Shoe Reviews

Brooks Hyperion Max Review: The Best Brooks Shoe

The Brooks Hyperion Max is everything I wanted the Hyperion Tempo to be. Rewind back to pre-COVID days, February 29, 2020, the night the Hyperion Tempo was released alongside the heavily panned Hyperion Elite. Brooks had touted the duo as their “fastest trainer and racing shoe,” respectively. The shoes were made available in “extremely limited quantities,” so I ran to the site to purchase the Tempo before my size 15 sold out. Judging by the poor reception to the original Elite, it’s the one time I was grateful a shoe wasn’t produced in my large size.

Brooks Hyperion Max

Weight: 7.5 oz., 212 g (US M9), 6.7 oz., 189 g (US W8)
Stack Height: 33 mm/25 mm (8 mm drop)
Price: $170

Ghost runner

Brooks has always held some significance to me. The storied company helped me fall in love with running in the mid-2000’s. Like many new runners, I was recommended the Brooks Ghost. It didn’t take long for the pair to blow other shoes out of the rotation. Simply put, having the right running shoes made running start to feel less like a chore and more like a hobby.

Despite exceling in the sales department as the top-selling brand at U.S. retail in adult performance running footwear, Brooks has languished a bit in the innovation department, opting instead to rest on its laurels in the form of the popular Adrenaline and Ghost lines.

Run happy?

The Brooks Hyperion Tempo promised a new chapter for the company. Unfortunately, this chapter made me put the “book” down rather quickly. In the words of Brooks: “We built the Hyperion Tempo to help you train harder and longer, all while staying comfortable through a light, soft, and responsive midsole.”

Well, I could train neither harder nor longer and I never got comfortable in the shoe. The midsole felt too firm, it had too low of a stack height, and the upper was not up to par with Brooks’ standard. But man did I try to like it. The original Black/Iced Aqua/Blue colorway is fairly basic, but something about the color combo coupled with the design of the shoe caught my eye. I loved the way the shoe looked on the run, but I couldn’t stand how it felt.

Your word is “Hyperion”

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what “Hyperion” meant before I came across Brooks’ shoe line and looked up the definition. According to Merriam-Webster, Hyperion refers to a Titan and the father of Eos, Selene, and Helios, from Greek mythology. Collins Dictionary adds that it’s a “small, irregularly shaped satellite of Saturn having an unusual shifting orientation and rotation.” Ok, I don’t know anything about Greek mythology or astronomy, so I’m still not sure exactly what the word means. Therefore I can’t tell if the shoe lives up to its name like the Saucony Triumph 20 does. One thing I do know: the Brooks Hyperion Max is maximally better than the Tempo.

Brooks Hyperion Max
Not exactly a “max” shoe, and that’s ok!

With a stack height of about 33 mm heel/25 mm forefoot, the shoe is not actually a “max” shoe, as many shoe reviewers were quick to point. I would agree, but I would argue that’s a good thing. Any additional cushioning underfoot and the shoe wouldn’t be nearly as versatile.

Ride

With Brooks’ Rapid Roll technology — “the unique curving of the heel and toe” — the shoe is meant to go faster, but you can certainly use it as a daily trainer or perhaps even on easy days. While the shoe is just a tad bit on the firm side, there’s enough cushion to offset it.

Midsole

The highlight of the shoe is the DNA FLASH midsole, the same foam found in the Tempo (and Elite). Only this time, there’s a lot more of the nitrogen-infused foam than in the Tempo. And naturally, there’s less of a ground feel and the ride softens up — two of my prerequisites for enjoying a shoe.

Weight

The shoe’s light weight comes in a close second behind the midsole as the winning feature. At 7.5 oz (men’s size 9) and 6.7 oz (women’s size 8), it’s easy to forget the shoe is on your foot until you look down and remember how attractive it is.

Appearance

The shoe just looks fast, and you can’t go wrong with any of the three original colorways. I went with the Black/Blazing Yellow/White colorway because I’m a sucker for black shoes. Although, part of me daydreams about how my feet would look in the Cherry Tomato/Arctic Ice/Titan colorway. And it’s not just because I love cherry tomatoes.

Upper

Just like in the Tempo, although not nearly to the extent, the upper on the Max leaves something to be desired. The Tempo had one of the most uncomfortable uppers I’ve tried. Add in a shoddy tongue and cheap laces, and the lockdown was as insecure as a father who feels threatened that his son beat his marathon PR in his first attempt. Fortunately, the Max improves upon all those components to ensure a much-improved lockdown. There are definitely more comfortable uppers out there, though.

Outsole

There’s a thin layer of Brooks’ “Green Rubber” on the outsole which is hardly noticeable and has great traction in any conditions. What more can I say, most outsoles are boring and that’s perfectly fine.

A thin layer of Brooks’ Green Rubber

Price

Ouch. $170 is hard to swallow for any shoe without a plate. It’s also an increasingly common price point, so it’s not surprising. I’d be more comfortable with $160, which is $10 more than the Tempo. Although, with a long-awaited update to the Tempo on the horizon, it’s now available for cheaper.

Hyper for the Hyperion

This time, Brooks nails it when they say: “Want to maximize your racing potential? Train in the Hyperion Max.” This shoe is front and center in my rotation as I train for the 2023 Marine Corps Marathon. I have no doubt it’ll prepare me to earn a PR come race day.

The Max paves the way for an exciting chapter for the company and I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds. Like a good book, this is one shoe I keep reaching for and don’t want to put down — unless it’s on the pavement.


Note: I purchased the Brooks Hyperion Max with my money. Brooks had no input or influence on what I wrote.

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