Brooks Glycerin GTS 20 Assessment

Brooks Glycerin GTS 20 Introduction

The Glycerin GTS 20 faithfully follows the Glycerin GTS 19 which mixed the secure, smooth-ride custom of Brooks Transcend with the model’s long-running Glycerin identify and more-trimmed design. (What would have been “Transcend 8” grew to become “Glycerin GTS 19.”)

Regardless of a brand new midsole within the 20 and the truth that the associated fee is up $10 from final 12 months, the $160 USD price ticket nonetheless matches that of Transcend 4 from early 2017 (and the 5, 6 and seven). From that perspective, the associated fee just isn’t that dangerous.

Does it come by for the associated fee? It relies on what you need.

Within the give-and-take between plush consolation and a lightweight experience, Glycerin GTS 20, just like the GTS 19, chooses to strip some higher from the Transcend to loosen up, coming in at 10.5 oz. (298 g.) in a US M9 / 9.4 oz. (266 g.) in a US W7.

The shoe just isn’t as plush however is extra streamlined for a lighter experience.

Drop .7 oz. extra off the load by selecting their StealthFit higher, a brand new adaptable, compression knit possibility.

Brooks permits runners to tailor their footwear with out going to special-order mode. Their web site provides the Glycerin, with selections for “StealthFit” or “Basic” for the higher and “Impartial” or “Help” for the midsole.

Since I just like the assist from the GuideRails® know-how, I might see myself getting a StealthFit mannequin for each day put on but a Basic match for placing on miles.

The mix of “StealthFit” plus “Help” would create a snug way of life shoe that can deal with a couple of miles on the weekends, or a reasonably supportive shoe for low-stability wants.

Brooks Glycerin GTS 20 First Impressions

Opening the field I noticed a typical Lite-Brite higher—nice for nostalgia however nothing distinctive in a running-shoe fashion. It appears higher on-foot than I anticipated, and I’ve truly been selecting it for some informal put on along with my runs.

On my first steps round my kitchen I instantly seen the rocker base, very very like previous Transcend fashions however even more-so. Although some reviewers are saying it’s much less “rockered” than the 19, haven’t any worries. The 20 just isn’t off its rocker; it’s loads secure and strikes rapidly into toe-off.

The primary run confirmed my option to go together with my most well-liked running-shoe dimension and never go up as I did in Brooks prior to those revamped GTS fashions of 2021/22. I’ve a med-narrow heel which widens a bit on the ball. The present Brooks uppers match extra like ASICS and fewer like HOKA in accommodating my foot form—which is, I came upon when researching the Lululemon Blissfeel, extra typical for a ladies’s foot.

It nonetheless took me about 20-25 miles to interrupt the higher in, however it didn’t “pinch” as too-tight matches do. Huge toes, strive a half-size up out of your common working shoe, or see if the StealthFit possibility permits sufficient stretch.

Slender toes strive a StealthFit in your common working shoe dimension as some are discovering the match to be too extensive. It’s positively not “extensive” per se, simply wider than the 19. The forefoot is barely wider than previous Transcends.

Brooks Glycerin GTS 20 Higher

The Basic match possibility combines an ordinary, sturdy, double-layer engineered mesh higher with conventional lacing and a moderately-plush tongue.

Add a shorter but still-solid heel counter and ample ankle padding, greater than discovered within the Launch GTS 9, the model’s speed-stability shoe, and Adrenaline GTS 22, a stability shoe midway between speed-specific and extremely cushioned.

My heel didn’t slip, and the shoe has common breathability. It was not too sizzling on heat days or too ethereal in runs beneath freezing.

The StealthFit higher possibility, obtainable in each Glycerin and Glycerin GTS, permits for extra stretch and a contemporary feel and look but a less-stable resistance to movement.

The StealthFit is very like Nike’s Flyknit of their React Infinity Run FK 2—with out as many colour choices however a genuinely cool black/white/cream for the GTS. This higher can also be much like that in adidas Ultraboost footwear for a snug match (and a way more low-key look). The stretchy ankle opening jogs my memory of New Steadiness’s Contemporary Foam Vongo V4, which I actually like and simply pulled out for some miles yesterday.

Brooks has a historical past of caring for the surroundings with their BioMoGo DNA in previous fashions. The Glycerin 20 is made with 32.4% recycled supplies within the higher which equates to 4.66 plastic bottles reworked from landfills!

Brooks Glycerin GTS 20 Sole Unit

The large focus this 12 months is Brooks’ nitrogen-infused DNA LOFT v3 midsole which gives a softer touchdown than a conventional EVA mix and a lighter experience than the model’s DNA LOFT.

This nitrogen method brings a singular really feel: comfortable but resilient—not plush. Pushing on the aspect it has good “give” but looks like it desires to blow up, like a comfortable pillow so compressed that it gained’t let the pounding over miles hold it down.

This creates a kind of softness to the touchdown with sufficient resilience that it appears agency into toe-off.

General the fast experience makes it really feel lighter than it’s. Due to this I used to be fantastic working velocity intervals on this shoe; whereas the Saucony Information 14, solely .3 oz. heavier, appears like lifeless weight, and the 1.1 oz. heavier HOKA Gaviota 3 is a shoe I put on if I need to “energy practice” over the run.

Like previous Transcend/Glycerin GTS fashions, the 20 has a rocker really feel underfoot with a fast transition into toe-off. The drop is 10 mm.

The GuideRails® stay largely unchanged since their 2019 revamp in Transcend 6. When it’s not damaged don’t repair it! This distinctive method to counter extra movement and alleviate strain on knees and hips works along with the higher’s heel counter to rein in motion. Medially, the GuideRails® bolster the arch of the shoe to direct foot movement ahead relatively than inward.

The outsole has thinned significantly from Transcend 6, beginning with a scaled-down Transcend 7 into a skinny layer of carbon rubber within the Glycerin GTS fashions. The outsole would be the first facet of the shoe to wear down for a lot of runners.

The deepest flex groves within the 20 now run vertically versus horizontally, which makes it much less versatile, even perhaps aids a fast experience very like the half carbon plate in ASICS Magic Pace in maintaining the shoe curved, although after all not as intense.

Brooks Glycerin GTS 20 Conclusions

The Glycerin GTS 20 has superior with the instances from a heavier Transcend that was extra plush and had a extra sturdy outsole.

Glycerin GTS 19 into 20 brings a thinner but nonetheless padded ankle, tongue, and outsole and retains a offered heel counter.

The newest midsole is resilient-soft with a useful rebound within the toe-off from a {smooth} transition, making the shoe really feel quick (for its weight) at faster paces.

Brooks has heightened its user-friendliness with choices to decide on a Basic or StealthFit higher on both Glycerin or Glycerin GTS, although with extra colour choices within the impartial shoe.

Work by a stiff higher to interrupt the shoe in but have extra stability lengthy haul, or strive the StealthFit choice to skip that step.