If sprints or long-distance runs are your jam, the new Nike Zoom Fly is worth every penny you’ll invest in it. The shoe is designed to meet the needs of every kind of runner, and it helps that it looks pretty cool in all three colour variants too.

The Zoom Fly is very, very fast off the ground. Some may consider the 33 mm heel stack huge and a little unnerving, but I promise you’ll get used to it – and no, it doesn’t deter speed in any way. On the contrary, I like to say it adds a spring to my step. The speed largely comes from a full-length carbon-infused nylon plate that has been embedded into the midsole and provides highly responsive cushioning.

On the flipside, if you aren’t running too fast, and a light jog is your jam, the shoe isn’t ideal. When I slow down post a sprint, I’ve noticed that my foot tries to bend the forefoot instead of rolling over it. The screen printing on the shoe – as with most such designs – has expectedly peeled off a little bit, and in the absence of compression grooves, the midsole tends to wrinkle a bit.

But these are minor grouses, because design-wise, the Zoom Fly is quite stellar. The Flywire-reinforced upper is lightweight and keeps you secure. Made of a one-piece engineered mesh, it’s quite easy to clean too. Breathable and ably held in place thanks to Nike’s Flywire lacing system, it fits the foot like a glove.

In all honesty, the shoes took me a week to break into and fully get used to, but the results are great. At Rs 14,495, the Nike Zoom Fly is a little steep, but if you take your runs seriously, this is an investment worth considering.