Brooks Ghost 15 vs 14 Comparison Running Shoe Review
The main difference between the Brooks Ghost 15 running shoes and the Brooks Ghost 14 running shoes is the Brooks Ghost 15 features the lighter DNA Loft v2 cushioning, while the Brooks Ghost 14 features DNA Loft in its original form.
The Brooks Ghost 15 is your blend of performance, comfort and sustainability. Brooks have increased the recycled content, reducing carbon emissions. Being 100% carbon neutral, the Brooks Ghost 15 is a big tick for eco-conscious runners seeking to lace up in this popular running shoe family from Brooks, while lightening your carbon footprint on the environment.
With neutral engineering, the Brooks Ghost 15 caters to a variety of foot types – from neutral runners, mild supinators to mild overpronators that prefer an honest and consistent ride, and don't rely on support technologies. The durable outsole with HPR (High Performance Rubber) offers midfoot and heel striker-friendly engineering, being reinforced against abrasions in high-wear zones.
The Brooks Ghost 15 offers smooth and balanced cushioning with the new DNA Loft v2 in the midsole – providing protection for your everyday training without going overkill on softness. This sweet spot of cushioning makes it ideal for a range of running workouts – easy-going recovery jogs, high mileage running or shorter, faster runs.
Brooks have boosted the breathability of the upper with engineered air mesh offering a lightweight feel and foot-conforming fit.
For loyal Brooks Ghost runners, it’s easy to transition from the Brooks Ghost 14 to the Brooks Ghost 15 as the fit and feel is consistent – there’s no surprises. Brooks haven’t turned this running shoe inside-out for this latest iteration. They’ve only made subtle, minor changes to refresh your favourite ride.
Check out the review with full transcript below.
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes -
Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Mens Running Shoes
Welcome to Sportitude Running. My name is Josh and today we have a shoe review. It's a comparison review like we have done previously with a lot of our shoe reviews gone by in the past.
In front of me I have the Brooks Ghost 15 and the Brooks Ghost 14. To give you some context, this running shoe is very popular globally, not just here in Australia but in the US and Europe. This running shoe has a huge following and a lot of the effort that goes into this shoe at Brooks is very well known.
It is a relatively simple shoe so it kind of contradicts what I just said there about the amount of time, effort and engineering that goes into this shoe. However, sometimes less is more and that's certainly the case with the Brooks Ghost franchise.
In today's review we'll dive into all the key features being the outsole, the midsole and the upper and give you some context around who should be looking at buying this shoe. We’ll compare it to some other shoes out there on the market to give you all the information that you need at home to potentially make this your next shoe purchase. Without further ado let's get stuck in.
Foot Type
First things first, before we dive into what this running shoe is all about and how it's put together, lets talk about what foot type should be considering the Brooks Ghost 15.
Nothing has changed, it's designed for that neutral, mildly overpronated runner but also for that mildly supinated runner. It plays across three different silos.
When we're talking about that neutral runner, someone who's very consistent from landing as they come through to midstance, there's no favouritism towards that medial or lateral side.
However, for your mildly pronated foot type, someone who comes across their midstance phase that doesn't like the fit, feel and function of a slightly posted or guidance shoe and is able to tolerate a neutral engineering midsole on their foot, the Brooks Ghost 15 is going to be absolutely fine.
Obviously, being a supinator where a lot of the pressure is on the outside of your foot, you could also consider a Brooks Ghost 15.
Who Is The Brooks Ghost 15 For?
Let’s discuss where this shoe sits in the whole cushioning category for Brooks. It is not their most cushioned neutral shoe – the Brooks Glycerin certainly takes care of that and that has the DNA Loft midsole, that nitrogen infused midsole. The new DNA Loft v2 in the Brooks Ghost 15 is a slightly different make-up and we'll get into that in the midsole part of this review.
By not being the most cushioned shoe but by being a very consistent shoe, it does cater to a lot of runners. It has great cushioning underneath that entry point if you're heel striking or midfoot striking.
