I ran 35 miles in the Puma MagMax Nitro 2 — here's my verdict

The Puma MagMax Nitro 2 should be a shoe that stands out from the cushioned crowd, with the generous stack of foam in the midsole promising both comfort and bounce.

In the end, I only really got comfort from the shoe, and while it’s a good cushioned running shoe for racking up your easy miles, it’s not an especially versatile daily trainer.

There are springier and cheaper sneakers that I prefer, most notably the Nike Vomero Plus, so while the MagMax Nitro 2 is a reliable pick, it’s not one of the best running shoes I've tested.

Puma MagMax Nitro 2 review: price and availability

The Puma MagMax Nitro 2 went on sale in December 2025 and costs $180 in the U.S. and £170 in the U.K., making it more expensive than Puma’s other cushioned shoes, the Magnify Nitro 3 and Velocity Nitro 4. The price is in line with many max-stack cushioned shoes from other brands, though.

Puma MagMax Nitro 2 review: design and fit

The Puma MagMax Nitro 2 is currently available in six colors, including the grey and yellow design I tested.

I opted for a half size down from my normal size with the shoe, as I’m often between two sizes and sometimes find Puma shoes run long. I had a good fit. If you tend to always wear one size of shoe, I’d stick with it, but if you’re also in between sizes, I’d recommend getting the smaller one.

The MagMax Nitro 2 is a max-stack shoe and stands 46mm high at the heel and 38mm high at the forefoot for an 8mm drop.

Despite this high stack, it’s quite light at 9.7oz in a US men’s 9.5. While it’s still heavier than some mega-stack shoes like the Asics Megablast, the MagMax Nitro 2 is lighter than most cushioned sneakers, and it’s dropped an ounce of weight compared to the original MagMax Nitro.

Upper

The Puma MagMax Nitro has an engineered mesh upper with padding around the collar of the shoe. It’s not as plushly-padded as some cushioned shoes, but that makes it more breathable, and it’s certainly still a comfortable upper.

Midsole

The sizable midsole of the MagMax Nitro 2 is made from Puma’s nitrogen-infused Nitro foam. This name is used for a range of different materials within the Puma range, but I believe it’s a Peba-based blend in the MagMax Nitro 2.

It’s certainly a comfortable foam and feels soft at the heel, but it didn’t deliver as much bounce off the forefoot as expected from the MagMax Nitro 2.

Outsole

As ever with Puma shoes, you get a great outsole on the MagMax Nitro 2, which uses PumaGrip rubber to cover the forefoot and heel of the shoe.

I’m always delighted to test a Puma shoe during the winter because I know I won’t have any problems with grip on wet pavements, and the MagMax Nitro 2 delivers reliable traction in grim conditions.

Puma MagMax Nitro 2 review: running performance

The Puma MagMax Nitro 2 is a good cushioned running shoe with a comfortable ride and a lighter design than most rivals, but even so, its performance felt like a bit of let down to me.

That’s because of its high price and high stack. It’s almost billed like a bouncy super-trainer, but I found the ride relatively dull compared to shoes like the R.A.D UFO or Asics Megablast, and while it’s protective for easy runs, it lacks the energy return I’d want to use regularly for faster efforts.

If you reset your expectations and just look for a comfortable cruiser, then the MagMax Nitro 2 does fit the bill nicely. It’s soft without being squishy and unstable, comfortable over long distances, and transitions quite smoothly from heel to toe.

The problem is that a lot of shoes can do that job, including the cheaper Puma Magnify Nitro 3, which is less cushioned than the MagMax Nitro 2, but I still found it comfortable for long runs.

There are also shoes that deliver on the promise of extremely bouncy rides, like the Nike Vomero Plus and R.A.D UFO, both of which are more fun to run in than the MagMax Nitro 2.

Should you buy the Puma MagMax Nitro 2?

The Puma MagMax Nitro 2 isn’t a shoe I’d buy myself, just because there are sneakers I consider better alternatives available at the same price or less. The Puma Magnify Nitro 3 is one of them, or even the Puma Velocity Nitro 4 if you prefer lower-stack cushioned shoes.

In the max-cushioned category, my go-to pick is the Nike Vomero Plus, which has a springier ride than the Puma, as does the Kiprun Kipride Max, a great value cushioned shoe from Decathlon set to launch in the U.S. in April.

For a true max-stack super-trainer that performs well in faster runs as well as easy ones, I’d look at the R.A.D UFO, Asics Megablast, or Superblast 2, all of which are more versatile than the MagMax Nitro 2.