Last but not least, at the shoe’s midfoot, you’ll find a rigid shank for added support and stability, especially with lateral, i.e., side-to-side movements. In the image above, it’s the white part of sole with Nike Zoom printed on it.

The remainder of the midsole uses Phylon, which is lightweight and responsive for added comfort throughout the length of the shoe. Midsoleįor the midsole, you’ll find Nike’s Air Zoom technology combined with its unique Phylon EVA foam for responsive comfort.Īt the shoe’s heel, you’ll find the Air Zoom unit, which is a thin, lightweight device that provides low-profile comfort and gives the Vapor X a familiar low to the ground feel similar to the shoe’s predecessors. You’ll also find the tread wrap the edge of the sole to help provide that extra bit of grip during abrupt changes in direction. The tread of the hard court (HC) version, which we playtested, features a pattern that’s ideal for hard court traction but will work well on a variety of court surfaces. In areas of high-wear, the sole’s thickness increases, while low wear areas shed rubber to help keep the weight of the shoe lower. As such, the material’s composition and tread pattern both play critical roles in traction and durability.įor the Vapor X, you’ll find Nike putting their extra-durable rubber (XDR) to use as the outsole, which is common in many of their shoes that need to withstand the abrasion of surfaces similar to hard courts. The outsole is a tennis shoe’s bottom-most layer of the sole that comes in direct contact with the court. However, endorsements aside, the Vapor X is a high-performance tennis shoe, which remains one of our favorites.

It’s no doubt, Roger Federer and some of the game’s top professionals have helped drive the popularity of the Nike Air Zoom Vapor X.

Nike air zoom vapor