Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 vs GTS 20 Comparison Shoe Review

Brooks are on a roll in 2020 as Josh reviews the new stability shoes in their popular running shoe family, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21. From their plush step-in feel to their blend of cushioning and support out on the road, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 is an ever-reliable and comfortable choice for mild overpronators.

Alike with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20, it features full ground contact for a smooth transition and stable connection on the road during your high mileage runs and everyday training. 

Fast-forwarding from its predecessor to the current Adrenaline GTS 21, Brooks have extended their shock-absorbing DNA Loft cushioning to run all the way from heel to forefoot. This creates a consistently softer and forgiving ride for heel strikers, midfoot strikers and forefoot runners.

GuideRail technology provides arch support and overpronation guidance – improving your body alignment to take the stress off not only your feet but your ankles, shins, knees and hips for injury prevention and an efficient stride.

A lightweight, breathable engineered mesh upper couples with a soft yet structured fit at the heel counter to reduce heel slippage and make it a potential favourite in your running shoe rotation.

Available in multiple width offerings to cater to narrow, standard, wide and extra wide foot types, Brooks have ensured a precise and personalised fit in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 to achieve your best run and follow in the footsteps of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude and today it’s shoe review time and we're going to be reviewing the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21.

This shoe has just landed in Australia at the back end of 2020 and it has some exciting features and updates. Brooks have gone back to the drawing board and assessed what they did well in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20 and addressed some areas that they need to improve on.

In my opinion there's a lot to like about this running shoe. I've done a few miles in a sample pair about two months ago and I really enjoyed what Brooks have done with this shoe. I can't wait to get into this and tell you all about it.

Like all my shoe reviews we're going to talk about what Brooks have done, weigh it against the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20 and compare the outsole, midsole and upper. We’ll also profile the foot type that could be considering this shoe and who knows, it might be a new shoe for you at home that you can throw into your running shoe rotation.

Without further ado let's get stuck in.

Runner Profile

First things first, we're going to quickly profile the foot type that could be considering the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21. Brooks have designed a shoe with a form of arch support. From the Adrenaline GTS 18 which is a couple of models ago now, right the way through to the first edition of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS series, Brooks used dual density foam on the medial side.

Dual density foam was a harder density which was placed on the medial side of the running shoe and they did manipulate and change that positioning from model to model. The dual density foam worked almost like a pronation blocker.

When you go through from contact to midstance, that dual density foam was quite heavy, dense and was wedged right underneath your arch. Yes, it did reduce the range of movement in regard to pronation for a lot of runners but it wasn't overly comfortable and there were some question marks around the speed of pronation and what it actually did for a run.

Brooks went back to drawing board a couple of years ago with the Adrenaline GTS 19, 20 and now the 21 and they introduced GuideRails into their system. It’s a system that sits on top of the cushioning midsole that provides an appropriate amount of arch support for the foot type that comes through midstance and rolls in over the arches.

I've gone over this in shoe reviews gone by, but essentially it’s a foot that has a static position where the arches splay out. There's not a lot of space between the ground and the arch and when someone does come through the midstance phase flattening out through the arches, we see a little bit of rotation through the ankles, shins, knees and hips. The idea of this running shoe is to cater for that overpronated runner that likes a little bit of arch support.

The shoe fits into the cushioned category. There is a shoe that sits above this called the Brooks Transcend 7 and that is their premium cushion shoe with a bit of arch support. However, globally the Brooks Adrenaline is a more popular running shoe. It could be the fact that it's marginally lighter and to most runners out there there's not a huge amount of difference with regards to cushioning underneath the foot.

I personally don't find a massive difference between the Adrenaline and the Transcend. The Transcend ever so slightly feels a little bit plusher through the forefoot but it's marginal. The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 is a very cushioned shoe underneath your foot, so it is designed for plenty Ks out on the road.

Outsole

We’re going to get stuck into the engineering features of this shoe. Let's talk all things outsole first. When I hold up the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 and the Adrenaline GTS 20 you can see straight off the bat there’s not a lot of change.

We have a size 7 in both the women's models and there's not a lot that's different to the naked eye. It’s still full ground contact and they still have their harder rubber in those high-impact areas for heel strikers which is like a carbon rubber. As you come through to the forefoot it's a little bit softer which is the blown rubber format.

There is a subtle change with regards to the flex grooves to the forefoot. In my opinion the biggest change is the decoupling and cut-outs. They are going to provide a little bit more squish under that first metatarsal.

It's not going to be to the point where you're dropping off that first metatarsal head because you still have the encapsulated outsole which is going to provide a little bit of rigidity. However, they've just ever so slightly made the outsole a little bit softer and that has more to do with the change in the midsole.

Midsole

We’re going to get stuck into the midsole because the biggest change in this running shoe comes in the introduction of DNA Loft the whole way through to the forefoot. In last year's model, you can see it's identified by where Brooks glued it into their midsole.

You can see all those little dotted lines or dotted markers that go right around the base through to the lateral side of the heel - that's the DNA Loft cushioning system. It was strategically placed for that first point of contact with the ground for the heel striker.

It's still there for the heel striker, however now it has a one-piece upper and is co-moulded with the GuideRails which reduces weight. There are no compartments of glue that go into this midsole, either be it putting together the cushioning system or in the old Adrenaline GTS 19 gluing on the GuideRails.

It's a total one-piece system which is fantastic. However, they followed suit with what they did with the Brooks Ghost 13 with DNA Loft running the whole way through to the forefoot. Whether you're a heel striker, a midfoot striker or even if you land on your forefoot and you like a little bit of support with those GuideRails, this shoe with any entry point is going to be plush and purchased with the ground.

I’m not saying the old model wasn't for midfoot strikers or forefoot strikers because it was nice underneath the foot. However, you'll definitely notice the cushioning system to be a little bit softer through the whole transition of your gait cycle in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 running shoe.

