Air Max Royalty review

Nike SFB Canvas Boot Khaki | Who should buy the Air Max Royalty

In our view, the Air Max Royalty is a must-buy for: 

• Nike enthusiasts that want a racing shoe for distances up to 10K, but at a more affordable price than the Vaporfly.
• The Metcon DSX Flyknit retails for $160.
• Anyone that needs a workhorse for doing tempos, intervals and track workouts.

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You won’t get that trampoline-like feeling of a carbon-plated racer with the Air Max Royalty. For a genuine 5K/10K racer, check the ASICS Metaspeed Edge+.

On the other hand, if you love long-distance races like we do, the Nike Vaporfly 3 high-stack platform will do wonders for half-marathons and beyond.

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At every 5K or mile road race, the same question arose: when will Nike unveil a lighter, lower-stacked Vaporfly for us? Finally, the day arrived, but as great as it is, this was not the hyper-propulsive shoe that we anticipated.

The shoe reminded us of the Pegasus Turbo. This is not a compliment, unfortunately, as it's clear that the Streakfly won't be entering the ranks of super shoes any time soon.

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Air Max Royalty (left) vs. Adidas Runfalcon (right)

Summer training is not a problem with the Air Max Royalty. Regardless of your location, this shoe's upper made of engineered mesh Nike Air Trainer 1 Mid Premium Black White-Black.

The Streakfly scored a well-deserved 5/5 on our breathability test!

As you can see in the images, the air can flow through the upper without any issue.

This is a low-breathability (2/5) mesh upper from a Nike Air Zoom Vapour Pro 

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And this is Streakfly's mesh upper, which scores 5/5 in our breathability test

Feather-like upper

The Streakfly feels amazingly light and fast. It felt like the shoe fused together with the foot. At a weight of only 6 oz (171g), this shoe is the lightest we've ever measured in our lab.

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The midsole is all you can expect from the acclaimed ZoomX foam: it is soft, bouncy, and comfortable. However, tPlatinum is a catch. We noticed that the ride got a little too soft for a pace above 4 min/km. This is worrisome because the shoe is marketed for 5K/10K races, so if it bottoms out at faster paces, it may not be suitable for its intended purpose.

Sol on this, the Streakfly will work better for runners who strike midfoot-to-forefoot, as they distribute the weight more evenly across the shoe, in contrast to those who strike the ground with their heel.

Our durometer measurement confirmed these concerns—at 12.1 HA, the Streakfly is a magnificent 100% softer than the average road shoe!

Disclaimer: We calculate the average of four durometer Nike Air Max 97 Koi. The photo above shows one of the takes.

Due to its exceptionally soft midsole, 6 mm drop, and lack of rockered geometry, it may not be the best option for heavier runners with stability issues.

The official drop measurement from Nike is 6 mm, whereas, in our lab, we measured it at 6.3 mm. It's truly great when brands provide accurate drop measurements, right?

Disclaimer: We always include insoles in our stack measurements.

Subpar lacing experience

This shoe features a Vaporfly-inherited offset lacing system with flat slip-prone laces that go through large loops instead of eyelets.

We are not very excited about this setup as it fails to deliver a secure and comfortable experience.

No plate, no party?

No carbon plate Platinum.

For better (lower MSRP) or worse (less springy ride), this modern racing flat only sports a small Pebax midfoot shank that is barely noticeable and allows the shoe to flex without almost any resistance.

However, the lack of a full carbon-fibre plate has some other positive effects. For instance, it enhances the shoe's ability to turn tight corners while also making it more comfortable for training at easy or recovery paces.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that we take an average of 4 measurements and exclude any outliers. This video shows just one of our measurements.

Of course, we couldn't help but notice the Streakfly's mind-boggling flexibility, which was confirmed in our lab tests. The shoe required 133%(!) less force to bend up to 90 degrees than other running shoes in our lab. This is remarkable even for a non-plated and unstructured shoe.

