Customer Reviews Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21

First off, I have a love/hate relationship with these shoes. I purchased them at a sporting goods retailer so I had the opportunity to try on a couple of pairs for comparison. Not only did I like the look of these and the Revel 5 (I bought both pairs that day), I appreciated the comfortability of the shoe as well. While I am not a runner, I and my husband are avid walkers, logging between 10 and 15 miles five days a week on these shoes. He chose the Ghost and Levitate which he loves but I digress. My love for the shoes is they?re sturdy enough and supportive enough without killing my arches and allowing me maximum stride. The hate part comes in where, for some strange reason or another, these shoes make the front half of my feet numb. I wear moisture-wicking socks and the issue was even worse when I wore thinner socks; almost as though my feet slid around in the shoes and made for a horrible walk and excruciating foot pain. So switching socks helped a lot, but that numbness persists even on the lightest walks. My feet are fine until I hit the one mile mark and then they go numb. And oddly enough, it?s not every time I wear these shoes so I?m not sure if I still need to break them in or if something else is going on. The reason I don?t wear my Revel 5s as much is I want to get my feet used to wearing one pair before I try acclimating and adjusting to another. Sounds weird, I know, but the Revel 5 is so much more comfortable and forgiving. Aside from that, I bought them in a lighter color so I prefer wearing the Adrenaline?s for their darker color and the fact they handle equally well on different terrain?I just don?t like the fact my feet are numb when wearing them.

I have ran in Brooks Revels for the last few years- best shoes ever! However, I needed to switch due to PF and tendonitis. The Adrenaline's have helped my heel pain immensely. However, as other reviewers have said, they are not the most comfortable shoe. I had to switch to my old shoes a few times (counterproductive for the injury) while breaking these in to relieve some of the rubbing and ankle pain. I have had them for a little over a month and am just now able to run comfortably in them on a daily basis. I think the shoes are worth the money and I'm not unsatisfied but I do hope the future models are easier to wear/break in.

Only one issue prevents me from giving this shoe 5 stars--the heels wear out long before the shoes do. While this is my favorite Brooks shoe in every other way and by far the most comfortable, it is the only pair of Brooks that has ever done this; therefore, I would not buy another Adrenaline GTS 21, which makes me so sad. I really hope Brooks fixes this issue.