The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 is the latest instalment of Brooks’ carbon racer that’s hoping to be the shoe you grab when it’s time to step onto the start line.
With the Elite 3 (and Elite 2) hardly setting the world on fire, the Elite 4 promises changes to make it a better fit for going faster. It’s lighter, packs a tweaked version of its DNA Flash midsole tech and also sees some changes in the stack height department.
Testers Mike and Kieran jumped on a plane to lace up the new Elite 4 and put it to the race test at the 2024 Barcelona Half Marathon (eDreams Mitja Marató de Barcelona). Find out how they got on and whether the Elite 4 made a good impression on race day.
(Mike and Kieran were media guests with Brooks who were the lead sponsor for the Barcelona Half Marathon. They were not paid to test or review the Hyperion Elite 4 review samples used in this video.)
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:38 – Price and what’s new?
03:08 – The Race
04:52 – How Does It Fit?
06:59 – The Race Test
11:01 – Initial Verdict
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Hey this is mar run testers and this is The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Brooks's Latest carbon plate packing racing shoe Now we are going to be putting this to The half marathon Race test myself and Kieran will be heading out to Barcelona To run the Barcelona half in this shoe Before we get into sunnier conditions What we're going to do is take you Through the key details about the Elite 4 what's new from the Elite 3 and then We'll hand it over to time in Barcelona But we will tell you how this performed And whether the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Makes a good first impression when it Comes to race [Music] Day [Music] [Music] Sh [Music] So here's what you need to know about The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 it's a shoe According to Brooks that's designed from Distances starting at 5K up to the Marathon the Elite 4 price is £220 in The UK or $250 in the US that's putting It below other carbon Racing shoes like The Nike Ally 3 vaporfly 3 New Balance SC Elite V4 and the Hawker cello X1 our UK men's size 8 weighed in at 216 G so That is a reduction in weight from the Elite 3 which weighs 237 G for us in the
Same size Brook sticks to a knitted Style upper with similar lacing to the Elite 3 in place to keep things nice and Light it also retains the internal Padding in the heel again to improve That overall lockdown and Comfort Brooks also sticks to an 8 mm Drop though the stack Heights have Changed it's now 40 mm at the heel and 32 mm at the Forefoot that does mean there is more of Its Eva and nitrogen infused DNA flash Cushing Tech that Brook says is now Lighter than the DNA flash inside of the Elite 3 and sees a boost in energy Return to that's joined by its Fulllength speed volt race plus carbon Plate that along with a rapid roll Rocker is there to give you that more Propulsive feeling for faster days and Race Days down below is a rubber outsole that Does see a change in the outsole pattern And also shows off that carbon plate a Little more than its [Music] Predecessor hello right Barcelona half Marathon done uh sun the sun come out it Wasn't like this earlier this morning we Left to go to the startlight so windy Yeah um yeah how did it go Karan how was It for you yeah it was good yeah I mean I I had a cold all week so I wasn't Really expecting too much out there and
And I got more than I thought I would Get around the whole thing on fi and I Think I got round in somewhere at 120 Something not really sure late lat half 120s I thought the race was good it was A nice most of course nice and straight And runnable really flat uh quite busy At the beginning until it thinned out And yeah I I thought it was a really Sort of yeah I enjoyed it I enjoyed it More than I thought I would do when you Come off the back of a cold so yeah I Got what I what I came for really how About you yeah it was good so I ran I Think one 32 so um just at the moment Trying to see where my pace is before London um and yeah it felt pretty good Out there I think the yeah I think when We were walking up to or jogging up to The start line and it was pretty windy And I was you know what that those Conditions were going to be like but Generally I think probably there was two Parts in the course where it probably Picked up a little bit but it wasn't Didn't I don't think it really affected The um the experience of the of the Route um and yeah apart from kind of Twist and turns it's pretty flat twist And turns at the beginning at the end of The race one little Hill coming back Probably what 11 12 mile but generally I Think a nice a nice quick one to do I Think I think a really good race to come
If you're looking for a fast time it it Turns just at the right point you know There's some really nice long straight Stretches Runner ball and then just when You're get in Board of it it will turn You and yeah I think if you wanted to Attack a race this would be a good one To come and [Music] Do okay so obviously we were testing so We were testing the Brooks Vian Elites For now we'll start with fit now okay What was your experience in terms of fit Of the shoe I I thought the fit was bang On I mean I ran in my regular running Shoe size and my regular size I would Run in a brook UK and a half and I got Really good lockdown everything felt Held really nicely into the hill across The top of the foot I think one Interesting note about these shoes is Just at the back of the toes across the Top there's a very roomy toe box so it's A roomier fit up front with more volume You might find in some more kind of snug Carbon ra shoes there's also the mesh is Really kind of the whole are quite big So there's like an airiness and I think That helps sort of with that sort of Feeling of overall sort of room and Airiness around the toes there was no Kind of butting up at the end of the toe Box and overall I thought the fit was Spot on I really enjoyed the way these
