Puma Fast r Nitro Elite 2 Review

Welcome back to another shoe review. Today we have the Puma Nitro Fast R2. These shoe companies really need to start making their names shorter because I can't even remember them to say them all. If you're new here, Amanda Brooks of Run to the Finish, long time running coach, runner, love all the gear reviews, love writing all the articles. So today, like I said, we are talking about this new Puma shoe and I actually had a chance to wear it for a half marathon. That was my first time wearing the shoe at all. Do not recommend, except that it was a pretty darn good shoe. So, um, interesting. I, I don't know. I just kind of love the look of this shoe. I'm going to move to the side so you can better see, like, so you can see the fiber, carbon fiber plate. Um, I always say carbon, carbon plate exposed here along the bottom and the shoe just feels fast. I don't know. There is something psychological I feel like, and that is why they use these bright colors, but the shoe feels really good under your foot too. I could feel the bounce. I could feel the spring. I could feel it just adding that little bit of energy back to my step. I am not even the speediest of runners, which are the people who are getting the max benefit from these kinds of shoes. The one issue I had, and I was not the only person who had this, is that while running, it felt fine. But the second that I wanted to walk around, the shoe was just rubbing my heel so bad. I knew I was going to have blisters. This would 100% be the shoe that I would say, wear something else to the race start, have these with you, and then check your other shoes so then you can also put them on immediately after the race. I do that anyways with my carbon plate shoes because I am trying to prolong their lifespan. We know they don't last as long. You can also see here, this one is a good example, that because the foam is exposed, just from that 13 mile run, it started to peel away a little bit. Not a massive grip. It looks grippy, but that's kind of deceiving. It's not like sticky or anything. So again, this is similar to almost every carbon plate shoe out there. I would probably be selective about the conditions in which I would wear them. The roads in Orlando were wet from humidity, and I did not feel like I was slipping around at all, so it could just be a mental thing for me. I would probably not wear them on a wet, rainy day, personal. So fit, it's going to be sock-like fit. So no tongue moving around on you, which is probably one of my favorite things now because that can be such an issue. I didn't even need to use the back lacing hole. I heel lock almost everything that I wear, and these stayed in place just fine, so I didn't have any issue with that. Good bounce, good cushion. Like I said, it is a really comfortable shoe. I wouldn't say, I would say average in terms of like width. So Nike is one that we know traditionally runs a very narrow fit. I can wear a narrow shoe, so I don't always think about it, but this I would say is pretty average. Not wide, not narrow, just a pretty average fit. I was excited about it, and now I'm actually really excited to run in some other Nikes. Now I said the word Nike, so I'm repeating it, but other Pumas that I have sitting in the office ready to go out for testing. So do recommend 100%. Also, like most of the carbon shoes, we know that the max benefit is really when you're hitting eight minute pace and faster. That being said, I still think the shoe feels darn good. So even if you're more in like that nine minute range, maybe you aren't getting the max benefit, but I think it's still like a pretty worthwhile race shoe. The other question I often get is, yes, use it for a few long runs, long-ish runs before race day. You want to have a feel for your shoe that you're going into race day for. And even with carbon, where we're trying not to use it all the time, I want you to see at least 10 miles on your foot just to make sure you don't have hot spots, you don't have blisters. This does have, I mean, a tiny bit of cushion, but can you see right at the back? There's no cushion. There's a seam. And so I feel like that must have been the problem when we started walking. I don't know. I also don't exactly know why there's like a tailwind effect to it, but I'll take it. Whatever makes me feel fast. Okay, there's your quick review. If you've got other questions, as always, feel free to drop them below. Happy to answer more.