The Puma Deviate Nitro Elite has always been one of the best value carbon plate running shoes available, and with the third version Puma are aiming to make it one of the best full stop, with the new shoe offering a higher stack of a bouncier foam while being lighter than its predecessor. Mike and Nick have been out for a first run in the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3; here’s their initial thoughts on the shoe.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
02:15 – How’s The Fit
05:04 – First Run
10:00 – Early Verdict
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick and this is our first run review Of the Puma DV8 Nitro Elite 3 DV8 Nitro Elite 3 is a brand new Carbon racing shoe from Puma the Successor to the DV8 Nitro Elite 2 it's Had a bit of an overhaul for the third Generation of the shoe which will result In some very exciting changes all around And it now sits a long onside the pummer Fast R2 in Puma's range as one of their Two Top Flight carbon Racing shoes the Fast R is designed to be the more Propulsive racing shoe whereas the Nitro Elite 3 is a fair bit lighter it has a Slightly more standard design it's fair To say it cost £195 in the UK $230 in The US it weighs in at 215 G or 7.5 o in A UK size 9 has an 8 mm drop with a Stack heite of 40 mm at the heel and 32 At the 4ot so compared to the Nitro Elite 2 you've got a rise in price a Rise in stack height but the weight's Actually come down so that's a good Thing to see you know you've got the Full stack height now up to that 40 mm Limit but you have got a lighter shoe Obviously it's not good to see the price Go up although it is still a bit cheaper Than most of the carbon shoes on the Market especially in the UK the big Change with the shoe is the new Nitro Elite foam in the midso it was also Called Nitro Elite with the nitrite 2
But this is now the aliphatic TPU Material we saw in the Puma fast R2 when That launched so it's a nitrogen infused Aliphatic TPU P says this gives more Energy return than the peber Foams they Previously used under the Nitro Elite Name it's also meant to be more durable In terms terms of how much it maintains Its performance over time so that all Sounds very good I did enjoy the foam on The pummer fast R2 it is a very bouncy Foam and I'm excited to see how it feels In a much lighter shoe like this got a Carbon power plate running through the Midle which you can see on the cutout on The bottom of the shoe you have an ultra Weave upper with some power tape Reinforcement in certain spots little Bit less padding around the hill than You had with the DV8 Nitro Elite 2 in Fact it's very stripped back in general As you'd expect from a racing shoe and You have a pumer grip outsole with good Coverage on the 4ot two strips of rubber On the back there's a little bit more Exposed foam on the 4 foot compared to DV8 Nitro Elite 2 which obviously helps Trim the weight a little bit but there's Still plenty of rubber there and pummer Grip as we know is a very good outside Material always provides very reliable Grip did a lot of actually icy running In their Puma DV8 Nitro Elite to when I Was testing it yeah very reliable outso
Material so in terms of fit I've got my Elite 3 in the UK size 8 that is my Typical running shoe size that is the Shoe size that I generally kind of go For on pummer shoes and generally works For me was the same size that had the Elite two in and a little bit like the Elite 2 I feel like this is a kind of Non nonsense fitting kind of racing Focus speed Focus shoe one that I know I Can just slip on very easy uh and get Out and start running and I feel like It's a similar story here with the Elite 3 there are some changes but I don't Think it really takes away from that Kind of non-nonsense feel of the fit of The Elite 2 maybe it's a touch longer in The toe box but nothing kind of you know I think to worry about I think it's a You know a good amount of space on the Toes the sides and the front of the toes Toes for you know for something that you Want particularly want to run a little Bit longer in so pretty happy that it Didn't feel overly long I think when you Work back into the shoe you're getting Good hold of the midfoot similarly at The hill the lacing pretty standard fair And then you go back to that tongue Which is not this kind of skinny gusted Ones which you do see on some Racing Shoes it's got a little bit of padding There which I quite like it's not too Heavily padded but just enough to give
You that kind of take that pressure off The top your of your foot but not add Too much overall kind of weight to the Shoe um and then the at the hill is you Know as you'd expect from a kind of Speed Focus shoot it's not overly padded But just enough there to give some Support there around the Achilles and Around the hill in general so for me I Feel like what I'm seeing here is that Going true to size should be the ideal Option here for most people I don't Think the change is really take away From how this fits uh and what I've seen Compared to the elite te fit of the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 I have found it comes up a Little bit long for me compared to Puma's daily training shoes so shoes Like the velocity or the devi8 Nitro Fine in my normal uk9 us10 with Puma I Think that's CU there's a bit more Cushioning at the back of the shoe which Maybe pushes my foot a little further Forward actually in the racing shoes as Well I've been okay in the uk9 before But they've probably been a little bit Roomier and the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 for me Is a bit too roomy in the front of the Shoe in my normal kind of uk9 us 10 I'm Pretty much between a US 9.5 and a US 10 When I'm looking at the sizing with Across all brands and I think us 9.5 UK 8.5 would fit me Rel in this shoe so I Think if you are on the fence between
