Puma Fast RB2 drops a third of its weight, kofuzi unconvinced

Puma's Fast RB2 is a far lighter shoe than the one it replaces, and kofuzi still is not sold on it. The review puts the men's size 9 at 8.88oz and 248g, which he calls "almost exactly the same weight as a Nova Blast". The original Fast RB was "over 12 oz and like 360 g", so the new version, he says, "managed to cut down that weight by a third".

The geometry is the headline. It sits at 55mm in the heel with an 8mm drop, so 47mm up front, with two carbon elements fused in the forefoot into a springboard that squeezes the Nitro Elite foam. kofuzi describes that foam as "really compliant. It's nice and squishy, but also bouncy". The upper is Ultra Weave, which he calls even more stripped down than the one on the Fast R3, and the outsole uses Puma Grip LT rubber.

Who it is actually for

kofuzi's verdict is narrow. The angle of attack feels way steeper than an 8mm drop if you are not moving fast enough, so he pegs it at marathon pace work and faster, and best for midfoot and forefoot strikers. Stability was acceptable once he gave himself a wider berth on tight turns. At $350 he lands on "a shoe that's more gimmick than it is game changer", while still saying he would happily take it out for threshold sessions and speedy long runs. For context he notes the Fast R3 normally goes for $300 and can be found on sale for $200.

Two more verdicts

Doctors of Running posted a first impressions blind review of the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pacer, a non-plated performance trainer at 7.2oz with Enerzy NXT foam. Nathan calls it firmer with a little pop, really comfortable at threshold pace, and better suited to neutral or laterally unstable runners than to anyone with a flatter foot or medial arch collapse.

Believe in the Run named the Brooks Cascadia Elite its best overall trail shoe of 2026. At $275, 9.4oz and 40mm heel to 34mm forefoot, the pick is about trust rather than thrills. The site admits it is not the most exciting race day option in the field, but says it kept performing across terrain, distance and conditions, and that no race day product has been so quickly and widely trusted. The Adidas Terrex Agravic SL, at $160, was the runner up.