The Velocity Nitro has been one of the standout budget daily trainers of the last few years, and Puma are back with a fifth version. The question this time isn't really about performance, it's about whether you actually need to upgrade at all.
Specs and Design
The Velocity Nitro 5 retails at £110 and sits in Puma's lineup as their standard daily trainer option. Stack height is unchanged from the previous version at 34mm in the heel down to 26mm at the forefoot, giving an 8mm drop. In a UK 9.5 it weighs 260 grams and fits true to size, though it's worth flagging early that this shoe runs narrow.
The big shake-up came in version 4, when Puma introduced an aliphatic TPU midsole into a shoe at this price point, something that felt genuinely disruptive for £110. Version 5 doesn't reinvent that formula, instead offering mild tweaks: the midsole has been slightly resculpted for what Puma describe as a smoother ride, there's a new engineered mesh upper, and extra padding has been added to both the tongue and heel for comfort. That added padding has bumped the weight up slightly compared to version 4.
On the outsole you still get Puma Grip, a durable rubber compound that holds up well over high mileage. Lacing and lockdown are almost identical to the previous version, so there are no complaints there. The one genuine caveat is width. This shoe simply doesn't offer much room, so wider-footed runners should be cautious.
Performance
The ATPU midsole remains the standout feature here, and it's genuinely hard to beat at this price. Compared to more traditional, lower-stack daily trainers, the difference is stark. This foam simply outperforms rivals like the Brooks Ghost or Nike Pegasus 42 in terms of ride quality, despite those shoes often costing similar money or more.
In testing, the shoe delivered a lightweight, fast feeling that made it a genuine pleasure for midweek running, including sessions along canal towpaths with no grip issues whatsoever. The narrow fit was noticeable, particularly along the outside of the foot, though it didn't cause any rubbing or discomfort during testing.
There's a lot to like here: the foam, the Puma Grip outsole, the lightweight feel, and the price point, especially once it inevitably gets discounted a few months after release. It's the kind of shoe that could make a beginner runner starting out on a couch-to-5k programme feel like a serious athlete, offering premium-feeling foam at a genuinely accessible price. The only real dislike is the narrow fit, which will rule this out for some runners, though it wasn't a dealbreaker in testing.
Verdict
Here's the honest takeaway: there isn't a huge amount of difference between version 5 and version 4, and version 4 can now be found significantly cheaper, sometimes for as little as £65. Given how similar the ride and midsole feel between the two versions, it makes more financial sense to buy version 4 now and pick up version 5 later once it gets discounted too.
That's not a knock on the Velocity Nitro 5 itself. It's a brilliant, lightweight daily trainer that offers a genuine treat in the rotation, especially for anyone spending most of their mileage in bulkier max-stack shoes. It's just that at full price, version 4 offers close to the same experience for considerably less money. Buy version 4 now, and grab version 5 once the discounts kick in.
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