With a pretty generous heel-to-toe offset of 12mm, it does cater for a lot of people who look or are searching for that slightly high heel-to-toe offset to take a bit of stress and load off the Achilles, calf and soleus. We categorise it as more of a balanced midsole, so it has enough cushioning but also has a slightly smoother transition through the entire gait cycle.
As you go through midstance and toe-off, this running shoe feels very consistent. The midsole performs very similar across the whole entire transition through heel to toe-off, so therefore we put it into that balance category.
If you're a runner that's searching for a really cushioned shoe to cater for your easy days or your long runs but you don't like that max cushioned feel that maybe a Brooks Glycerin would provide, then let's have a chat and talk about the Brooks Ghost 15.
By being a slightly more responsive shoe through that forefoot, it can double down for runners who want to get progressively quicker over time and potentially use this for some shorter, faster runs. It is by no means just locked and loaded for long days and easy runs. It can double down as a shoe that someone might want to entertain getting a little bit quicker.
This running shoe is going to be absolutely fine until you maybe make that next step and buy a lighter more performance-based shoe for your your sessions or your quicker runs.
Outsole
Now for the fun part of the review, let's talk all things engineering. Let's flip the Brooks Ghost 15 and the Brooks Ghost 14 upside-down and show you what is going on underneath the shoe.
Obviously, the whole performance or reliability of an outsole is to protect the midsole and give the shoe as much durability as it possibly can. It should provide great grip and connection with the ground across bitumen, pavement, footpaths or whatever you're running on. That is exactly what this shoe is designed to do.
When we talk about the overall features, there's literally next to no change regarding how the outsole is positioned, where it's positioned and where the high abrasive rubber is placed. Through the heel of the Brooks Ghost 15 and the same with the Brooks Ghost 14, we have that nice abrasive rubber at the back. It’s a really hard compound so it wears quite well and it's very durable for your heel strikers.
As we come through to the midfoot, we have a little bit of rubber coverage on that medial side and a little bit of exposed DNA Loft v2. However, by no means is that going to affect the performance of this midsole. It's just Brooks reducing the weight in an area which you don't really need any outsole configuration.
Coming through to the forefoot, we have two and a half flex grooves which is exactly the same as last year's Brooks Ghost 14. We have a whole flex groove almost at the end of your toe-off and then we have that little almost third flex groove performance on that lateral side.
That's going to play really well for your supinators out there who need extra flexibility through that forefoot as you toe-off. However, for your mild overpronators that want a little bit more support under your first metatarsal that rubber is encapsulated on the medial side.
The other great thing which I like to call out and a lot of brands are really conscious of nowadays is reducing the carbon footprint, and a lot of the effort with this rubber through the forefoot is exactly that. Brooks are making a conscious effort to try and make their shoes as carbon friendly as possible.
A lot of effort with this forefoot rubber has been in and around reducing that carbon footprint. It's a lighter, slightly softer rubber through the forefoot which is great and also adds the performance benefit, but obviously there is that key message regarding reducing their carbon footprint.
Upper
Coming straight to the upper, we have an engineered air mesh configuration where last year we had an engineered mesh. Sometimes I ask questions and go, “Why throw in the extra word? It just makes things complicated”. However, you need to give credit to brands because when they go back and re-engineer a shoe there is obviously a considerable amount of effort that goes into manufacturing the upper.
One thing Brooks have addressed is they wanted to make the Brooks Ghost 15 a little bit more breathable and they have achieved that in my opinion. I’ve been for a few runs in the Brooks Ghost 15 and I like the thickness of the tongue. I like the ventilation I get through the toe box and also the tongue area of this shoe.
I must say it's not as noticeable as you would expect, however, with a running shoe like this you would expect it to be nice and locked down. That's my first priority. My second priority is I want to get plenty of ventilation through this upper as I can and I have exactly that.
Addressing the heel counter, if we put the Brooks Ghost 15 and Brooks Ghost 14 back to back or side by side you can see the height of the heel counter is exactly the same. They haven't changed the depth of that configuration.
