Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2 Review – A Great Training Shoe!
A training shoe can be quite beneficial for a variety of reasons, which include, increased stability, increased overall performance and I find are usually better made then a standard running shoe. Today I will be doing a Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2 review, this is a shoe that I have had for around a year now and overall, I am quite impressed! Within this review I will be giving an overview, going into detail on the durability, performance and appearance of the shoe. I will then give a closing opinion. Enjoy!
Overview:
This shoe is made of a lightweight and breathable material called flyknit, with sticky rubber at the forefoot and textured rubber for the midsole. The heel is made of a softer rubber as well as hard durable rubber which is used for reducing drag on certain exercises. It currently comes in 7 different colours on Nike’s website, however, you can find many other colours from other websites. Some notable features that I find to be quite helpful include the Flywire, mesh heel area, and the “sock-like” material to secure your foot which replaces the tongue. I find these features allow for a more secure foot, keeping your foot cool and a more comfortable overall feel. You can check them out on Nike’s website for even more information! Let’s get into the rest of the article.
Durability:
As always, durability is the first aspect of a product I talk about because I feel it is the most important. If a product doesn’t last, it doesn’t make sense to spend your hard-earned money on it despite how well it may work. Overall, I would say the Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2’s have great durability. Let’s get into why I think this.
As I said, I have had this shoe for over a year now, so I am able to give a very sound opinion on its durability. I would describe this shoe as a tough, very resilient yet rather flexible and comfortable shoe. I feel this is attributed to by the lightweight but “tough” flyknit, the hard and durable rubber bottom makes for a stable lifting platform while being well made. It is the perfect balance between tough but not crazy stiff and flexible with a contouring fit without being flimsy. Also worth noting is there is a squeaky insole when it is flexed, however, I never notice this as I always have music in when training. It is something to consider though.
Because of all this, I give this shoe an 8/10 on durability. The only reason it did not receive a perfect score is that there are some signs of wear in areas such as the heel, with very minor loose lettering and a wrinkled soft rubber area. There is also noticeable rubber damage on one small spot on the front toe area, however, it is also very minor. Now as I said these are both minor things, but, they are worth pointing out seeing as I do not do CrossFit which would be much more stressful on the shoe. All in all, seeing as I have owned this shoe for about a year now, they have held up very, very nicely!
Performance:
It is now time to talk about what I am sure you’re all wanting to know, does this shoe actually work? After all, even if a product lasts there is no point in owning it if it doesn’t do its job. A piece of steel will last forever, but I bet it won’t serve much of a purpose for most.
It is first important to know the main objective of the product, in this case, it is to provide a stable yet flexible and comfortable feel for lifting. This is very important for training with heavyweight especially exercises with lots of moving parts, and of course different forms of endurance training. You also need to feel comfortable in your shoes throughout the duration of the workout. You don’t need to be distracted by your heel slipping up and rubbing against the shoe.
I would say this shoe performs quite well overall, with some minor exceptions. The tough and well put together rubber outsole provides a very stable feeling, I do not feel like I am moving or “leaking” energy at all throughout heavy compound movements like the squat or snatch. In other words, the shoe doesn’t have any give to it from a compression standpoint. As far as flexibility goes, I would say it does a good job overall. I feel like there is plenty of flexibility in the forefoot, while not being too flimsy that you have no stability for lateral type movements. Where I think the shoe lacks flexibility is from the mid-point and back. I think this can be attributed to the tough rubber outsole material coming up a bit into the shoe, as well as the stiff rubber side pieces located near the heel which are there to reduce drag during rope movements. I often find it is tough for me to move freely when doing exercises involving sprints or agility, such as the 5-10-5 because of this. I don’t personally mind this because that isn’t the main reason why I bought the shoe, it was for lifting and it isn’t hugely noticeable anyways. As far as comfort goes, this is about as best as it gets for a training shoe, it strikes the perfect balance between stability and forgiveness; which makes for the perfect comfort level. Not too sturdy, and not too loose. Some factors that definitely contribute to the comfort would be the lightweight and breathable flyknit construction, contouring sock-like fit that locks in your ankle/foot and the smooth padded feel of the inner material. This together makes for a very comfortable shoe!
