Puma now has two great carbon racing shoes in its line-up: the Puma Fast-R 2, and the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3. Which should you go for? Nick runs through the pros and cons of each in this video.
Check out our reviews of both shoes:
Puma Fast-R 2 Review:
Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3 Review:
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
02:20 – How’s The Fit
03:34 – The Run Test
07:36 – Verdict
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Hello and welcome to runers my name's Nick and in this video we're going to be Comparing the pummer DV8 Nitro Elite 3 And the Puma fastar Nitro Elite 2 so the fast R2 and the Nitro Elite 3 Are Puma's two top carbon plate running Shoes that are both released this year They stand more or less equally at the Top of Puma's range with their athletes Picking between them based on which they Find the more efficient and fast shoe That said the Nitro Elite is a fair bit Cheaper it's £195 or $230 whereas the Fast2 is £230 or $260 the Nitro Elite is the lighter shoe Is 215 G or 7.5 o whereas the fast R2 is 255 G or 9.2 o despite the fact they Have the same stack height and drop Which is 40 mm at the heel 32 at the 4T With an 8 mm drop with the fast R2 You've got the slightly Wilder design All around but you have the same foam in Both shoes which is the new version of Pummer Nitro Elite phone which is now an Aliphatic TPU which is meant to deliver More energy return and sustain its Performance over time better than the Peber based Nitro Elite they used to use On these shoes with previous versions You've got the full length carbon power Plate running through the shoe as you Can see here with this decoupled midsole Where you have two big chunks of foam One under the heel one under the 4ot the
Carbon plate on the fastar actually runs Past the front of the shoe there as you Can see to create even more leverage got An ultra weave upper with pumis power Tape and this heel spoiler SL heel C Cter this external bit of plastic you Have on the back of the shoe there it's Got quite a booty style design around The collar with an integrated tongue and You've got a pag grip outso with great 4ot coverage and two big strips of Rubber at the back to cover the heel There we all love pumer grip as we know And you've also got it on the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 with again good forfeit coverage Two strips of rubber at the back Fair Bit of exposed foam in the middle there Compared to the fast ST which just has No foam in the middle because you have Continuous mids soole on the Devi Nitro Elite 3 it is the Nitro Elite aliphatic TPU material the same stuff as in the p A fast R too but you've got this Continuous midar with only a little Cutout on the bottom of the shoe and Then a carbon power plate running Through it as with the fast R you've Also got an ultra reave upper on the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 but it has a normal tongue And fit around the collar a little bit Of padding there and you've also got Power tape on both shoes to add some Structure on certain sections of the Upper to give a bit more
Support so it comes to fit I'd say these Are both shoes that are puty at the Longer end of my size so I tend to be in Between sizes and with Puma I usually Get a uk9 which is a us10 that's fine Across the entire training range fit is Pretty much perfect but with the latest Generation of the racing shoes I have Quite a bit of room in the front of the Shoe there especially with the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 it was something I noticed so I'd say if you're on the fence between Two sizes and you like a tight fit Around the toes or a tightish fit around The toes for your Racing shoes then I'd Maybe look at going half size down I was Fine in the half size up but if I was Picking again I'd definitely go half a Size down in the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 for One I had no other problems with the fit Of the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 though it's got Good hold and no rubbing around the heel With the fast R2 I haven't had any like Kind of breaking the skin rubbing from This slightly weird design at the heel Here but it did irritate my kidneys a Little bit this heel counter almost digs In slightly I found and I didn't really Love the fit around the heel I kind of Wish P would get rid of this plastic Spoiler thing they have on some of it Shoes that doesn't seem to work for me But despite those relatively minor Issues I did find the fit was pretty
Good in both of these shoes like I say The sizing might depend a little bit on Your preferences sticking to your normal Running shoe size will certainly work For these shoes but if you're on the Fence between sizes unlike slightly more Dialed in fit you could look at half Size Down so I've done around 60k of running In both of these shoes done Several Hard Workouts in both of them and raced in Both of them and I do think they're both Really good shoes I think Puma's made a Clear step up this year on what we've Seen before and now has two really Competitive carbon Racing shoes that Almost fulfill different styles or suit Different ride field preferences we've Got this lighter nimbler deviate Nitro Leite 3 and then the slightly bouncier Kind of bigger fast R2 there is a Similar in between the shoes despite the Very different designs because of the Same foam being in the mides of both and I really like this new aliphatic TPU From Puma I find delivers bounce it's a Really responsive foam you can really Feel the energy return and it's not that Squishy and soft which differs to shoes Maybe like the hus yellow or something Like that but you do get a nice level of Comfort there's no harshness Under Foot And you get a lot of oomph from the foam Because it is like I say that firm
Bouncy responsive feeling similar to What you get from The aex Meta speed Sky Paris with it FF turbo plus foam and I Do think it's a really well balanced Phone it's not as unstable as some Others and it gives you loads of bounce Back and it feels very good under foot For kind of short reps long reps longer Races everything really it's a really Well balanced racing phone despite the Same phone being there there are Certainly quite big differences in the Ride field of both shoes though because You have got this disconnected midsole On the fastar 2 and it's a much wider Shoe especially in the for foot it's a It's a bigger platform a weightier Platform and one that feels really Dialed in to give you lots of oomph and Propulsion if you're running a straight Line or on a good course or around a Track or something like that and it does That job really well it's it's a very Springy shoe and I've really enjoyed Doing any kind of reping the year I've Gone down to very short reps and then 400 m but also did a long 1K rep session Raced a 5K in it and did a progression Hour in it as well moving through the Gears and every single fast run has felt Really good in the shoe and it's almost Felt surprisingly good because I look at The shoe and I think it's not really Going to suit me that well I'm a high
