Nike Pegasus Plus Review: The Rebirth of Turbo, Kind Of

What You Need To Know

Introduction to the Nike Pegasus Plus

THOMAS: Timing is everything– a phrase credited to William Shakespeare, in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Better three hours too soon than a minute too late, the difference between drinking a celebratory glass of champagne or a bitter dram of nightshade. Shakespeare probably didn’t think his words would make it into a shoe review, but alas, here we are. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but this review may be long, so we’re not sure where that puts us. 

The legend of the Pegasus Turbo is long, even if its run was short. The original Pegasus Turbo came out in 2018, followed by the Turbo 2 in 2019. Both versions were exciting propositions at the time. The midsole took the revolutionary ZoomX foam in the Vaporfly and layered it onto a slab of React (used to exceptional effect in the Epic React), and created a shoe that was unlike any other at the time. Light, quick, with just the right amount of bounce. With bold styling and a smooth ride, it was a shoe geek favorit. Then came the long goodnight. (Before you raise your hand to say anything about Turbo Nature, sit down. A shoe made of trash ZoomX doesn’t count.)

It’s been five years since we reviewed the Turbo 2. An entire pandemic and presidency came and went during that time. Running has had not one– but two– waves, and every brand has race day shoes that rival both of Nike’s flagship racers. But it isn’t just the race shoes. Almost every brand is making super trainers with premium foams and/or carbon fiber plates. The stark reality of things is that the re-entry of the Turbo, aka Pegasus Plus, is less exciting than it would have been three to four years ago.

That said, kudos to Nike for tickling our nostalgia and making the Plus look like the original Turbo. It’s nearly identical in styling, but there are some differences. For one, we get a full bed of ZoomX foam underfoot. We don’t have the exact specs, but it’s somewhere in the 38 mm/28 mm range for stack height. A Flyknit upper provides a premium, elevated feel, finished off with the stitched-in center stripe coming down the tongue, over the toe, and wrapping onto the outsole. It’s a light shoe, coming in at 9.4 oz. for my US M10.5. Everything looks great in hand, on step-in, and on paper. 

But how does it feel on the run? Let’s find out.

ROBBE: Truth be told, I never ran in the original version of the Pegasus Turbo, and only put in around 30 miles on version 2. It never had the icon status for me, a spot that was reserved for the Epic React. Nevertheless, I understood the hype. Nike had a headlock on the race day shoes with the Vaporfly 4% and were the first to put a premium PEBA foam in a daily trainer. It was innovation and imagination at its best, embracing Nike’s long heritage of running.

That was five years ago. Since then, we’ve seen the Epic React, Pegasus Turbo, and Tempo Next% lines killed off before they could crawl, while lifestyle/running shoes like the React Infinity (now InfinityRN) and Invincible have taken center stage. And if you count the Pegasus Turbo Nature as a version of the shoe, well– you’re wrong. Any nature shoe is just actual trash ZoomX leftover on the cutting room floor and is no substitute for the real thing.

Nike announced the Pegasus Premium, a shoe with a full Zoom Air unit that’s coming in 2025, and while we’re equal parts excited and skeptical of that shoe, we were fully stoked to try the return of the Turbo in the Pegasus Plus. That said, nostalgia is a funny thing. We think we want something, but when it comes back to us, we realize that we loved it for the time in which it existed. There are parts of that in this shoe, but there are parts of the future too, or at least the now. Let’s see where it all fits together and decide whether we should let sleeping dogs lie or force them to tell the truth.

What we like about the Nike Pegasus Plus

THOMAS: The design is beautiful, an obvious nod to the original version of the shoe. The upper is Flyknit, a woven upper with tighter and looser weaving in strategic zones. The iconic nylon center stripe echoes the original Turbo. Flywire is replaced by an internal felt webbing. The elf heel is less dramatic than the OG—a well-padded collar and heel counter finish off the upper’s details. Unlike using two foams in the previous Turbo models, the Pegasus Plus has a one-piece ZoomX midsole. The stack is 35 mm in the heel and 25 mm in the forefoot for a 10 mm drop—plenty of rubber on the outsole and a surprisingly large exposed section of ZoomX.

The shoe feels light on the foot, though the ride is less cushioned than I was expecting. It feels more in sync with shoes that came out four years ago. Depending on your preferences, that may be a good thing. If you like more ground feel and flexibility, you will enjoy the nimble feel of the Plus. The Streakfly is the closest comparison to the Pegasus Plus. Both have a full ZoomX midsole. And while the stack on the Streakfly is less than the Peg Plus, the extra thick layer of rubber on the outsole under the forefoot makes the Streakfly feel more padded behind the toes.

ROBBE: If you’re a fan of the design elements of the original Turbo, well then you’re in for a treat. The colors and swoosh placements and overall design is nearly identical. Little details accentuate the heritage aspects of the shoe, like the 2018 and 2024 on the inside of the tongue. From a distance, you would have a hard time telling either shoe apart. Me, I’m more of a fan of the Pegasus Turbo 2 design, but I know a lot of people love the racing stripe of the original, the same stripe that we see on the Pegasus Plus.

The fit of the upper is very Nike-ish through the heel and top of the midfoot. Meaning, snug and secure, especially for narrow feet, even without a gusseted tongue. However, the upper fit as a whole is fairly accommodating, especially in the forefoot, which some of you will fully appreciate. Some of you will love it, others won’t, so do with that information as you will.

The Flyknit upper as a whole has a premium feel to it; construction-wise it’s one of the nicest uppers that Nike has at the moment, outside of the Vaporfly and Alphafly. I’m ambivalent on the racing stripe, but it is a thick layer of material that runs from the tongue to the toe. Breathability is pretty solid throughout.

