Nike Zoom Rival Waffle 6
Just like the Saucony Havok XC3 Flat, the Nike Zoom Rival Waffle 6 is a racing flat that has really quick heel lift.
However, the big difference between these and the previous pair I reviewed, is that the heel lockdown is a lot better, but it still has the "weightless" feeling in the heel. It feels even faster.
I found that pivoting my heels on Pump singles to use my heels for center felt really quick and really easy. Something I really liked about this pair, is that they felt like they had a really good balance of slip vs. grip without needing to give the pads and my shoes a wipe-down. It felt easy to pivot my heels and toes to minimize form on Pump and move them quickly, but I was able to easily toe off and get enough grip for doubles motions. But if I need more grip, I think giving them and the pads a wipe would be perfect.
The material used in these shoes feels SUPER durable. Something I'm noticing across a couple of these XC racing flats is that because they are tight fits, the manufacturers go out of their way to include reinforcement around the toes so that your toes don't poke through the mesh and destroy the shoe. I really like this since it was a common problem I had with my favorite pair of Asics sneakers, the GT-1000 12. I was afraid to venture to other shoes after getting very comfortable in them, so I think I ripped through like 4 pairs of that shoe blowing out the toeboxes.
The overall stiffness of the midsole and outsole on this shoe results in a really satisfying "thunk" when hitting the panels. It feels really nice for shock absorbency when playing, but also feels super stable too. It will definitely get softer/more flexible over time as the foam compresses and the shoe gets more and more worn in, but personally to me it makes the shoe feel very high quality/durable, and like it will last a long time. If you play minimally, the cushioning in this shoe feels like the perfect amount for bare-bones comfort when doing fast stuff, but not enough that you start to lose too much pad feedback.
Another thing to note, is that there is a stitched section that runs across the top of the forefoot that contributes a lot to the tightness of this shoe around the toes. If you buy this shoe in your 'exact fit' size, this stitched part (pictured below) will need time to stretch out and wear for greater forefoot flexibility. I had to loosen the laces around the front/forefoot of the shoe to make sure no extra pressure was being applied to the top part of my forefoot, and I suspect I'll need a couple more sessions in these to stretch them out fully. If you don't want to have to stretch out the shoe, I would recommend sizing up by half a size. I'm not sure though if this will affect the lockdown in the heel, but the extra holes can be used with a runner's knot to compensate if that is the case.
The upper part in the toe is angled up a tiny bit, which seems to hold true for a lot of these XC racing flats (as with running sneakers as well). Unlike running sneakers, due to the lack of a heel in racing flats, this angled toe in combination with the great heel lockdown and lack of weight makes the heel-lift feel SUPER fast when you're "toeing off". This happens a lot on doubles.
The common link between all of these XC racing flat shoes is that they have amazing "acceleration feel" when I lift my legs up, which is great on doubles. The shoes just feel like they're an extension of my body, and not some weird thing that feels disconnected from my body. There's absolutely zero "shoe lag" in these types of shoes.
The main difference between all of them is in the materials that they are made up of, which affects stiffness, sound profile, grip, and overall pad feel of the shoe. Once I have more reviewed, I'll make a little list of "softest" to "stiffest" out of the ones I've tried. These are definitely the stiffest so far, but I like them personally.
