Breakdown

Comfort: 8.4

The Air Zoom unit underfoot, the midsole foam and the added cushioning in the heel collar make these Nike Vapor Pro 3s a plush choice for the action on court. Tiffani was pleasantly surprised by how well these shoes fit her and how they felt during play. She said, "I have historically found Nike shoes to not fit my feet super well. They're often tight for my wider feet, but these Vapor Pro 3s ended up fitting me quite nicely. When I first slipped them on, they felt a little snug, but not uncomfortably so. The uppers are a tightly knit material, and after about four hours, they relaxed enough that I didn't feel squeezed at all. I still have a pair of Vapor Pro 2s that I tried on to get a feel for how the cushioning might have changed. I thought there was a more cushioned, softer feel under my feet with the Vapor Pro 3s. I had no real complaints when it came to the overall comfort and I experienced no arch pain, so I felt supported there. I only remember my feet getting warm once; on the day we shot the video we had unseasonably warm temperatures."

Zsofi compared this new version to the previous model. She said, "The Vapor Pro 2s were one of my all-time favorite shoes, so I came into this playtest with pretty high expectations. Right out of the box, the new Vapor Pro 3s felt very comfortable. I would say the comfort levels were very similar to the Vapor Pro 2s, but a bit different. I know that the Air Zoom units are much smaller in this update, which to me made the shoes feel a bit less bouncy, and they provided me with less of a rebound sensation than I used to get from the Vapor Pro 2s. So, it is just a different type of comfort in a sense."

These shoes didn't take long to conform to Brittany's feet. She explained, "When I slipped the Vapor Pro 3s on my feet I noticed a snug medium width (spoiler alert: this changed by the end of the playtest), a standard length and optimal arch support. I noticed plush cushioning underneath my heels, around my ankles and on the tongues. We playtested the shoes in the winter months, but one of the last days that I was testing them was on the warmer side, and I found the airflow to be just OK."

While Michelle appreciated the extra cushioning in certain areas of these shoes, she would have liked more padding under the forefoot. She said, "Having playtested several versions of the Nike Vapors from the past, of course I was excited to try these new Vapor Pro 3s! From the first step in, I thought the heel collars felt plusher, and the underfoot cushioning was on par with the previous versions. They fit my medium-width feet perfectly in width and length, and I had zero break-in period. As I wore them on the court, I found that the Air Zoom units did feel a bit bouncier and more effective than in the previous Vapor Pro 2s. As the test went on, I noticed some soreness in my forefoot when I was drilling intensely, and I was craving a tad more cushioning, with more padding between me and the court."

Foot Support / Stability: 7.9

Often with court shoes, lighter weight comes at the expense of stability. With the Vapor Pro 3s, Nike did a great job of finding a good balance between support and stability while keeping the shoes on the low end of the weight spectrum. The new lacing design kept Michelle's feet locked in. She described, "I enjoyed the updated lacing system on these shoes and felt it allowed me to cinch up the laces, which I correlate to good support through the uppers. I was also happy that these shoes offered good stability, since sometimes lighter shoes are a bit less stable."

Using the extra set of eyelets did the trick for Tiffani. She explained, "I didn't use the final eyelets for the first hour and I didn’t have a secure feel in the heels. After lacing up through those last eyelets my heels felt locked in, and I had no issues for the duration of the review. As I mentioned, the uppers did relax for me after about four hours of court time. That didn't affect my support levels at all, and the shoes were able to hold my feet just fine."

Zsofi had a similar experience. She added, "I found stability to be pretty good in the Vapor Pro 3s, but I definitely needed to utilize the second eyelets to feel more locked in. Even then, it took quite a few hours to get to where my feet felt stable in the shoes and weren't moving around too much, and my laces weren't tied too tightly. On the other hand, I definitely enjoyed the low-to-the-ground feel I was getting from the shoes, which felt very similar to the Vapor Pro 2s."

With feet that are on the narrow side, Brittany had to make adjustments to try to find the stability she was looking for.. She said, "The support and stability category was ever-changing for me. The first thing I noticed was that I struggled to get a locked-in feel around the heels. Every time I would take a step, the shoes would flare out. I used the last eyelets to attempt to fix the problem, and it definitely reduced the issue, but it didn't fully solve it. Additionally, I found myself constantly retying my laces throughout a hitting session to try to get a better fit. That issue, combined with feeling slightly higher off the ground, made the ankle stability just OK, and I would have liked more. At the beginning of the playtest, the snug medium fit was great for my narrow feet, and they were nicely supported within the shoes. However, the uppers opened up as the playtest wore on, creating some room within the shoes. I found my feet moving inside the shoes, most noticeably during side-to-side movement. By the end of the playtest there was just too much room within the shoes for my narrow feet."