Felt on the foot I ran fresh sort of Straight out the box today it's Obviously a risk and they did really Good job so yeah my recommendation would Be to go true to sizing these how about How about you m you find the same or Different yeah so I had mine I've got One in UK size that's my typical running Shoe size and I've done a couple of runs Back home in these now what I would say And I kind of would Echo what Kier said It's quite spacious up front in that Kind of toe box like a lot of space more Than I would typically probably like I Mean it's not affected me in that race Today but it there is a lot of space out There which obviously gives it a bit More scope to be a more friendly shoot To run longer in but generally else Where I mean it's like a lot of race Shoes it's quite tight to get into but Once you're in it locks that kind of Uper does a really good job of wrapping Around and securing your foot there's a Good amount of padding here I was Initially concerned at the beginning of The race whether there might some Rubbing but there was no issues kind of Um further into that race so for me yeah There might be an argument to go maybe a Size down half a size down just because There is a lot of space But ultimately In that kind of race you know Environment it didn't affect me in terms
Of how it felt uh running in it so yeah Fit for me I would probably say stick to Going your usual size but I think you Know you may want to play it going half Size down if you prefer something a bit More snug up front in the Toes Okay so we've spoken about fit let's get Into that race test now Kieran for you This you've ran or raced in these fresh Out of the box Bas first run right so How did you find it performed out in That race I mean I walked up and down in Them here yesterday but yeah it's always A bit of a risk and the first thing you Look for is are they going to sort of Disappear and feel comfortable and I Felt I think they felt natural from from The off and I think that's probably one Of the plus points of these shoes is That I think they're very easy to race In and it felt very natural on the for I Felt they had energy I I wouldn't put Them up there with something like I I Prefer I've running the alpha 5 3 so now I'm comparing them to an ally 2 which I Think is probably my favorite shoe over This kind of distance where it's a bit More Punchy and there's a bit more pop They haven't quite got that energy Underf foot but I thought they were Accommodating and accessible and you Know I I thought over the distance they Performed as I really wanted them to as
I said I I ran this with a coming off The back of a cold so I was expecting my Heart rate to be sort of way off the Charts for this did a 125 which is one Of my my fastest halves and I I felt They gave me everything that I needed in That race I thought the stability was Pretty good there was no harshness Coming from the shoe some of the carbon Races they can be a bit harsh by the end Of that you can got of feel the road Coming up I thought there was good Protection there and you know I I Enjoyed it I enjoyed the run today are They the liveliest carbon racer going I Don't think so you know would you choose Them over some other shoes that might Have a bit more you know might we get Into this but possibly not but I think You know it's one of those where I Having just done that first run it's Like it's a good not great and I think Some people are going to really enjoy Running in them would they be the first Choice maybe not how did you find it Yeah so I have run a bit in or I've Tested the Hyperion Elite 3 I haven't Raced in the Elite 3 but what my Experience of that shoe is that it just Felt a little too firm for me in terms Of my experience in it and I think if You look at the price and the shoes that Around it would it be a shoe that I'd Pick over other shoes it definitely had
A very kind of Speedy daily trainer vibe To it now in terms of what you're Getting here on the Elite 4 see there's A change in terms of Stack there's more Of that mid so it's lighter than the Previous shoe as well too I think in Terms of the run it's not this super Aggressive shoe that you know or Super Shoe that you know we are starting to See but there's a nice turnover in it I Think there was a nice rebound there was A nice level of boun I think having that Extra stack does make a difference in Terms of experience there I felt at that Distance it felt good overall the Outside was absolutely fine I mean it's It's nice and dry here we're on road Running on Ro and Pavements and the Outsole grip was fine I think you know It's and that you know there's not a m Massive amount of outsole there but that Definitely keeps the weight down I think In terms of the feeling again I don't Feel and we'll get more into this in the In the initial verdict whether it's in That kind of Super Shoe status but it Definitely felt pretty smooth pretty Stable and the turnover was pretty good So and I think it worked well at that Distance it cornered well as well I Think that's it I you know it's got Quite it's quite a narrow platform that You're running off here when it comes to Sort of these Super Shoes got Al some of
