PUMA 2026 New Shoes Reviewed: 4 ModelsTop Pick Is the Plate-Free, About 220g Deviate Pure Nitro

PUMA's new shoes for 2026 are 4, and the top pick is the Deviate Pure Nitro, released Jun 4. The others are the Deviate Nitro 4 (Jan 23), Elite 4 (Feb 12) and Velocity Nitro 5 (Jul 9). Weights run about 170 to 250g, and the heel-to-forefoot drop is lined up at 8mm on all 4.

PUMA's 2026 new shoes: remove the plate and you save 30g

The top pick among PUMA's 2026 new shoes is the Deviate Pure Nitro. Keeping the same sole thickness as January's Deviate Nitro 4, it drops the rebound plate and sheds about 30g, and the official price fell too.

Many people line shoes up with plated ones on top and unplated ones below. PUMA went and made a new shoe that keeps the same thickness and removes only the plate. With this pair, the new shoes of 2026 come to 4.

Quick table of PUMA's 4 new 2026 shoes

Scroll the table sideways →

For plates, the Deviate Nitro 4 has one mixed with carbon, and the Elite 4 has carbon. The Pure Nitro and Velocity Nitro 5 have none. The outsole rubber is PUMAGRIP on all 4.

The conditions I chose, and the models I left out

I included only shoes whose release was announced by PUMA Japan with a 2026 month and day. This isn't an order by what sells.

The MagMax Nitro 2 is on the official Japan site at about 275g, 46 / 38mm and JPY 22,000. But PUMA's head office announced its worldwide release for Dec 1, 2025, so I didn't count it among the 2026 new releases. The FAST-R Nitro Elite 3 is also a current model, but it's the shoe used in 2025 races.

The Magnify Nitro and Forever Run Nitro didn't turn up in a search of the official Japan site on the day I checked.

Deviate Nitro 4: the training workhorse. About 15g lighter than before

What changed: the official page says "about 15g lighter than the previous model." It's about 250g now, so by backing it out the last one was about 265g (250 + 15). The midsole foam became 2 layers, and the plate was reshaped to keep its flexibility, it says.

How it differs from its siblings: it's 80g heavier than the Elite 4 (250 − 170), and its guideline distance is 2 times longer, at 800 km. It has the same sole thickness as the Pure Nitro, and this one has a plate.

What's good: a plate, a thick 38mm sole and a 800 km guideline. Having all 3 in 1 pair is true only of this one among the 4. The outsole rubber widens the contact area to suit both heel strikers and midfoot strikers. Width is 2E-equivalent. Its range of use is wide too, from tempo-up workouts to the full marathon.

What to watch for: it's the heaviest of the 4. It's 10g heavier than the plate-free Velocity Nitro 5 and 30g heavier than the Pure Nitro. It isn't a shoe you buy for lightness.

Who it suits: runners who want to rack up distance in a plated shoe, and who want 1 pair for both racing and training. If you're fine without a plate, the Pure Nitro below fits.

There's also a version with the HYROX name. The press release says it's "based on the DEVIATE NITRO 4," but the official Japan page lists 39 / 29mm thickness and a 10mm drop, different from the regular version's 38 / 30mm and 8mm. If you want to keep the drop the same, the regular version is the safe choice.

Deviate Nitro Elite 4: about 170g. About 12% lighter than before

What changed: the official page says "about 12% lighter than the previous model." It's about 170g now, so the last one works out to about 193g (170 ÷ 0.88). The gap is about 23g. The press release says plate stiffness went up and ribs were added to spread side-to-side force evenly.

How it differs from its siblings: its sole is 2mm thicker than the Deviate Nitro 4's, and it's 80g lighter. The foam is a different one, NITROFOAM ELITE, with up to 93% energy return (the company's own figure). The Velocity Nitro 5's foam is 85%, an 8-point gap.

