I've always been a Brooks fan, but I think I may have found nirvana with the Launch 3. If you're only interested in reading the Launch 3 review, scroll down, as I marked it out specifically.
When I first began running back in 2007, I had no idea what shoes to buy or really any of the thinking that goes into buying the right running shoe for your foot. I basically just looked at Runners World latest shoe review and ordered a pair of Nike Air Pegasuses because they looked cool. The Pegasus has gotten tons of good reviews and no doubt they're well deserved, but they just weren't the right shoe for me. I got blisters and the toe box pinched, etc. It was a painful lesson that I needed to do a bit more research!
So I sent them back and went to my local running store to get properly fitted and to enlist the help of someone who knew what they were doing, because clearly I did not! There, they had me walk and then run around the parking lot, took various measurements, and asked me some basic questions about my experience in running (none!) and the like. Then they fitted me with my first pair of Brooks shoes, the Brooks Adrenaline, and it was like I was running on two little clouds. Tons of cushioning for my tender newbie feet, and tons of stability too. I was hooked, and I went through several more pairs of Adrenalines over the coming years before moving to Ghosts.
But by mid-summer of this year, it was clear to me that I needed to finally get some new shoes. The treads on the Ghosts were wearing smooth, and had worn down completely on the balls of both feet. I wanted to make a few changes, even though I was sure that if I went with the latest Ghosts, I'd be perfectly happy. But I was looking for a few differences:
First, I wanted a lighter shoe. The Ghosts aren't enormous anchors, but they're a bit weighty at a bit over 10 oz. I wanted to see if I could find a shoe that was under 10 oz, as I have big feet, so the less weighing them down, the better.
Second, I wanted a neutral shoe with not as much cushioning. Less cushioning would help dial down the weight as well. But I also wanted a shoe that gave me a slightly better feel for the road beneath my feet and a bit more pep in the feel. Although I also was very wary of buying a shoe with too little stability, which would lead to a whole new host of problems.
I considered branching out to a new brand. Maybe Saucony, as I have heard great things about their shoes, although I've never had the opportunity to try them out. My local running store where we live now sold mainly Saucony, so it seemed a logical starting point. But that store closed unexpectedly while we were on vacation, so I started with Brooks since that's what I'm familiar with. Enter, the Brooks Launch 3.
Brooks Launch 3 Review
The Launch 3 is defined by Brooks themselves as a neutral, energetic shoe, and I think that is an accurate description. Right out of the box, I could tell that these were markedly lighter than the Ghosts, which ticks one of my main boxes. My feet feel lighter and livelier running down the road in these.
The upper is not made of mesh, but of a lighter and stretchier material that is designed to be a snugger, more customized fit for your foot. They call it Air Mesh material, for what it's worth. It's like a smaller mesh that's threaded more closely together. I ordered one size up, which I've always done for Brooks, and that's perfect here as well. The toe box has plenty of room, but my toes don't feel lost. The stretchy upper does form to my foot better than a mesh upper like that of the Ghost. I think this helps keep your foot more stationary as well.
The Air Mesh material also helps improve airflow into the shoe, which helps keep your foot drier and helps minimize blisters. But again, the 3D mesh design on the upper also wraps your foot more snugly, which also prevents friction. Some folks don't like that constrictive feeling (I certainly felt that way when I was starting out) but I actually really like that sensation, so this works for me.
Perhaps the most innovative part of this shoe though, is the use of BIOMOGO DNA cushioning along the midsole, which provides a dynamic ride for your foot. See picture below.
What I mean is that it adapts to your stride and impact to provide adaptive cushioning, rather than placing static cushioning in one part of the show. There's also a segmented crash pad, which makes transitions from heel strike to forefoot planting more seamless, also a big plus.
The shoe itself is in fact more energetic in that when I'm running, I feel like my foot springs off the road a bit more than with previous shoes. All of which is to say that it provides a more responsive ride than a more stability-focused shoe like the Ghost or Adrenaline 16 GTS, etc.
In terms of the other details, the Launch comes in a wide variety of color schemes, although those options are more limited for those of us with larger feet. But, I was able to get the color scheme I liked best (the blue and lime green you see above) from Running Warehouse without much trouble at all.
And finally, the price point for these shoes is very reasonable, all things considered, at $100 even. When you consider that many running shoes are priced easily over $100 or even $120, these are very reasonably priced. Could you wait until the Launch 4 comes out and pick up a pair of these for probably closer to $75 in 6 months? Probably. That's basically what I did when I bought my Ghost 5's. But if you're in the market for shoes now, $100 is a pretty good value for the shoe you get, in my opinion.
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