Fast Facts
Weight9.6 ounces
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Best SurfacePavement or Gravel
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Purchase Price$70.00
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The Introduction
This here is the story of want and need. The need for a good all-around outdoor shoe that has enough grit for light hiking trails, ability to roam a few good miles of single-track or be flexible enough to saunter into the gym and hit the treadmill. The want is identifying a good looking shoe and figuring out how to incorporate it into your outdoor shoe arsenal. Then the want becomes a story of selling the “need” and now it’s an interpersonal entanglement. The same is said for the Nike juniper, a shoe that has the word trail on it, looks sporty, is eye catching and made by a very WELL-KNOWN brand. Let's run (pun intended) the Nike Juniper trail running shoe through the cycle and see if it warrants your need and want.
First Impressions
Out of the box impression the Nike juniper was as expected. This is a great looking shoe with attractive contrasting colors of black with electric blue and red. Truly these shoes go against the grain of current fashion trends for all white shoes. The Juniper is noticeable lightly with the body of the shoe being very pliable. This as opposed to what you would find in a hiking shoe, there is no rock plate for shock absorption, and there is also no toe cap to protect your little piggies from rocks and debris. The shoe by appearance alone is flexing to be my next trail runner. Let’s hit a trail and see how they perform.
The Performance
The junipers are quite comfortable thanks to the thick cushion sole (runner esque) and limits the impact for the trail on things like compacted dirt and roots. The Juniper struggles with rocks and uneven tough topography because without a rock plate it has limited shock absorption. They provide adequate ankle support and allow for flexibility to pivot, change of direction or for reactionary movements. The shoe sports good lug depth but for some reason just never gains the traction needed to give full comfort to the user. Would I trust it on a rock scramble? No. Would I trust it on wet trail surfaces? No. Before I start to sound like a line from green eggs and ham, take heed that the shoe is not going to provide grip. Back to the trail, throughout the seven mile journey the shoe performed well enough to avoid injury, it stumbled in tricky footing areas yet provided comfort and flexibility for the entire trip. I came away from the hike without my feet feeling tired, sweaty or beaten up. While this trail was not the most difficult its terrain was a nice testing ground
Testing Grounds
Compton Peak: (7.0 MILES)
To be fair, this trail was modified from the Shenandoah National Park advertised 2.4 miles round trip. I concocted an upgrade to be a robust 7.0 miles to include Jenkins gap, Compton peak and Windham rocks. The trail uses the Appalachian trail and offers a potpourri of rocks, roots, stones, compacted dirt with an elevation gain of 650ft. The Into To The Yonder trail rating is moderate due to the distance however the trail topography is completely manageable for a trail running shoe.
To be fair, this trail was modified from the Shenandoah National Park advertised 2.4 miles round trip. I concocted an upgrade to be a robust 7.0 miles to include Jenkins gap, Compton peak and Windham rocks. The trail uses the Appalachian trail and offers a potpourri of rocks, roots, stones, compacted dirt with an elevation gain of 650ft. The Into To The Yonder trail rating is moderate due to the distance however the trail topography is completely manageable for a trail running shoe.
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Love
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The Wrap
This is a solid shoe for beginners, gym rats or very light trail (see also paved, gravel, nature walks). I chuckle at manufacturers when they put words on the actual product like they do here with “trail”. Its purposefully there to send the message that the Nike Junipers should have some form of trail cred but realistically its not what they are meant for. I wear them routinely for neighborhood walks, gravel trails or to the gym and I can know that my feet are going to be taken care of.
