Puma - Deviate NITRO™ 4

This is more of a tempo shoe. In terms of daily trainers there's 4 ways you can kind of go. You can get a versatile, lower stack pegasus type daily trainer (the best ones are probably the velocity nitro 4 and li ning red hare 9 pro), you could get a max cushion longer run shoe (like a magmax 2, superblast 3 or Vomero plus for something a bit more versatile), you can get a carbon tempo shoe (like the ZF6 but the deviate nitro 4 is probably a better shoe) or you can get a supertrainer (like the Megablast or Xiaonian) for something with a greater range. I'm biased because it's my daily but I love the Xiaonian due to it's versatility. Even if I'm doing intervals or tempo stuff I usually put these on over my carbon plated shoes it's that good. Also a good easy shoe

Superblast 2 or Deviate Nitro 4. I’m two runs into the DN4 and I suspect it’s going to be great for long runs. The plate isn’t super aggressive and has a stabilizing quality to it at slower paces.

I thought this too and the DN4 are perfectly fine on my feet. Nike sucked for a long time til the Vomero too.

Endorphin pro 4 are the most stable carbon plated shoes for race day. For training one could also look at endorphin speed 5 which personally I have used for race day as well. I have flat feet so I look for wide options and even though pro 4 do not come in wide I put my insole in them and it works great. They are a bit firm but you might like them. Outside of Saucony I feel puma comes close with its deviate nitro 4 elite and non elite trainer. I like Puma for its grip if that matters for you. Personally I feel the grip helps me propel / pulls me forward but I could be hallucinating as there is no proof of that 😜 I have tried a few ASICS shoes as well and while they make great bouncy shoes the high stack personally is not my first choice. I prefer lower stack as well.

Just tried the deviate 4 and loved them. A few ideas 1. Lighter weight without having to upgrade to the elite version as they don’t come in wide (220gms?) 2. Higher stack, 38/30 is a bit low maybe 40/32 would be bit better but without sacrificing the stability and the level of firmness and increasing the weight 3. Don’t sacrifice on the volume of the pumagrip so that they last much longer and finally 4. Price is a bit high, hopefully it can be brought down by a bit maybe around $150. I think I am asking a lot when I re-read it but if that is possible it would be great.

Wow completely agree with your description of the ride. First use today on a 12km tempo run today (4min/km) and don’t really know what to think. The shoe gives very little assistance ( especially vs DN3) so was a harder workout than i anticipated and I wasn’t thinking “wow this shoe is amazing” I just wasn’t thinking about it at all. Doing a 20km long run at the weekend half @race pace interested to see how these will go. I’m a bit stumped on my opinion either it’s great or I could have saved my money for something more defined. Pretty much sits in the middle of the DN3 and VN4. Actually I feel VN4 can do pace easier than this but VN4 gets tricky for long runs cos of its narrow base I find.

