Shoe review : Puma Deviate Nitro
The Cat is Back!
The Deviate Nitros in action, great at a variety of speeds including faster track sessions!
I was fortunate enough to be gifted these running shoes a few weeks ago, and was more than a little bit excited to try out my first ever 'carbon plated' running shoe!
Admittedly it had been some time since I last wore a pair of Pumas for running; in fact I graced the Doncaster Little Aths track in a stunning pair of royal blue & white Puma Darts way back in a previous century coming second in the 100m final of a twilight meet with a hefty 20m handicap ( could not sprint to save myself ha ha).
Nevertheless I was more than happy to try out Pumas latest shoe marking the brand's return to serious performance running shoes, with absolutely no idea or preconception of what to expect.
And here's what I found...
Deviate Nitro…. all the bits & pieces, featuring super grippy PumaGrip, Nitrofoam & carbon Innoplate
“The Puma Deviate Nitro shoes are amazing!”
I wore these shoes for all types of runs from longer steady runs, faster tempo sessions, Intervals, hills, track and they felt great in all of them.
The shoes have firm & snug fit through the mid-foot, but not cramped in the toes or forefoot. The fit feels like a performance shoe should, not soft but springy & stable.
The thing about these is that they feel very springy & responsive at a variety of speeds, from your very easy running to fast tempo & even faster intervals on the track. Like most performance shoes the more energy you put into them as you push through the ground the more you get back, and that certainly is the case with the Deviates, but the key thing here is you can also feel that return at cruising speeds.
However, the biggest rewards from the shoe occur when you are 'running well'; up tall, forefoot striking with your feet underneath you allowing your glutes to work early & push you forward, and this is where you really feel the benefits of the carbon plate which essentially acts like a spring as it pushes back during toe-off.
Basically the harder you press, the more it pushes back & propels you forward!
Puma's carbon plate or "Innoplate" is unique in it's design as it's split shape reaches forward under the big toe which enhances the effect of the big toe in stabilising and propelling the push-off.
The big toe or hallux is critical in providing stability, leverage & power during toe off and the carbon Innoplate from Puma takes full advantage of that.
And this effect became much more apparent when I went back to my other favoured running shoes, the Adidas Adizero Adios & Nike Pegasus Turbo 2, that I could really notice the difference with the Puma Deviate Nitro with it's carbon plate.
Here's the stats on the Deviate Nitro;
heel toe drop 10mm (38-28mm)
weight 258g
carbon fibre plate
Puma Nitro foam ( nitrogen infused)
designed for daily running to longer distances to marathons +
suitable for mid-foot & heel strikers
Whilst I will happily wear these for racing, they are a little heavier than other comparable carbon plate performance shoes but are also significantly cheaper and much more versatile & suitable for the average or above average runner.
In summary, Puma has delivered a great performance carbon plated running shoe that is both comfortable, responsive & fast at a variety of speeds, unlike other carbon plated shoes.
This makes this more affordable performance shoe more suitable to more runners as a daily trainer for easy or faster tempo & even racing.
If you're thinking of entering into the carbon plated performance shoe market, but don't think you're quite up to it, this is the shoe for you!
THE CAT IS BACK & THE CAT IS GOOD!
