I guess we should start with the namesake of the shoe. The FlyKNIT. This shoe is made out of strands of yarn finely knitted by machines never made before. When Nike set out to be able to manufacture this shoe, they couldn't. No human technology could make the shoe in large quantities before and resulted in something really special. The shoe is listed on Nike's "Considered-Design" line meaning it is made of recycled material and is part of Nike's movement to making all of their shoes completely made of recycled materials by 2020. The Flyknit is the latest innovation to come out of that movement and uses yarn and other types of fabric that are knitted in a unique pattern to create a strong yet light upper.
From a performance standpoint, since the upper is strong but also flexible, it conforms to your foots shape and also protects it. Also included is Nike's new Dynamic Flywire. As a refresher, Dynamic Flywire is made of threads of Vectran that connect from the bottom of the upper to the laces to wrap the foot and create a customizable fit. This technology is also found on the Lunar Hyperdunk, LunarGlide+ 4, Air Max 95s, and some other exclusive Nike shoes. It makes the shoe a lot more comfortable by "hugging" your foot and holding your foot in well. The knitted material also makes for great moisture wicking and ventilation. It adds to the whole "fits like a sock" mantra that Nike has been pushing.
Now to the midsole. I am assuming it is phylon, the same material used in the Free Run series and almost every other non-Lunarlon shoes. There is a small groove in the heel area for increased flexibilty when your foot first strikes. It provides good cushion but I think Lunarlon would've been appreciated there. The shoe definitely is more flexible than say a LunarGlide+ 4 but not nearly as flexible as a Free Run. It is a nice mid-point and makes for a really comfortable step.
The outsole isn't the most elaborate part of the Flyknit Trainer but definitely deserves some attention. It has a lot of grip surpringly. I expected Nike to reduce the amount of outsole to reduce weight but I guess since this is technically a trainer shoe they needed to put more. It features Nike's Waffle Grid technology on the whole outsole but only with varying colors. 2 horizontal cuts in the forefoot provide flexibility while the the back has no large cuts at all.
Some side notes..... I noticed the sockliner is made by OrthoLite. This is not a Nike company but they make custom inserts for shoes. The Free Run+ 3 comes with an OrthoLite sockliner as well but a lot of other top-of-the-line Nike shoes do not. I am not sure why but I prefer this one over the others. It feels like memory foam and feels really good to curl your toes into when you are idle.
Also, the heel cup is very solid but does a good job of keeping your heel in place. It was a little weird at first since the back part of the shoe does not have the knitted material seen in the front. My most logical explanation is that the heel moves a lot and needs more security and who complains about their heel sweating? May just be me but only my toes and bottom of my foot only sweat. That is my best guess.
Another thing that is odd is the shoelaces. They are rounded and kinday stringy looking. They are a chore to tie! It is a little difficult to get them to stay down. Once you do they work good but you can't just overlook tying them carefully.
Next thing is the tongue of the shoe. It is a little stretchy but is very functional. It is very thin but once you slip the sneaker on all you have to do is lift the tag on the tongue a little and they fit just right.
That's it for this review guys! The shoe is nearly sold out on the Nike online store but your best bet is to go to a local Nike store (Not the outlet) and be sure to call ahead of time to check on sizes. I personally recommend trying one on personally before ordering online, I held a 12 and it turned out to be too big and luckily Nike Town NYC had a few of 11.5s. Of course if you have a lot of money to blow you can buy them off of eBay but expect to drop a couple hundred dollars. Thanks so much for reading and be sure to check out my YouTube for more shoe and gear reviews.
The FlyKNIT. This shoe is made out of strands of yarn finely knitted by machines never made before. When Nike set out to be able to ... flyknittrainer.blogspot.com
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