Brooks Hyperion Tempo Running Shoe Review

If you’re looking for a fresh spin on fast, the Brooks Hyperion Tempo running shoe is one to consider adding to your shoe rotation or as a speedy option for race day. Josh highlights how this ultra-lightweight and responsive neutral shoe lives true to its name Tempo and reveals why it's a go-to for crushing your interval runs.

The outsole caters to heel strikers, midfoot strikers and forefoot strikers with durable rubber in the high-wear zone of the rearfoot and generous surface area at the forefoot to connect you to the road.

The energy-returning DNA Flash midsole provides a lightweight blend of cushioning and responsiveness yet sticks to the less is more philosophy with a consistent density from heel to toe.

An airy upper provides a barely-there, slipper-like feel around the foot and sets you up with an on-trend tapered out heel to reduce rubbing and irritation as you push for more speed.

Check out the review with full transcript below

Hi guys, Josh here from Sportitude. It’s shoe review time and we’re going to be reviewing the Brooks Hyperion Tempo. This shoe is a completely new shoe from the Brooks running family.

It’s a very light and responsive shoe that’s built on their new patented midsole being DNA Flash, which is a nitrogen-infused midsole. There’s a lot to like about this shoe and a bit to get through. Let’s get stuck in.

Like all my shoe reviews we’ll talk all things outsole, midsole and upper and profile the runner that should be considering this shoe and who knows, it might be a shoe you can add in your shoe rotation at home.

First things first, this shoe is insanely light. It is not a heavy, mileage shoe where you go to it for ultimate protection. It is designed to be fast. It is going to be a shoe you’ll use for interval runs and tempo runs where you’re putting a bit more force through your foot and wanting to pick up the pace. 

It’s very light as I touched on before, but the main reason is that the new DNA Flash midsole with that nitrogen-infused package is very responsive through the forefoot, but provides quite a lot of cushioning on this platform.

When we’re looking at this profile of shoe which can be anywhere from the Saucony Freedom ISO, Saucony Kinvara, Asics NovaBlast or even the Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo, we're looking at shoes that are very light and very cushioned.

This has a really nice feel under the foot regarding that responsiveness and it’s probably one of the more responsive shoes in that category. That is just from my opinion running in it. It felt nice and snappy through the forefoot.

Outsole

Let’s touch on the outsole of the shoe. We have a little bit of exposed midsole through the midsection. You’ve got your rubber which is sitting in the high abrasive area. If you’re a heel striker there is a nice piece of rubber that sits on the lateral side of that heel that is giving you some midsole protection.

As you come through to the forefoot, you can see how the surface area of the forefoot is a little bit wider than the majority of shoes. That’s evident when you look at the shoe from the top down. You can see the midsole flares out quite a bit.

You get a good amount of surface area underneath your forefoot which is nice for those midfoot to forefoot runners wanting great purchase with the ground. Obviously that rubber through the forefoot is there to protect the asset which is the midsole and provide plenty of durability underneath the foot.

Midsole

Coming through to the midsole. It's nice to talk about a midsole that is very simplistic in regard to the execution of the foam itself. The nitrogen-infused DNA Flash cushioning system is one density the whole way through but very light, cushioned and responsive.

That’s as easy as I can explain this midsole. There’s no components of high wear areas and other components in responsive areas. In lightweight shoes they want to do less is more and that’s what Brooks have done with this shoe. Less is more.

The DNA Flash is very light, very soft and responsive. Easy as that.

Upper

Coming through to the upper we have an internal heel counter at the back of this shoe, so a lower cut internal heel counter which is nice and gives a bit of support.

What’s becoming a thing with a lot of brands is this little ‘elf’ design through the back. It takes the upper of the shoe away, so you don’t get that rubbing sensation on your Achilles insertion to your heel, so it’s a nice little design. It’s not that intrusive and it provides a little more depth and comfort around the back of your heel.

It's a similar concept to the midsole with what’s going on in the upper from the heel forward. There’s not a lot that’s going to lock your foot down in this shoe. It’s a very minimalistic free-feeling shoe. You put it on and it almost feels like you’re wearing a slipper, so you don’t have that secure lockdown on top of the foot.

If you want a shoe that is going to have a real secure lockdown, it may not be the shoe for you. However, if you like a slightly freer feeling shoe where you don’t notice the upper at all, the Hyperion is one to consider.

It’s very light, breathes very well and the upper is hardly noticeable which is fantastic. What they do to accommodate that is the lacing system comes a fraction further down the shoe so the lockdown that you do get is generated by you and your lacing technique.

You can get a secure fit by locking those laces in. However, you won’t be relying on the upper of this shoe to give you those added support systems which is a good thing in some aspects of your tempo lightweight running shoes.

I’m holding the ladies’ here in front of me and the men’s is exactly the same in every aspect and colourway.There is a lighter Hyperion Tempo as well in terms of the colourway but at the moment what we have available is this black and blue number.

There you have it guys, the Brooks Hyperion Tempo. It's one shoe you could be considering out there at home.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask about this shoe please contact our Sportitude shoe experts. If you haven’t subscribed to the Sportitude YouTube channel please subscribe. We like to bring as much content to you at home as possible with all things running shoes and running shoe related.

Until next time, take care, happy running and we’ll see you on the road. 

FEATURES

• Support: Neutral      
  
• Upper: Stretch woven    
  
• Midsole: Brooks DNA Flash   
  

• Heel Height: 22mm      
  
• Forefoot Height: 14mm      
  
• Offset / Drop: 8mm     
  

• Weight (women): 189g / 6.7oz   
  
• Weight (men): 207g / 7.3oz 
  

• Width (women): B (standard)      
  
• Width (men): D (standard)