I would give this shoe an overall performance rating of 8/10, it does the job of being stable and comfortable very well. However, I feel like there is some room for improvement in certain parts of the shoe for flexibility. Overall, this shoe does its job very well!
Appearance:
Appearance is of course not the most important thing to a product, however, if you are going to buy something you might as well like the way it looks. I think the Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2’s are quite an eye-pleasing shoe, I would say one of, if not the best on the market.
I personally have the metamorphic colourway, which you cannot currently find on Nike’s website, however, it can be found on others. I chose this colourway because I’ve always liked how white pops, and with the black and marble accents it couldn’t look better. I find it has a very eye-catching modern look while not being too overpowering. There are many other colourways and “special additions” you can get on Nike’s website which look quite nice as well. You can also find older colourways on other websites as there were some very nice looking original ones.
All in all, I would give this shoe a 10/10 on appearance. There isn’t any place Nike could’ve done better on the colourway I have, and from what I can tell the same applies to the other colourways. If appearance is important to you, (which it certainly is for me), then these shoes are definitely the ones for you!
Closing Opinion:
As I am sure you can now tell from my article on the Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2 review, this is quite an impressive shoe, I would give an overall rating of 8/10. It does a perfect job of striking the balance between being well-made and durable while still having the performance attributes of stability, flexibility and comfort. Of course, it doesn’t look half bad either. This shoe is perfect for those who don’t just do one type of training, that’s why I got them myself. I was doing different types of training at different times, such as powerlifting where I needed the stability, circuit training where flexibility and stability were key; and it was also nice to have a flashy shoe that was comfortable and performed well for my hypertrophy training. So if you’re looking for a shoe that can perform for various types of training… even CrossFit I suppose, haha, then this is the shoe for you!
P.S – This shoe would actually make for a great CrossFit shoe because CrossFit incorporates different types of training which is where this shoe thrives!
If you are interested in this shoe, I will be leaving a link below where you can find them:
Order them from Amazon
Order From Rogue
I thank you for taking the time to read this review, I hope you were able to benefit from the information! As always, if you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to leave them below and I will be sure to reply!
Be ready for my next article, which I will be posting later in the week!
Until Next Time,
Kohl Johnson
Please refer to my liability disclaimer to ensure you know who is responsible for use of this information after reading.
Support is much appreciated if you benefited from this:
Hey there Kohl,
Thanks for this review. That’s a great-looking pair of shoes, I really dig the design. Not a fan of the design of many Adidas shoes these days, but those Nike shoes really appeal to me. And you say it’s very durable? That’s clearly what I need. I’m always outside, walking and running and use my shoes real fast. I checked on Amazon on the link you provided. They’re quite expensive and I prefer them in grey. I found the grey ones but they’re even more expensive lol. Anyway, thanks for the review. I guess if I want something good, I need to pay the price.
My pleasure! I love the design as well! That is correct, these shoes are very durable. I wouldn’t say there the best day to day shoe, they will be alright for running but I say there are better options for that. Other types of training especially with weights is where they thrive. You can check them out on Eastbay if you like, they have them in many colours and for a bit cheaper. Amazon was the link I had for use, and many people order with Amazon because they prefer to and or have Prime. Best of luck!
Thank you so much for your review of the Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2, I was searching reviews of this trainer basically because I thought it looked so nice. However, I’m not prepared to spend that amount on a shoe unless I know it is going to last and do all I ask of it. I can’t afford to have a sports shoe for every different activity and although I tend to cross train, sometimes I may play tennis, other times basketball, or just to a bit of bagwork and skipping. I’m now over 50 so nothing is to serious but based on your review I reckon it’s a trainer that I could use for most of my activities and still use it as a casual shoe. The colour of the shoe in your article is my preferred. Thanks again for your review, I’ll let you know how I get on.
