Last year, the award easily went to the Nike Zoom Fly 3 for my worst shoe purchase. Maybe not easily.. the Tempo Next% and Pegasus 37 were pretty close as well.
This year, I couldn’t help but purchase the new iteration and see how the Zoom Fly changed. While the Zoom Fly 4 is indeed better than the 3, it still has major flaws. It has great step in feel, but feels really bottom heavy after a few miles. After 10 miles it felt like running with lead weights. The react midsole is okay, but combined with the stiff plate it just feels dead.
I loved the Nike Invincible , but it is the only shoe to ever give me knee pain. It had to be returned.
Saucony Freedom 4 and Boston 10 were bizarre iterations of their predecessors.
But at the end of the day, the Nike Zoom Fly 4 takes the award for my worst shoe purchase of 2021.
How about you?