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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

Nike Vaporfly 4vs
PUMA Deviate Nitro Elite 3

Vaporfly 4

£120

Typical street price · £255 RRP

35mm — road legal
Deviate Nitro Elite 3

£109

Typical street price · £200 RRP

38mm — road legal

Choose the Vaporfly 4 if…

  • You want the bigger return: 3.2–4.4% economy gain against 2.9–4%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You would rather buy on measured numbers: this shoe's specs are manufacturer-confirmed, the Deviate Nitro Elite 3's are estimated.

Choose the Deviate Nitro Elite 3 if…

  • You want more races out of one pair: about 300km of competitive life against 240km.

What does this
mean for you?

Every figure below is recalculated from your race and your current time. The gap between two shoes is not fixed — it grows with how long you are on your feet.

Over marathon from 3:45:00

Time back
Vaporfly 4: 165s–246sDeviate Nitro Elite 3: 145s–219s
Cost per second saved
Vaporfly 4: £0.15Deviate Nitro Elite 3: £0.13

Ranges, not promises. Both figures are against a standard trainer, and the honest answer for most runners is that the difference between two shoes of this class is smaller than the difference a month of decent training makes.

Every number.

010203040503529
Vaporfly 4
010203040503830
Deviate Nitro Elite 3

What you pay

Street price
Vaporfly 4£120
Deviate Nitro Elite 3£109■

What the shoe is actually selling for across the shops we read, not its RRP.

RRP
Vaporfly 4£255
Deviate Nitro Elite 3£200

List price. Almost nobody pays it for a race shoe.

Cost per race
Vaporfly 4£32
Deviate Nitro Elite 3£23■

Street price divided by the races the foam stays fast for.

Cost per second saved
Vaporfly 4£0.15
Deviate Nitro Elite 3£0.13■

The whole-life question: what each second of race time costs you.

What it does

Estimated saving
Vaporfly 4165s–246s■
Deviate Nitro Elite 3145s–219s

Against a standard trainer, over the distance and time set above.

Economy gain
Vaporfly 43.2–4.4%■
Deviate Nitro Elite 32.9–4%
Built for
Vaporfly 45K · 10K · Half · Marathon
Deviate Nitro Elite 35K · 10K · Half · Marathon
Best use case
Vaporfly 4The most versatile super shoe on sale. Light enough for a 5K, cushioned enough for a marathon, and the fourth generation fixed the upper problems that made the VF3 divisive.
Deviate Nitro Elite 3The sane sibling to the Fast-R. Light, versatile, considerably cheaper, and easily the most underrated racer here.

How it is built

Weight
Vaporfly 4184 g
Deviate Nitro Elite 3175 g■

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
Vaporfly 435 mm
Deviate Nitro Elite 338 mm
Stack (forefoot)
Vaporfly 429 mm
Deviate Nitro Elite 330 mm
Drop
Vaporfly 46 mm
Deviate Nitro Elite 38 mm
Foam
Vaporfly 4ZoomX
Deviate Nitro Elite 3NITROFOAM Elite
Plate
Vaporfly 4carbon fibre
Deviate Nitro Elite 3carbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
Vaporfly 4Yes (35 mm)
Deviate Nitro Elite 3Yes (38 mm)

World Athletics caps road racing shoes at 40 mm of stack.

Fit
Vaporfly 4standard
Deviate Nitro Elite 3standard
Stability
Vaporfly 4balanced
Deviate Nitro Elite 3balanced

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on your stride.

Race life
Vaporfly 4~240 km
Deviate Nitro Elite 3~300 km■

How long the foam stays fast, not how long the shoe survives.

Data confidence
Vaporfly 4verified■
Deviate Nitro Elite 3estimated

■ marks the better figure where one is genuinely better. Fit, foam, drop and stability carry no mark — they depend on your foot and your stride, not on which shoe is superior.

In your size.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£110.25at Runlimited — £144.74 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£109at Startfitness — £91 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.