The Zoom Air pods include recycled TPU, improving the efficiency for Nike production. "It is waste that has so much potential function, so why not use it to actually make product," Heath says.

That, along with the comfort and responsiveness of the React cushioning, ZoomX foam, and Air Zoom Pods, should translate to more enjoyable runs over long distances.

The Alphafly 3 is actually a little less bouncy than past models of the shoe, but the new continuous midsole creates a faster heel-to-toe transition that moves you onto the Air Zoom pods more ...

The Air Zoom Pods offer responsive cushioning and help with propulsion, the ZoomX foam (placed in the forefoot and midfoot) maximizes energy return, and React Foam (placed in the heel) provides ...

A Closer Look at Off-White™ x Nike Air Zoom Tempo Next%: One of many silhouettes from the ongoing partnership.

His not-so-secret weapon: a pair of high-tech kicks, the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% ($275). The shoes have air-filled pods that help return some 90% of the energy an athlete exerts.

The upgraded Litening pod incorporates significant enhancements in electro-optical/infrared sensing and processing capabilities. Northrop Grumman disclosed recently that the U.S. Air Force is ...

Nike has also tweaked the midsole foam of the shoe — it still contains the super-cushioned, super-bouncy ZoomX foam, but there’s more of it under the Zoom Air pods in the forefoot of the shoe ...

Even more cushion — While it's predecessor packed an already-insane 37mm stack of cushion on the heel, the Zoom Alphafly Next% ramps it up to 45mm. In the front, Two new Air Zoom pods sit side ...

Moving toward the front of the shoe, you’ll notice there are two Zoom Air pods (unrelated to Apple AirPods). The pods are round and—you guessed it—actually filled with air.

Here’s what it felt like to run in Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2—and how it made me run faster and with less effort.

A year later we saw the Nike Air Zoom Alpha that introduced four anatomically-positioned pods into the Zoom Air sole unit, which stretched the cushioning from toe to heel.