Overall Sole Durability: 8.1

The outsoles and toe guards of the Nike Vapor Pro 3s held up pretty well for our crew during testing. Brittany really put her Vapor Pro 3s through their paces, and she was more than pleased with the results. She explained, "I have been playing a lot of tennis lately, so I got easily 15-plus hours on these shoes on a variety of indoor and outdoor hard court surfaces. I will also note I playtested the PRM colorway that was designed for the Australian Open and features a color-changing outsole. The durability exceeded my expectations, and apart from the color-changing aspect of the outsoles (thin layers of colors would reveal other colors underneath), I was seeing little to no wear. This was the same for the toe bumpers and the well-protected uppers."

Zsofi noted a distinct improvement in durability for this version of the Nike Vapor Pros. She said, "I noticed that Nike made some improvements to the outsole quality. I remember that the Vapor Pro 2s did have a durability issue where the outsoles would wear down too fast. I was very glad to see that this aspect of the shoes has been improved, and with the Vapor Pro 3s, I barely saw any wear even after a good 20-plus hours!"

The color-changing outsoles of the PRM version of these Vapor Pro 3s impressed Michelle. She noted, "These aren't going to be the most durable shoes out there, but I am not very hard on my outsoles. We got to wear the Aussie Open colorway that had color-changing outsoles, which were pretty cool as well, so they started changing colors with wear instead of just looking worn out."

These shoes met Tiffani's expectations in the durability department. She said, "I've logged more than 15 hours on hard courts in my Vapor Pro 3s, and I am seeing some wear. I would call the durability about average for shoes of this weight, and I'm satisfied with how well they're holding up. I'm not a slider, so I can't say how the uppers would hold up to really aggressive sliding, but for my toe dragging, the bumpers offered plenty of protection."

Traction: 8.6

Our whole playtest team was happy with the traction of the Nike Vapor Pro 3s, and it was Brittany's favorite aspect of the testing. She said, "A highlight of the Vapor Pro 3s was the traction. The outsoles had the perfect blend of give and grip, which allowed me to feel very confident in my movement. I could trust the shoes to grip the court when needed but still have a little give so I didn't feel stuck. This allowed me to move seamlessly in and out of my shots and feel connected to the court."

The traction of the Vapor Pro 3s did not disappoint Michelle. She said, "I was happy with the traction levels of these shoes. No complaints; the outsoles have the right amount of tack and give without being too slippery."

Traction was so optimal for Tiffani that she never gave it a second thought. She explained, "Thinking back to all my hours on court with these Vapor Pro 3s, I can't remember having any issues with traction. I never thought about my movement while wearing these shoes, so I have nothing but positive feedback for the traction levels."

Zsofi enjoyed playing with the Vapor Pro 3's mix of give and grip. She added, "Overall, I would say that the outsoles of the Vapor Pro 3s were a bit on the slippery side. Now, this was not something I minded, because I like to have a bit more give than grip."

Weight: 8.3

The Nike Vapor Pro 3s weigh in at 12.1 ounces (size 8.5), keeping them on the low end of the weight spectrum for court shoes. Michelle felt light on her feet. She described, "These shoes felt pretty light and fast for me. They actually weigh only slightly less than the previous version, but to me, they feel lighter than that, which is nice. I would call them lightweight shoes. I felt quick in them and never felt slow or weighed down."

The balance of weight and stability in the Vapor Pro 3s impressed Tiffani. She said, "These shoes are plenty light for me on court. I don't think they're the lightest or the fastest shoes, but I like how the Vapor Pro 3s balance the cushioning, stability and speed. Although I like to feel fast on court, I also appreciate some protection underfoot."

Zsofi had a similar experience. She added, "I know some of the other playtesters had the same sensation, which is interesting. For me, I think it may have something to do with the uppers being bulky and folding in a weird way with each step, making the movements less soft and aerodynamic as the previous version was." 

While her movement wasn't affected too much, Brittany preferred the previous generation of Vapor Pros when discussing the weight balance. She explained, "Weight is a hard category for me because for some reason this update felt heavier to me than the previous generation. However, on paper they were virtually the same weight. This may be because I felt like the heel-to-toe transition wasn't as smooth, or because I felt a little higher off the ground, or my feet were moving around within the shoes, but these just didn't feel quite as speedy as the Vapor Pro 2s. Nonetheless, I still was able to move decently well, and the weight didn't affect my overall play."

Breakdown Summary