Editor rating:
10/10 on
JON OBER
User's rating:

PROS

  • Superior stability that does not sacrifice quality of the ride.
  • Fast ride despite type and weight of shoe.
  • Updates in shoe are modest. Does not try and re-invent the wheel.

CONS

  • Lacing seemed cumbersome.
  • Extra eyelet at top of tongue felt unnecessary

OUR VERDICT

The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 continues to impress and is a step above the rest in the stability game. It truly is a Go To Shoe.
SHOE INFO
Brand
Adrenaline GTS 17
Model
Type
10.70 oz. (303 gr.)
Weight
120 US$
MSRP
12 mm
Heel Drop
Nov / 2016
Release Date
Previous model
WHO IS IT FOR
I recommend this shoe as a trainer for runners training for any event up to a full marathon. It doesn't have a high learning curve so to speak; so it is great for beginners.

Brooks comes back for a 17th time with the Adrenaline GTS. There is a slight cut in weight and updated tech from last year’s model, but Brooks remains true to its foundation.

It is a solid shoe for the runner wanting to combat against over pronation and is mighty fast. It sits above its competition because of this and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Price wise, it is in the middle of the pack, so you are going to be spending a little bit more but it won’t completely wipe you out. The higher price point is justifiable in my eyes thanks to how well it fared for me.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 General Info

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 - Top

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 – Top

The Adrenaline GTS 17 is Brooks’ flagship stability shoe with GTS standing for ‘Go To Shoe’. I’ve always gotten a kick out of the GTS; as it almost seems like Brooks is taking a jab at some of the more generic shoe model names out there. It competes directly with ASICS’ GT-2000 line, the Saucony Omni and Mizuno’s Wave Inspire.

I first came across this shoe years ago when I was looking to deviate away from my narrow and heavy ASICS Kayanos. My local running store set me up with Adrenaline GTS 14s and it was a hit.

I got fantastic support, but was able to push myself in runs like I never had been able to before. Needless to say, I was excited to see what Brooks had done with this shoe when I found that I’d be testing it.

First impressions were positive. The electric blue and yellow colorway was pretty standard but the colors were crisp and popped out.

They felt a little heavy to me, but lacing them up and taking them out for the first time felt great. The ride was light and pleasant.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 Sole Unit

The overall ride was incredibly smooth. Landing felt effortless and it gave a nice pop when lifting off. The offset is 12mm and while this sounds high, it was hard to tell during testing thanks to the tech Brooks put into it.

The sole unit is separated with emphasis on different hot spots of the foot. Brooks calls this their “Full-Length Segmented Crash Pad”.

With it segmented like this, it promotes adaptive landing. This way, it is perfect whether you heel strike, or land on the ball of your foot like me.

This works with the ‘Biomogo DNA’ midsole. Soft foam here aids with adapting to every stride. One nice touch, is that it was designed to biodegrade at a higher rate.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 - Sole

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 – Sole

This means that when it’s time to hang these up for good, they will break down much faster. Brooks rolled this technology out a few years ago and I think it is great to see a company reduce their carbon footprint.

The last piece of the puzzle is the inner section of the shoe: hardened plastic which Brooks calls their “Progressive Diagonal Roll Bar’. Its goal is to correct missteps and give more a natural ride.

It feels stiff, but you can barely tell when you are actually running. This did wonders to battle fatigue in some of my longer runs.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 Upper Info

Upper material is fairly common seamless mesh. It is comfortable and breathes well. Reflective accents are throughout allowing me to be seen incredibly well at night.

I see no need in having to buy a size up as there is plenty of room throughout. The toe box is plentiful and there were no narrowness issues.

This is pretty par for the course for how Brooks’ sizing does with me. I have a pretty wide foot but have never had fit issues with anything they put out.

The heel has hard plastic to lock you in, but it stops at about the midpoint. I liked this a lot as it locked me in but didn’t restrict movement, specifically with my achilles tendon.

Cosmetically, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the lacing. There is a second eyelet on the upper portion of the tongue which I’ve never seen before in a running shoe.

This seemed unnecessary to me, especially considering how tight I tie my shoes and that I utilize the upper eyelets. When I laced them up, they did not look even to me.

The lower section of the lacing pushed further into each other compared to the top making it not appear to be symmetrical.

While these were cosmetic complaints, I did find myself re-lacing multiple times as I did not want to have to adjust mid-run. Fit wise, it was great. They are snug on the top of my foot and were beyond comfortable.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 Conclusions

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 - Heel

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 – Heel

I’ve always been impressed with Brooks. I feel like they are more keen to the runner as this is the only sport they focus on unlike their competition.

I wore these when I was tapering for a marathon and it was great. I was able to go surprisingly very fast in them, something that is rare for me in this type of shoe.

I didn’t ever feel like I was dragging along with them and would absolutely recommend these.

If you’re looking for a light and fast shoe, but aren’t ready to step into the performance realm of stability, then these are your go to.

We thank the nice people at Brooks for sending us a pair of Adrenaline GTS 17 to test. This did not influence the outcome of the review, written after running more than 50 miles in them.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 Price Comparison

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