Probably my favorite thing about this shoe is the weight. For a daily trainer it’s really lightweight– easy to pick up whenever you want, kind of disappears on the foot. It feels like a real running shoe and you can transition from easy miles to marathon pace or faster pretty easily. I took this on an 11-mile long run with two, 2-mile blocks at marathon pace and felt that it was easy to transition into those paces and hold it there.

Moving onto the midsole, the ZoomX feels like it lies somewhere between the Invincible and… something else. Based on Thomas’s thoughts, it feels like an elevated Streakfly. The best word I can use to describe it is squishy. Heel strikers will love it, mid-to-forefoot strikers may not. Fans of the Invincible who want an option that’s more of a lightweight daily trainer will probably like this shoe. I think the shoe is fine for anything under a half marathon, but it wouldn’t be my first choice for long runs in the 16-20 mile range. 

No issues with the outsole, but I also didn’t run in the rain.

What we don’t like about the Nike Pegasus Plus

THOMAS: My tastes have evolved. I prefer more foam underfoot. If there were a 4 mm drop where foam shifted to the forefoot, I would like the Peg Plus much more. For shorter distances under 10 miles, the Peg Plus works well. Once I got over 6-ish miles, the forefoot and lack of arch support started to cause fatigue. I am running higher mileage and in hot summer conditions. The extra mileage could play into the need for more cushioning. Even so, most midsoles are trending higher in the forefoot.

Over the years, I have tried to improve my memory of names. It’s a common issue for people. I find myself at an event; I greet someone, shake their hand, ask their name, and they respond. I register the name for a brief millisecond, and then– poof!– it’s gone. My default solution is asking the person again what their name is. It makes me uncomfortable, but I would rather get it right. Now, imagine you had a cool name. It’s a unique, tough name. A name like turbo– I’d remember that name. But “Plus” means almost nothing. Turbo is emotional. It evokes power and speed. “Plus” could be added to any mundane product. Want whiter teeth? Try Crest Plus. See, it works. Why would Nike change the name from Turbo to Plus? Shakespeare said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” He also wasn’t in marketing.

ROBBE: As I said in the introduction, nostalgia is a funny thing. We think we want what we had before, but realize that time moves on, even in our hearts, even if we don’t know it. Kudos to Nike for reviving the shoe, but I just feel like they tried to make a great shoe for 2020, and not a great shoe for now. I said this in our video review, but I’ll say it again here:

Nike was the tip of the spear when it came to running innovation in the 2010s. They literally changed the course of the sport with the Vaporfly, creating a carbon-plated arms race that’s showing no signs of slowing down. They were doing special things in running, everything from the LunarEpic to the Zoom Streak to the Epic React to the Pegasus Turbo. Even the regular Pegasus was undefeated as a daily trainer.

In the past five years, however, almost everyone has passed them in everything but the race day portion (and most have at least caught up). I mean, straight up, the Brooks Hyperion line (minus the Elite) is better than anything Nike has right now. I could actually be convinced the $125 Adidas SL 2 is better than the Pegasus Plus. For chrissakes, Topo Athletic(!) has a better shoe in the Specter 2. Meanwhile, Hoka is doing all the work Nike should be doing in the innovation and creativity department, most notably in shoes like the Cielo X1 and Skyward X. Even On is going all-in, trying new and exciting things. Credit where credit is due, even if some of their ideas seem to fall flat. 

I’m not saying the Pegasus Plus is a bad shoe. It’s not. It’s fine. But it’s just fine. The ZoomX midsole probably could’ve used a plate or some sort of stiffening agent to give it more pop. The forefoot needs a bit more cushion. It’s squishy, but it’s not exciting.

I’m also not a huge fan of the accommodating upper and I think true Nike fanbois and gurls will find it to be a bit too loose (it also runs a bit long in the toe, but I wouldn’t size down). 

At $180, I’m not sure this offers any real benefit over any other shoe in that price range. And when I say any shoe, I mean any shoe.

Final thoughts on the Nike Pegasus Plus

THOMAS: I want to love this shoe. The styling is well executed, ZoomX is hard to beat, and the upper fits my foot well. I crave more cushioning underfoot. The Nike Peg Plus is most comparable to the New Balance Rebel v4. Between the two shoes, I would go with the Rebel v4. It all boils down to the forefoot cushioning. Other shoes in the category are the Asics Novablast 4, Hoka Mach 6, On Cloudsurfer 2, Brooks Hyperion, and the Adidas SL 2.

ROBBE: I’ve loved Nike for as long as I can remember. I’m talking elementary school, a pair of white Nike Air high tops that my parents couldn’t afford but bought me anyway from the Foot Locker at Colonial Park Mall. I drew that pair in art class, took Polaroids of my hamster in a pair of Jordans. I made a metal plate in my middle school shop class that said “Just Do It.” It’s literally on my desk at the office as I write this. I still believe the greatest TV commercial ever made (besides the Nick Drake Volkswagen one) is the Nike Beijing Olympics hype reel set to The Killers’ “All These Things That I’ve Done,” featuring Joan Benoit in her painter’s cap and Pre coming up short in Munich. I still watch it almost monthly. And the greatest print ad I’ve ever seen was the one from the early 2000s featuring Prefontaine looking behind him in his last race. The copy, a simple question, a call to action: “Where are all the rock star runners?”

I didn’t even run at the time and I still felt a fire inside me. Just looking at that photo, just reading those words. It’s the same thing we all felt when we saw the first Vaporfly in real life, and especially when we ran in it.

Twenty years after Nike asked that question, I’ll toss the ball back into their own court: Where are all the rock star running shoes?

You can pick up the Nike Pegasus Plus for $180 on August 8 at Nike.com by using the buttons below.