Don't Buy the NIKE Pegasus 42 Until You See These 3 Alternatives!

Hey cats, it's your midsoul man Ed Budd here. A daily trainer shoe off today against the recently released Nike Pegasus 42 and a whole variety of available versatile daily options including brightest shoe in the universe the Adidas Adizero Evo SL woven, the huge cushion of the Mizuno Neo Zen 2 and those retro looking vibes of the Socony Azura. All of the shoes in today's video apart from the Mizuno have been purchased myself with my own credit. This isn't like a paid collaboration and industry plant and advert dressed up as a neutral video. We focus on the shoes here. Some stats for you here up on the screen right now. These are for my UK 11 or US 12 apart from the Pegasus 42 that is a UK 10 and a half US 11 and a half. So apart from the Nike shoe all have got an 8mm drop here. That drop is more apparent due to the more resilient nature of the air unit within the Pegasus 42 and react foam combo. Does seem to hold its shape a little bit more. It doesn't sort of crumple as much as the other foam only shoes. Nike shoe is easily the heaviest at 332 grams for my UK 10 and a half. So do bear that in mind. 70 grams heavier than the Evo SL. It is quite apparent on foot too. Similar forefoot widths though between the Nike and Adidas shoes. The Neo Zen 2 is by far the widest in the heel if you like a nice significant surface area to land on. In fact the Pegasus and the Evo SL have got very similar forefoot and heel stack and they are exactly the same price at retail here in the UK 130 earth credits. So between these two they're probably the ones that you'd find if you walked into JD Sports or like Sports Direct here in the UK. Same price are they the same? Well no there's quite a lot of differences here. Similar stacks here between the two shoes very very close. The Nike shoe is by far the more stable of the two though. It's got a sort of dense foam and air unit setup versus the pretty much foam only Evo SL. Yes you got that plastic shank in there but it doesn't create that much rigidity. I mean stark contrast here you could say like if you went into the multiverse there is another universe out there where Nike decided to place Zoom X into their shoe back in 2021 and they took over the daily shoe market. Though that's not what happened Adidas decided to put Lightstrike Pro into their shoe back in 2024 and yeah for some it's great. I mean it does soften up over time gives you a nice lovely nimble feeling on foot and perhaps up there for more higher paced daily training or tempo efforts. But while some people love that sort of thing I know a lot of people out there will want a more sort of controlled shoe and a more stable ride and I feel that's where there is still perhaps a place for the Pegasus 42. Full length zoom air here gives you a nice predictable landing platform perhaps a slightly more structured approach and some people might want that in their running shoe they don't want something that's sort of very light and perhaps lacking in that sort of heel stability. It's certainly a more present shoe on foot that's for sure there's a huge weight difference between the two. You've certainly got a lot more padding across the top of the foot here in the Pegasus 42. It's a lot more sort of comfortable and plush and more of a heel counter and structured feel back there in the rear of the shoe. I mean it's almost like a stability option now and that does ask the question as to where that leaves the structure lineup. I mean if you've got some light stability requirements then the Pegasus 42 is perhaps a much better option for you than the Evo SL. I mean the Evo SL is much closer to being a sort of tempo or racer in all aspects. I was talking to a big owl the other day on a longer run and he said why not actually race in this shoe if you don't want a plated option. I mean I doubt he'd say the same about the Pegasus 42. It's very much a trainer and position so grip wise I do feel the traction on the Evo SL is better than the 42. It's more than enough here in both shoes really for road and pavement. If you're doing something perhaps on some sort of light trail maybe the Pegasus is a bit better but they are scaled back. Those waffle lugs are only really in the forefoot area now. Not really an area of expertise for the Evo SL. I think I'd pick something else if I was going to run on some sort of more varied terrain and surfaces. It does make me wonder whether they've scaled back the lugs here due to the fact they've got that ACG Pegasus trail out at the same time. Maybe so you have to dip in and grab that shoe as well if you're going to be doing some light trails. If you're traveling for work or something and you need a shoe that can cater for everything maybe the Pegasus is a slightly better option. The Evo SL is just more performance orientated and you can't get away from that. It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. So if you're a lighter runner and you don't need that sort of more structured approach I think the Evo SL was a better bet. Now we don't have quite the same weight difference here between the Socony Azura and the Pegasus 42 but there is still quite a significant weight loss between the Nike and the Socony in favor of this one. A lot more surface area in fact especially in the heel in the Azura. A bit more airy perhaps in terms of that midsole material doesn't feel quite so dense despite the fact we got those tightly packed Peeba based pellets that we've got in the Power Run PB foam. I think the width here makes this one a more attractive long range option perhaps if you're doing some training for a full or half marathon then