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Brooks Ghost 16 vs Ghost 15 Running Shoe Comparison Review

by Sportitude

The main difference between the Brooks Ghost 16 and the Brooks Ghost 15 is that the Brooks Ghost 16 features the nitrogen-infused DNA Loft v3 midsole, delivering a slightly lighter, softer and more responsive ride. 

As Sportitude shoe expert Josh Willoughby explains in his shoe review, the Brooks Ghost franchise has been consistently reliable and honest to what loyal Ghost fans seek year in and year out. Balance is a key component of this popular running shoe – providing a smooth formula of support and cushioning to cater to neutral runners.

This mid to high mileage running shoe features similar rubber coverage to its predecessor, but with a slightly thinner and lighter outsole. This is achieved without affecting durability thanks to the RoadTack rubber providing increased resistance to heat, friction and abrasion on road surfaces.

The new breathable upper provides a balance of stretch and structure. It provides immediate step-in comfort for your heel with memory foam that cups your rearfoot just-right. A deeper fit ensures an orthotic-friendly design, but the forefoot itself is narrower than the previous model for a more secure feel in the right places.

With multiple widths on offer and a Carbon Neutral certified design to run lighter on the environment, it's easy to find your ideal fit in the Brooks Ghost 16 running shoes.

Check out the full review with transcript below.

Hello everybody, Josh here from Sportitude. It is shoe review time and in front of me I have the ever-reliable Brooks Ghost franchise.

I have the Brooks Ghost 15 and the new and slightly improved Brooks Ghost 16. Like all my shoe reviews when we're doing a comparison from one model to the next, we go over the three significant engineering features being the outsole, the midsole and the upper.

I'll give you my subjective opinion. I've only been for one run in the new Brooks Ghost 16 and to be honest that's really all I needed to understand how this shoe is going to perform.

Because it is one of Brook's biggest shoes globally, it is so consistent and well-loved all over the world. Of course, Brooks would not want to go and recreate the wheel with this very popular model. There’s subtle changes which I'll bring to you in today's review, so without further ado let's get stuck in.

Who Is The Brooks Ghost 16 Running Shoes For?

Before we jump in, I want to quickly highlight the fact that this running shoe is designed for a neutral runner. If you're someone that requires a little bit of extra support through midstance on the medial side we would guide you towards the Brooks Adrenaline franchise, something with GuideRails.

If you want a little bit more cushioning than what the Brooks Ghost 16 running shoe provides, there is the Brooks Glycerin franchise including the Brooks Glycerin 21 and also the Brooks Glycerin GTS model with that extra arch support.

The Brooks Ghost 16 comes in that mid to high mileage category. It’s for someone that's not searching for really soft, cushioned marshmallow feel underneath the body, but someone that wants a perfect combination of support in reference to impact and the compression on entry. With a balanced feel throughout the whole transition, it’s a very honest cushion shoe from Brooks.

Midsole

Jumping straight to the midsole, we have a big change. We have DNA Loft v2 in the Brooks Ghost 15 and Brooks have rolled out the DNA Loft v3 in the Brooks Ghost 16. It’s not a new midsole, this has been used within the Brooks Glycerin franchise now for the last couple of seasons.

The Brooks people out there know it, they understand what this midsole does. It's a nitrogen-infused foam. That means it holds the vertical compression a little bit more than the DNA Loft v2 in reference to keeping your foot nice and stable on top of the platform.

Over time it becomes a little bit softer, so after a couple of runs in your DNA Loft v3 you get the running shoe to soften up to your requirements.

There is a subtle change in midsole stack heights. However, the actual overall stack height in reference to World Athletics has not changed. We have 28mm in the heel and 16mm in the forefoot. That is exactly the same with both the Brooks Ghost 15 and Brooks Ghost 16.

However, the stack height in the midsole has gone up by 1mm and they've reduced the outsole thickness by 1mm in the new Brooks Ghost 16. This means the net score for stack height is the same, but we have more midsole under the foot in the Brooks Ghost 16 and we have a little bit less outsole compared to last year's Brooks Ghost 15.

