What is a Super Shoe?
The term “super shoe” generally refers to a style of running shoe that’s made for high-performance training and racing. They haven’t been around for too long; the original super shoe debuted at the 2016 Olympics and came to market shortly after in 2017. They were an instant hit both in terms of performance and shock value; as soon as you throw one on, the lightweight, springy feel is baffling.
Carbon, carbon, carbon
There is a ton of tech going on inside super shoes that gives them this unique feel, starting with the carbon plate. A super shoe must have a carbon plate; it’s one of the driving forces behind their performance, and, of course, their lofty price. With that said, the carbon certainly isn’t acting alone—in fact, it’s not actually the most important material.
Premium, high energy return foams
Carbon is flashy, and it certainly does account for some of the springy feel, but it’s the actual foam that is more important to their overall performance. Super shoes use foams that are very squishy but also provide extremely high energy return. These foams are so soft and springy that, alone, they would make these shoes far too unstable—hence the need for a plate.
The plate provides a backbone for these foams to squish down upon. Carbon is the material of choice in super shoes because it also snaps back into position very efficiently, more than most other materials. Companies do make lower-end plated shoes that use composite instead of carbon, and while they do perform well, their carbon counterparts are always better, and those are the ones we’re focusing on today.
Before we get into any specific shoes, though, let’s talk a little bit about the performance benefits you’ll get from wearing them.
Energy Return
The most instantly obvious sensation you get when you put on a super shoe is the extremely high energy return. It’s as if you’re walking with less gravity—it really is astonishing. Every step you take, you feel the shoe bouncing you through your stride. This high energy return only amplifies as you increase your pace, which is why they become more and more effective the faster you run.
Efficiency
The benefits in efficiency stem from their high energy return. On a more standard runner, you step, push down on the foam, then spring through your stride using your muscles. The energy return you get from super shoes means your muscles don’t have to work as hard, which allows you to run more efficiently.
I recently tested two New Balance super shoes alongside their 880 and Rebel models, and my efficiency scores were significantly higher with the super shoes. The scores also backed up what I was feeling during the run — it felt as if I could lengthen my stride without pushing as hard as I would have had to with standard runners, thanks to that extra spring.
Speed
Do these shoes make you faster? Yes.
The combination of high energy return and efficiency does make you marginally faster—that is a fact. To those people saying, “gear doesn’t make you better,” that isn’t exactly true. The difference is tiny, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. There’s a reason the world’s best runners are exclusively using carbon-plated super shoes; at the highest level, marginal gains are everything.
Speed, efficiency, and energy return—these are the performance characteristics you’ll feel when running in super shoes, but not all super shoes are the same. At Rackets & Runners, we carry three: the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v3, the FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4, and the Nike Alphafly 3. Now we’ll go over each shoe, talk about its unique properties compared to the others, and explain why you may want to pick one over the other.
New Balance SuperComp Elite v4
The SuperComp Elite is New Balance’s high-end carbon-plated racing shoe. It weighs a feathery 237 grams, has a 4-millimeter drop, and features New Balance’s top-of-the-line FuelCell midsole made with PEBA foam. The FuelCell in the Elite provides the highest energy return of any New Balance shoe because it has the highest percentage of PEBA, a material they’ve been refining over many years.
The Elite is a true race shoe. Stepping into it, you may feel a bit of a wobble, as it does have a narrower platform than most runners, but this smaller contact patch allows for more efficiency over time, especially at high speeds. The upper is made from a paper-thin textile material that wraps around the foot nicely but doesn’t provide much added structure or support. It’s comfortable, but nothing over the top, and this is what you should expect from a race-day shoe that’s made to get you from one place to the next as fast as possible.
Running with the Elite at slow speeds can feel as though you’re resisting its true potential. The FuelCell is so springy that it wants to bounce you quickly through your stride, and as you accelerate, you can almost feel it let loose and breathe as it comes into its own. It’s a rapid shoe that has uncapped potential at high endurance speeds, and it’s a joy to run with when you are looking to go as fast as possible.
New Balance SuperComp Trainer v3
Running in the Elite is a wonderful experience, and if you are racing or attempting a PR, it’s New Balance’s best option, no doubt. However, it’s not the only super shoe to consider from the brand.
The SuperComp Trainer isn’t as flashy on paper; it weighs more (271 grams), and its FuelCell midsole is made up of significantly less PEBA material, but it certainly has its place in the lineup. PEBA foam is key to providing great energy return, but it also breaks down relatively quickly. In order to maintain its high performance, you want to keep the mileage low on your race-day super shoe, but you also want to train in a shoe that provides similar sensations. The SuperComp Trainer very much still feels like a super shoe, but because it has less of that PEBA material, it maintains its performance for a longer time.
Apart from the slightly less premium midsole, the rest of the shoe is also built to be more of a daily driver. It has a wider platform than the Elite, making it more supportive when you fatigue or go over rough terrain, and the upper is made from a mesh material that may be slightly heavier than the textile on the Elite, but it’s also quite a bit more comfortable. It also has a steeper drop (6 millimeters).
The Elite will always be faster, but for the majority of runners, the SuperComp Trainer is better for what its name suggests and is still more than worthy if you do want to race in it.
Nike Alphafly 3
Nike was the first company to release a super shoe, and that Nike Vaporfly 4% took all three podium places at the 2016 Olympics. That dominance dwindled as the rest of the competition caught up, but many still consider Nike the industry standard, and the Alphafly 3 is no exception.
It’s the lightest shoe on this list, coming in at a ridiculous 218 grams. It has an 8-millimeter drop and a combination of ZoomX foam and an AirZoom unit in the forefoot. ZoomX is widely recognized for providing the most energy return of any super foam—85%—and the propulsive sensation you get with the Alphafly is off the charts. It’s significantly more than the SuperComp Trainer and even marginally more than New Balance’s Elite, but it’s also slightly less stable.
The Zoom unit in the forefoot complements the ZoomX foam extremely well, adding a sort of airy sensation to the already efficient springiness of the premium midsole. If we have to qualify these shoes in terms of a “walking on the moon” metric, the Alphafly is certainly the best.
Finishing with the upper, the woven mesh certainly looks good and is very comfortable while also providing some good support. Visually striking and functional? That’s classic Nike right there. This is a great shoe, and I can’t say whether or not it’s faster than the Elite, but it does feel as though it has a little extra magic sauce to it.
Hopefully, we were able to help shed some light on a genre of shoes that may seem intimidating and unattainable, but the reality is they are designed to help every type of runner, as everyone can benefit in their own way.
If you want to come try on any of these shoes we have some awesome shoe fitters you can visit in store, or you can buy them online.