Just rewinding a couple of minutes, it’s a bit soft on the medial side with the outsole and that's more to get some continuity going with a slightly softer set-up of the lateral side of the midsole. You're going to get that nice even balance with this running shoe which is what Brooks has achieved in the execution of the midsole and outsole.

Also touching on the midsole, we need to focus on the heel-to-toe drop. We're talking about a 12mm offset for men's and women's. It's almost exactly the same midsole bar the GuideRails as the Brooks Ghost. It’s a very similar running shoe, hence why they're so popular both in the stability offering being the Adrenaline and the neutral offering being the Ghost.

Upper

I want to come to the upper because Brooks have made a couple of little changes and I think it’s changed my perception on that first step-in comfort.

Last season with the Adrenaline GTS 20 on the inside of the heel collar, Brooks introduced a material which squeezed in that memory foam and limited the amount of vertical friction you can get with a running shoe. From time to time people get a little bit of slippage and we talk about focussing on the heel lock lacing system to secure that foot into the back of the shoe. 

However, Brooks went one step further and introduced a new material to reduce the amount of friction and lift with a runner's foot inside the internal heel structure. They have gone away from that with the next model.

The memory foam is a little bit softer and it almost comes towards more of a V-shape. What they have achieved by doing that is the same effect. We're going to minimise vertical friction by offering more foam on the instep and coming in a little bit more towards a pinching V-shape. For the lower Achilles insertion you'll get a more customised, snug and secure fit around that insertion point through your heel.

It's a nice fit and I prefer it. I really liked what Brooks did with the previous model. I thought it was a great initiative throwing in a new material to reduce the friction. However, for the first step-in fit and feel I really like what they did with the back of that heel counter for the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21. It is really comfortable.

Talking about heel counters, it is an internal structure no different than last year. We've got a plastic wedge that sits in and around the internal lining of that shoe. You get nice grab and support from that structure when you come down and make your first purchase with the ground.

As you're coming through to the midfoot region there's been an ever so slight change with regards to the position of overlays. When you look at the old Adrenaline GTS 20 you can see that strap that goes from the midsole up to the laces and from the back heel across to the lacing system. That was placed on the medial side of this running shoe's upper to provide a bit more of a hug up around that arch.

Brooks haven't used that same technology, but they've used the same theory with a larger Brooks logo and ever so slightly changing the materials of the upper. When you pull the laces up there is very limited space or air between your upper and your arch which is really important, especially for the overpronator. We want to reduce the amount of potential friction on that medial side.

As you're coming through to the forefoot it features engineered mesh. It’s light and very breathable. Brooks in my opinion have probably made some of the best uppers over the last few seasons.

I’m not biased by any stretch of the imagination but I really like the effort that Brooks go to with every aspect of their running shoes and that's probably why they are number one in running speciality, especially in the US as a brand and certainly trending that way here in Australia as well.

They're a very popular running brand not only in stores but with podiatry referrals and just general word of mouth. Brooks as a brand is taking off and it's really to do with the fact that every year they're making subtle changes and the execution across every aspect is on point. That is exactly what they've done with the upper. It’s very strong but breathable and light construction up top.

With regards to this shoe it is subtly lighter than last season. With our scales we measured the ladies’ to be around 255g and the men’s in the D width measured in at 295g which is essentially 5g different on last year.

The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20 was 300g and now the Adrenaline GTS 21 is 295g, so a 5g drop in the men's which is fabulous. In the ladies’ it was in around a 10g drop so it was in the mid-260g with the Adrenaline GTS 20. When a brand can make a shoe lighter and improve the cushioning and overall support, they're certainly ticking a lot of boxes.

While we're talking on the upper, we need to touch on the widths. We have four widths on offer in the women's. We have a 2A which is narrow, a B standard, a D which is wide and a 2E for the extra width which is fabulous.

In the men’s we have a B narrow, a D standard, 2E which is a little bit wider and then we have a 4E which is the extra wide width which is fabulous. Again, touching on widths and I’ve called it out in videos gone by, but when a brand is investing money in making widths in key running shoes, they care.

They care about what their product does and they care about getting their product on the right foot shapes. Especially in running stores you should be carrying as many widths as you possibly can in your popular shoes and that's exactly what we do here at Sportitude.

There you have it guys, that is my take on the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21. I love what Brooks have done with this running shoe. The biggest changes are in the midsole, having the DNA Loft the whole way through to the forefoot.

Your entry point for a heel striker, a midfoot runner or even a forefoot runner in this shoe is going to be nice and consistently plush underneath your foot and have a stable transition right through to your release point. Brooks are certainly making a lot of noise in the market and this shoe is no exception.

If you have any questions or comments on this shoe please contact our Sportitude shoe experts. If you've been a Brooks Adrenaline GTS wearer before I’d love to hear your feedback. If you've tried the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 let us know how you have gone with this running shoe.

Please subscribe to the Sportitude YouTube channel if you haven’t already done so and we'll continue to work on as much running shoe content as we possibly can to give you all the information you need at home to hopefully make those running shoe choices just that little bit easier.

Until next time guys, stay safe and be kind to each other. Happy running, we'll see you soon.

FEATURES   

• Support: Stability
• Upper: Mesh   
• Midsole: Brooks DNA Loft, Brooks BioMoGo DNA   
• Heel Height: 24mm   
• Forefoot Height: 12mm   
• Offset / Drop: 12mm

Men   

• Weight: 295g / 10.4oz   
• Widths: B (narrow), D (standard), 2E (wide), 4E (extra wide)

Women   

• Weight: 258g / 9.1oz   
• Widths: 2A (narrow), B (standard), D (wide), 2E (extra wide)