Brooks Glycerin 13 will offer you an ideal combination of comfort and protection for your legs at the same time. That´s what I mostly heard before trying these shoes from the company. Well, I must say, it was a nice surprise for me as I am more a fan of Nike. Unfortunately, they make their shoes mostly very narrow. At least for me. But in this case, of Brooks Glycerin 13, the opposite is the truth. Quite a wide cut of the upper of the shoe will give you an ultimate feeling of comfort that you will definitely appreciate if you plan to add this shoe to your selection of long-distance running shoes. I did not have any blisters even just after the first run for 12 km and having them the very first time on my legs.
What might be a disappointment is the mash in the front part, being pretty thick. Thus the shoe is not very convenient for the hot weather conditions as the ventilation is not much intense. As a long distance runner, I find this the weakest point. On the other hand, the cushioning fulfilled my expectations. Not too hard, rather a bit softer cushioning of the midsole filled by gell gave me an impression the leg joints are protected accordingly as the producer promises. The support is overall not excessive and thus just for normal pronation. Although the they explicitly recommend the model for road running, I tried them also on a rocky path and softer forest trail several times. From my impression, they have the upper dense and thus durable enough so that the risk of damaging the shoe in a bit unusual conditions is very low.
As the upper is denser, you will unfortunately experience the weight of the shoe which ranges between 280 – 320 grams. I think this aspect matters a lot. It can be a bit burden if you are a 160cm high woman only and you will need to get used to it when you are for example used to Nike shoes more. Actually, in some cases Nike are even one third lighter (Nike Downshifter 7 around 200 grams and Nike City Trainer 2 around 180 grams).
Overall, Brooks Glycerin 13 pretty much fulfilled my expectations. I appreciated lots of space and soft inner side of the shoe and also, the fact they are durable and I can run with them not just in the ideal weather conditions. For long-distance running perfect especially!!! The last thing is the design. It is a pretty cool looking running shoe. While Nike looks softer, neat and as from thinner material in general, this kind of shoe looks very dominant. For me, it has a real eye-catchy design and intense colors. So besides the fact that I consider it to be a really high quality shoe, I really liked its physical appearance as well.
Brooks Glycerin 13
Pros
- Perfectly wide
- comfortable
- Cool looking upper and outsole colors at the same time
Cons
- Weaker breathability