Novablast 5 or Deviate Nitro 4: Which Should You Buy?

The ASICS Novablast 5 became an instant favorite for me, and it's no surprise it was the most popular shoe on Strava this past year. It delivers on both the initial try on feel and long-term performance. I retired my pair at 538 miles, which was probably overkill, but I found the shoe held up remarkably well throughout its lifespan.

The midsole is the true highlight of this shoe. The FF BLAST™ MAX foam is plush, bouncy, lightweight, and features an aggressive rocker geometry. There's a reason this shoe has become such a hit in the running community. The rocker profile feels playful and efficient, encouraging a natural forward roll that works well even without a carbon plate.

Many runners have complained about durability issues with the Novablast 5. For me, it held up fine even at higher mileage. However, I'm shorter and lighter than the average runner, so that likely helped extend the shoe's longevity. Your mileage may vary depending on your build and running style. It did feel flat when I brought it back out to write this review. I did run several 2 hr long runs in it and it felt good.

Stability is not this shoe's strong suit. With its soft foam and higher stack height, some lack of ankle support is expected. The wide base does help mitigate this to some degree. It's far from a true stability shoe, but it's not crazy unstable either. I did experience some Achilles discomfort during my mileage, though that was more likely an overtraining issue than a shoe problem.

The aggressive rocker geometry really shines at faster paces, where the shoe feels energetic and propulsive. While I'd still reach for a super shoe for hard workouts, the Novablast 5 could absolutely handle tempo runs and uptempo days if you enjoy its rockered feel. That said, the geometry can feel a bit choppy at easy, laid back paces. The shoe really wants you up on your toes, and sometimes my stride felt slightly unnatural when cruising slowly.

Despite these minor quirks, the Novablast 5 earns an A+ rating and was one of my top shoes of 2025. It's a fun, versatile daily trainer that excels across a wide range of paces.

I have only had the shoe for under a week so I have only 30ish miles on them. Take this review with that in mind.

I picked up the Deviate Nitro 4 about a week ago and have been fairly impressed since then. The weather here has been terrible, really putting both my mental toughness and the shoe's traction to the test. For context, I logged 500 miles in the Deviate Nitro 2 and put in some runs in the 3. I loved the 2 for its soft feel with some pep, but the 3 felt a little too firm for my preference.

The Deviate Nitro 4 delivers a nice, enjoyable ride. It incorporates all the modern running shoe technology without feeling overly explosive, aggressive, or hyper responsive. And honestly, I sort of appreciate that. In the age of wild super trainers, it's refreshing to just have a solid running shoe. A shoe I can lace up and run whatever pace my body feels like running. It handles my easy paces and tempo paces equally well.

I think this will become my go to for hour long runs with strides thrown in. However, it doesn't feel the most protective at longer distances. I don't think I'll reach for this for those 20 mile long runs late in a marathon training block. But for everyday training? This is just a great trainer.

The shoe disappears on foot and lets me run how my body feels. The plate is barely noticeable, and the geometry doesn't feel overly aggressive. It just feels natural for me. The traction is top tier. It held up great even in snow, ice and on slick pavement. It's also a modern lower stack shoe, which is nice to have in the age of max stack offerings.

I'd say this is most comparable to the Deviate Nitro 2, the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3, or even the Speed 5. I did one workout in this shoe, and while it felt great when my legs were fresh, it definitely wasn't feeling crazy propulsive when I was tired. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think this shoe will feel good when you feel good, but it's not going to give you that extra pop of a modern super trainer. This shoe isn't going to make you run fast, but it can certainly help. It's more of a "disappears on foot" kind of shoe rather than a "let you know how fast it is" kind of shoe.

This will be a big part of my current rotation, with the megablast, magmax, and metaspeed sky tokyo.