Brooks Hyperion Max review

We think that the Brooks Hyperion Max is a top choice for:

• Folks who find regular daily trainers like the Nike Pegasus 40 heavy and boring.
• Neutral runners craving a feather-light daily training shoe.
• Anyone on the hunt for a do-it-all shoe that's cool with any running pace.

If you have wide feet, this Brooks probably isn't for you. Based on our tests, better options with more room inside include the Nike InfinityRN 4 and the Saucony Triumph 21.

Likewise, the $170 price tag might be a stretch for your budget. In that case, you could look at more affordable options like the regular Brooks Hyperion or the popular ASICS Novablast 3.

We measured the Hyperion Max stack and found that it has a height of 32.4 mm in the heel.

This should be comfortable for most runners, including heel strikers—even for long runs.

The forefoot has a thickness of 24.2 mm. This should work well for most forefoot strikers and it doesn't mute the ground feel at all.

However, if you're on the heavier side and you strike with your forefoot, you might want to go for a shoe with more cushioning, like the ASICS Superblast.

We measured the heel-to-toe drop in the Hyperion Max and found it to be 8.8 mm. This is pretty close to the 8 mm drop that Brooks claims.

Before running any tests in the lab, we wanted to get a feel for the Hyperion Max by taking it for a first run.

This shoe uses DNA Flash foam, which gives a snappy feel underfoot. It's not super cushy, but that's not a bad thing for many runners that favor a more old-school feel.

After that initial run, we measured the foam's softness with a durometer. The result, at 20.8 HA, confirmed what we felt. The shoe offers a balanced feel—neither too soft nor too firm.

We put the shoe in the freezer for a quick 20-minute nap and then measured its softness again. We found that the reading was 22.5 HA, which is pretty much the same as what we got at room temperature.

We observed just an 8.4% increase from the first test, and let that's one of the best results we've ever seen in the lab. Many other running shoes in the same price range can't even come close in this test.

When we cut in half the Hyperion Max, one of the first things we observed was its incredibly thin insole. A 2.6-mm insole is really unusual, but we think it's great for this particular shoe. Weight savings!

We clocked the toebox width at the widest part of the upper and found it to be only 96.1 mm.

If you have narrow feet, you'll likely enjoy this shoe. It's also a good choice for people with regular-width feet who like a snug, race-like fit. But if you have wide feet, you might consider going up a size, although that's not a surefire solution.

Surprisingly, there's room for toe splay. We really appreciate Brooks' choice to design a rounded toebox (78.4 mm at the big toe area). It's a rare and fantastic feature that offers a natural and comfy fit for your feet.

We found that the Hyperion Max is a 100% neutral shoe. It doesn't have any extra features to help with stability—no side walls either. So if you're a pronator, this might not be the best fit for you. It's really best-suited only for neutral runners.

Another thing that caught our attention is the shoe's flexibility. We measured it and gave it a score of 2 out of 5 in our twist test.

This low score means the shoe offers lots of agility and a smooth ride. But just like we mentioned earlier, this flexibility also means the shoe isn't that stable for non-neutral runners.

We found that the heel counter has a moderate level of firmness, which we rated as 3 out of 5. This should suit most runners just fine.

However, if you have a particularly sensitive Achilles tendon, you might find it a bit on the stiff side.

The shoe weighs just 7.5 oz, so we thought it would have a narrow platform. However, when we measured it in the lab, the forefoot was 110.0 mm wide. That's actually pretty close to the average width.

We also found that the shoe felt safe and secure when we landed on the forefoot at any pace.

The heel design is pretty similar to the forefoot. We measured this one at at 88.1 mm in the lab, which is close to average.

When we first twisted the shoe in our previous flexibility test, it felt really pliable. To get a better idea of just how flexible the Hyperion Max is, we pushed it to a 90-degree angle in the lab and measured how much force it took from us.

We found that it only took 25.8N of force, which shows that Brooks aimed to make a flexible and comfy shoe.

After putting the shoe in the freezer for 20 minutes, just like we did for the foam softness test, we measured the force again. This time, we found that it took 27.9N of force.

That's only an 8.3% increase in force, a truly remarkable result compared to most other shoes out there. Once again, we have to congratulate Brooks for this outstanding performance under cold temperatures.

The major highlight of this shoe is its mind-blowing lightness.

Tipping the scales at a mere 7.5 oz (213g), it easily holds its own against racing shoes but offers far superior comfort.

We're kicking off this lab review on a high note: the Brooks Hyperion Max really shines when it comes to breathability.

In our lab, we typically run a series of tests in this regard, but the first one was enough to show us that this shoe is a top pick for summer training. Just look at how well it ventilates!

We've covered various ways to make a shoe breathable in our detailed guide on the topic. Of all the options, Brooks chose to use ventilation holes, and it's a choice that paid off. This shoe scored a perfect 5 out of 5 in our breathability test.

During our light test, we observed numerous ventilation holes extending from the toe box to the midfoot area. To get a close-up view of these holes, we used a microscope. And what we found was fascinating.

Brooks uses a thick engineered mesh in the shoe's design. Without these large holes, the mesh would not have provided adequate breathability. However, the size of these holes ensures the shoe stays well-ventilated.

Lastly, we discovered that this shoe prioritizes breathability over comfort. We love examining uppers, and we noticed that, unlike most other shoes, the inside of this shoe's upper lacks any fabric.

Breathable shoes often come up short in the durability department, so we were eager to see how the Hyperion Max would hold up.

To our delight, the shoe earned a 2/5 score in our dremel test. It's an impressive achievement for a model that's both incredibly light and well-ventilated.

We found that the heel area also scored a 2/5, which was a bit underwhelming. We expected a bit more durability in this area from the Hyperion Max.

Still, since it didn't score a low 1/5, it shouldn't be a concern for almost all runners.

Next, we focused on the outsole to check its durability. Our first test measured the hardness of the material. In the lab, we determined that it was a bit below average at 78.6 HC.

For the ultimate test of the outsole's durability, we rev up the Dremel one final time.

We measured a 0.7 mm indentation in the outsole—truly a good result that points to long-lasting wear.

We measured the thickness of the outsole and found it to be 3.0 mm, clearly aimed at keeping the shoe lightweight. This seems like enough, but it's important to note that there's a lot of exposed foam on the shoe.

We observed that the rubber is smartly placed to cover the areas that take the most beating while running, so it should hold up well over time.

Sure, the shoe has some reflective elements, but the tiny strips Brooks added are barely noticeable. It's disappointing, especially if you're counting on them for visibility.

Brooks probably left out the gusseted tongue to make the shoe lighter. But they could have used a thinner tongue and added a gusset with the saved weight.

That said, we found that the 5.4-mm tongue is actually quite comfortable for long runs!

Sadly, in the quest to make the shoe lighter, Brooks left out a gusset in the tongue. For a $170 shoe designed for fast runs, we find this to be disappointing.

Brooks skipped the heel tab, but honestly, we didn't even miss it when putting on the shoes.

It's more about the look than function. And they did throw in a branded strip in the heel, so you'll always remember who's got your feet covered!

The Hyperion Max comes with a removable insole. However, as we said before, the shoe has a unique shape—it's snug in the forefoot but has a rounded toebox.

Because of this, most third-party insoles don't really fit well. However, if you're looking for that perfect fit, we discovered that custom-made orthotics can be a solid option.