By Kieran Alger
If you’re serious about chasing PRs, you might be considering adding a new carbon plated super shoe to your race day arsenal.
Head to the start of any race and you’ll see a sea of all-out, carbon race shoes, with every major brand represented.
To help you shave off those elusive minutes, I’ve spent the past few months clocking up the miles in dozens of the latest carbon plated race shoes. These are my top tried-and-tested picks.
Best Carbon-Plate Super Shoes
1. Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
A top-efficiency shoe with lab tests to prove it, Puma’s research suggests this is the most efficient carbon racer you can buy right now, meaning it could help you nail those faster paces with less effort than many of its rivals.
This is definitely Puma’s lightest and most responsive shoe so far with a number of tweaks and upgrades from its Fast-R2 predecessor. It’s a whopping 30% lighter for starters, our test shoe weighed in at just 175g in a UK size 8.5. While this is still heavier than the featherweight Asics Metaspeed Ray Tokyo, it’s lighter than many other racing options, including the Metaspeed Sky Paris and Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4.
Some of that weight saving comes from the super-responsive Nitro Elite midsole, with any superfluous foam trimmed off to reduce weight in this latest iteration. The improved minimal ULTRAWEAVE upper also offers weight saving as well as great breathability. It's snug, maybe a bit too snug if you have really wide feet, but moves with you foot and I enjoyed the tighter race-day fit.
Where the Fast R3 really comes to life is when you start moving at marathon-pace effort. The full-length carbon fibre PWRPLATE offers more flex in the midsole than some stiffer shoes and gives assertive propulsion without feeling too aggressive. It took me a few runs to find the sweet spot with foot placement but once you do, this is a shoe that really works.
2. ASICS Metaspeed Ray Tokyo
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ASICS
Incredibly light and serving up a powerful blend of speed and agility, at 129g for a UK size 8.5, this is just about the lightest race shoe out there.
The Matryx upper is super airy, keeping your feet locked down with a barely there feel on the foot. It may not suit those who need more structure or support but this is a punchy, energetic shoe perfect for chasing fast times.
The midsole is made of FF Leap, a new foam, which Asics says is 15.2% lighter, 13.7% bouncier and 30% softer, than its FF Blast Turbo Plus cushioning. (The Ray is around 50g lighter than its Sky Tokyo and Edge Tokyo stablemates, which use a 50/50 mix of both.)
The minimal carbon plate is skewed towards the front of the foot, giving a softer, more cushioned ride than the Metaspeed Sky Paris (I’m yet to run in the Tokyo). While this results in less stiffness and snap, the firmness is replaced by added movement and bounce.
Best suited to forefront runners, the Ray can take some controlling if your form slips, but when you’re engaging the shoe right, it’s incredibly lively and offers a surprisingly comfortable, smooth and cushioned feeling ride.
A brilliant half marathon or city marathon shoe, I found it best on straight lines and good road surfaces rather than twists and turns, where the narrow heel platform sometimes made it feel like I was swinging the back of my foot. You want to be flying to get the most from this racing shoe.
3. Hoka Rocket X3
It might not be as punchy as some of the other carbon racers out there, but what it lacks in aggression, the Rocket X3 more than makes up for with reliability, consistency and enough stability and support for both racing and faster training.
It offers great bang for your buck if you don’t want to splash out on additional footwear for tempo miles as well as Sunday best.
Springy and efficient, the dual-density PEBA foam midsole has a slightly tamer rocker than its predecessor, the Rocket X2, making for a smoother ride over long distances. Combined with the carbon plate, which comes with lateral winglets to add stability, it delivers smooth transitions with an easy heel-to-toe roll that feels more natural than some carbon shoes and almost fades into the background.
HOKA’s Active Foot Frame – a kind of bucket seat for your foot – also drops you lower in the shoe, rather than on top of it, giving greater control when running at pace.
I clocked around 30 miles in the Rocket X3 in training, and found it accommodating at slower paces when my form was looser, as well as offering some welcome spring on faster runs. A more controlled ride than some carbon offerings, which can feel unstable when your form slips, it’s suited to a wide range of runners.
If you’re looking for a faster feeling race shoe though, the Cielo X1 2.0 tops my list of HOKA’s line-up for running with all-out intent.
4. ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris
The next-gen Metaspeed Sky Tokyo, which we’re still to test, may be the latest ASICS carbon shoe on the block, but its predecessor still holds its own when it comes to chasing PRs – particularly if prices drop.
A fantastic shoe for nailing your fastest times, it’s stripped back and designed to deliver speed in races from 5km to marathon. I’ve run personal bests over both in this shoe, finding it offers a snappy and fast returning ride with the ideal balance of cushioning, stiffness and spring.
