Brooks Running Shoes Review

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

159 of 166 people found the following review helpful.
Barefoot Shoes without the Public Ridicule.
By NoCoDreamin
Step 1: Read "Born to Run"Step 2: Begin the journey to reclaim your genetic rights to a barefoot existence.I spotted these shoes on one of the many barefoot running blogs and websites and couldn't wait to get a hold of them. I have slowly transitioned to barefoot running like so many thousands of others who were inspired by "Born to Run," and while I'm very far from becoming an shoeless Ultra Marathoner, I am a dedicated convert. Since retraining my feet and lower legs in my Vibram Five Fingers, the rest of the expensive outdoorsy cushioned shoes in my closet just feel terrible. My hope for these Merrell Pace Gloves is to have a shoe to wear when I'm not running that complements all of the benefit I have received from running in Vibram Five Fingers. Out of the box, these shoes are extremely light weight with the look and feel of a high quality Merrell product and I'm very happy with the look of the Chili Pepper color. I can definitely wear these as a casual shoe with a nicer outfit and feel great about the style. In slipping them on, the soles are very flexible and followed the point and flex of my foot and there are minimal seams on the inside. At first, they seemed long in the toes, which didn't make sense because I always wear a 7 1/2 in Merrells, but this is obviously on purpose. The width of the ball of my foot perfectly fit into the contours of the sole and the extra length allowed for spread of my toes within my stide -- this is very important and I am actually quite impressed with how well this was accomplished. I walked around the house and hopped on the treadmill for a few minutes and the shoes successfully encourange me to support my weight through the ball of my foot with a forefoot/midfoot strike. They were very comfortable while running and my toes still had room to spread without constriction. So far, these seem like an outstanding shoe!

85 of 89 people found the following review helpful.
Born to walk too~
By MissGreen
I am trying to work on my posture and balance and continue my yoga practice advancement, so I was very interested in the barefoot shoe. I just got them and I have to say they are awesome. They fit like a glove. I think maybe I got really lucky with sizing. I got them in chili pepper and they are the cutest little low profile shoes.I will update as I start running/wogging in them.Word of caution. I have very narrow feet and these hug like crazy. I would think if you have wide feet, these shoes would literally rub you the wrong way.So far out of the box.... love them!Update 6/28/2011: I still love these shoes. I would rather wear them instead on my slippers. A couple things I noticed. The color bleeds (chili pepper) the first sign of sweat i had pink socks. Second, if my feet swell even a little, they get uncomfortable. Otherwise, I love these shoes and get many compliments on them.

82 of 89 people found the following review helpful.
Instant Love
By L. Dunahee
I love these shoes. I live in South Korea and wanted a barefoot shoe that could take the abuse of the mountainous terrain and keep my feet protected but connected (and not let every rock and bit of sand in across the top of my foot like the deeply scooped trend of most barefoot shoes.) I got them in yellow (acacia?) and they look great. They fit like a second skin and break in very quickly. I'm a solid 9, and the 9 fits me perfectly. I walk to work, hike, and play frisbee in them and they really perform in every task. My footing feels sure and comfortable and I can feel my stride improving. I was nervous about "barefoots" being able to handle the sharp rock paths and hostile sidewalks you get here, but the Vibram sole does its job. I know the rock is there. I can practically manipulate it, but it is in no way painful or damaging. Sometimes I walk the sharp rocks on purpose, just to marvel at how awesome these shoes are. I'm definitely glad I bought them.