the Azura might be a slightly more versatile shoe choice for you. I mean the Pegasus is okay for those sort of daily shorter miles though I found myself actually enjoying them more on some hill work the other day. I think it's something to do with that sort of higher drop here. Certainly the drop is more prominent and noticeable in the Pegasus over the Azura. Feels like the Socony really wants to be used as a sort of faster cadence shoe engaging the heel a little bit more where I wanted to land further up in the mid to forefoot in the Pegasus shoe. Feels to some extent like the Azura's got a better balance between the upper and the midsole whereas actually there's quite a lot of weight here in the upper though I do prefer the tongue in the Pegasus 42 over the Azura. Just wish they kept this a little bit more simple. Certainly a more plush feel to the Pegasus this time around. You still have 50 grams less weight here in the Socony shoe that is quite noticeable when you get the shoes on foot. I mean you could say that's not really a big issue if you're just looking at a trainer but for many they just want a nimble and enticing shoe to get them out there and I feel that the Socony is a better option if that is how you feel. Yes we do have a Pegasus Plus 2 coming with sort of alpha fly like air units in the forefoot but is that going to make the shoe any lighter? I mean it's mainly down to the foam here. React is just quite a dense and sort of weighty foam. I do like though the Pegasus 42 aesthetically over the Socony. More in tune with their sort of sleek vibes here. It's a nice looking shoe this time around but again at those sort of marathon tempo speeds the Azura is just a more versatile option. Just feels a bit more like hard work in the 42 at that type of pace. All right I got one more for you. The Neo Zen 2 from Mizuno is a lot more cushioned. There's a lot more foam underfoot here. There's a really nice compression to the anazine next midsole material. I think they're getting that extra stack in mainly because you've got a lower drop in this shoe. It almost feels like a max cushioned shoe compared to the Pegasus. Yes it's a little more expensive but I feel the Neo Zen 2 is just a more versatile option. Feels good through easy paces up to maybe like marathon pace for me. Again there's a lot of shoe here in terms of surface area. Just comparing the two especially in the heel there it does feel like a more stable shoe. More like a competitor to the Fomero Plus perhaps. A lot of people tell me that this shoe isn't as soft as the first version. I'm not sure I'd want anything more cushioned for like daily use. It's kind of an overkill for me. Grip on the whole is fine in the Neo Zen 2. You've got that smoother rubber here but on pavements and road it's not really much of an issue. But there is a lot more rubber here in the Neo Zen 2 versus the Pegasus. They've chosen to sort of hollow out some of the foam and as such you lose some surface area in favor of this sort of like trampoline type attempt. But I'm not really sure it's all that noticeable. I don't feel there's a huge comparison to be made really between the Enazine X material here and the React X. I always thought React X doesn't really feel all that different to the stuff we had back in like 2018. I remember running in the Zune Fly and that was a great shoe. Worked very very well but you know we've moved on. I think if you want a more traditional looking running shoe then you probably go for the Pegasus 42. If you don't mind the slightly wild elf-like looks here of the Neo Zen 2 it's going to give you a really nice comfortable upper and supreme amount of cushion underfoot. Just have to get past that elf-like protrusion here at the back. So I think if I had to take one of the two it's just a little bit more fun to run in this one. That's all my comparisons for today up against some of those sort of top daily trainers that are available right now. All coming in around that same price range. I guess you could also compare it up a little bit to the Nova Blast but again that's just a very very cushioned shoe compared to this one. You still have some plushness in the Nova Blast 5 but there's just more surface area there. It's just a slightly more sort of cushioned and I guess more modern ride. This is a quite firm shoe really in comparison. Are you picking up the Pegasus 42? Are you a fan of the line or have you moved over to some other options out there in 2026? Let me know your thoughts and opinions down in the comments. Quick musical interlude for you today from Jack White with a recent EP. It's kind of like a single release I guess called Dorichi Demonico. This track is nuts. It features some incredible guitar sounds. Loads of effects being applied to Jack White's guitar. Really interesting tones here. Stuff that we haven't really heard before from a guitar I suppose. Some real funky elements as well. There's a real wonderful groove that the whole band are kind of locked in with. Interesting vocal performance as well. It's a little bit clearer perhaps than normal. Jack White adopting a more sort of traditional sort of blues turnaround style I suppose. There's some great live performances of this track as well out there if you go and search them out. I think he was on Saturday Night Live performing a couple of tunes and they sound absolutely fantastic. Go and check this one out from Jack White. It's called Dorichi Demonico. Thanks for tuning in people. I hope you enjoyed today's video. If you're yet to do so, hit that subscribe button, give this video a thumbs up like and drop a comment for the algorithm. My name's Ed Budd and I'll be seeing you.