Showing posts with label shoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shoes. Show all posts

The Nike Zoom Vapor problems

I loved some of the early Nike Zoom tennis shoes, however the following generations didn't work for me. After years of abstinence, the Vapor 9 finally came around, and it fit like a glove.

The 9.5 is quite similar to the 9, and has been my "editor's choice" since it's been on the market. The only problem is that they tend to tear open along the toe box:

Nike Zoom Vapor Tour 9.5 with the usual tear

    

This keeps happening to me, and some of my tennis buddies as well. No warranty on the shoe, so that's at least 2 pairs / ~$200 per year for tennis footwear. And most of that time, you're running around with an open toebox - not pretty, open to clay and/or dirt, and most importantly less support for the feet. How does this still happen after decades of development, experience, and fine tuning?

Also, in light color, the mesh covering the toe box tends to develop brownish stains quite quickly:

    

This happens to the indoor version as well:

    

That's a shame too, since some of the brighter designs turned out quite nicely:

    

So please Nike, fix the toe box issues and make the Vapor 10 the best tennis shoe to date!