Two New Pairs of Nike Frees! 3.0 v5 and 5.0+.

I am not a huge fan of my current Nike Free 3.0 v3.  When I first bought them I thought they were very cool since they were my first pair of "minimalist" shoes.  The lightweight alone made me ecstatic.  But after having tried other brands, they really pale in comparison.  My main issue with them is that my feet tend to slip outwards when I wear them.  They are ok for short runs, but I cannot really wear them to do things like squats, lunges, etc. because they offer no stability.  I know I'm also not really supposed to wear running shoes for weights, but I get 3 pairs for free a year for my shoe testing, and I really like how lightweight they are.  I generally feel like it's a waste of money for me to buy other shoes throughout the year, but I'm getting tired of my shoe rotation, and Nike Frees are just really pretty.  I've also read reviews that the Nike Free 3.0 v5s are a major improvement over the prior versions.

So I figured I'd give them a try if I found them on sale.  Well, I found a pair of very pretty Pure Platinum/Dark Grey/Total Crimson/White ones for sale for $79.88 from runningwarehouse.com.  They are also offering 15% off sales price, so they are in fact $68.  Not bad at all, they are still $110 on Nike's website.  I love the light grey and bright orange color combo!

So I figured that since they are on sale, I might as well pick up another pair lol.  I have seen this violet/orange combo on everybody and their mama.  But it's a nice combo that I've been wanting for a while, so I caved and bought them too.  They are still $100 at Nordstrom, but only $59 ($69.88 +15% off) at runningwarehouse.  They are actually Nike Free 5.0+.  I understand that the higher the number, the less "minimalist" the Nike Frees are.  These are about an ounce heavier than the 3.0s, but still only about 7 oz which is like nothing.  I haven't tried 5.0s but I figure they'd probably be even better than 3.0s for weights.  Just a hunch.  The runningwarehouse offers free overnight shipping in California, and return shipping, so nothing to lose really.

Anyway, so they arrived yesterday and I think the 3.0 v5s are definitely improved over my version 3!  Well, I also got size 6.5 whereas my v3s are size 7.  So they fit snugger, and slimmer.  They actually feel a tiny bit too tight in the heel cup, but I think it will stretch out so I rather keep these than to exchange for a size 7 and have them be too big in 2 weeks.  I don't feel my feet rolling out in the front at all.  I think they are very very pretty as well.  I love the crimson color peaking out from the gray mesh overlay.  The gray is extremely light, could almost pass for some type of off-white color.  Same as my v3s, they are very soft and feel more like a sock than a shoe.

The 5.0+s are actually slightly bigger fitting than the 3.0s in the same size (6.5).  So they fit perfectly right now.  No discomfort whatsoever.  Their heel height is supposed to be 2mm higher than the 3.0s, and the rise in these are 9mm, vs 4mm in the 3.0s.  So it sounds like they should feel quite different.  But they really don't.  I'm not even sure if I can tell a difference between the two pairs.  

Anyway, I was thinking of maybe returning a pair, but I think I will keep both!  The prices are very good, and they are purrrty!

Here they are on me, one on each foot!  :)

I can't wait to actually wear them and try them out!!