Glad you found my review helpful, sounds like it would be a great shoe for your! You can find it a bit cheaper and in the colour way I have on other websites such as Eastbay, however Amazon was the link I had for use and it can be a preferred ordering spot for people especially if they have Prime. Good luck with whichever decision you make!
Hi Kohl,
Thank you for your review of the Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2. I have been looking for a training shoe for a few months now, but I am just nervous that I won’t get the right one. I am curious though what exactly these shoes are good for. I exercise daily and run but what was wondering are they also good for recreational sports like basketball or dodgeball? Thanks again for your review.
David
Hi David, no problem! These would be quite good for your training purposes and would do well for running too if you didn’t want to buy 2 different shoes. I haven’t run longer distances extensively in them however I have heard from other reviewers that they would be good up to a 5K. As far your basketball and dodgeball needs, these would work just fine for that as well if you didn’t want to purchase a separate pair of shoes dedicated specifically to that.
Thanks for the review. I am joining for the marathon next year do you think they will be durable for that heavy training. I have started training already and I notice that the heels started to wear out. Also will this be good for cold weather? lol it’s a funny question, it does get really cold here in NYC and I know after you run for awhile you get warm, but right after I have to take public transportation and it gets too cold!
Those 2 questions are my only concern. Thanks!
Hi Nuttanee, no problem! While these shoes would work just fine for running up to around a 5K and more so if you were combining it with weight training I wouldn’t suggest them for a Marathon shoe. I believe you could get much better shoes for marathon training. As for your other question, I don’t think these shoes are meant to keep your feet warm, haha. However I haven’t used them in the cold before.
My husband and I are starting a training/walking routine and both of us need good, supportive shoes. It’s hard to tell whether shoes will really last and perform well by just walking around the shoe store for a few minutes. I really appreciate the fact that you’ve owned them a year and are giving a great review about how well they’re holding up.
I have one question, though, about the fit. I have flat feet, do you have any information on whether these shoes would fit well or do they have a high arch support?
Hi Janelle, good luck with the new routine! While I am not a shoe expert, haha, if I am understanding your question correctly these shoes are quite flat as they should be for training purposes; so I believe they would work well for your flat feet. Some more digging into that may be required however.
Thank you for your review of Nike Metcon DSX Flyknit 2.
I’m looking to buy a pair of Nike shoe for my son who plays tennis and basket ball. He goes to the gym regularly for workouts. I think the durability and stability of the shoes should fit him well. The design and colors are very nice 🙂
Hi Christine, no problem! I think these shoes will suit your sons workouts well and will work for playing tennis and basketball also if you aren’t looking to buy separate more specific shoes for the tennis and basketball.
Thank you Khol for your excellent review. My experience with Nike Metcon DSX Flynit shoes, however, has been very different from yours. In fact the opposite.
It´s true about its versatility. There´s no denying it. I also liked the mixture of snugness and flexibility. I loved that the soft cushion gave way for comfortable landings during box jumps and pull-up bar exercises. I praised the sticky rubber soul for its traction.
But let me tell you what I experienced: a) squeaky insole; b) low quality of shoelaces; c) inner lining tore after only a month of daily gym sessions; d) flexible upper and compressible midsole were deterrents to proper weightlifting; and e) unfit for over pronators and flat footers like me.
What I most regret is paying the $160 price tag for the shoe´s overall performance and construction
Hi Enrique, no problem! I do know what you mean by a squeaky insole as mine have that as well, however, I never noticed it as I always have music. That is why I didn’t think to include it in my review, however, I will do so now. I haven’t experienced any issues with the shoelaces or the inner lining myself. Also, I didn’t notice any of the weightlifting deterrents you mentioned, I found them to be very sturdy, however that could be subjective to my foot. I know you can find them a lot cheaper nowadays. Thanks for your input!