Sizes I would go for the smaller one of The two because I think it gets a bit Long uh at the front there almost like Torpedo like I think compared to the DV8 Nitro Elite 2 I think there's a slightly More pointed end and I think that's Ended up with me having a little bit too Much room at the front of the shoe so Yeah I would probably go half size down Because I am right on the frence between Those two sizes then at the back of the Shoe no real concerns of it so far good Hold around the heand midfoot did a long Run in it today and yeah it's got a nice Hold around the back without rubbing or Anything like that so all round's got a Pretty good fit I think you're probably Going to be okay just sticking with your Normal size but like I say if you're Right on the barrier between two sizes Would have benefited by going for the Smaller One hello from London I'm about to do my First proper run in the Puma DV8 Nitro 3 I have used them for a short shake out Ahead of a race as well but this is the First time I've used them really in Anger I'm doing 10 times 1K reps at 320 Pet Pace with a 60c recovery doing on The road today cuz all the tracks are in Use uh for sports days at the moment at A pretty sharp pace for me probably Around my half marathon pace uh looking Forward to giving the shoes a long run
Out like this to see how they feel So reps all done Hing session with kind Of half of them with the wind half into The wind but it wasn't that strong so Pace was fairly controlled and even on All of them felt good running at that Pace in these shoes they are certainly Bouncy like a notably springier feel Than the previous version of the shoe Which was very Nimble and light but Didn't have that depth of foam Especially under the for foot when you You're kind of powering off there you Really feel it a nice bit of spring There comfortable shoes too I definitely Would love to test half size down like This just slightly too long for me which Just gives me a little bit of slapp Almost turns it into the fast St too I Guess with a little bit of extra plate In front of my toes but um I think it Mak feel even nimbler and more Impressive I think with the plate Centered a bit more under my foot but They still felt amazing today like Really good I enjoyed them probably more Than the fast are in their first outing Of those he are more my kind of shoe I Think because I'm not a big propulsive Runner I'm a high turnover Runner and These two very conducive to that so yeah Very enjoyable first outing going to jog Home now probably be quite a long run in Total cuz the way everything worked out
Today running to the gym first to see if The track was free finding out it wasn't Coming to a nice closed Road near me so Yeah all in all good session really Enjoyed the shoes so I've just got back From my first run in the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 now on the agenda I had five miles I Wasn't planning to go quick in that five Miles but when this shoe landed I was Excited to get out in it so I ended up Doing slightly quicker than anticipated So what I aim to do Wass to run at my Marathon pace slightly quicker than my Marathon pace I went out kind of average Kind of 730 minute Mar Pace dropped it Down 710 so closer to my half marathon Pace now I have used the uh Elite 2 I've Trained with it leading up to the Manchester half marathon last year raced In the Elite 2 as well for that race and What I would say over all my time was That there was things I definitely liked About it I you know I think it was a Very comfortable shoe to run quicker in And to race in you know great out so I Think the key thing for me is that you Know it just lacked a little bit of Magic for me particularly in that race And particularly the latter stages when I just wanted something a bit giving me A bit more underneath my throat and I Felt like it was just lacking that Particularly compared to other kind of Racing Focus Shoes now what I've got
Here what we've got here on the Elite 3 Is what I really wanted to see from Pummer I wanted more of that foam I feel Like in terms of the midsole Foams that Pum puts into its more kind of speed Focus shes and even things like the Nitro 3 I think you know are up there With the best in terms of those midols And I feel like having more of that foam Is an absolute positive here and what Happens is you get something that feels A little bit softer there's more phone There it feels a bit softer but there is Bounce there there's a rocker there I Think you had that rocker there in the Previous shoe but I think it just Elevates that feel and it does feel more Propulsive and when I was running at my Or kind of quicker than my and a Marathon pace it felt very good to do And I feel like everything that's Happening in that mid soole just works For really nicely I feel like you know One of the biggest qualities of the Previous shoe was that it was a very Stable racing shoe and kind of speed Shoe I feel like maybe it's less stable I don't think it's unstable I think There's maybe some less stable elements But I think maybe around the hill and Maybe when I was easing off in places I Felt like maybe there's there's a change There in that field but ultimately I do Still feel like it's probably going to
