Nike Terra Kiger 10 Review | Lacking Versatility, But Not Speed

A lightweight trail racing shoe with a Vibram outsole is what the Nike Terra Kiger 10 is designed as, it’s upfront branded on the sidewall – Nike Trail Racing.  Which right off the bat feels like this is a specific use shoe.  

Nike made some changes from the Kiger 9 to the Terra Kiger 10.  The outsole has been upgraded from a grippy rubber to the Vibram megagrip along with changing to the Cushlon 3.0 foam for this model.  

I was interested to try a unisex shoe, are they made differently, would I notice a drastically different fit to a women’s specific shoe?  Spoiler, I didn’t notice either of these, that’s not bad though. 

Also worth noting this is a unisex shoe you won’t find in the women’s trail running shoe section on the Nike website which we find very odd, so maybe it’s just a current mistake.

This shoe is great for faster, shorter runs, slower runs might start to feel fatiguing with this cushioning.

Nike Terra Kiger 10 Overview

Out of the box this shoe looks good, I would wear this out and about, not just on the trail.  It’s just one of those shoes that looks good.  It’s also immediately noticeable how light the Kiger 10 is but also feels durable.  

The Kiger 10  has had several changes from the Kiger 9.  The Kiger 10 changed from Nike’s React foam to the Cushlon 3.0 foam, both of which fall into Nike’s standard foam category.  The stack height has dropped by 2 mm.  The outsole has been upgraded to the Vibram megagrip with a slightly different lug pattern.  

I hit my usual trails and running routine to see where this shoe really shined. 

My favorite run to do with the Kiger 10 – a shorter speed session on soft rolling single track.  The Vibram sole can handle the wet, the roots, and some rocks, but there is a spot down the center of the sole that is just mid-sole foam that you can feel a rock through if you step wrong. 

On a steeper descent I felt like the cushioning should have absorbed a little more shock than it did on hard packed dirt. 

The slow, easy run of any distance seemed like a waste of the Kiger 10 and not for what it was designed.  Back to back runs didn’t give the cushioning enough time to pop back and the long, slow distance left my legs tired at the end.  

My main critique of the Nike Terra Kiger 10 is that it’s a specific purpose trail shoe.  It’s not as versatile as many trail shoes I’ve tested.  While it can handle a variety of trail conditions, it’s not my go to pick for any and every type of run day.

Nike Terra Kiger 10 Fit

The Nike Terra Kiger 10 is a unisex shoe so keep that in mind when sizing. 

I tested my normal size, a men’s 7.5/women’s 9, and this gave me slightly more than the thumb width of extra space at the end (for reference a Saucony or Brooks women’s size 9 gives me a snug thumbs width of extra space).  I’m not sure if this is due to the unisex sizing or if this shoe just runs slightly larger.

The Kiger 10 is a narrower fit that can be snugged up even more for the narrowest foot, a wider foot will find it too snug.  The narrowness is especially noticeable in the mid-foot with the connection of the tongue.  I found my heel felt really secure, which might be due to the only padding on the upper being in the heel and ankle.  

The arch feels a bit higher than other shoes, giving a nice supportive feel. 

The toebox is neither wide nor narrow, but the leno weave upper has enough give to not feel restrictive.  The tongue is attached for about two thirds of it’s length, keeping it secure throughout the run.

Nike Terra Kiger 10 Feel

The Nike Terra Kiger 10 feels light.  But that also means it feels like there is not a lot there. 

The leno weave technology is a mesh upper and really that’s about all there is to the upper, there is no padding on the top of the foot or the tongue but the ankle is padded all the way down.  The leno weave feels really durable with a nice snugness on the midfoot.  There is an openness to the weave that makes it super breathable, not waterproof but dries quickly.

Nike changed to the Vibram megagrip outsole for this model but it’s not the full outsole which feels like an incomplete upgrade.  There is a rock shield in the forefoot which is great but that combined with the incomplete Vibram coverage at the back of the foot this leaves some key places exposed to feeling the rocks on a technical trail if you land it right.

The Cushlon 3.0 foam in the midsole was firmer than I expected and at this price point, less responsive than I felt like it should have been as compared to other similarly priced trail shoes. For me, the cushioning made this a very specific type of run shoe. 

The Kiger 10 was a shoe I was happy running in for my weekly, short, speed sessions.  Touted up to a 50k, these might be better suited for even shorter trail distances.  I tried back to back days, sometimes you just have to run consecutive days on shoes, but the foam hadn’t bounced back enough on that second day for a comfortable run.  The Cushlon 3.0 midsole felt like it needed a couple days to recover.

Who Tried it

Hi, I’m Aimee, a chemist who has solved most of my work and life problems out on a trail somewhere. I signed up for my first marathon in college not knowing how long a marathon was and have been an avid runner for the last twenty years.

I typically run 30-35 miles a week chasing my two German Shorthaired Pointers, Sam and Bert, hence my instagram @runningwithsam. (Largely  I’m running whatever my RTTF Coach Laura tells me to do.)

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