Cadence Runner with quite a shuffly Style and actually the fast R2 has given Me lots back and I've enjoyed running in It it is certainly a far shoe there's Lots going on with the carbon plate Extension the decoupled midsole but you At its core it's a far running shoe and It feels like a fast running shoe over Any distance if you do have a more Connected feel with the d8 Nitro Elite 3 And it does create I think a smoother And better transition for heel Strikers Like myself I think it moves you onto Your toes really well it feels a lot More natural underf foot than the fast R2 that's for sure and it definitely Feels lighter and nimbler with its Narrower profile and just lighter design All around I think that nimbleness comes Into play when you're you doing certain Races like I did a 10k race in the shoe With lots of ups and downs and trails And sharp turns and that kind of thing And you know it felt very good for that But also when you're tiring at the end Of hard reps or races you got easier to Pick your feet up and turn them over Especially for myself as a high Cadence Runner I really value that kind of Lightness and nimbleness in a race shoe Just means I can keep pushing and it's a Shoe that I think that is very easy to Engage and get a lot out of because you Don't have to be running really well and
Landing really well and feeling really Good putting a lot of power into every Stride you can just kind of be hanging On by a thread and the shoe will kind of Help keep you going when you're still Trying to run fast at the end of a rep Or race whereas I think I lose a little Bit from the fast R2 towards the end of Those and it's probably a little bit Down to run style but also due to the Size width of the shoe I think if you Are dialed in and pushing well you do Get a lot of bounce back from the shoe But it's not quite as easy to for me Anyway to engage the kind of bounciness And repulsion from it as it is with the DV Nitro Elite 3 and that could be a Running style thing I'm sure they've got Elites who prefer this shoe at Puma Because of the kind of bigger design the Bouncier massive wide for foot you have On the shoe which is maybe if you land There you get a lot back from the shoe With just this almost stabilizing the Back of it this big chunk of foam at the Back whereas some like self with heel Strikes High Cadence prefer the Lightness the more fluid transition you Have of this connected midsole which Creates like I say a better ride feeling For me without really losing much bounce Like I said I think for me they almost Feel similarly bouncy on us running in Them at the same time like I said if you
Are someone who's bounding a bit more You might feel the extra bounce of the Fast start to last note is they both got Fantastic out SS we say this for every Puma Shu but it is really worth noting Like I did a lot of running in the wet In the winter with the fast R2 on kind Of an all weather Park path a lot of Fast running on that could be a bit Greasy on the top never had any problems With grip don't know 10K were mostly on Trails in the in the dvet Nitro Elite 3 And also run on the canal toe path and They're both shoes that offer you know Better than average grip especially Among Racing Shoes so it comes to the verdict uh for Me it's a pretty easy call I prefer the Feel of the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 I find it A faster shoe that suits my running Style a bit better I find it almost Equally propulsive to the fastar 2 it's Also cheaper and and I think it looks a Bit better as well especially in that Really nice new blue color way that P Was releasing so yeah for me it is an Easy pick it's the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 now Whether that holds true across all Runners looking at a case for the F St 2 Really might come down to running style A bit but you've got a fair bit of extra Weight to make up for so if you are a Bounding Runner and you do get extra Bounce and propulsion from this I think
You've got to really feel that to make It worth opting for this shoe over the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 which is cheaper Lighter all kind of objective things That you know tilt the argument in its Favor I also think even if you really do Love the feel of the fastar 2 it's a Question of also thinking about how You're going to feel at the end of races That kind of thing like is it going to Carry you through to the line feeling Really really good or is it the kind of Sh that feels fantastic at the start but Actually in the second half of a hard Race Maybe the lightness the nimbleness The easier turnover of the DV8 Nitro Elite 3 might be preferred and like I Said I don't think you sacrifice a lot In Balance because you've got the same Midell height same inell foone I really Think this packs a punch in a similar Way to the fast R2 got that really big For foot there is a telling difference With the fast R2 it does give you that Extra almost feeling of punch from the Forefoot on the shoe but I think you can Get a very fast drive for sure out of The DV8 Nitro Elite 3 whatever kind of Runner you are it's probably the one I'd Recommend if you just have to buy online And not sure what to go for I think it's The one that will suit more Runners a Bit more easily and like I say is a bit Cheaper and lighter if you get a chance
To try them out though you might really Fall in love with the feeling of the Fast R2 because of it it's quite a Unique feel it is a very different feel To lots of other shoes it's a bit Unnatural I prefer the more natural feel Of the dp8 Nitro Elite 3 but I do think There will be some Runners who really Unlock the benefits of the Fast 2 a bit Better than I do so yeah for me it's a DV8 Nitro Elite 3 but they're both good Shoes and it's good to see pummer really Pushing on in the carbon shoe area Having had a really good training range And now it's kind of adding to that with Some really standout Racing shoes as Well Well that's our comparison of Puma's Racing shoes let us know what you think In the comments Below have you made a Choice between either of these shoes or Would you still be sticking with other Brands for your racing shoe please do Like subscribe ring the little bell and We'll see you next time
