Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Introduction
Brooks has change into a model recognized for his or her glorious uppers. Their meticulously crafted uppers have the proper match whereas exuding plushness and luxury in spades. Their uppers are so good actually that they carry the remainder of the shoe.
Brooks’ most well-known every day trainers, the Ghost, Glycerin and Adrenaline fashions kind the spine of their enterprise. All of them have glorious uppers with mediocre midsoles. By mediocre, I imply agency, flat and uninteresting.
On the racing entrance, they’ve uncared for their long-distance racers and are usually not a drive to be reckoned with relating to tremendous footwear. With racers, you’ll be able to’t get away with having an important higher however a mean midsole. On the beginning line of races, the one runners utilizing the Hyperion Elite are Brooks sponsored athletes.
That is my first time testing the Hyperion Elite. Brooks racing footwear have by no means gotten my coronary heart racing, primarily due to the dated midsole foams they’ve been utilizing in it. Although they’ve been utilizing one of the best foams they’ve, they will’t compete with the foams from different manufacturers that are created from PEBA: a light-weight, excessive power returning foam.
Brooks isn’t a small firm and even newcomers to the tremendous shoe class like Decathlon are utilizing PEBA of their racing footwear so there’s no excuse for Brooks.
Lately, there’s been a shift at Brooks although. They launched the Ghost Max final yr, a modernised model of their hottest coach. In addition they upgraded the Glycerin to a Nitrogen injected EVA midsole and the Ghost 16 and Ghost Max 2 will get the identical foam. The Hyperion Elite 4 will get the model new DNA Flash v2 foam.
The Elite is the long-distance racer within the Hyperion highway vary. There’s additionally the Hyperion Max (maximalist velocity coach), the Hyperion (light-weight velocity coach) and the Hyperion GTS (supportive velocity coach).
The Hyperion Elite 4 weighs 7.8 oz (221 g) which is 0.3 oz (11 g) lighter than model 3. It prices $250, the usual worth for a carbon plated tremendous shoe from any of the highest manufacturers. It additionally has 4 mm of additional stack top within the heel in comparison with its predecessor.
Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 First Impressions
My first run was 20 kilometres at my regular tempo. It felt snug, easy and agency. I used to be most impressed with the higher which felt wonderful however the journey was very abnormal. I didn’t really feel prefer it was giving me a lot velocity help.
The journey was barely firmer than I anticipated and the carbon plate was very vague. There wasn’t a lot of a forward-tipping sensation both. It wasn’t urging me to go sooner like most tremendous footwear do. With the higher being so light-weight and the midsole being so dense, it felt backside heavy.
The shoe that it jogged my memory of most was the Hyperion Max, the coaching model of the Hyperion Elite. The Elite felt a bit softer due to its DNA Flash v2 midsole, and it felt a lot stiffer as a result of the Hyperion Max doesn’t have a plate.
Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Higher
The Hyperion Elite 4’s higher is a masterclass on make a racing higher. There isn’t one factor I’d change about it- it’s minimal but it surely’s efficient.
The comfortable open knit materials is probably the most breathable I’ve ever skilled whereas total foot lockdown is superb. I didn’t expertise any irritation or scorching spots.
The tongue is stitched to 1 facet solely which prevents any tongue slide and there’s an extra loop on the tongue for the laces to undergo for additional safety.
The match is true to dimension with an accommodating forefoot and toe field so I like to recommend this shoe for runners with extensive toes. The notched laces that are just like the Alphafly laces make it appear and feel extra premium, as do the reflective strips on the lacing part that are extraordinarily uncommon on a brilliant shoe.
Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Sole Unit
In the event you pay $250 for a racing shoe, you count on to really feel quick while you use it. The Hyperion Elite 4 simply doesn’t really feel as quick because the competitors. The primary motive for that is how flat its journey feels. The flat journey comes from the shortage of a forefoot rocker, and a midsole foam which doesn’t return a lot power.
An excellent racing foam must compress a substantial quantity throughout footstrikes after which decompress in a short time, a attribute of PEBA. The DNA Flash v2 (Nitrogen injected EVA) within the Hyperion Elite 4 doesn’t compress sufficient. That’s why PEBA is utilized by most manufacturers of their flagship racing footwear.
The Hyperion Elite 4 is finest suited to quick distances like intervals and quick tempo runs because of its firmness. It feels higher throughout sooner efforts. For lengthy runs and marathons, it doesn’t really feel as environment friendly as different tremendous footwear.
The longest run I did within the Hyperion Elite 4 was 37 kilometres. 22 kilometres of it was at my regular tempo and 15 kilometres was at my marathon tempo. The steady-paced part felt snug however once I wanted to extend my tempo, I discovered it actually tough to. I did an analogous sort of run within the Alphafly 3 the earlier week and the Alpha felt a lot extra punchy and aggressive.
Essentially the most attention-grabbing factor concerning the Hyperion Elite 4 is its carbon plate which is manufactured by Arris. The plate within the shoe is an open-lattice construction (a lot of holes in it) which permits the plate to be stiff however light-weight on the similar time.
The issue is that the DNA Flash v2 midsole is so agency and dense that you could’t actually really feel the carbon plate contained in the midsole. It feels as if the plate is muted as a result of the froth isn’t very energetic.
The one space the place the Hyperion Elite 4 beats all the opposite tremendous footwear is sturdiness. The midsole foam is firmer and fewer susceptible to scuffing/chipping so it holds up a lot better over time. After 85 kilometres, the outsole on my pair seems immaculate. It is a shoe that you should utilize for lots of coaching and racing.
The forefoot rubber part has massive holes in it and mimics the carbon plate to avoid wasting weight. 2 small rubber pads shield the medial and lateral sections of the heel. I used the Hyperion Elite 4 in some gentle rain and outsole traction was good.
Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Conclusions
The Hyperion Elite 4 is a $250 racing shoe that appears like a coaching shoe. It doesn’t have that particular pop or explosive power return that you just often affiliate with tremendous footwear due to its flat DNA Flash v2 midsole.
For me, it’s on a decrease tier than the Alphafly, Vaporfly, Adios Professional, Rocket X, and the brand new SC Elite.The $120 Atreyu Race Mannequin provides an analogous stage of velocity help and journey at lower than half the value.
The Hyperion Elite 4 doesn’t have any flaws relating to design: it’s extraordinarily snug, easy, gentle and steady sufficient but it surely’s lacking one thing. I don’t really feel quick once I put on it. It’s essential that Brooks switches to a PEBA-based midsole within the subsequent Hyperion Elite model with the intention to meet up with their opponents.
Following the development of most Brooks trainers, the Hyperion Elite 4 has a stellar higher however a really common midsole. This flawless higher deserves higher. I received’t be racing within the Hyperion Elite 4 as a result of it received’t give me a bonus when it counts.
