Introduction to the Puma Deviate Pure Nitro
MEAGHAN: There’s an odd phenomenon that occurs at The Working Occasion yearly: manufacturers put footwear out on show, let media take pictures, typically even permit early evaluations — after which flip round and slap an embargo on every part. It’s one of many extra maddening realities of being a working media outlet, however right here we’re.
All of that’s to say that we weren’t even permitted to pre-record footage of the Deviate Pure Nitro from The Working Occasion final yr, regardless of the shoe sitting proper there in plain sight. And but, Puma was speaking about this one in an enormous method; we heard phrases like “Evo SL killer.”
Quick ahead to Might 2026, and the shoe lastly arrived for testing. I had a backlog to work via, so it took a few weeks earlier than I truly laced it up. Thomas had already began testing the shoe, and his notably muted response gave me a touch that this won’t be fairly what the hype steered. So what precisely is that this shoe?
The Deviate Pure Nitro is Puma’s uptempo each day coach: gentle, constructed round a race-day foam, and notably plate-free. It includes a 38mm heel and 30mm forefoot stack (8mm drop) with a full slab of Nitrofoam, which we’ve been informed is a PEBA compound. The higher is breathable mesh, and the shoe options Puma’s wonderful PumaGrip outsole. Most impressively, my W7.5 got here in at simply 6.4 oz — a weight you’d count on from a race-day shoe, not a each day coach.
So was the hype warranted, or did the shoe fall in need of its personal billing? Let’s get into it.
