Noosa Tri 16 vs Hyperion 3

The Noosa Tri 16 is Asics at its most playful: a light, lively tempo running shoe with triathlon roots and a deliberately loud look. At 215g with a low 5mm drop, it sits in that sweet spot between a daily trainer and a racer, the kind of shoe you reach for when an easy run turns into a fartlek and you want your feet to feel quick. There is no carbon plate here, so do not expect supershoe propulsion. What you get instead is honest, connected speed: a firm, responsive ride that rewards a forefoot or midfoot strike and turns over fast. The tri heritage shows in details built for racking transitions and shrugging off water, which also make it a genuinely fun stripped-back trainer. We rate it as a speed-day shoe for runners who already have a cushioned daily trainer and want something snappier for tempo work, strides and shorter races. It is not a do-it-all shoe, and it is not trying to be.

The Brooks Hyperion 3 is a lightweight speed trainer built to add a bit of zip to your faster days without asking you to buy a dedicated racer. It is a neutral road running shoe aimed at tempo runs, intervals and strides, and at 244g it is light enough to feel quick underfoot the moment you pick up the pace. There is no carbon plate here, so you will not get the springboard snap of a super shoe. What you get instead is a simple, honest tempo shoe with a firm, responsive ride and a versatile streak that lets it double as a lighter daily trainer. The 11.3mm drop is on the traditional side and rewards heel strikers. Against the plated crowd it gives up some return, but at £130 it undercuts most of them and asks for less commitment. If you liked the Brooks Hyperion 2, this is a familiar, refined update rather than a reinvention.