Puma Deviate Nitro Elite Trail

The Puma Deviate Nitro Elite Trail is a carbon-plated race shoe built for speedy efforts on light trails. Priced at $230, it stands out as a unique "Carbon County" shoe in the road-to-trail category, alongside options like the Salomon Aero GOAT 3 GRVL ($160) and ASICS Novablast 5 TR ($150). It also competes with trail-specific racers such as the Hoka Tecton X ($275) and ASICS Metaspeed Fuji Trail ($250). The Deviate Nitro Elite Trail is as light as the Aero GOAT GRVL and Novablast 5 TR, but it handles wet roads and trails much more like a true trail shoe. It features Puma’s NITROFOAM Elite ATPU foam, which feels firm and bouncy—on both trails and pavement. The outsole’s 3mm lugs are smaller than the 5mm+ lugs typically found on more technical trail shoes, but they’re perfect for this hybrid design—adding very little weight while significantly improving the grip. It’s easy to pick up the pace, and it performs well at faster efforts. It can handle anything you throw at it—wet pavement, light trails, gravel paths—and the PumaGrip outsole makes quick work of mud and loose terrain. The Ultraweave upper sheds water beautifully, so the shoe never feels heavy or waterlogged, even in a downpour or when your feet get soaked. It does have that signature Puma ride, with a slightly higher heel-to-toe drop, which can make the forefoot feel a bit thin at times. But even so, we knocked out a 20-mile long run straight out of the box with zero issues. If you enjoy the ride of the Puma Deviate Nitro 3—with its higher drop and less rockered geometry—and the bounce and stable base of the Puma Mag Max, you’ll enjoy this shoe for all your road-to-trail running.