Nike Pegasus 41 vs Salomon Aero Blaze 4:
Which to Choose

Start with stack, because it's nearly a wash: the Pegasus 41 sits on 37 mm heel / 27 mm forefoot, the Aero Blaze 4 on 36 mm heel / 28 mm forefoot — within a millimeter at each end, so neither is meaningfully more cushioned underfoot. Where they part ways is weight and drop. The Aero Blaze 4 comes in at about 226 g in a men's US 9 versus roughly 283 g for the Pegasus 41 — a real ~57 g gap that you feel on faster reps and in the back half of long runs, making the Salomon the noticeably nimbler shoe. Drop differs too: the Pegasus keeps a traditional 10 mm, heel-forward feel that suits heel and midfoot strikers, while the Aero Blaze's 8 mm sits a touch flatter and asks a bit more of the forefoot. Foam character is the other divide. The Pegasus pairs ReactX with dual forefoot and heel Air Zoom units for a soft, planted, predictable landing that only turns subtly lively once you lift the pace — a jack-of-all-trades ride that's secure rather than springy. The Aero Blaze's beaded optiFOAM² TPU reads soft-but-firm with a more resilient, above-average bounce that rewards pressing into tempo, staying composed instead of mushy. That extra pop plus the lighter build is why the Aero Blaze stretches its range out to the marathon, with the half as its sweet spot, whereas the Pegasus tops out at the half and is happiest doing uptempo 10K work and steady long runs. Fit rounds out the contrast: the Pegasus mesh is breathable and secure with fairly accommodating room, while the version-4 Aero Blaze upper locks down well but runs somewhat narrow, so wider feet should try it on. Both hold their fastest effective pace to roughly 4:45 min/km before a lighter plated racer takes over.