* **Shoe Model & Size:** Puma Deviate 4 size 10 * **Fit/Comfort Notes:** True to size, snug midfoot, normal toebox * **Use Case:** Uptempo/regular running * **Distance Ran:** 139 miles * **Reason For Buying:** Provided by Puma * **Personal Observations:** see below * **Comparisons:** reminds me of some of the original hybrid/lightweight trainers (Saucony Speed 2/3) **Background:** Been running since 2006, 2:19 marathoner (2023). Very fortunate to have a lot of shoe reps in our area so I'm able to try a lot of shoes throughout the year. I'm fairly trainer agnostic and don't tend to lean on one brand in particular. Below are some of the shoes that saw rotation, also added shoes I tried/demo'd in Parenthesis ( ): On: Cloud Monster 1, Cloud Monster Hyper 1, Cloud Surfer 2 Puma: Magmax (Velocity 3) Asics: SonicBlast, Glideride (Megablast) Nike: Vomero+, Vomero (Vomero Premium) Hoka: Skyflow (Mach X3) New Balance: Rebel V5, 1080v14, 880v15 My favorite trainers this past year have been the Vomero+, Skyflow, Cloud Monster/Monster Hyper. Those have been the ones I've pulled from more often. Favorite trainer ever was the Saucony Speed 2. My personal preference for daily trainers has been shoes that land in two very different classes. A normal boring trainer and a trainer with a little bit of pop in the forefoot that responds well with my stride pattern. I don't particularly like to do workouts in trainers/haven't found one that I enjoy to use for workouts. Workouts/Performance I packed the deviate as my only trainer for this past Christmas break in California. Wore them for all of my miles for about 2 weeks, easy runs, workouts, long runs. I've been building back into mileage and recovering from a glute issue so a lot of this stuff has been half marathon pace work mostly. Southern California experienced a lot of rain while I was there so I was able to really see how they reacted in slick conditions Longest run: 14 miles. 1hr\~47min on packed dirt/concrete Workouts: 12/25: 10/1 min on @ 5:05-15/1 min jog 12/31: 6x 3 min on @ 5:05-10/2 min jog 1/7: 9x 1 min on @ 5:05-10/1 min float, 8x 30 seconds on @ 4:50-5:00/30 second jog Overall thoughts: The key phrase I keep thinking when I look at my experience with this shoe is multitool. It functions as two very different shoes depending on use. At easy/recovery run pace it reminds me a little bit of the ride I felt with the first version of the Rincon (not derogatory, I really enjoyed that shoe for the first 100 miles). It doesn't have a pronounced rocker like the Speed 2 did so it kind of feels boring. For me, that's kind of what I'm looking for. It just feels like a running shoe rather than some feeling like moonboots. My calves and achilles appreciate that. The shoe fits true to size and there's a couple things I appreciate about the upper. The padded tongue is comfortable and I don't feel like anything digs into my ankles (though I've never really had issues with that with Puma). The midfoot feels snug and locked down while the forefoot provides enough room for my toes to spread out a bit. The upper is breathable and didn't feel like I was weighed down when I had rain pouring on me for an hour+. The outsole is great on wet concrete and I didn't feel like I was losing grip when it rained hard. At uptempo is when this really shines. Where a lot of newer super trainers tend to feel like I'm fighting the foam a bit at more aggressive paces, this feels pretty comfortable. My stride feels fairly in control at a variety of uptempo paces and the open midfoot doesn't have me worrying about rolling an ankle on my bad foot. I don't feel weighed down with this shoe and it's responsive without it feeling like it's going to chew me out if I'm a little achy. It performs as well as the velocity 3 and better than the mach x 3 but with an upper that feels more roomy. It maneuvers turns pretty nicely too, I was more confident taking turns with this shoe because it felt like I wasn't too high off the ground. Despite it not having a very pronounced rocker, it responds well to my preference of landing more on my forefoot/midfoot. Overall this feels like a call back to the hybrid/first versions of the supertrainers/lightweight trainers. I try to look at shoes as though I was purchasing and adding them to my rotations. Looking at what else is on the market and seeing where it competes. My opinion here is that there's not really a 1-1 comparison with something else currently on the market. It moves a bit like the saucony speed 3 in terms of it being an option for easy miles but it performs better under uptempo than that shoe did. I haven't tried the evosl so can't really compare that. It's not the most exciting shoe at easy run paces but it's a pretty nice tool for when you want to run uptempo without reaching for a pair of racers/want to be nicer to your body lol. Now that I have almost 150 miles in them I'm probably going to see how much I can use them for threshold/shorter half marathon pace work or moderate long runs. I want to try to ween myself out of immediately grabbing a racing shoe for workouts but haven't had the shoe that I felt confident enough to do it with. I love my Cloud Monster Hyper (On pair 3 already) but that shoe always feels just a little too elevated for me to try and run fast in. Overall I'm pretty happy with this shoe and will reach for it more often than not.

I may be in the minority here but I've been looking for a somewhat boring trainer that feels like a running shoe. This hits that and can perform. Also nicer on my muscles and tendons than stuff with a lot of superfoam.

