The Brooks Hyperion Max 2 is a substantial update on the original Brooks Hyperion Max, with a significant increase in stack height and a new plastic plate running through the midsole. How have the changes affected the ride of the shoe? Nick has been out for a first run to find out.
Check out our review of the Brooks Hyperion Max:
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
01:57 – How’s The Fit?
02:37 – First Run
05:47 – Early Verdict
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Hello and welcome to the Run testers my Name is Nick and this is our first run Review of the Brooks Hyperion Max [Music] 2 so Hyperion Max 2 is the update to the Hyperion Max and as you can see a lot of Updates have been made to the shoe it's A much higher stack I and some other Changes have been made in general and The price has also risen a little bit in The US it's now $180 where it was $170 For the peran Mac don't have the UK Price as yet so I'm not sure if it's Going to stay at £60 the weight's G up a Fair bit it's now 271 G or 9.6 o whereas The Hyperion Max was around 220 G and That's because the stack Heights risen Considerably it's now 36 mm at the heel And 30 at the 4T for a 6 mm drop so You've got a slightly lower drop and Then a higher stack height all round Than the Hyperion Max the stack has Risen 6 mm at the 4T and 4 mm at the Heel and the Hyperion Max 2 is also a Fair bit wider which is why the white Has jumped so much the midsole foam has Also been updated to the second version Of Brooks's DNA flash which is meant to Give you a little bit more energy return And be a bit lighter than the DNA flash V1 on the Hyperion Max it is a nitrogen Infused Eva Pham which is mostly Lightweight and quite poppy but not Necessarily as squishy and bouncy as
Some of the other super Foams on the Market you have a plastic speed volt Plate running through the shoe which you Can see from the bottom there and the Hyperion Max 2 has the rapid roll rocker That you also had on the original Hyperion Max now this is often what Different differentiates the Mac shoes In Brooks's lineup from the non- Max Shoes so the ghost to the ghost Max and The hyperion to the Hyperion max they're More rocked shoes as well as now having A bit more foam you have a lightweight Mesh upper with quite a high heel tab at The back here there's a little bit of Padding there but mostly it's quite Lightweight breathable material with a Partially gusted tongue as well that Wraps the midfoot quite nicely then You've got pretty good outsole coverage Obviously the cutout in the center of The shoe there but the for foot and heel Are both quite well covered with always Quite a thick layer of rubber So I've got uk9 which is a us10 in the Brooks Hyperion Max 2 which is the size I nearly always go for with Brooks's Shoes and it fits me very well I've got Enough room in the toe box good hold Around the heel and midfoot this high Heel tab at the back of the shoe was a Little bit worrying for me as someone Whose Achilles can be irritated by shoes But I didn't have any problems with that
On the run today it's not too structured Around the back there is an internal Heel counter but it's not as rigid as Some of the ones on Brooks's kind of More cushion shoes like the ghost Overall the fit was similar to me to the Original Hyperion which is a little bit Narrower but I didn't have any problems With the width of this shoe as someone Who has a narrow foot so yeah I would Stick to your normal running shoe size With the Brooks Hyperion Max [Music] 2 so I took the Hyperion Max 2 out for a Run earlier this morning it's a nice Warm day here in the UK so I went out a Bit earlier and I did an easy to steady 45 minutes little bit of trail at the Start but mostly on the road working From kind of around 430 PK Pace down Towards 340 pet Pace at the end so not Hitting my race Paces but you know Moving towards a good effort for the Last 15 minutes or so and it was Enjoyable for this like this very much Feel like the kind of run uh this shoe Is very well suited for and as a result It would suit me quite well as a run I Do look quite a lot of these kind of Mini progression runs throughout the Week especially when marathon training You know longer runs with a bit of Faster effort towards the end and it Feels very good for that it compared to
The original Hyperion Max the rocket is A lot more pronounced I think that's Largely because there's just a lot more Foam to work with here I don't if They've made it steeper or anything like That but I really felt that tip forward At easy paces and fast Paces more Notably and the depth of the foam is Also quite noticeable it's not like You're sinking in a lot to this DNA Flash V2 foam but does feel like a Bigger shoe and there's more foam Beneath you than with the Hyperion Max Original which adds to the comfort and The general kind of protective feeling Of the shoe and especially under the for Foot it is a little bit more comfortable It's not as Nimble as the Hyperion Max Used to feel but it feels much more like A cruiser a daily trainer now that is More suitable for racking up more miles In and just general easy steady miles as Well as being for faster stuff it is a Fair bit heavier than the Hyperion Max Obviously and it does lose like I say Some of that nimbleness that agility but It doesn't really feel that heavy on the Foot I think the DNA flash home always Feels quite lightweight to me because it Is that slightly fir feeling has quite a Poppy lightweight feel to it and the Shoe has a nice rocker it moves through The footstrike quite nicely and yeah It's not the lightest shoe in the world
