Classified as a cushioned stability shoe, the Nike LunarGlide 8 is a very different looking shoe from last year’s model. The most notable difference is the disappearance of a two-piece midsole. Nike still uses Lunarlon midsole foam but it’s a much cleaner looking one piece midsole. Precession laser cuts enhance ride quality and collapse with each heel strike. Another difference is the absence of Nike’s famed Flyknit upper.  Nike replaced the extremely flexible upper with a traditional engineered mesh upper with flywire technology that wraps the midfoot. 

Comfort
The Nike LunarGlide 8 is a favorite in comfort among our testers. Nearly all the tester’s noted how the LunarGlide 8 is soft, smooth and breathable. Your feet are welcomed by Nike’s partial bootie construction, an overly comfortable sock-like lining and lightly lined foam collar and tongue to protect against hotspots.  Nike’s Lunarlon foam midsole is much softer compared to other shoes tested, which contributed to its high level of comfort, but broke down very quickly. 

Fit
A few of our testers found the fit to be a bit off, noting a roomy heel cup caused some slippage and excess space in the toe box contributed to a few caught toes while running. Nike moved away from the Flyknit upper for the LunarGllide 8 and went with a more traditional engineered mesh upper, which does provide a more secure fitting upper, but still lacks that locked in feeling one needs while ripping around turns.  

Responsiveness
While the Nike Lunarlon midsole provides exceptional comfort, it isn’t the most responsive shoe in the group.  One tester who regularly wears Nike, noted, “I was truly disappointed. The new sole is soft but does not have the same energy return I am used to with Nike.” The somewhat mushy foam absorbed impact, but sapped energy from each footstrike. 

Speed
Comfort shoes such as the LunarGlide 8’s aren’t exactly designed for speed work, however, a few of our testers put them to the test and were quite happy with the results. Reduced foam under the toe allows for flexibility and enables easy toe-off, while a lighter then average overall weight helps make the LunarGlide 8’s a better choice for faster running then the Nike Air Zoom Odyssey 2. 

Ride Quality
Despite being overly soft the one-piece Lunarlon midsole transfers energy quite smoothly through each stride. Expect a soft landing with easy toe-off.  A generous amount of foam under foot and 10mm offset protects nicely even for the hardest of heel strikers. However, be sure to steer clear of gravel or rock litter paths. The tread picked up small pebbles like glue, causing the ever-annoying mid-run rock pick.