What's good: a 40mm sole and a carbon plate at 170g. In our article lining up 10 max-cushion carbon shoes too, it was the second lightest of the 8 shoes with known weights. The price is on the low side among racing shoes under 200g. And the width is 2E-equivalent, with rubber across the whole outsole. Few racing shoes get lightness, price and width all at once.

What to watch for: the guideline distance is 400 km. Of the 4, this is the only one at half. The head office's announcement names "high-cadence runners" as its target. For runners who move by stride length, it's a build where fit tends to be hit or miss.

Who it suits: runners who can decide to wear it only on race day and a few times before. For a daily pair, the Deviate Nitro 4 fits.

The press release says the PUMA x HYROX version has lug shapes on the sole matched to HYROX floors and movements. About 194g, with a 500 km guideline. The gaps in numbers from the regular version are in a table in our Deviate Nitro differences article.

Deviate Pure Nitro: the line's first plate-free shoe

What changed: there's no earlier generation. It's the first shoe in the Deviate Nitro line without a plate. The press release says it's about 30g lighter than the Deviate Nitro 4. As a proportion, that's 12% (30 ÷ 250).

How it differs from its siblings: it matches the Deviate Nitro 4 in sole thickness (38 / 30mm), 8mm drop and 800 km guideline. The differences are the plate, the weight and the price. Against the Velocity Nitro 5, both are plate-free, but its sole is 3mm thicker and it's 20g lighter.

What's good: thick yet light. If you narrow the 4 to soles of 38mm or more, 3 remain, and among those this is the only one with no plate and an 800 km guideline. Even between the 2 plate-free shoes, the thicker one is the lighter, which is a reversal. By choosing not to use a plate, it gives a natural stride. In a trend of making fast shoes with plates, it's a pair that gets its lightness from foam alone.

What to watch for: the width labeling. The official pages for the Deviate Nitro 4, Elite 4 and Velocity Nitro 5 say "2E-equivalent," while this shoe's says "regular." One more thing: its target is "people who run 3 to 5 or more days a week."

Who it suits: runners who want 1 plate-free pair to handle even faster workouts. If you want a plate's push, the Deviate Nitro 4; if you want room in the width, the Velocity Nitro 5.

What happens in a plate-free build is dug into, for 1 pair only, in the Deviate Pure Nitro review.

How does the Velocity Nitro 5 differ from the 4? The drop goes from 10mm to 8mm

What changed: the previous Velocity Nitro 4's figures remain in the 2025 press release. Lined up, they look like this.

Adding heel and forefoot thickness, the last one is 62mm (36 + 26) and this one is also 62mm (35 + 27). The amount of sole is unchanged, with 1mm moved from the heel to the forefoot. That narrowed the drop by 2mm. It's an adjustment to raise forefoot cushioning and steady the shoe.

It also says the base of the sole was widened, and that the Japan-specific last (JAPAN LAST), with room around the instep, continues in use.

How it differs from its siblings: it has the thinnest sole and the lowest price of the 4. There are 2 variants: a 3E-equivalent wide and a waterproof GORE-TEX version.

What's good: 10g lighter at an unchanged price. The price per kilometer is the lowest of the 4, about JPY 21 (next table). And this update lined up the drop of all 4 of 2026 at 8mm. Alternating the Velocity for training and the Elite 4 for racing doesn't change your sense of heel height.

What to watch for: there's no plate. The sole is 35mm too, 3 to 5mm thinner than the 3 Deviate shoes. On the GORE-TEX version, the official page lists the width as "regular."

Who it suits: runners looking for a first pair or a daily pair. It handles up to the full marathon. If you want a plate's rebound in a race, the Elite 4 fits. The story on the Japan-specific last is in the Velocity Nitro 5 review.

For runners with wide feet, there's a 3E-equivalent wide. Weight and sole thickness are listed the same as the regular width.

For runners who also run on rainy days, there's the GORE-TEX version. Its weight is listed as about 240g, the same as the regular version.

