25 seems like a hefty leap.

The Nike Wildhorse 10 is finest used as a luxurious road-to-trail grinder. It’s an ideal alternative should you love gentle midsole foam with a average stack that’s nonetheless responsive and enjoyable. Present analogues are the Salomon Aero Glide Grvl and the Craft Xplor Hybrid.

MICHAEL: Regardless of its aforementioned Pegasus-ification, the Wildhorse 10 remains to be an ideal shoe. Its uber-comfortable platform makes most runs fairly fulfilling, and it could have among the finest step-in consolation I’ve ever examined. Nonetheless, the important thing right here will likely be to maintain it on the terrain it’s designed for, not the terrain the identify suggests it’s good for.

Consider it as a highway/path hybrid (aka a Pegasus path with barely deeper lugs), and also you’re going to like each run. Consider it as a Hoka Speedgoat or Brooks Cascadia different for all-mountain racing, and also you’re going to search out your self doing the wobble on technical descents. For a extra enjoyable conclusion, please see Allison’s nimble pony metaphor under.

ALLISON: I appreciated the aesthetics of the Wildhorse 10, nevertheless it might not be the only option for lengthy runs on rocky terrain. The cushioning and help felt extra fitted to lighter efforts, making this shoe much less preferrred for prolonged, technical outings. Nonetheless, for smoother paths like gravel roads or rail-to-trail routes, it really shines. Consider this shoe as a nimble pony that prefers well-groomed trails over rugged backcountry.

You may choose up the Nike Wildhorse 10 for $165 from Nike by utilizing the buttons under.

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