These are a bit bigger and a bit wider You know I I would put this in the realm Of something more like a sort of hooker Rocket X and like a big Alpha fly but I Thought thought it cornered well and it Felt really natural and easy to run in In a way that some Super Shoes maybe Take a little while to get used to and I I thought that sort of is on the plus Side of this shoe whether or not that Drops it a bit back down into being more Like a like a super trainer than than an All out kind of super ratio over that Distance is you know up for grabs but Yeah I thought it performed quite well Yeah I mean ultimately there was no There no issues for me in that race so It felt fine I was worried maybe there Might be a little bit of discomfort of The hill but actually you know there's a Good amount of padding in that in in That internal kind of part of the Hill Corner so no issues really to point in Terms of that race it felt solid over That distance and I feel and as what We're getting into the initial V is it You know when we look at the price is it Kind of stepping up against other shoes In that price bracket as a racing shoe a Big performance shoe we'll get into that Next [Music] Okay so initial thoughts on the Brooks Herian Elite for now Nick's got this as
Well so this is you know obviously a Race test experience I've done 12 miles Before this before this race I've had a Bit of time in it but not you know kind Of full review testing done yet so Reserve full judgment but Kieran what's What's your initial thoughts having just Racing it and you know obviously running It the first time as well yeah I mean This is one this is one run you know I've put on I've been in on feet for an Hour and a half or whatever and my Initial impact you know I done choose Really quickly whether or not you know When you first put them on how do they Feel on the foot do you feel like you Want to go RAC to them I think they take That box they felt good they disappeared On the foot you know I was happy to go Out and do that fresh out the box and Then performance-wise you know for this First run today they gave me everything That I was hoping for with um you know It was good energy to them not the not The highest I I they were controlled I Thought there was good Precision in Terms of my kind of foot places my Landing I think the ride there's good Clip along there's enough bounce you Know there there wasn't harshness coming Back up through the road and I thought For that kind of Half Marathon distance They did a really solid job Jew's out And whether or not they kind of how they
Match up against all these other shoes I Want to do some more testing them one Thing that Springs to mind as we sort of Sit here and talk Mike is I think some Of that kind of narrow platform and some Of that Precision that comes with them And the control might make them AO that I might even take to do track work and I Want to do intervals and stuff like that Where it's like a more for that kind of Training than I might do for longer Racing but I think for me so far with This shoe it's a I've had a positive Experience in it looking forward to sort Of testing it and seeing how it Stacks Up against the other carbon races but I Yeah I enjoyed the ride today yourself Okay yeah I mean so that's what just Over kind about 25 miles into this shoe Now so I think my feeling and my feeling Of the previous shoe was that it it felt Like a speedy daily train it didn't feel Like a super shoe in the same bracket as Some other shoes now this shoes comes in At 220 so not cheap um it's below things Like the fify 3 you know things like the New B SE Elite um V4 things like hell X1 It's not quite that top tier price range For Super Shoes that perspective for me What I'm feeling here is that it's a lot Of what we got on the Elite 3 I think You know there are improvements and I Think having that extra stack has made It a nicer experience to run in having
It lighter retaining that upper which I I think worked really well in terms of The the lockdown experience that you get Here so they are def positives here I Think and the changes that Brooks has Made here feel like positive ones Ultimately though what I'm feeling Coming away from it you know when I look At the other shoes that are in and Around this price you know is would I Grab this from my next race knowing what I know now I'm not 100% sure I do think There is a place for this shoe um and I Think if you prefer something that Doesn't have that super aggressive kind Of you know ride but it has a stable Comfortable feel over you know I think This distance this half Mountain Distance and I think it can work I just Think you know it's giving me feelings Of things like the you know endorphin Speed the Mac range where I think those Are shoes that you could you could train In do speed work racing as well but Marathon distance where you know the Shoe should ultimately work would I pick It for those longer distances I'm not 100% convinced on this run but obviously Plenty more testing to do uh but yeah Definitely some good things I think this Is a step in the right direction for Brooks I think it's got a little bit of Work to do but I think ultimately it's Going in the right direction for me but
Is it up there with those Super Shoes I'm not 100% convinced uh it's really Moved away from that daily trainer Speedy daily trainer feel I get from it And from the previous shoe okay so there You go that is our half marathon Race Test of the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 There's the medal there we'll just show You there thanks to Brooks for inviting Us here for which was I think the launch For the glycerin 21 really so uh and They threw in some action for us to be Part of as well too so yeah um plenty More videos on the channel plenty of Super Sho videos on the way with new Sock he coming in so there's lots to Look forward to if you like your far Shoes um as always like And subscribe Hit that little bell to find out about The latest videos and yeah we'll see you For next run Test's [Music] Video
