Review: Nike Pegasus Trail 3 GORE-TEX Waterproof Trail Running Shoes

Consumer Tech Review: Nike Pegasus Trail 3 GORE-TEX Waterproof Trail Running Shoes Brad Moon Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Reviews and guidance for Apple gear, audio systems and consumer tech. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 31, 2022, 07:01pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin My focus is primarily on technology and consumer electronics. Every once in a while that includes a veer into something seemingly unrelated, but there is always a link. In this case, I tested out a pair of Nike Pegasus Trail 3 GORE-TEX waterproof trail running shoes.

Where is the tech connection? That would be the use of GORE-TEX Invisible Fit technology . Nike’s Pegasus Trail 3 waterproof trail runners make sure you know they’re equipped with GORE-TEX Brad Moon Nike Design Hits the Mark I had somehow never tried them before, but Nike’s Pegasus trail running shoes have a pretty fanatical following. The company has had several generations to perfect the design and so far as a trail running shoe — or in my case, a trail hiking shoe — goes, there’s not much to find fault with.

The Pegasus Trail 3s are light (about 11 ounces apiece), they are very well cushioned, they keep your foot stable, they have aggressive “shockwave-like pattern” rubber lugs (that extend up over the toe) for grip and they come in a variety of attractive color options. The collar gaiter and the treads both proved effective during testing Brad Moon They also have a gaiter at the collar to help prevent debris from getting into the shoe. I didn’t really think much about this until we spent a morning hiking across expansive sand dunes.

While other people were pulling their shoes off regularly to shake the sand out, I never felt sand getting in. Even though I was sinking into the dry sand with every step. When I got back from the hike, I pulled the shoes off over the bathtub and shook them out, fully expecting at least some sand to have made its way on.

But there was absolutely none. Zero sand in the shoes despite nearly three hours slogging across sand dunes. Brad Moon Recommended For You 1 Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users More stories like this Fewer stories like this 2 Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans More stories like this Fewer stories like this 3 Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event More stories like this Fewer stories like this GORE-TEX Invisible Fit Makes a Good Shoe Great I brought the shoes with me on a two-week vacation on Cape Cod.

That’s where the sand dunes come in. The weather was brutally hot the entire time, and oppressively humid. But these shoes were extremely comfortable and they breathed, despite being waterproof.

I could walk 10 miles and not feel like my feet were getting sweaty, even if I had to change shirts twice a day. Made using GORE-TEX Invisible Fit Footwear technology GORE-TEX That performance can be chalked up to the fact that these shoes are made using GORE-TEX Invisible Fit Footwear technology. This approach sees a GORE-TEX membrane bonded to the shoe uppers instead of the traditional method of being added later in construction as a separate layer.

So you get the benefit of GORE-TEX (such as being waterproof, breathable to allow sweat to evaporate and fast drying) in a fully integrated package. In addition to urban hiking, I wore the Pegasus 3s on several forest trails. Their grippy soles and stability also proved them to be very capable when crossing the mile-long Provincetown Causeway with its massive, ocean-slicked boulders.

I always felt that my footing was solid. It was on the Causeway where the waterproof GORE-TEX proved its effectiveness. We slightly miscalculated our timing when walking across and ran into the start of high tide, when ocean water started rising across a low section.

I couldn’t avoid walking through the water, but my feet remained completely dry. You can see in the photo below that the water literally ran off the shoes and where they were submerged, the water was kept completely at bay. Wading through water was no problem in these waterproof shoes, so long as the water didn’t rise over .

. . [+] their top Brad Moon When Testing Doesn’t Go According to Plan.

. . Here’s a use case that falls outside the usual, and it illustrates both the waterproof nature of the GORE-TEX technology, and its ability to dry quickly.

Several weeks ago I went to an outdoor concert in Toronto. The weather forecast was for torrential rain, so I thought I would be smart and wear the Nike Pegasus Trail 3s — no worries about getting wet feet, plus the aggressive tread of the trail runners would come in very handy if grass turned to mud. Everything went according to plan at first.

My raincoat wasn’t quite up to the challenge, but rain ran right off the shoes so I at least had dry feet. I kept my footing on the increasingly slippery slope of the amphitheater’s lawn. But.

. . as security started locking the venue down due to extreme weather, the walkways flooded.

I was wading through a surge of fast-moving water that rose well over my ankles. You can guess what happened next. The gaiter that kept out sand so effectively didn’t stand a chance when the water rose inches above it.

The water filled my waterproof shoes and stayed there until I had a chance to dump it out. The lesson there is waterproof shoes are only as good as their coverage — as soon as the water tops the shoe so it can pour in, they become a water holding vessel. So if you’re going to be doing any really wading, maybe consider a boot instead of a shoe.

. . However, the next day showed another of the advantages of these shoes and their GORE-TEX technology.

Despite being absolutely saturated, six hours in the sun on a balcony completely dried them out. Nike Pegasus Trail 3 GORE-TEX Recommendation Nike Pegasus Trail 3 GORE-TEX waterproof trail running shoes deliver impressive performance Brad Moon I can’t say that I did any trail running with the Nike Pegasus Trail 3 GORE-TEX waterproof trail running shoes. However, I put them through several weeks of walking seven to 10 miles per day in blazing heat, high humidity, and in conditions that included urban exploration, nature trails, sand dunes, rocky breakwaters, and tidal pools.

They stayed comfortable and dry under all of these conditions. In fact, they were so comfortable that the other shoes I packed pretty much stayed in my suitcase. I’ve noticed these shoes have frequently been sold out, at least on Nike’s website .

So if you’re considering a pair and happen to see some in stock, I wouldn’t wait too long. If it’s the GORE-TEX technology that you’re primarily interested in, that company’s website includes links to alternate options from other leading footwear manufacturers. Disclosure: GORE-TEX provided shows for evaluation purposes but had no input into this review.

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