The 4 shoes side by side, per gram and per kilometer

Scroll the table sideways →

The Elite 4 is 80g lighter than the Deviate Nitro 4 and JPY 7,700 more. That works out to about JPY 96 for saving 1g (7,700 ÷ 80).

The Pure Nitro is the reverse. It's 30g lighter than the Deviate Nitro 4 and JPY 2,200 lower. Lighter and cheaper. Among the 4 shoes, only 1 combination goes in this direction.

Let's turn the 30g gap into a full marathon. Assuming a 1.2 m stride, 42.195 km is about 35,163 steps. 30g × 35,163 steps is about 1,055kg. The total weight your feet lift differs by about 1 tonne by the finish.

The pair with the most reason to buy among PUMA's 2026 shoes

It's the Deviate Pure Nitro.

I set 3 conditions. ① Wearable every day (guideline of 800 km), ② a thick sole (38mm or more), ③ light. Two shoes meet ① and ②, the Deviate Nitro 4 and the Pure Nitro, and the Pure Nitro is the light one. Per kilometer it's also about JPY 25, only JPY 4 apart from the plate-free Velocity Nitro 5.

For the other 3, it's a question of upgrading if you own the previous model. The Pure Nitro has no previous model. A thick sole, no plate, and 220g. PUMA has never had this combination before. That's why the reason to buy in 2026 is clearest.

It isn't the pair for everyone, though. Here is how I'd split it.

• You need room in the width, or want to hold down the budget → Velocity Nitro 5 (2E-equivalent; the wide is 3E-equivalent)
• A plated shoe for both training and racing → Deviate Nitro 4
• A light shoe for race day only → Elite 4

If you're choosing across other brands, a table of the same form is in best running shoes of 2026.

Who is it for?

• If your Velocity Nitro 4 hasn't reached 800 km yet, wearing it out first is early enough. The weight gap is 10g, and the price is the same.
• For training, the Velocity Nitro 5 fits better than the Elite 4. Per kilometer it's about 1 in 3.6 (20.6 ÷ 74.3).
• If you care about the width labeling, choosing among the 3 labeled "2E-equivalent" is the sure way.

FAQ

What's the difference between the Deviate Nitro 4 and the Pure Nitro?

The plate. Sole thickness (38 / 30mm), the 8mm drop and the guideline of 800 km are the same. The Pure Nitro is about 30g lighter and JPY 2,200 lower in price.

What's the difference between the Pure Nitro and the Velocity Nitro 5?

Sole thickness and weight. The Pure Nitro is 38 / 30mm at about 220g; the Velocity Nitro 5 is 35 / 27mm at about 240g. The official cushioning categories also differ: "maximum" for the Pure Nitro and "medium" for the Velocity Nitro 5. For width, only the Velocity Nitro 5 is listed as 2E-equivalent.

Are PUMA's new-shoe release dates the same worldwide and in Japan?

Not for the 2 Deviate shoes. The Deviate Nitro 4's Jan 23 and the Elite 4's Feb 12 were, per the head office's announcement, limited-quantity early release dates, with the worldwide general release on Feb 26. PUMA Japan announced the same Jan 23 and Feb 12 as release dates, and put out new colors on Feb 26.

What's the drop of PUMA's 2026 new shoes?

8mm on all 4. Switching shoes doesn't change the relationship between heel and forefoot height. The previous Velocity Nitro 4 was 10mm, so alternating it with the Deviate shoes meant a 2mm gap. The 4 shoes of 2026 have a 0mm gap in any combination.

Gear in this article

Ads and images: Rakuten Ichiba

PUMA Deviate Nitro 4PUMA x HYROX Deviate NitroPUMA Deviate Nitro Elite 4PUMA Deviate Pure NitroPUMA Velocity Nitro 5PUMA Velocity Nitro 5 WidePUMA Velocity Nitro 5 GORE-TEX

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