Nike - Ultrafly Trail Racing Shoes

For dirt roads I picked up some Nike Ultrafly. Retired a pair at 615 miles and am about 400 miles into a second pair. Tried a pair of Nike peg trail 4’s in between, but they were a let down after the ultraflys. Most of my real running is on steep, rocky trails in the mountains, though, where I switch between Arcteryx Norvan SL3 for really fast efforts and VJ Maxx2 as my all arounder. Love both of these shoes. Edit: rocky trails in the mountains, not “Rocky Mountain” trails.

Nike Ultrafly Trail might make the cut

I have no experience with the peg5, but I did grab some peg4 trails after putting over 600mi into a pair of ultraflys. Took only a few runs (~40mi) to decide I much preferred another pair of ultraflys. Got them for less than $100 at that point. I have about 500mi on them now and hoping to see what/when the ultrafly2 will be. The peg4’s felt kind of stiff and boring by comparison. And I’m a person that typically runs in very low stack shoes on actual trails. Ultraflys and peg4 were for paved, dirt, and gravel roads. Hate the ultraflys on actual east coast trails.

One thing I will add is the ultraflys are significantly wider in the sole than most of my other shoes. I notice this when running through mud. They float like snowshoes on top instead of punching through. The tread is fine for mud, just the substantial surface area of the sole can make things a little squirrelly. That wide platform makes for a nice stable shoe otherwise.

I wear Nike Ultrafly on that type of terrain

My go-to gravel shoe has been the Nike Ultrafly Trail. I put 650 miles on one pair and just passed 500 on a second pair. Really well suited to hilly gravel and dirt roads. They’re expensive at full retail price but can be found on steep discounts. I hate them for technical trails though.

Yeah. Couple factors in that mileage. For one, you are a lot heavier than me, so that would likely accelerate the wear rate. A second factor is that the running I really like to do is technical trails and mountain running where i use very minimally cushioned shoes. So even after pounding on the ultraflys for 500+ miles they still offer significantly more cushion than my typical shoe. Note that I avoid using the ultraflys on technical terrain at almost all costs 😀 In my case I retired them because I had completely worn through the tread and into the midsole in the heels. This is because I use them almost exclusively for runs up and down a local mountain on fire roads and a paved auto road to the top. So they saw a lot of heel striking when descending steep pavement. This is pretty abusive for a trail shoe. Contrast this with my typical technical trail shoes where I wear out the tread under the forefoot long before the heel. Anyway, I’m just starting to wear through the tread into the midsole on my current pair. I can feel the foam being a little dead, squishy, and unresponsive back there now, but still plenty of cushion for me. I will add that I tried out a pair of Nike Pegasus Trail 4 shoes between the two pairs of ultraflys, and they really felt like a letdown compared to the ultraflys. They just felt kinda dead by comparison. Ultraflys really do soak up gravel nicely. And they’re a nice wide and stable shoe which has been awesome for recovery runs and such on milder terrain.

Nike Ultrafly Trail would get my vote

I use Nike Ultrafly for the exact scenarios you describe. It’s not a lightweight shoe, though. But that hasn’t bothered me. And I’m someone who seeks out light shoes because I run a lot of steep technical ascents where weight really is noticeable. For example, I wear Arcteryx Norvan SL3 a lot, and I don’t think you can find a lighter trail runner on the market right now.

I thought the UF1 was a very rigid shoe. Love them for dirt and gravel roads but find them to be unbearable on rocky technical trails. I think the plate helps with stability, especially running down hills. A less rigid plate might help them perform better on trails without sacrificing much.

I really don’t think the ultrafly is a “super shoe”. I think the plate just helps stabilize the foam. I use it almost exclusively on easy runs on gravel and dirt roads up and down a mountain. I generally run in almost minimalist shoes on very technical steep terrain. Then I switch to ultraflys for off days and they’re a dream. Super cushioned but not spongy. Perfect for gravel and conditions the OP is asking about. At full retail they’re stupid expensive, but I’ve got my last 2 (of 3 total) pairs for around $100

I avoid asphalt as much as I can and I don’t think I shuffle too much. I’ve put a decent amount of miles into my Zegama 2s, north face vectivs, Salomon’s, and ultrafly before retiring them and they held up pretty well. This is the first pair of trail shoes that looks like they took a beating early on. It is a great shoe though

I have Nike trail runners, I love them-they have support in the toes for when you smash your foot in a root. I cramp badly if I eat as well-so following for the rest. 😊

I have wide and flat feet, I raced a trail half in the Nike ultrafly yesterday, awesome shoe

Ultraflys are totally fine for 100s if they fit your feet well. They and the Zegama 2s have a vibram sole so less chance of slipping in wet conditions. I’ve worn Ultraflys, Trail Pegs, and Zegamas for nontechnical 100s. I think I liked the Zegamas the most, despite the higher weight. Ultraflys work really well for faster running, but don’t do much once I was on the back half of the race and mixing walking and running a lot more. Trail Pegs are good, but I prefer the Zegama cushion for 100 miles.

I love the Tecton X3s and like others said if it’s working for you then maybe don’t mess with it. That said, $275/pair adds up quickly when you’re doing a lot of miles. For gravel / fire roads I usually run in Nike Ultraflys which have a plate and more or less the same foam, but go on sale for $160. I also do a lot of miles in whatever Tecton X2s I can still find for sale and actually feel more comfortable in them on single track.

Totally butting in and hijacking but thinking of doing a few of these Cascades/ Palouse trail marathons (and also a hundred but that is a different shoe conundrum). Wondering if you have chosen your shoe for the marathon yet? On the roads I normally use the prime x strung so that is definitely NOT going to work for the gravel marathon! I tried the ultraflys last weekend on that terrain and while I do like those on trail, I didn't really dig them on the all gravel. As an aside any love or hate for the deviate elite trail? Thank you for any thoughts and may you crush your marathon!

Zegama is a great shoe but if you’re really looking for some bounce, the Ultraflys are sick.

It depends on model. It would be nice if they were more up front with this info so people could make more informed purchase decisions. As a smaller brand, I've never seen them in a local store, so there's no opportunity to try before buying. Buying online is hit or miss. For me the Ultraventure, Ultraventure Pro, Ultrafly 3, and Ultrafly 4 models were all fine, but the Fli-Lyte 4 was awful.

I tried Nike Ultrafly’s and the Hoka Tecton 2. I liked the Tecton a lot and used them for a 50M non technical race , they were great.