Last updated: 20-Aug-18
The Brooks Ghost 10 shoe is part of a collection of “Cushion” footwear, mainly for road use. I am a big fan of Brooks PureGrit for the trails, so I was interested to find out how the Ghost 10 shoe performs. I ran on dry and wet days (to test the Gore-Tex technology).
Features
- Gore-Tex technology
- Soft Cushioning: BioMoGo DNA midsole cushioning dynamically adapts to your stride for “just-right softness” underfoot.
- Smooth, Stable Ride: Segmented Crash Pad is designed to adapt to each foot fall, so no matter how your foot lands, you’ll enjoy a smooth ride.
- Breathable Fit: Newly engineered mesh to offer stretch and structure where your foot needs it.
- Neutral support
- Medium arch
- Midsole drop: 12mm
- Weight: 249.5g per shoe
- Male and female designs.
- Price: £130 (£120 for Ghost 10 without GTX)
Pros: What’s good about the Brooks Ghost 10 GTX shoe
The trainer looks like a traditional running shoe but it boasts the modern requirements of being fairly lightweight and funky looking. Have you noticed how plain footwear is pretty much a thing of the past? These days, a running shoe is created to look like a piece of art.
The Brooks Ghost 10 has a three-tone sole and colourful upper overlay on the mainly black fabric. There’s added cushioning called “BioMoGo DNA midsole cushioning” and a “Segmented Crash Pad”. I do wonder if this is anything new but the blurb wants me to believe it is.
The shoe felt comfortable from the off. I appreciate the cushioning around the heel cup and tongue. It feels very luxurious compared to my normal trail shoes. The width fit is what I would call normal, not overly wide nor overly narrow. The UK8 length is exactly as it should be.
As soon as I started to walk, and then run, in the trainer, the cushioning was obvious. It’s forefoot cushioning and every foot landing felt bouncy. You’ll either love this or loathe it, but I liked it for pavement running.
I spend a lot of my time running on trails, so it was good to have extra cushioning and bounce for harder surfaces. I also felt sure-footed. Is this the “Segmented Crash Pad” landing? Or perhaps it was simply that I was running on more even terrain compared to the trails.
The arch was low to medium in my opinion. I like this because I am not keen on a lot of arch in my running shoe.
The shoes has a medium stiffness feel. It’s not overly stiff, nor overly flexible. This is good for long miles of training on hard ground. I am far more used to a shoe that is more flexible for the trails so I appreciate a bit of flex, but not too much.
It feels like a very easy shoe to wear for running.
The laces are easy to adjust and stay tied, despite being smooth. Normally smooth laces come apart but for some reason the Brooks stayed tied. I have a narrow foot so there was a bit of fabric “bunching” near my toes but nothing too ridiculous.
The shoe felt fairly lightweight when running and there was a good level of breathability for the conditions, although I did not experience high temperatures.
I also took the shoes for a wet run and splashed through puddles. The wet stayed mostly on the outside (see notes below).
The price is similar compared to other road shoes.
Cons: What’s not so good about the Brooks Ghost 10 GTX shoe
I think that GTX in a running shoe is a bit of a waste of time. The membrane will help to keep out a lot of wet on the main part of the foot but as soon as the rain or puddles go over the ankle you’ll send up with a wet sock anyway.
You could add a waterproof gaiter for improved all-round waterproofing but is anyone going to bother with that unless they are always running in the rain?
I am not a fan of jargon when it comes to describing the features of a running shoe. For example, Segmented Crash Pad and BioMoGo DNA. Just tell me what the shoe does, rather than blind me with so-called science.
It would be good to see an extra colour choice in the GTX version of this shoe. The non-GTX shoe has a big range of colours so why not add a couple more to the GTX? This sort of says to me that the GTX shoe will not be as popular.
The heel cup feels a bit too stiff for me, but I do have dodgy Achilles tendons so it might just be a personal thing. I suggest you try these on before buying them.
Conclusion
For a comparatively-priced road running shoe the Brooks Ghost 10 GTX is worth considering. I might be tempted to buy a non-GTX version though.
The shoe performs well and has lots of underfoot cushioning with a medium level of flex. The heel cushioning is excellent, if you like that sort of thing. I ran well in this shoe and felt that it was a good lightweight shoe for training runs. There is nothing hugely remarkable about the shoe, however.
| Score | |
| Design | 8/10 |
| Features | 8/10 |
| Performance | 9/10 |
| Value | 8/10 |
| Total | 8/10 |
Others shoes you may want to consider:
Brooks Ghost 10
Asics Gel Nimbus 20
Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit 2
Inov-8 Roadclaw 275 V2
Inov-8 Roadtalon 240
About the writer: Fiona is a keen runner, preferring off-road and hilly to flat and road. She lives in Scotland where the weather is fickle so needs to be prepared for all conditions. See more of what she writes at Fiona Outdoors.
All images Brooksrunning.com.
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