The Nike Pegasus 31 is a dependable neutral road shoe with 10mm offset, new lateral crash rail and continued zoom air cushioning. With an obvious ascetic overhaul this edition feels much the same. Nike is following the trend towards a more neutral stance decreasing it’s drop to 10mm, down 2mm from last season. The mid-foot allowed for descent turn over without that marshmallow absorption but the Brooks Ghost delivered more of a cloud like feel with similar speed. The outsole has no crevasses to pick up rocks or road debris and was great on dense packed stone. The Nike Pegasus is reluctant to change but that’s why prior wearers and deep cushion aficionados will continue to flock to this shoe.

Comfort 
The upper was revamped to include an engineered exterior mesh overlaying a thick sock liner. The inner liner is thicker than any sock I own. Still, I did wear Fits socks and runners who like padded socks may want to downgrade to keep a solid lock. The heel counter has a deeper collar than the Mizuno Wave Paradox but was snug yet comfortable transitioning through loading phase.

Fit 
The length of the Nike Pegasus 31 is more generous than I would expect. The forefoot width was increased from the Pegasus 30 but still feels average through the mid to forefoot with wider options available. The liner did provide a snug lock around the mid foot but was uncomfortably hot on mid day summer runs.

Speed
At 10.4 ounces, the Nike Pegasus 31 is average weight and felt comparable to the Brook Ghost 7 or Asics Gel Pursuit. Tempo runs felt rather typical. With sprinting my up cantered (right) hamstring took a beating without consciously attempting to windup my cadence. An addition of rear lateral crash rails guided the inherent transition from heel contact to the medial ray while providing a touch of stability.

Stability 
A prominent lateral relief offered more of a direct heel contact. Total ground contact outsole gave a nice ground feel without any intrusive plastic posting or plates. There is no boggy mid foot robbing the supinator or medial posting intruding the pronator, truly a neutral shoe.

Responsiveness 
Zoom air cushioning continued to deliver Pegasus’ trademark cushion feel. Nike claims a microfiber tensile unit is supposed to store and rebound into toe off. While lighter weight than comparable gel and dense foam, I did not feel super rebound or speed.

Value 
At $100 the Pegasus 31 is a penny cruncher’s friend. I suspect this shoe would get more miles than my average trainer given it’s external rubber and based upon it’s predecessor’s reputation.