hey everyone I'm Justin I'm your average
running PT and this is a review of the
ultra paradigm 4.5 so here's the deal
with the ultra paradigm 4.5 this is
ultra is most cushioned shoe in their
lineup it has an offset from heel to toe
of zero millimeters which is pretty
standard for ultra they are known for
having that zero drop because they love
that natural foot and along with those
same lines Ultra also loves that wider
toe box which makes for the ability to
allow those those toes and that forefoot
to really spread and the stack height
toe and heel is 31 millimeters giving it
a pretty good amount of cushion
underfoot now this is a stability shoe
it's got the guide rails along the
insides it's got these red areas called
Stabila pods which are extra dense areas
of what feel like plastic that prevent
you from rolling inward toward the
inside of the foot what's also a little
bit less apparent is the fact that the
the midsole actually flares out toward
the inside actually giving an even wider
base for you to land on the weight of
the shoe is ten and a half ounces and
men's size-nine which is pretty standard
for a bigger kind of heftier stability
shoe so how i've been using the ultra
paradigm 4.5 basically I've used this
for every single run in the last two
months all 250 miles that I have run
have been in this shoe so because of
that I've really tested it out at all
paces all distances and really given it
a good rundown of what it can handle and
what it can't so here's the deal on the
wear and tear of this shoe the upper is
this mint material that almost seems
indestructible
at 250 miles I don't see any pulling
away from the midsole I don't see any
kind of fraying or anything like that
which is pretty surprising considering I
tend to clip the inside of my ankle
quite a bit and not even there is it
really starting to fray or do anything
that indicates to me that this is gonna
not last me for the life of the shoe so
what about that midsole so it's that 31
millimeter stack high heel and toe which
is really quite cushy and that's one
reason that I got this shoe whenever I
tried it on I wanted to make sure that I
had something that had a little bit of
extra push to it because I wanted to
take this for longer runs and for me a
longer run is about nine miles I'm
probably only gonna get up to maybe 12
miles I don't do a lot of long long
distance runs I will get up to running a
half marathon but for me this shoe I
think could take you that kind of a
distance but I've only run about nine
miles in it so that's kind of where I'm
coming from whenever I talk about the
durability of this shoe and for me this
midsole has really been a dream it was
really cushy when I got it in the store
and its really stayed that way pretty
much for the entire 250 miles that I've
been running in it and it's been really
hard for me to distinguish whether it's
really lost any of that cushioning
because when I put it on in the morning
whenever I get ready to go for my run I
stand on it and I feel that cush I feel
that little bit of bounce in it and it
really feels pretty much the same as
when I got it in the store here's where
I think the breakdowns gonna come and
that's gonna be in the outsole so I've
got some pretty typical wear patterns
whenever I run in a pair of shoes and
that's always gonna be showing up kind
of in the outside of that foot I always
land on the outside of my foot it's just
the way it's gonna be I know it this is
where I'm gonna see most of my wear and
tear however I'm starting to see a lot
more in other places too and I'm
wondering if this is really gonna KITT
get me to 300 400 500 miles I don't
think it's going to I started seeing
this on the outside of the foot around a
hundred miles so so it was really pretty
quick that I started to see that again
this is my wear pattern and I probably
beat the heck out of it on this area of
the foot anyway but it's these other
areas that I'm a little bit more
concerned about so right here under the
ball of my foot I'm starting to see some
pretty significant pattern wear pattern
because it's almost completely bald
there and really it is pretty much
completely bald right there at the toe
of point and at 250 miles I feel like I
shouldn't be seeing that and a shoe
that's got this much rubber on it but
again my own wear patterns the kind of
running I've been doing in it as I
mentioned I've been doing pretty much
anything from 9 mile slow run pace to
speed workouts at five-minute pace so
I've really been putting a lot of stress
on this shoe and maybe it's not a fair
assessment but I still feel like at 250
miles I shouldn't see quite this much so
I think it's probably gonna get me to
300 miles just before before I start
wearing into the foam but I don't think
it's gonna take me to 350 400 500 miles
now here's where I think that it might
differ for you I am definitely a four
foot striker
so I put pretty much all of my stress
through this area of the shoe if you're
more of a mid foot striker which you
know I don't see anywhere on this mid
foot on on mine because I just don't
really land there so if you're more of a
mid foot striker
then this will probably be saved a
little bit more in you so you may be
able to take it 350 400 500 miles or
more as I mentioned this is where most
of your wear is gonna come
the midsole and the upper I think are
just a dream so what do I think that
this shoe is best for I think this is
good for really long and slower kind of
runs I mean it's a stability shoe it's
heavy it's not exactly meant for speed
but as I said I wanted to really put
this thing through its paces and see
what it could handle again I'm really
really surprised that this upper really
held up I keep talking about it but I'm
really really surprised and really happy
about how well ultra has constructed
this upper on this paradigm shoe now if
you need a little bit of stability could
you take it a little bit faster than
those long slow distance runs sure you
could I just don't think that that's
gonna be the thing for me I think that
I'm planning on doing another kind of a
more daily trainer to get into those
slightly faster runs this is great for 9
minute pace and above for me but
whenever I start dropping below 9
minutes getting down in 838 7:30 that's
when I know I need a little bit more of
a lighter shoe and a little bit more of
lock down I think in the in in the
forefoot this is great for recovery the
wide the wide forefoot great for
recovery but if you're ever wanting to
pick up the pace a little bit I feel
like I start to slip around and in the
forefoot a little bit the heel
I feel locked down pretty much all the
time even when I'm going pretty fast I
don't feel like I'm sliding around in
the heel at all and and I feel pretty
strapped down here in the mid foot but I
just feel real empty I guess is what I
want to say whenever I'm trying to pick
up the pace or definitely when I'm going
to take corners in that forefoot it's
just really hard to negotiate and
navigate those types of tighter turns so
what's the conclusion here I think this
is a really great stability shoe used
for longer slower runs I think that you
can take this thing too
a half-marathon distance or even longer
if you're if you're wanting to but I for
me like I said I tested it out
everything and I think where I feel most
comfortable here is longer slower nine
minute pace for me and above another
thing to consider though is you got to
make sure that you can tolerate the zero
drop from heel to toe ultra is known for
that zero drop because they want you to
be able to run with a more natural
running pattern but if you are used to
running with a shoe that has some kind
of an offset in it of six eight ten
millimeters then you really have to
consider are you ready for a shoe that
drops you all the way down to zero and
if you are then you might want to make
sure that you are at least starting with
just a few miles in this shoe and then
you gradually work up to running longer
and longer distances so make sure that
you're considering that zero drop
whenever you're getting this shoe so
thanks for watching guys and I hope you
guys liked the ultra paradigm 4.5 good
shoe long slow distance it's a great
option if you can handle that zero
millimeter drop so you guys let me know
in the comments down below
have you tried the ultra paradigm 4.5
and if you have tell me if you liked it
I want to make sure that you guys are
talking on in the comments here and
telling other people look this is one
person's review right so I want to hear
from the rest of you are you getting 300
400 500 miles out of the shoe and if you
are are you striking the ground a little
bit differently than I am remember I'm
striking a little bit more on the
forefoot I kind of talked about that in
the comments - are you landing with a
certain kind of a foot striking is that
allowing this shoe to go longer and for
this outsole to last a little bit longer
alright guys make sure that you
subscribe to my channel because I want
to do more of the shoe reviews and I
will see you guys next time
