It took me a while to settle into the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 35, but it’s now become one of my favorite training and racing shoes. And now, Nike has updated the Pegasus line with the Air Zoom Pegasus 36!
While the Pegasus 35 was an almost complete redesign from the 34 (a full-length Zoom air unit, revamped lacing, and swept-away ankle collar) the Pegasus 36 improves on a good thing by re-engineering the mesh upper to make it more breathable across the forefoot and the arch. A slimmer heel collar and tongue also reduce bulk to give you more room inside the shoe. The Pegasus 36 is also slightly lighter than the Pegasus 35.
Based on my experience with the Pegasus 35, I really love the balance of cushioning and spring the Zoom unit and Cushlon foam gives me. I’ve even worn them sockless because the inner material is soft and doesn’t give me blisters. But after pouring water all over myself during the run leg of a triathlon, the plush heel collar and high tongue tend to get pretty squishy. However, that high tongue came in very handy when trying to pull on the shoe during a quick transition, and it’s attached to the shoe so it doesn’t move around.
The Pegasus 36 has a more traditional tongue construction with a lower asymmetrical profile across the front of the ankle, so shoving your foot into the shoe without holding the heel collar and tongue might lead to the tongue sliding down with your foot. This is fine if you’re just going for a run, but for triathlon racing it bears consideration. The benefit to this kind of tongue construction is that it’s more comfortable for higher arches or feet with greater volume across the top.
Three initial colorways have been released for the Pegasus 36: Bio Beige, Black Thunder, and Electric Green. But I think just like the Pegasus 35, more colorways are in the pipeline. The Pegasus is, after all, Nike’s shoe that can suit every runner. Check out the publicity shots below.
The Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 36 is now available at Nike Park U.P. Town Center, Alabang Town Center, Glorietta, Greenbelt 3, The Fort, Podium, North Triangle, Circuit, Robinsons Ermita, Eastwood, Festival Mall, Ayala Feliz, Ayala Center Cebu, Robinsons Galleria, Gateway Mall, Fairview Terraces, SM Fairview, Limketkai Mall Cagayan De Oro, The District Imus, Nike Forum Harbor Point, and Robinsons Magnolia stores, priced at Php 6,295.