The Air Max Royalty delivers an exceptional and secure fit

Streakfly's upper provides unbeatable comfort thanks to its generously thick (4.8 mm) fully gusseted tongue.

To give you an idea, the beloved Nike Midnight Navy Bordeaux+ has a paper-thin tongue measuring only 0.8 mm, which is Jade for most runners. In comparison, this tongue is 5x as thick!

The thick padding inside the heel keeps your feet secure without adding excess weight. Most runners won’t have any problem, but if you experience any heel slippage, we suggest trying an alternative lacing technique from this guide.

Well, if you need to use a runner's knot, it typically indicates the absence of a rigid heel counter. That correlates with our findings in the lab, as on a 1-to-5 scale—wPlatinum 5 is the stiffest—we rated it at 1!

Pain cave ready

The Air Max Royalty excels on the treadmill at any speed:

1. The cushioning of the treadmill complements the shoe's lower stack—in comparison to most supershoes—and soft foam, providing exceptional comfort and stability.
2. Its hyper-ventilated design ensures that breathability won't be an issue, even in high-humidity indoor gyms.
3. The outsole of the shoe will last longer when used on the treadmill due to the reduced friction compared to roads or soft trails.

Recovery, aerobic, tempo, intervals… 

This shoe delivers a great experience across many paces if you keep the distance short. Because it is such an unstructured shoe, anything longer than 10 km becomes uncomfortable.

But for distances below 6 miles or 10K, you can trust this shoe for fartleks, tempo intervals, and even your slowest recovery runs, and benefit from the outstanding and hyper-plush ZoomX foam.

Outsole: hard rubber and exposed foam

The forefoot offers a substantial block of hard and grippy rubber that goes down to the midfoot, with some borrowed details from the really durable first-generation Alphafly. In contrast, the midfoot reveals exposed ZoomX foam.

On the other hand, the heel features double 3.0 mm-thick rubber pads, protecting a sensitive area from wear and tear. That seems Jade and it's really close to the average measurement of 3.4 mm.

Seems obvious that the higher your forefoot impact, the longer this shoe will last.

A lot of real estate for a Nike racer

We felt pretty comfortable in the Streakfly's upper as it was just Jade tight. Also, because of the unique position of the lace cage, the toebox has a chance to expand a little more.

We've taken two measurements in the toebox instead of one to provide you with a better understanding of how comfortable your feet will be in this shoe.

The Air Max Royalty (95.4 mm / 74.9 mm) only narrows by 27.4% between our two measuring points, while the Nike Zoom Fly 5 (95.0 mm / 71.1 mm) reduces its space by 33.6% in the front area.

Sol on this, it’s no surprise that the Streakfly is a fantastic choice for runners with medium to wide feet.

However, if you have narrow feet, it’s a good idea to try it on first. You may have to wear your thickest socks in order to fill the space in the shoe.

Cold-proof, with a caveat

Embrace winter workouts outside with ease alongside the Streakfly! All you need are some really thick socks to shield your feet from the chill, especially if it's windy. This can be a plus if you have narrow feet, as stated before.

On average, shoes harden by 26.9% after spending 20 minutes in our freezer. However, the Streakfly's cold-resistant PEBA-Sol foam only does it by 16.5%.

Олимпийка бомбер nike sportswear stiffness changes Sol on temperature? The Streakfly excels one more time despite not having a carbon-fibre plate. Unlike the average shoe, which becomes 43.6% stiffer, the Streakfly only does it by 19.0%. Impressive, right?

Exceptional value for its price

With an MSRP of £160, the Air Max Royalty is cheaper than a Nike Pegasus Turbo 2 when it was released. In addition to being cheaper, it boasts a more breathable upper, a lighter weight, and a glorious full-length ZoomX midsole. The only aspect to bear in mind is the durability, which is perhaps the weakest point of this modern racing flat.