Review of Nike Free 5.0 iD Men's Running Shoe

Nike Free 5.0 iD Men's Running Shoe Review
STYLE # / COLOR #: 653713-991
SIZE: 10
COLOR: Multi-Color/Multi-Color
YEAR: 2014

My feet are flat and narrow. If you look at my wet footprint, you see the whole foot. So anything I say about fit only applies to people that have the same weirdness that my foot is. Along with the flat feet, I also pronate.

Day 1: Wednesday, October 22, 2014
When I first put them on, I thought "I would not have bought these at the store, had I tried them on first." It seems that the back of my heel sinks in too far, putting more pressure on the front of my heel. Without tightening the laces much at all, the laces seemed tight. There's a little too much room around my toes. Even the picture of my order below looks like the toe area is a little too roomy.

Computer generated image of Nike Free 5.0 iD, customized on nike.com

I spent the extra money to customize these shoes because I've always liked the way Nikes fit and feel, but I really don't like their color schemes. The super-bright colors, and obnoxious fluorescent highlights draw too much attention to my feet. I don't want to have to say "hey, my face is up here. You can look at me when we're talking, not my shoes".

The colors available on nike.com are still mostly obnoxious, with no earth tones, so I went with a gray/black look.

Here's a picture of the actual product. Since I ordered mine, they have changed the pattern for the base color, so you can't order your shoes to look exactly like these any more. The deep royal blue is actually much darker than it appears online, and without a hint of purple in it.

After wearing them the first few hours, they were still comfortable, and the unevenness I felt in the heel wasn't bothering me even though I could still notice it. I went for a short jog, and they felt good. The sole felt grippy on the concrete. My feet felt stable while jogging in these shoes.

The tongue is surprisingly thin. The top part feels like thin suede leather, but I'm pretty sure it's synthetic. The flywires hold the laces firmly, so you can't get more than the first loop of laces tight by just pulling on the ends.

Taking out the insert, I saw that they added some color for me on the threads that hold the top to the sole. But I had no idea why there was a hole in the center of each heel.

Right shoe, shown with insert removed

Left shoe, shown with insert removed

Day 2: Thursday October 23, 2014
After I put these on this morning, my left heel felt like it was in a hole again. The right heel felt fine. I'm beginning to think there's a manufacturing defect in the left sole. Or my foot is misshapen. (See my disclaimer at the top of this post.)

I had to loosen the laces again, and then they weren't so tight. I'm used to tightening laces when I put shoes on. With these, I need to just tie the laces without tightening them. Most shoes are a little too wide for me. These seem narrow in the laces, and wide in the toes. But they're shaped more like a real foot than any of the other shoes I have ever had.

After all day in these shoes, I feel fine, so I must be related to the princess from "The Princess and the Pea".

Nike Free 5.0 iD country of origin

The sole is very flexible because it's not only soft, it also has deep slices cut into it in a hexagonal pattern. Most shoes have a layer of hard rubber on the bottom of the sole. These have small areas of hard rubber. The dark patches in this photo are the hard rubber areas. If you want to sneak up on someone, these are the shoes for you. They're quiet. I'm wondering how unevenly they're going to wear with my pronation. If they could move the hard rubber from the outside edge to the inside edge of the heel, that would work great for me.

Black areas on the sole are hard rubber

My feet sweat, even when they're cold. So at the end of the day, I pulled the insert out and it was moist. I could see moisture on the top of the sole where the insert was. Judging by how soaked the insert was, and how wet it was underneath the inserts, I'm thinking it would be a good idea to take out the inserts at the end of the day and let them dry out.

The inserts are cloth-on-foam, with an OrthoLife stamp under the arch. The other markings are OD-39, MS10, WS11.5, probably indicating size.

Sole insert, bottom side

Sorry about the lines in the photo. That's an interference pattern between my flashlight's LED flash rate and the phone's CCD scan rate.

Day 3: Friday October 23, 2014
At the end of the day, I think I'm getting used to these shoes. I'm liking them more. I wouldn't recommend a flat-footed person buy them without trying them on though. Maybe the Free 3.0 would be better if you're looking for a thinner, minimal shoe. Or the LunarGlide 6 would be a good choice for stability for flat feet. But for our arched brethren, I think these shoes would be awesomely comfortable.

One thing I really like is how I can take corners running at high speed and the shoe is still stable without having to tighten up the laces. Part of the stability comes from the sole being thin. For an opposite example, think high heels, the paragon of instability. Like a low-to-the-ground sports car, these shoes corner well. I like the light weight. There's just enough shoe there to do everything a running shoe needs to.

Day 365: October 21, 2015
After about a year of daily use, these shoes are about worn out. The insoles got holes in them, so I replaced them about a month ago. The soles are wearing down. I put them through the washing machine a couple times during the year. The mesh has one hole in it. But no seams are separating, and the glue is still holding them together. If they fit you and are comfortable, I'd recommend them. Personally, I'll try something different next time that fits my oddly shaped feet better.