Recently, I took it on a 27 mile run in the high Uinta Mountains of Utah to the tallest peak, Kings Peak, in the state and its 13,260 ft. neighbor. The terrain is about as rugged as you can get and it provided me with an excellent test bed for the Nike Kiger 3. For most of the run my feet felt fantastic and I really enjoyed them for 27 miles. During a river crossing my feet became completely submerged in the water and I still had about 7 miles to run. I was very pleased with how quickly they dried and I didn’t even notice my feet being wet. The only place where I had a negative experience was in the rocky technical terrain. The shoe did not provide adequate protection and I took a few nasty bumps that were not very protected. I was really impressed however with the overall grip of the tread, and it performed better than expected. Here are some sweet photos from the trip, a must do for those in in Utah, and it has even gotten some attention from the likes of folks like Anna Frost.
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This run helped to solidify the conclusions that I had already made of the Nike Kiger 3. The Kiger 3 is very light and comfortable shoe. Out of the box, the shoe performed angelicly on low to moderately technical terrain. The shoe was light and nimble. However, as soon as the terrain became rocky and technical, like that in the upper portions of the Kings Peak run, the shoe only offers moderate protection. Sadly, the toe guard did not offer much protection in rocky terrain. There is no rock plate on the Kiger and I definitely noticed it at times. The upper was ideal for the mixed conditions on the initial climb up through Henrys Fork, but lacked protection in the technical areas of the trail in boulder fields. Despite this the shoe has worn nicely, and the lugs on the outsole are deteriorated after 150 miles.
Product details:
-4mm heel to toe drop
-Breathable flymesh upper
-9.3 ounces total weight
-phylon midsole with Nike Zoom Air units for cushioning
-Rubber waffle outsole/sticky rubber forefoot
-Dynamic fit system wraps the midfoot and arch for better fit
Overall I was impressed with the shoe and I have added it to my regular rotation of trails and peak bagging. It has become one of my go to shoes for moderately difficult trails. There are definitely more strengths than weaknesses with the shoe and I came away surprisingly impressed with what Nike has done with this trail shoe.