But it's certainly not at all a heavy Shoe it's one that feels pretty Comfortable at speed whilst now having That extra cushion for more easy Paces So after I got back I did a short run Wearing both shoes and uh it does feel Quite different I'm remember testing the Hyperion maxing this is quite a nice Little daily trainer if you like a Firma Feel you don't need a really cushion Shoe you can do a bit of everything in The Hyperion Max and now in contrast to This this looks like just like an Interval shoe to me it Feels So Lightweight and Nimble on the first and It is of these two shoes the one I would Use if I was going down the track or Going to do you know kind of a session Of 60 seconds on 30 seconds off that Kind of thing it's got that Nimble feel But for everything else the extra Comfort you get here is certainly Noticeable with the Hyperion Max 2 and For Rolling at Tempo Pace or doing long Runs with hard sections in or just doing Easy running it would be the preferable Shoe because the extra stacky is Certainly felt on the run and it does Make it feel more comfortable and the Slightly lower drop as where I think Smooths it out a little bit I had a Little bit of a kind of snap through With the original Brooks Hyperion Max Despite the rocker on it and you know
Over longer distances I get a little bit Of 4 foot discomfort just not going to Happen here anymore with 30 mm of foam Underf foot and that rocker and the Slightly lower drop so I do think it's Definitely increased the comfort of the Shoe a lot and made it much more of a Daily trainer that will be more suitable For lots of people I'm sure there are Some people out there who would love This as a daily training the original Hyperion Max and don't want all the Extra foam and stuff you have here but Think is now more in line with what the Expectation of a daily looks like these Days and it certainly has those Properties of a super shoe with the Plate in there and the kind of fast Feeling you have that make it a very Bstyle shoe for a range of Paces even if I think at the actual top end of speed I'd rather be in the Brooks Hyperion Max Original because it is so much lighter And [Music] Nimbler so very very early impression of The shoe but it does feel like a good Versatile daily trainer here in the mold Of lots of shoes these days where you You've got some kind of super foam in There a plate a rocker in a fairly Lightweight design that makes it Suitable for a nice wide range of Paces As mentioned in the run test this is a
Shoe that would suit me very well I'm During marathon training and I'm doing Not a lot of very allout sessions where I would probably go and use a carbon Plate shoe or a dedicated lightweight Speed shoe this is a really good option For when you're doing lots of longish Runs and inserting an element of speed Into quite a lot of them even if they're Not actually really fast runs but those Kind of easy to steady progressions that Kind of thing it works really well for Them it's got a protective feel to it It's got the range of Paces there and Yeah it feels quite comfortable and Suited to those I also think it defines The Brooks range a little bit better now Because the Hyperion Max and the Hyperion were quite similar he had a Little bit more of a rocker on this shoe But really they felt like quite similar Shoes to me and occupied the same spaces Lightweight relatively low stack daily Trainer nice simple shoes without plates Or anything like that you still have That with the Brooks Hyperion and now You have the kind of now classic super Trainer option with a plate with a Higher stack with a big rocker more foam Everything under foot like that with the Hyperion Max 2 so I think you now have Those those kind of three steps in the Hyperion range from the hyperion to the Hyperion Max and then the Hyperion Elite
Obviously in doing this the Hyperion Max 2 now enters one of the most competitive Areas of the running shoe market though And there are some of the very best Shoes in the market out there that are Coming in actually at the same price or Cheaper and the price I think is a Little bit of a problem for the Brooks Up period Max 2 because you know it does The job of a super trainer it does it Pretty well but my early impression is That it lacks some of the spark you get From some of the best shoes in this area Things like the Endorphin speed 4 which Has better fo Under Foot that really Good speedroll rocker is a lighter Design as well the Mauna Neo Vista which Is very bouncy very fun to run in more Cushy more stacked than the shoe for Kind of General daily runs even the aex Superl isn't that much more expensive Than the shoe which delivers a better All round experience as Boston is a lot Cheaper and that's another really good Firststar super trainer so you know You're going up against some really big Name shoes here that I really think are Among the best on the market and that's Going to make it hard with hyperium Max Who to really stand out because still Don't think Brooks's foam is really at The level of some of those other brands But it was an enjoyable first run today There's no firm conclusions on how it
Compares to those other shoes just yet I Will go and do some more running in it But yeah I think this is a move that Makes sense for Brooks I think it's a Solid shoe runers will be able to rack Up a lot of miles in but it's got a very High price tag and I'm not sure it's Necessarily going to live up to that but It was a good first run in it [Music] Today that's our first take on the Brooks hyperia Max 2 let us know what You think in the comments below please Do like and subscribe ring the little Bell and we'll see you next time