If you're a runner that likes to use an orthotic you can obviously do so. I would 100% get the tick of approval from your podiatrist first before selecting this running shoe. If you come into a store like Sportitude or wherever you go around the world to get your shoes fitted, obviously if you're an orthotic wearer make sure you get it inside this shoe to make sure it feels A-OK on the foot.
As we come through to the midsection, as I touched on before this shoe has a thinner tongue than last year. It's by no means the thinnest tongue out there but offers good ventilation through the top of your arch. This year we haven't got a gusseted construction and it was the same thing as last year. The tongue isn't actually attached to the midsole on the lateral or on the medial side and it doesn't need to be.
It's really well formed on this running shoe and it's stitched in or welded to the front half of this toe box. There's no seams through there, you're not going to feel anything as you step into this shoe. However, the tongue does stay nice and secure on top of the foot.
One thing I did find, I like to play around with my orthotic inside this shoe and run with or without it. I'm by no means reliant on my orthotic, but I just like to see how a shoe like this will perform. The tongue did sit up a little bit and just drop a little bit to the lateral side. It won't affect the performance of the shoe, but it's one thing I'd like to call out.
As you're coming through to the forefoot to the toe box, as we already addressed that engineered air mesh is nice and light, very conformed but breathable. It's what you would expect and the great thing about this shoe is when you put them side by side and put them on and you step into them, it's really hard to identify which is a Brooks Ghost 15 which is a Brooks Ghost 14.
In some ways I really like that because less change is certainly more palatable for the runners out there, but at the same time you kind of wonder where a shoe like this will progress forward in the future when you're only getting minor changes from one season to the next. I suppose we're getting a bit spoiled, we're expecting more but in a good way. I like the fact that there's not a lot of change.
It’s the same fit. I'm a US 9.5 in the Brooks Ghost 14 and I'm the same in the Brooks Ghost 15. Therefore, with regards to the fit and feel nothing has changed which is good to know.
Midsole
Jumping into the midsole and like most running shoes this is where a lot of the meat and potatoes I discuss is. With the Brooks Ghost 15 in comparison to the Brooks Ghost 14, nothing has changed with the stack height. We have a 24mm in the heel and 12mm in the forefoot for that offset of 12mm.
As I touched on with the upper part of this review, I like the fact that they haven't altered it too much. However, the midsole does perform ever so slightly differently. What I mean by that is it's a mildly lighter midsole.
Brooks use EVA rubber and air to blow into this midsole to get the outcome that you have, which is the Brooks Ghost 15 right in front of us. It’s pretty similar to what they did previous years, but they didn't have as much air. That's what Brooks have done to get more of a lighter compound underneath the foot and to make the overall weight of the shoe lighter, addressing that with that EVA rubber and air blown into that midsole.
As we touched on in the intro, there's no additional arch support in that medial side so it's the same density on the medial side as it is the lateral side. It’s pretty consistent last year with the same density on the medial side as on the lateral side.
If we go back a couple of Brooks Ghosts and rewind the clock a few years, we started to see Brooks play around with different densities in the lateral to the medial side. It wasn't supportive, it just ever so slightly changed that fit and feel.
They have found that when you get the same consistency on both sides it provides a more effortless ride throughout the whole transition and that's exactly what we what we get with this shoe. However, I find this shoe performs best when we start talking about that Z-axis where we're actually transitioning from your entry, midstance and toe-off. It is a really consistent, smooth ride.
It doesn't feel like a max cushioned shoe underneath your foot, it just feels honest and that's probably the most used word in Brooks Ghost reviews or when we talk all things Brooks Ghost downstairs on the shop floor or to our podiatry partners. It's just an honest shoe - you know what you're going to get and that's very similar from your first kilometre right through to the time the shoe is going to go into retirement.
It doesn't degrade or the midsole doesn't drop off the face of the Earth. What I mean by that is the static position of your foot positioning doesn't alter too much. What you find with a Brooks Ghost 14 and Brooks Ghost 15 is that once they get to the end of their life, you're just losing that little bit of cushioning that you used to get from that first kilometre. That's a big indicator when we need to turn them over.