I beat my 5k pb yesterday in the deviate nitro 4 (18:57). They felt a little underwhelming at first but they grow on you, to the point where they’re my favorite pair for threshold right now. I’m slower than you though, threshold pace 4:07/km

Thanks for the detailed write up. I was a huge fan of the Deviate Nitro 1, ended up going through 4 pairs, but was not pleased with the Deviate 2. The 3 has been pretty good and the Elite 3 is absolutely top of the line, but I spend a lot more time in the trainer than the racer obviously. It seems like the Deviate 4 should work for me, but I worry about it being a "2" update: they added foam and took away the responsiveness of the 1 without really doing anything other than making it more bulky.

excellent. thanks for the "sneak peak". The Deviate Nitros have been a favorite since the first version. Wasn't that big a fan of v2, but v1 & v3 have done great for me. Will be curious to see what they change from the 3 to the 4.

Not to spam this board with Puma reviews, but I got my shoes at the same time as u/beersandmiles7 (full disclosure I'm his coach and lifelong friend) but I was on a two week break from running when I got them so didn't have time to put the miles in right away! Sorry Cris I copied some of your text buddy Here's my review 4 runs and 45 miles in. All runs have been done below 30 degrees and often on ice and snow. Note- I don't mean to sound like a snob with the paces I'm running in them in the review, I promise. I understand that these paces are fast as hell and I'm very fortunate to have been born with this gift I've spent thousands of hours developing over the last 20 years. * **Shoe Model & Size:** Puma Deviate 4 size 13 * **Fit/Comfort Notes:** I have giant feet and these fit perfectly. Maybe a tad narrow but nothing uncomfortable, pretty standard for a faster shoe. * **Use Case:** Moderate to Tempo (I'll explain why not really "easy" below) * **Distance Run:** 45 miles * **Reason For Buying:** Provided by Puma (Project 3 in 2025) * **Personal Observations:** see below * **Comparisons:** OG Saucony Speed, OG Kinvara line, pre super bouncy shoes (in a good way!) **Background:** 34M, 5'11, 145 pounds Average Weekly Mileage: 80-95 in 5-6 days, 3200-3500/yr Injury History- Hip Labrum/Impingement Repair Surgery June 2024, Frequent bouts of Achilles Tendonitis Started Running in 1999, ran in college 2009-2013, have been running marathons since 2013. 2:16:01 Marathon PR Easy Pace- 6:30-7:30/mi Moderate Pace (where these shine for me)- 5:50-6:25/mi Tempo Pace- 5:10-5:30/mi **Shoe Rotation:** Primary- Nike Vomero + Workout/Race- Puma R3, Saucony Endorphin Elite I am EXTREMELY picky about what shoes I run in. I had hip surgery 1.5 years ago and I've had several serious bouts of severe achilles tendonitis over the last 15 years that have sidelined me for months at a time. So even though Puma has been really awesome about sending me lots of shoes since I was accepted into the Project 3 program last January, not all of them have worked for me. If I don't love a shoe, I don't trust it and I won't wear it. All that is to say, even though I was lucky enough to get these for free, there's no obligation for me to give a glowing review because I am not officially sponsored. **Review:** My first few miles I didn't know what to think. They felt like just a plain shoe. I'm so used to the super bouncy shoes of the modern era feeling like trampolines out of the box, as I experienced with my first run in the Vomero Plus in November. They didn't hurt me, however, so I wasn't worried about needing to go back to the car and switch shoes. My first run was an ambition 10 on a cold, icy day with a 2:09 marathoner. On our few miles above 7 I felt I was in a regular lightweight trainer from maybe 2014. But then as the shoe "warmed up" and we got to some hilly miles where we started running 6:20s and under, they felt like the perfect shoe for the job. I mean this in a good way, but they seemed to kind of disappear from my feet. In the super-foam shoes I run in, like the V+, R3, and Saucony EE2, I can feel that bouncy ride every step propelling me forward. By mid-run in the Deviate 4, I forgot what shoes I was wearing and felt great just clipping along with a much faster friend. I'm not sure Puma wants me to say the shoes disappeared, but the best way I can compare the feeling is to what running in a good lightweight shoe felt before the super shoe era. I started running in 1998 when I was 7 years old and got my first road racers by 10. When I was in my teens and young 20s and I'd pick up a pair of ASICS Gel DS, Nike Marathoners, OG Saucony Kinvara, Adidas Aegis, and then the Skechers GoRuns for my first post collegiate sponsorship. They were simple, sub $100 shoes I could throw on for just about any run and enjoy a 60min cruise without anything holding me back. To differentiate from the other reviews here, I would say my favorite thing about these shoes is the simplicity and the throwback to the pre boing-boing shoe nostalgia. I read posts here and on the Facebook group where people lament the super bouncy shoes not working for them based on injury, form, weight, etc, and looking for a more traditional fast shoe. These have PEBA foam and a plate (although I honestly could not tell, in the best way), but they don't feel like the Ferrari you step into in the R3s. If I'm going to continue a car metaphor, these are the Mazda Miata. They're light, they're fast, they're fun, they'll get the job done, all without "doing too much" as the kids say. These probably aren't for EVERYONE, but no shoe is. If you want to throw on a pair of shoes with the latest technology without having to FEEL that technology in every step and float through your mileage, these are an excellent choice. A few last technical details before I go: **Upper-** Best upper yet on the Deviate series. I've worn every iteration and the OGs felt really cheap. This is a high performance upper, thank you for figuring this out Puma! **Grip**\- As I said above, I have only worn these in poor conditions. It's mid January in Michigan. The wind chills have been 10-15 degrees F for my runs in these and there has been snow, ice, and sleet on the ground for all 4 runs. I haven't fallen or even slipped. The rubber is really solid. I have to be a lot more careful in my Vomero + because of the stack height and bounce, but these grip the ground really well (Puma if you're reading this and wanna throw me the Elite trail shoes when I run Leadville 50 this summer or the Deviate Elite 4 I wouldn't say no ;) ) https://preview.redd.it/nkxybusdocdg1.jpg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c57320b52aa1493025d15baed4301c268a3e2453 https://preview.redd.it/edvxx55focdg1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57f6b0cedafe3841e19d3c8d17e1719c1fc02fcd https://preview.redd.it/89y1l51gocdg1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2793f9635f12805b53bc8e47b762e3bdc4172966

