Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB vs Brooks Hyperion Elite 5:
Which to Choose

Start with what's unchanged, because it's most of the shoe: both weigh essentially the same (roughly 204–205g in a men's US 9), both use DNA Gold PEBA over a full-length carbon plate, and both deliver that lively, snappy, propulsive toe-off that feels planted at speed and a touch tippy and stiff when you jog them easy. Neither adds any pronation support — these are narrow race tools that demand an assured footstrike. The meaningful difference is geometry. The Elite 4 PB sits on a 40mm heel / 32mm forefoot stack (right at the World Athletics 40mm limit) with an 8mm drop, giving it a taller, more generously cushioned forefoot and a lower, flatter-feeling offset that suits forefoot and midfoot strikers. The Elite 5 actually trims total stack slightly to 38mm heel / 26mm forefoot but raises the drop to a full 12mm — a taller, more aggressive ramp with a lower forefoot that rolls you forward more insistently and specifically favors heel and midfoot strikers. In the Elite 5 that redesign also brings a softer, bouncier ride, a more pronounced rocker, a new SpeedVault+ plate arrangement, a lighter engineered knit upper in place of the thin racing upper, and the removal of the older stiff asymmetrical lacing setup. The use-case envelope widened too: the Elite 4 PB is dialed in for 10K through the marathon with the half as its sweet spot, while the Elite 5 stays sharp down to a fast 5K and out to the marathon. So this isn't a foam swap dressed up as a new model — it's the same weight and same superfoam-plus-plate engine repackaged around a noticeably different ride profile.