The other thing we would like to address with this overall midsole performance is that being a 12mm offset, if you have an orthotic or you haven't had an orthotic inside a Brooks Ghost before just have that conversation with your podiatrist, "Is my heel wedge in my orthotic going to be A-Okay with this Brooks Ghost?".
If you have a 4mm heel wedge in a 12mm offset, obviously that bumps you up to a 16mm heel-to-toe gradient. Have that conversation with your podiatrist to make sure that you're both on the same page, and then you can relay that information to whatever store you go to get fitted in.
Relevant Statistics: Heel-To-Toe Offset & Weight
There's a few key statistics with this running shoe to touch on. It features a 12mm offset, 24mm heel height and 12mm forefoot height. That's the same for both men's and women's models.
The weight is almost identical to the Brooks Ghost 14. The men's model is a 285 gram shoe for a men's size US 9 and the women’s size US 7 is around 255 grams.
Again, you don't buy this shoe because it's a lighter performing shoe. However, Brooks made those minor changes regarding the upper and the midsole performance and that's where we see that slight weight reduction.
Similar Shoes To The Brooks Ghost 15
Other shoes out there that you can compare to your Brooks Ghost 15 include the Asics Gel Cumulus and Mizuno Wave Rider. I'd probably throw in two others being the Saucony Ride (Saucony Ride 15 above) which has an 8mm offset but a pretty consistent, smooth transition and also the New Balance 880. However, I must say the New Balance 880 is probably a little bit more cushioned underneath the body. That's four shoes to throw into that same conversation as your Brooks Ghost 15.
Widths
The other thing to address and I love calling this out, when brands commit, invest and make widths in their running shoes, that really means they care and I don't care if a brand comes back at me and says that's not fair.
I'm going to call you out because if you make sure you spend the time and the effort and put years of engineering into a shoe and you don't make it available for the running community, all you're doing is making things difficult.
In the men's model we have a B narrow, D standard, 2E wide and a 4E extra-wide width, so you have four widths on offer for the men's model which is absolutely fantastic. In the women’s model we have three widths, a 2A which is narrow, a B which is standard and then a D wide offering. I'll say it time and again, when brands make shoes and widths that means they care.
The Wrap Up
There you have it, that is my take on the Brooks Ghost 15. It is a very consistent shoe. If you've liked the Brooks Ghost 14, I have no doubt in my mind you'll be able to transition into the Brooks Ghost 15 with absolute ease, being the same width and the same size, no questions asked.
I really like what Brooks have done and are continually doing with this shoe. I touched on it in the intro that when you know there's not a lot of change you start to question what are they actually doing. Then again, when you have something that's working as well as this running shoe globally you should not need to change too much. The outsole, midsole and the upper is very consistent. It just has subtle adjustments with this shoe.
It's a balanced cushioned shoe, so it's not the most cushioned shoe but it gives you a good, honest performance in terms of cushioning, midfoot transition and that nice, smooth transition through your toe-off.
If you've worn a Brooks Ghost previously let us know. If you have any other comments, queries or theories around what you've been using and would this shoe be applicable to you, please contact our Sportitude shoe experts.
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Thank you very much for watching, take care of one another and we'll see you on the road.
FEATURES
- Support: Neutral
- Upper: Engineered Air Mesh
- Midsole: Brooks DNA Loft v2
- Heel Height: 24mm
- Forefoot Height: 12mm
- Offset / Drop: 12mm
Men
- Weight: 285g / 10.05oz (US 9)
- Width: B (narrow), D (standard), 2E (wide), 4E (extra wide)
Women
- Weight: 255g / 9oz (US 7)
- Width: 2A (narrow), B (standard), D (wide)
Brooks Ghost 14
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Womens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Mens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Mens Running Shoes
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Brooks Ghost 15 - Mens Running Shoes
For a more in-depth shoe fitting experience, you can book a free 15 minute video chat in a Live Fit session or make an appointment to discover your RunDNA at Sportitude Running@Hindmarsh.
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