Asics GT-2000 6 vs Mizuno Wave Inspire 14 vs Brooks Adrenaline GTS 18 Comparison Shoe Review

Got your laces in a knot trying to work out which performance running shoes are right for you?

Josh's comparison between the Asics GT-2000 6, Mizuno Wave Inspire 14 and Brooks Adrenaline GTS 18 provides insight into the similarities and differences of these high mileage running shoes.

All three running shoes accommodate a pronating foot type and Josh discusses the type of arch support, cushioning systems and widths available in each.

Check out the full review with transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh from Sportitude today coming up at you with a comparison shoe review.

In the past when we’ve done shoe reviews we’ve been talking about the features of one specific shoe and whether it's right for you.

Today we thought it would be beneficial for you guys at home to make an assessment call on what specifically you could use between three comparative models from Asics, Mizuno and Brooks.

What I’ve got here is an Asics GT 2000 6, the Mizuno Wave Inspire 14 and the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 18. They're all relatively new shoes in the range for early 2018 and all specifically designed for mid to high mileage running.

The key feature between these three shoes is that we're looking at a foot type that pronates and rolls in. Essentially, it’s a foot type that does collapse through the arch through midstance phase.

If you’re at heel strike and you come through to midstance and your foot does collapse ever so slightly in that arch, you could consider these three shoes.

The arch support is slightly different in each shoe, but I’ll talk about those technical features in two ticks. Obviously being three different brands, you’re looking at three different cushioning systems.

Also, what I would like to bring to your attention is what widths they all come in because its obviously very important to get the right width on your foot.

I stand by this statement, if the brand isn’t making widths I firmly believe they don’t really care. There is so much engineering and competition out there in the running footwear world, that if a brand isn’t committed to make widths to make their running shoes more accessible to runners, I don’t believe it’s the right path to take.

You’ve got to put your money where your mouth is and offer your engineering to a wide variety of runners and that comes in different widths. That is a debate for another day we won’t get too caught up on that.

First, I’d like to touch on the Mizuno Wave Inspire. I’m not going to dive in too deeply, I have done a previous review individually for the Mizuno Wave Inspire 14 and the same thing with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 18 and the Asics GT 2000 6. See the the links for more in depth detail.

What we’ve got here is three different shoes. I’ll grab the Brooks Adrenaline and Mizuno Wave Inspire first. On the medial side where the arch support kicks in you’ve got Brooks using a dual density foam in this medial side.

What Mizuno do and they're quite clever about it, is use a Wave Plate on the medial side. You can see how it's encapsulated through that midsole and that medial bracket there.

Mizuno don't use dual density foam because it is a slightly heavier compound. Also, depending on the runner we’ve had feedback over the years that dual density foam can cause irritation. If you're pronating on that platform it can cause friction and friction equals blisters, but we’re talking about the minority there.

I have used Adrenaline and GTS, and being dual density arch support I didn’t get any blisters at all but some people do. That is the arch support category between the two. One thing which I will point out is that their arch support kicks in a little bit earlier, as soon as your foot comes down on the heel strike zone.

That little dark foam at the rear of the Brooks shoe is where the support starts. The arch support in Mizuno doesn't go quite as far as the Brooks Adrenaline. That’s the difference between the two in regards to the arch supports and obviously where they sit inside the shoe in your gait cycle.  

When we are looking at the Asics GT 2000 however, they use Dynamic DuoMax. In shoes gone by in the past Asics have used a grey dual density foam which is quite easy to identify where the support sits.

However in the Asics GT-2000 6 they’ve made the cosmetic decision to make it the same colour the whole way around which I think looks quite nice. The arch support is a little bit later than the Adrenaline and the Inspire.

I’d consider the Mizuno Wave Inspire 14 and Brooks Adrenaline GTS 18 if you’re an early heel striker or you pronate early in that heel strike zone. If you're only more of a midstance pronator than you can look at the Asics GT 2000 6.

I'm not saying you can’t look at the other two models if you’re a midstance pronator, because they will certainly cater for that. But if your foot comes down early and you have the tendency to start to pronate early in the strike zone before you get to midstance, then Adrenaline and Inspire is the way to go.

If you’re more of a midstance pronator where you get a bit of medial rotation, then the GT 2000 is probably the shoe you should consider. That is how the arch support works in all these shoes.

For the cushioning systems, we’re looking at Gel cushioning for the GT 2000, so you get a heel pod and a forefoot pod. Brooks use a silicone compound which they sprinkle through their EVA and they call it DNA cushioning. It is a consistent feel underneath the foot which I personally like.

Mizuno not only use the Wave Plate to absorb some of that shock and to keep the shoe nice and responsive, they use a soft foam which they flag as U4icX, that’s their absorbing part of their cushioning system.

A couple of features I will talk about in these shoes before I wrap this up. You’ve got a real deep heel counter with Mizuno, so a nice stable heel counter at the back. In the GT 2000 6 they’ve increased the depth of the heel counter from the previous model which has been great.

The Brooks Adrenaline heel counter is a little bit lower, however they have quite a considerable amount of padding on foam on the inside which gives you a nice secure fit on the back of your foot.

If you're worried about wearing a hole in the back, I’m not going to say you’re not going to do it in any of these shoes. Every now and then we get people coming back into the shop that show us they've worn in some holes. However, we get a less return rate with Brooks and Mizuno with that feature.

Asics I think have identified it which is good because it's being going on for about 10 years, sorry guys at Asics! In the GT 2000 we haven’t seen any inkling that we're going to get any holes. The foam and the lining they're using must be a little different from previous models and it's making them a bit stronger.

When we're talking about the widths on offer for the ladies models you’ve got the GT 2000 that comes in four widths; 2A narrow, B, D and a 2E.

In the ladies Wave Inspire we've got three widths; the 2A which is narrow, B standard and a D.

The Brooks Adrenaline, much like the GT comes in four widths; a narrow 2A, B, D and 2E. That’s the ladies covered.

On the men’s you’ve got four widths in the Adrenaline. You’ve got B which is narrow, D, 2E and 4E. The Inspire only comes in two which is a standard D and 2E.

The GT 2000 men’s comes in a D which is standard, 2E and a 4E. They’ve obviously committed to widths which is great.

I’m not going to rate the shoes because what I like at home is probably different to what you like. However, I’ve had some great feedback on the Inspire because it’s a little lighter, the Adrenaline because it was consistent in the cushioning system and the GT 2000 because it was softer.

You can sit here and talk about the pros and cons of each until the cows come home, however I’m hopefully giving you some information to make your shoe selection a little bit more educated. When you’re considering one you should consider the other two.

There you have it guys, that’s my comparative shoe review today. Hopefully it has given you information to make your shoe choice a little easier.

We look forward to seeing you next time. Happy running.