Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Assessment

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Introduction

Brooks has change into a model recognized for his or her wonderful uppers. Their meticulously crafted uppers have the proper match whereas exuding plushness and luxury in spades. Their uppers are so good in actual fact that they carry the remainder of the shoe.

Brooks’ most well-known each day trainers, the Ghost, Glycerin and Adrenaline fashions kind the spine of their enterprise. All of them have wonderful 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 will not be a power to be reckoned with with regards to tremendous footwear. With racers, you may’t get away with having a terrific higher however a median 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 the most effective foams they’ve, they’ll’t compete with the foams from different manufacturers that are created from PEBA: a light-weight, excessive vitality returning foam.

Brooks just 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 peak 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 comfy, easy and agency. I used to be most impressed with the higher which felt wonderful however the journey was very peculiar. 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 easy methods to make a racing higher. There isn’t one factor I might change about it- it’s minimal nevertheless it’s efficient.

The comfortable open knit materials is essentially the most breathable I’ve ever skilled whereas general foot lockdown is great. I didn’t expertise any irritation or sizzling 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 measurement with an accommodating forefoot and toe field so I like to recommend this shoe for runners with large ft. The notched laces that are much like the Alphafly laces make it feel and appear extra premium, as do the reflective strips on the lacing part that are extraordinarily uncommon on an excellent shoe.

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Sole Unit

For those who pay $250 for a racing shoe, you count on to really feel quick once you use it. The Hyperion Elite 4 simply doesn’t really feel as quick because the competitors. The principle cause for that is how flat its journey feels. The flat journey comes from the dearth of a forefoot rocker, and a midsole foam which doesn’t return a lot vitality.

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 greatest suited to brief distances like intervals and brief tempo runs resulting from 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 comfy however after 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 (plenty 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 may’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 vigorous.

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 significantly better over time. After 85 kilometres, the outsole on my pair appears to be like immaculate. This can be 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 save lots of weight. 2 small rubber pads shield the medial and lateral sections of the heel. I used the Hyperion Elite 4 in some mild rain and outsole traction was good.

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 Conclusions

The Hyperion Elite 4 is a $250 racing shoe that looks like a coaching shoe. It doesn’t have that particular pop or explosive vitality return that you simply normally 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 degree of velocity help and journey at lower than half the value.

The Hyperion Elite 4 doesn’t have any flaws with regards to design: it’s extraordinarily comfy, easy, mild and steady sufficient nevertheless it’s lacking one thing. I don’t really feel quick after I put on it. It’s essential that Brooks switches to a PEBA-based midsole within the subsequent Hyperion Elite model with a view to meet up with their rivals.

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.