Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB Review | Shaving Minutes

Anyone else ever participate in swim team? There you’ll find that folks do a full body shave right before a race to gain seconds and here we are with a shoe that could shave off 2 minutes and 32 seconds! It’s time for our Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB review.If that isn’t enough to make me want to sign up for another marathon, I don’t know what is. Just kidding, watching the finish of the Houston marathon actually got that little spark going again.

But imagine this time around having a shoe that based on lab testing (from Brooks), showed a 23% economy savings. Is it too good to be true? Do we know who was in that lab or how many tests, nope. But it sure sounds good.

Who Is It Good For?

Who is Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB a good fit for? Let’s break it down with some common categories:

• Wide Feet: Not ideal for wider feet.
• Heavier Runners: Not going to be a long lasting shoe and not as stable as some other carbon shoes.
• Long Runs: Absolutely designed to take you through marathon race day, not tons of long runs.
• Front of the Pack: This is a top tier carbon plated race day shoe.

If you like the Hyperion Elite 4 then this is going to be a winning shoe! It’s the same fit, but with better responsive cushion. It just feels faster.

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB Overview

Efficient runners looking for a fast race day shoe will find this shoe gives them that extra boost which shaves time. From our testing, it may still fall in the Super Trainer category over super marathon race day shoe.If you think you’ve heard of this shoe already, it’s because you have. Elite runners started running in it last year, which means they had to make some available to the public for it to be a legal racing shoe.

Yup, you probably saw some of the awesome performances Josh Kerr, Des Linden and CJ Albertson all sporting Brooks shoes. Turns out this is the shoe they were running in that was only being released on the down low for compliance. But now, it’s here and it’s ready for everyone.

SpeedVault Race+ plate has been “fine tuned” so that the plate is actually different based on the size of the shoe and thus meeting the needs of that runner. The larger the shoe, the stiffer the plate in essence.

It’s not a full solid plate like we see in other Super Shoes and the reasoning behind that is both to keep the shoe lighter and only provide stability to the cushioning not dampen it.

Speaking of cushioning that’s the biggest change to the shoe, so let’s dive in.

Now they are using what they call DNA Gold 100% Super Critical PEBA foam, instead of Super Critical EVA. This helped to drop an entire oz of weight from the shoe, but more importantly changed the feel underfoot.

Kofuzi, speedy runner and reviewer, had a great insight that the forefoot is firmer giving this shoe almost the feeling that it’s better for heel strikers because that’s where the big cushy foam is.

Did it make me faster? Well my 10K pace speed workout sure felt good in them and pretty on par with what I’ve found in my other super shoes. I think I still feel faster with the Vaporfly, potentially due to the full plate or simply more bouncy cushion? Hard to say.

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB Specs

The name is so long and yet important to know it’s different than the Elite 4.  It’s a definite upgrade.

• Heel toe drop: 8mm
• Weight: 7.4 oz men’s 10.5 (Unisex sizing)
• Stack: 40 mm
• Usage: Super shoe
• Available in one color
• Not available in Wide
• Available at BrooksRunning.com for $250

Is this going to become a go to race day shoe? I’m not sure it’s there yet, but it is a really enjoyable shoe to run in and if you like a slightly firmer feel to your race day shoe it will be a better choice than some other brands.

It’s incredibly light.
It feels locked in.
It’s enjoyable to run in.
It’s definitely not for all runners.

The Hyperion Elite 5 is coming in just 5 months and we’ve already previewed it a The Running Event. The shoe looks more stable and faster…elites are already racing in it too. So we shall see.

Hyperion Elite 4 PB Fit

Admittedly, I often hate when shoes are unisex in sizing as I just don’t find them to fit well, but that wasn’t the case here. Possibly because the shoe runs a little narrow through the mid-foot so it kept my heel locked in well.

It’s really similar to the fit of other carbon plated race day shoes which have a very thin upper, more narrow through he mid-foot and often a pretty narrow toebox as well. The thin tongue didn’t bother me here, probably because it doesn’t come up very high and with the bootie construction it wasn’t going to move around.

I agree with Kofuzi’s sentiment that this is a fun fast shoe, but I don’t think it’s the one I’d reach for in my races over 10K. That being said clearly a lot of FAST elite runners like this shoe, so consider they are using it for less time that us mere mortals.

Similar Shoes to the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB

• Nike Vaporfly – (Underfoot can feel more narrow, but bouncier)
• New Balance SC Pacer (Similar firm feel, NOT the elite)
• On Cloudboom Strike (Except we would run a marathon in it)

Looking for additional shoe reviews?

• Best Carbon Plated Running Shoes
• Best Long Distance Running Shoes
• Ankle Strength for Runners (needed with all these cushioned shoes)

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Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinish

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