Light and supple over shorter distances, there’s just enough protection to avoid your feet taking too much of a battering over 26.2 – without compromising on ground feel. And the narrower midsole, with FF Turbo Plus cushioning, makes it more precise and nimble than some wider options, although it may be too narrow for those who prefer a bit more stability.
A great shoe for attacking a race when you’re running with good form, the Metaspeed Sky Paris is aimed at runners with a longer, bouncier stride. If you’re more of a shorter stride, faster cadence runner, when upping the pace, opt for the Metaspeed Edge instead. Designed to help you elongate your stride, the plate sits lower giving more foam under the forefoot to accommodate your running style.
5. Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4
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Adidas
Designed for a range of distances but with the marathon firmly in mind, this is a shoe that’s full of energy and urges you to push up the pace.
The Adios Pro 4’s predecessor, the Adios Pro 3, was a firm favourite with many runners. And the latest iteration offers improvements that should boost this durable shoe’s popularity even further.
The midsole has a new-formula Lightstrike Pro foam, offering added softness and bounce as you clock up the miles. The forefoot rocker has also moved further back, sitting around 60% of the way along the length of the shoe – the same position as in the elite-friendly Pro Evo 1. This boosts efficiency and helps you roll you onto and off your toes quickly with each stride.
The carbon-infused ENERGYRODS 2.0 remain the same as the 3, offering stiffness and snap.
Arguably the biggest improvement, though, is in the upper. One of the gripes people had with the Pro 3 was the fit, with some runners – me included – finding it lacked the disappearing feel of other carbon shoes. In the Adios Pro 4, the tongues are stitched in to stop them moving around and remove discomfort. There’s also a simplified lacing structure and more padding to reduce any pinch around the laces.
Coming in at a slightly lower price point than many of its rivals, the Adios Pro 4 still packs that important super shoe punch when you’re running with intent. And the cushioning and protection were on point when I struggled towards the end of a marathon test run.
A word of warning, the length of the toe box does seem to come up slightly short so it’s worth experimenting with sizes.
6. HOKA Cielo X1 2.0
A bit wild and a lot of fun, the Cielo x1 2.0 is a bouncy, compact shoe with highly compressive dual-density PEBA foam and great spring back as you toe off, making it ideal for all-out race day efforts.
The aggressive forefront rocker (an update from the Cielo X1) helps drive you forward with each stride, while the winged carbon plate is designed to make it more stable and propulsive than its predecessor.
Although it’s heavier than some carbon options, dynamic cutouts in the sole help to reduce the weight (our test shoe weighted in at 202g for a UK size 8.5) and it feels light and nimble underfoot. This cutout means the medial heel is half decoupled from the main midsole, which helps shave off grams but does reduce support. If you need more stability from a shoe, HOKA’s Rocket x3 carbon racer may suit you better.
With a snug, race-hugging fit, this is a fast, energetic, rocking and rolling shoe that helped propel me to a new 5km PB. It worked well with my mid forefoot style and is great when you’re pushing the pace for races in distances up to the half marathon. That responsive foam and enhanced forefoot cushioning also help reduce any battering your feet may take as you clock up the miles.
Any further than a half, though, you may want to hedge your bets. This is a shoe that works best when you’re running with your best upright, punching form. If that starts to slip and the struggle bus comes calling, you may want to opt for something that feels more natural underfoot to see you over the line.
7. Brooks Hyperion Elite 5
One of the more stable and protective carbon race shoes out there, I was a big fan of the Hyperion Elite 4 PB and the Hyperion Elite 5 picks up that baton and runs with it.
Smooth and consistent, it offers extra speed and propulsion on race day but is well suited to faster training runs and interval sessions, too. The DNA Gold PEBA midsole (which featured in the Elite 4 PB but not the Elite 4) is Brooks lightest, softest energy return foam yet, and gives added rebound with a smooth and consistent feel, even on river paths and slightly rougher terrain.
The new, lighter-weight upper errs just on the right side of snug and helps keep your foot locked down with a hugging fit. Some may find the low and flexy heel collars a bit lacking in support over longer distances, though.
There’s something pleasingly natural about the Hyperion Elite 5 feel underfoot with the SpeedVault+ plate almost blending into the background. They’re giving back but you’re in control. There’s also enough stack to soften repeated impacts and the comfort holds out on longer runs.
A great option for a forgiving carbon race shoe over distances up to the marathon, the Hyperion Elite 5 may not be as bold and zippy as some of its rivals, but it’s fun, capable and forgiving enough to ease you home if the wheels come off.
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