Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 vs Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4:
Which to Choose

Start with what's the same, because a lot is: both weigh essentially nothing (the Fast-R 3 at 170g and the Deviate Elite 4 at 173g in a men's US 9), both run a full-length carbon PWRPLATE through NITRO-family superfoam, both share a 9mm drop, and both are neutral shoes with genuinely low stability that feel tippy and vague at easy jog paces and only come alive at race effort. Where they diverge is the platform. The Fast-R 3 rides taller and more forefoot-loaded — a 40mm heel / 32mm forefoot stack built on a decoupled, split-midsole geometry that is aggressively rockered and rewards a committed, high-turnover forefoot or midfoot strike; it's the sharper, more demanding tool that snaps you into the next stride but punishes a passive stride. The Deviate Elite 4 sits a touch lower and more conventional at 37mm heel / 28mm forefoot with a single, non-split platform, and that geometry is more approachable: it flatters heel and midfoot landings, feels marginally less precarious in corners and at varied paces, and stretches its usable range down to the 10K as well as the half and marathon. So the Fast-R 3 is the more extreme, race-day-only instrument, while the Deviate Elite 4 covers the same top-end speed with a wider, friendlier operating window.