Big U Turn on the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4

Now this is the Puma DV8 Nitro Elite 4 and this shoe is very good. And seriously, stick around to the end of the video because I have had a major mindset shift when it comes to this shoe, which may shock some of you. So yes, the Puma DV8 Nitro Elite 4. So I'm gonna quickly run through the stats and features. If you've not seen our other review of this shoe, go and check that out after this video. But, and yeah, it's well worth doing because I'm basically gonna contradict some of that. But I'm gonna do quickly the stats and features, just tell you what's new here with the DV8 Nitro Elite 4 before we get into how it performed on race day. So this shoe is 210 pounds and I can save you some money on that, but we do feature in this shoe a full length ATPU Nitro foam, which is just awesome. So we've got a full length carbon plate in here, which I think is called the power plate. I'll show you that in just a sec. 40 mil of stack down to 32. That's an eight mil drop, I believe. Puma grip on the outsole. UK nine and a half, fits true to size. I've got no issues in terms of the width of the shoe. I know a lot of guys and girls do complain in terms of the width of this shoe. It weighs an unbelievable 193 grams and it's got this amazing upper on it. Right, should we take a closer look? So like I said, we've got power plate in here, full length carbon plate. We've got the latest ATPU Nitro midsole in this shoe, which is just lovely. Puma grip on the outsole, which is phenomenal. Sawtooth laces, thanks very much. Just the right amount of foam for a racing shoe. A barely there upper, which is great. Like I said, I've had no problems in terms of the width of this shoe, but some of you may still find it narrow and that's about it in terms of a closer look. So now let's talk about how it performed in the race. Okay, so I picked this shoe for the London Winter 10K because, for two reasons actually. Firstly, it was gonna absolutely chuck it down, which it did, and I wanted a shoe which had a really good outsole, which this does, and also a very lightweight upper. I wanted a light shoe because the shoe was gonna get soaking wet and I didn't want the weight to increase that much or to feel too heavy in the later stages of the run. And that's why I picked this shoe. I also wanted a shoe that would feel quick and fast, and that's the other reason why I picked this shoe. So this shoe performed exceptionally well. I mean, exceptionally well, in some of the worst conditions I've ever run in. And I ended up running 40 minutes and 52. I should have gone, wait for it, I should have gone under 40 minutes, but basically I made the biggest cock up of my splits and timing at all. I don't know if you've seen the video, I don't know if it's out yet, but basically the GPS was all over the place and I got my pacing totally wrong. I could have easily, easily, but I should have run under 40 minutes. I had it totally in control, but I basically got all my splits wrong. But the point is, is the shoe was not to blame for me not going sub 40. That was totally down to me and my incompetence. Now that is, 40 minutes is basically 620 per, 626 per mile, put up the kilometers, which is not hanging about in any shape or form. And this shoe felt amazing. This ATPU foam in here just came alive. And the faster I got, the more this wanted to go even faster. And because of the lightness of the shoe, it just felt amazing in terms of turnover. And that's why I've always said with these lighter shoes, I find that I always run too fast in them. And that's what sort of holds me back from taking them into the marathon. But I'll come back to that point in just a bit. But yes, in terms of the paces, this shoe felt great. And as I said, I leant on it straight away and the ATPU foams always feel for me, firmer than I'd expect, because I think of the A6 Ray, which also has an ATPU foam in it, but that's so much softer than this. This is a lot firmer and a lot more stable, which actually I think makes it more appealing than the A6 Ray. Now, strangely, this felt just as fast as the Fast R3. Now the Fast R3, I ran my fastest 10K time in, right? And I was sort of umming and ahhing about whether to use the Fast R3 or the Winter 10K, but I'm glad I went for this. But the Fast R3 feels quicker than this. This feels sort of more stable, more in control and more forgiving than the Fast R3, which is I think the idea of the Elite 4. But you still get that feeling of speed. You still get that feeling of turnover in the shoe. And that is what you want in a race day shoe. This is an epically fast shoe, but it's not mental fast. It's not mentally unstable. It's not crazy in terms of the way it