Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 Review: The Fastest Cat?

By RunDNA

Published on May 8, 2025

4 min read

Fast-R Nitro Elite 3: Quick Facts

Weight:

M: 170g US 8
W: 147g US 7.5

Best For:

Road racing - 5km through to the marathon

Price:

$350 AUD

Stack Height & Drop:

40mm heel / 32mm forefoot
8mm drop

Favourite Features:

New midsole recipe makes for a softer and bouncy ride
Unique geometry and carbon plate, but it works!
Super lightweight upper construction

Release Date:

Limited release: April 25th, 2025
Global launch: June 4th, 2025

What’s the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 all about?

The Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 marks the third evolution in Puma’s boundary pushing race day lineup. Sitting alongside their Deviate Nitro Elite 3, the Fast-R has always played the role of the wilder, more experimental designed sibling. While the Deviate Elite line leans into a snappy, efficient ride, the Fast-R 3 is built bold, with an aggressive geometry and a focus on propulsive, energy saving performance.

What really stirred the buzz around this release isn’t just the wild design, but the running economy data backing it. The Fast-R 3 was tested by the same researcher behind the pivotal Nike Vaporfly study, the one that helped redefine super shoes as we know them. According to the research, the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 showed an average improvement of 3.15% in running economy compared to other leading competitors such as the Nike Alphafly 3. That’s a pretty wild number when you consider how good the racing shoe category is, making it a shoe you should seriously consider for your next race..

There are three key updates to the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3

1) Less weight, more midsole bounce

Puma hasn’t just tweaked the formula, they’ve overhauled the midsole and plate system entirely.

At the heart of the update is a brand new formulation of NITROFOAM Elite, Puma’s aliphatic ETPU midsole compound. It’s softer, bouncier and significantly lighter than the previous iteration. In fact, the Fast-R 3 is now 30% lighter than the Fast-R 2, coming in at making it one of the lightest super shoes on the market today. Less weight is always a good thing when it comes to efficiency on race day and this is a big improvement to the Fast-R 3.

Despite keeping the segmented heel and forefoot design, the transition feels much smoother and more refined. That’s due in part to the reengineered carbon fibre PWRPLATE, which now has a thinner and slightly more flexible profile. It still extends beyond the toes, a unique design feature that Puma claims helps generate more powerful toe-off propulsion and increase your stride length.

2) ULTRAWEAVE upper, super thin and breathable

One of the biggest changes helping the Fast-R 3 drop weight is its revamped upper. Puma stuck with ULTRAWEAVE, but it’s been pared back for a more minimal and breathable feel. The material is uniform in its weave and holds its shape well, so there’s no need for extra overlays to keep your foot locked in. It’s not the softest fabric to the touch, but it’s super thin, so it molds to your foot without feeling rough.

The tongue is basically paper thin, we thought that might mean lace pressure or irritation, but it actually wasn’t an issue. Up front, there’s a moderate toe bumper that adds just enough structure and gives the toe box a bit more volume. Overall, we found the fit to be a fraction long, so if you're someone that floats in between half sizes, you might want to go down.

3) Still grips as you'd expect

Let’s talk grip. PUMAGRIP continues to earn its stripes as one of the best outsole rubbers on the market

On the Fast-R 3, Puma has thinned out the compound slightly, making it softer and lower in density to help cut weight. You still get targeted coverage where you need it, but probably don’t expect quite the same durability as you might get with the Deviate Nitro Elite 3. We did notice they could've added a touch more outsole in the heel cause its pretty minimal back there, but its a fair trade off to keep the weight so low.

Our first thoughts

Massive kudos to Puma. In just a couple of years, they’ve gone from a minor player in the elite running space to delivering some of the most exciting racing shoes on the market. Between the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 and the Deviate Nitro Elite 3, they’ve got two very different, but equally competitive options for race day.

The Fast-R 3 leans into a soft, bouncy sensation, ideal for runners who want a bit of softness with an energetic feel. On the other hand, the Deviate offers a snappier, more responsive ride experience. It's exciting to see a brand offer distinct personalities in their super shoe lineup, letting runners pick based on preference and race distance.

If you told us a couple years ago that Puma would be right up there with the big dogs in the super shoe game… well, we might not have believed you. But here we are and they’ve absolutely earned their spot.

About the author

Nathan Pope - Runner and Shoe Nerd

I'm really passionate about running footwear and how shoes can be used as a tool to get the best of your running, whether that be general fitness or performance.

My favourite event is the marathon. I feel as though the marathon is the ultimate test both physically and mentally! It requires careful planning both within the race and during the training block and it can be super satisfying when it comes together on race day.