For what it’s worth I no longer trust anything BITR posts because they called the alpha fly 3 the “king” and I bought them for the trials only to find they were the WORST super shoes I’ve ever put on me feet and lab testing shows them to be their worst model as well. I mean I can tell you I have the mag max I got for free and I wore them twice and I didn’t like them at all. Others have them and love them. Not for me. I bought the original deviates because some of my fast friends in town were really excited about puma getting (back) into the game so I got them and they were ok. I had a student two years ago whose dad worked for puma and when he found out I was a runner he sent me the deviate 2s, no reviews required. I found the 1s and 2s to be bouncy but with a generic upper I didn’t like at all. They fixed that with the 3 which I got as part of the P3 program and the 4 is the best yet. They feel just as fast as all the previous models, so they didn’t make those worse, my main point is they are NOT an R3/vaporfly/or even Vomero Plus in that extreme bounce feeling. That may be a turn off for some and great for others. I will still do majority of my mileage in Vomero because these weathered legs love the free bounce, but will keep them in weekly rotation for moderate 10 milers

The elite 3 is the only shoe on the market that feels like the VF2. A simple and FAST shoe with just enough bounce but not too much. I’m sure the 4s rock, I’m not quite fast enough to get those sent to me lol. I couldn’t feel bulk, I just know the upper felt awesome and I hated the upper on the 2s

They might’ve used to, but the Deviate 4 and Deviate Nitro 4 have plenty of room for my feet. I’m not a wide per se, but wider/roomier shoes work better for my feet.

They might’ve used to, but the Deviate 4 and Deviate Nitro 4 have plenty of room for my feet. I’m not a wide per se, but wider/roomier shoes work better for my feet.