Be a relatively stable racing shoe Overall but I feel like the changes that Have been made here are positive and it Just you know immed from the off when I Got out and I was running quicker it Just felt nicer to do and I just felt Like I rolled through really nicely and I wanted to run more and it just that Just didn't change in that run other Thing talk about the outsole I mean p Make great out sooes there was a good One on the previous shoe most of it Shoes I think it's more the same here Now I'm in you know running in dry Conditions at the moment it's sunny it's Hot um I've been on Pavements and Roads And it's been absolutely fine but what I Really appreciate from the kind of pumic Grip outsoles is that when you're Cornering or whether you know kind of Wrapping around you know a corner of you Know a Street then it it feels really Nice it feels very controlled and it Feels like more the same here on the Elite 3 so I feel like it's taken the Qualities of the Elite 2 kind of Upgraded it particularly in terms of the Kind of what you're getting that more of That foam you are getting a lighter shoe Overall but the ride just feels more Kind of exciting and more racing Focus I Think that's really important for me That was the thing that really stood out For me in that first run
So some initial thoughts on the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 is that I'm really liking What I'm seeing here I feel like with The previous shoe I feel like it was a Good racing shoe a good kind of Versatile kind of speed Focus daily Train that you could race in but when You compared it to the other kind of top Tier shoes did it really kind of match Up to those shoes I personally don't Think it did and it probably was a Reason I wouldn't go and grab it for a Lot of my RAC and there'll be other Shoes that I'd grab I feel that's Potentially changed with this shoe I Feel you know I'm I'm racing with this At the weekend I'm looking forward to Racing in this shoe at the weekend now Obviously the price has probably just Slightly jumped up you know the you know One of the most appealing things about P Shoes in general and its Racing shoes if They're a bit more aggressively priced Against the competition has gone up a Little bit in price here but I do think That you know pummer has got something Very special here and as I said I'm Looking forward to racing in it I want To see how it feels over those longer Distan is getting up to the half Marathon maybe seeing you know how it's Going to handle going to going beyond That Half Marathon distance where I feel Like it maxed out for me in the previous
Shoe I feel like what's happening what The changes you know the changes been Made here on the Elite 3 are probably Going to make it a better shoe to run Longer in I think is a positive so yeah Very much enjoyed that first run looking Forward to spending more time in it Looking forward to racing in it um I Think pummer has got a much more Polished racing shoe to really go up Against the competition Um and I think that's you know it's Great to have another shoe out there to To make our lives and you know that Conundrum of which shoe to kind of grab For racing and for those kind of speed Kind of sessions a little bit more Difficult to do so enjoyable first run In the DV8 Nitro I'm pretty pretty Wrecked now actually so I'm filming this Later this day it's suddenly got a bit Hot in the UK and I'm not obvious not Used to it so that workout in the heat Has tied me out Fair bit but I really Did enjoy it I really like doing 10times 1K as a workout in general it's one of My favorite kinds of workouts and as you Felt great for me today like I really Like the ride of this aliphatic TPU foam Like it's got lots of Bounce it's a Little bit firmer than some of the Really soft peber Foams out there but Certainly not uncomfortable you get a Little bit of give but get a nice amount
Of spring back I think my very first run In the shoe on the shake out I did just A little short run in the shoe actually At the start of the run today it still Felt a little bit stiff all around I'd Say the plate is very stiff for sure but That does ease a little bit so probably Only from about 15K into running with The shoe I felt like it was a lot more Kind of relaxed and bouncy and fun to Run in I think I'm very very stiff Straight Out of the Box which I didn't Necessarily love too much but I think it Has loosened up a bit now as I mentioned Straight after the run I do feel the Ride is a little bit affected by the Fact that she was just slightly too long But it's not too much I certainly feel I Can enjoy and appreciate the bounce you Get from the shoe do think it's Puma's Strongest racing shoe yet is my gut Reaction after one run cuz although the Fast R2 was a very good shoe for sure it Was a little bit heavy for my taste and I think you maybe have to run in a Certain way to really lock the amount Maximum Bounce from it I think you're Going to get an easier kind of Engagement of the plate and the foam in The DV8 Nitro Elite 3 the lightness is Always a benefit in a racing shoe I Would say so obviously far too ear to Say how it's going to compare to the Market at large after just one run but
Certainly I'm intrigued and excited to Go and run in this shoe again like got a Really good feeling about it after that First run I like the Pham I like the Setup of the shoe it's fun to run in so Yeah good first run out for sure in the DV Nitro Elite 3 Today that's our first run look at the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 let us know what you Think in the comments below please do Like and subscribe ring the little Little bell and we'll see you next time
