Borrowing features from the Pegasus Premium, the brand’s base-level running shoe suddenly looks a whole lot more fun.
Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol
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“For runners, by runners.”
This is how Elliot Heath, a club coach at Bowerman Track Club and senior footwear expert at Nike, describes the Pegasus.
You can’t argue much with the assessment.
Even after four decades, the iconic daily trainer continues to top sales charts. But as they say in Beaverton, Oregon, there is no finish line.
So here we are yet again, with yet another update around the bend.
Available in early April, the Pegasus 42 is the latest installment into Nike’s longstanding franchise and the first since 2024.
This isn’t to say Nike’s been idle, especially in its running division.
In that time, the brand reconfigured its entire running lineup, investing heavily into the Vomero and Structure series. It also dropped the highly innovative Pegasus Premium, featuring a full-length Air Zoom unit in the midsole.
Though pricey (and heavy), that design has become consequential.
The Pegasus 42 adopts its full-length Air Zoom unit — albeit thinner and hidden behind ReactX foam — which acts as a de facto spring board similar to the plates in super shoes.
“That just really gives a propulsive feel to the runner as they get through their midfoot and onto the forefoot,” Heath says.
Importantly, the pressure and thickness of that unit scales as you size up — a lesson Nike learned from the Pegasus Premium.
“It’s just a great example of taking learnings from a concept car, where we push innovation, and bringing them into a model like the Pegasus to really push the level higher,” Heath says.
Fans of the previous Pegasus will be relieved to the know that this version retains near-identical numbers on the spec sheet.
The Pegasus 42 comes with a moderate stack height of 37mm in the heel, dropping down 10mm to 27mm in the forefoot.
However, a revised last with additional curvature under the toes brings an additional 3mm of foam at the front of the shoe with no change in overall stack height.
“It just amplifies that feeling of propulsion,” Heath says about the toe spring.
Additionally, the Pegasus 42 features a slightly wider toe that allows the foot to splay and swell on longer efforts.
“You’re going to feel like its ninety percent the same fit as [before],” Heath adds. “It really hugs your foot nicely. But that very, very small difference is going to make it more comfortable for all those training runs.”
The Nike Pegasus 42 goes on sale April 9.
Nike has yet to confirm a retail price but it’s expected to sit around the previous version, which cost $145.
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