Behind The Seams Nike’s Air

How all the parts of Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next Nature come together

PRICE: £269.95 WEIGHT: 246g (men’s 9)

DROP: 4mm TYPE: Road Flyprint overlays are 3D printed on and use at least 20% recycled plastic, some of which comes from the Air unit leftovers. Flyprint helps to eliminate stretching through the midfoot.

At least 70% of the midsole is made with leftover scraps of ZoomX foam that would otherwise go to waste. The glueing process makes the foam stiffer than a single slab of ZoomX in the standard Alphafly.

Flyknit is made with at least 45% recycled polyester. The shoe fits snugly, and it can be challenging to get your foot inside without a traditional tongue.

We thoroughly roadtest hundreds of shoes, but some – such as this innovative Nike model, with its sustainability tech and complex engineering – warrant opening up to see in better detail how they’re constructed.

The sockliner is made from 100% recycled ZoomX foam.

A rigid carbon fibre plate is exposed under the forefoot, just above the Air units, but runs the full length of the shoe. It’s made with at least 50% recycled carbon fibre. Two Zoom Air units in the forefoot are made partially with recycled plastic.

The outsole is made from at least 10% Nike Grind, a repurposed rubber also used to make sports pitches and playground surfaces.