makes you feel or makes you stride out and all that sort of stuff. It's quite forgiving despite the lightness and despite the setup of the shoe. And that has brought me on to this point. I am now seriously considering using this for the London Marathon. Now I said in my original review of this shoe that I wouldn't take this into the marathon because it doesn't feel marathon enough. And I'm gonna explain that in just a second. But after running it in the winter 10K and getting some vibes, which I'm gonna explain in a minute, it has now made me think maybe I should take this into London. So in terms of a marathon shoe, I like a shoe that gives me a nice rhythm, right? I don't mind a sort of firmer shoe if it's gonna give me the same bouncy rhythm feeling that I get out of something like an SC Elite version 5 or a Pro 4 from Adidas and those kinds of shoes. I like to feel like I'm loping along when I'm marathon training. I like a stride pattern that's sort of just, yeah, just very economical and very, yeah, rhythmic, I don't know. But basically I like to get into a nice rhythm, a nice pattern when I'm out there in a marathon, right? And I like to find that pace I like to hold and I like to lope along in it. And I like shoes that give me that feeling. And weirdly, when I was running in this at the winter 10K, I thought, you know what? I think I could actually handle this over a marathon because I was getting some of those vibes. And it wasn't until I sort of leant on it that it gave me that. And maybe over the marathon distance, it might be a little bit too strong. It might be a little bit too firm. It might be, like I said, that shoe that runs a little bit too fast for me. As I said, I mentioned it in the first video. These shoes are a lot lighter, 190 something grams. I do tend to run faster in them and that may give me issues in the marathon. I don't have the confidence to run them that fast in the marathon. I think something like this, for example, would probably work in Amsterdam when I'm trying to step it up again. And that's why, for example, I'm looking at the Mizuno Hyperwarp Elite for that race because I want a shoe that's lighter, that's fast as I really try and push on with my marathon time. But I'm actually thinking I might be able to get away with this in London because I'm trying to run around that sort of 730 per mile pace. And I've been doing some runs in this shoe, I saw a tempo pace, actually a little bit less than that, but I've been getting some of those marathon vibes from it. And now that's given me the confidence to actually seriously consider this shoe, which is a huge U-turn versus the previous video that I said. So I've got to give this shoe props. Firstly, it performed exceptional in terrible conditions. Secondly, it handled the pace that I threw at it and I love to run these in a half marathon, I really would. And thirdly, the fact that this is giving me marathon vibes is really interesting. So we're going to do some more testing with this. I'm going to put this into some long runs later in the plan where I've got a hell of a lot of goal pace. I've got some goal pace runs coming up and I'm going to put this into one of those because I think this is a real contender for my marathon race day shoe, which has really surprised me actually. And so it wasn't until the winter 10K that I got those vibes, but yes, I really love this shoe. If you don't have any issues in terms of the width of this shoe, this is a phenomenal race day shoe, it really is. So there we go, people. That's where I'm at with the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4. It's a cracking shoe, it really is. Fast feeling, lightweight. I think you can do 5K, 10K, half marathon and maybe even a marathon in it. I know you faster guys and girls out there will get on well with that in the marathon distance. You'd probably go fast R3 to be honest, but I think this is that sort of halfway ground between the fast R3 and something like an SC Elite version 5. It is that kind of halfway ground and it's really interesting the fact that the shoe's now making me think that. So massive kudos to Puma for developing this shoe the way they have because I never would have thought of running the third version in the marathon, but I'm seriously considering running that fourth version in the London marathon. Okay team, if you liked this video, make sure you give this video a thumbs up, share it, subscribe and all that sort of stuff. And if you absolutely hate it, thought I talked nonsense and I've done a massive U-turn on the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4, you think I'm an idiot, all that kind of stuff. Also, make sure you hit that subscribe button and I'll catch you all on the next video.