Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 vs New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v6:
Which to Choose

Start with how close these two are: identical in our metric profile (pace 6/6, responsiveness 6/6, cushioning 5/6, stability a deliberately low 2/6, neutral support, carbon plate), with near-identical stacks — the New Balance runs 40mm heel / 32mm forefoot and the Puma 39mm / 31mm — and moderate, roughly matched drops around 8mm. Both use a decoupled geometry that makes the platform tippy at easy pace and only settles once you're at race effort. The clearest hard difference is weight: the Fast-R is one of the lightest super shoes made at roughly 170g (men's ~size 9), while the SuperComp Elite v6 sits around 190g (men's 9.5) — a real, felt gap over a marathon even accounting for the size difference. The ride character also diverges. The Puma's Nitro Elite PEBA foam and split rear midsole read as bouncy and eager, snapping back hard with a pronounced rockered toe-off. The New Balance's Infinion supercritical TPEE/A-TPU foam is firm-and-lively rather than springy, with a midfoot cutout and an exposed forefoot plate that make it ride more aggressively than its numbers suggest — it rewards a precise, efficient footstrike. On range, the SuperComp Elite v6 stretches a little further, comfortable from the 10K up through the marathon and tuned for a slightly faster window (roughly 2:55–3:15 min/km) versus the Puma's half-and-marathon focus around 3:00–3:20 min/km. Both lean on gossamer mesh uppers that trade durability for grams, so neither is a do-everything shoe.