As I touched on, like the previous model it has no extra GuideRails support on the medial side. It's designed for a neutral runner, that person that comes down on the heel, midfoot or forefoot and doesn't have a reliance on transitioning across to the medial side. You stay nice and balanced through midstance as you engage through to your forefoot.

Regarding performance through the toe-off phase of the Brooks Ghost 16, you'd expect the DNA Loft v3 to give a little bit more energy back. It does, but it's not noticeably different than the Brooks Ghost 15. However, the toe spring through the forefoot provides more roll on the exit.

Overall, you’d expect the midsole to be pretty consistent in reference to the overall engineering in statistic measurements which it has been. However, the performance is a little bit softer and more responsive on toe-off.

Outsole

Let's get talking all things outsole. To the naked eye you can see there's not a whole lot of change with reference to the overall surface area in which the rubber covers the outsole.

With the DNA Loft v3, and we saw this with the Brooks Glycerin, it was so important for Brooks to ensure they had plenty of coverage in reference to how much rubber was on play through the base of this shoe. A very consistent theme has rolled over to the Brooks Ghost 16.

We have a RoadTack outsole. To give you some context, the outsole is slightly thinner in the Brooks Ghost 16 than it is in the Brooks Ghost 15. You may be wondering whether the durability is going to be there, and it is.

The compounded rubber has ever so slightly changed to allow for more heat, friction and abrasion that builds up on those bitumen and road surfaces. Brooks have done their testing. They're very diligent in their changes so they made sure that this outsole is going to hold up to the performance of the midsole, being the DNA Loft v3.

With the outsole being thinner, it's lighter as well which is a great thing. You still have all your hard-wearing rubber in those high-impact abrasive areas, being the lateral side of the heel for heel strikers.

Coming through to the midfoot there's always going to be that little bit of exposed midsole. In the Brooks Ghost 16 it’s the DNA Loft v3 and it’s the same thing in Brooks Ghost 15 with reference to DNA Loft v2.

As you come through to the forefoot, you have the flex grooves which are pretty similar to what we found with the Brooks Ghost 15 in reference to those two major flex grooves on offer.

I like the call-out in the heel that you see with the Brooks Glycerin franchise as well. There's always a little cutaway exposing or showing off that DNA Loft v3 and it’s the same thing with the Brooks Ghost 15 with that circle cut-out on the medial side of the outsole.

Upper

Let's talk all things upper. There’s not a lot to go over here to be completely honest and that's no disrespect to Brooks because they are very consistent with their uppers from one season to the next.

Starting off with the back of the heel we have that internal heel counter which is so important. In a shoe like this it’s going to keep your heel, your calcaneus, nice and locked in in reference to the position of your heel inside this heel collar.

It’s the same amount of memory foam with the internal collar with that very soft to touch material that Brooks have been using now for a number of years. The step-in comfort is very comfortable around the back of the heel.

We have a marginal change in the midfoot. I'm not going to say it's significant but it needs to be noted. I found the Brooks Ghost 16 to fit a little bit deeper through the arch area and that's probably more due to the fact that the base of the midsole and outsole is wider through midstance in the Brooks Ghost 16 versus the Brooks Ghost 15.

In following that trend from the ground up, you have a little bit more volume with the upper. I think it's a good thing. This running shoe is very commonly presented with podiatry referrals. A lot of customers we find downstairs use their orthotics in this shoe.

Having a little bit more volume is going to be OK. It'll allow for a few different variances with orthotic shapes to fit inside the Brooks Ghost 16 with more ease.

The Brooks Ghost 16 has a jacquard double mesh upper in comparison to last year being an engineered construction. Looking at the two side by side, the Brooks Ghost 15 had plenty of breathability, with a lot of airflow throughout the running shoe.

It’s the same thing with the Brooks Ghost 16. If anything, it feels a little bit thinner through the forefoot but being double jacquard, you're going to find it's going to wear really well. Being more open through that front half it's going to get more airflow.

I've only been for the one run in the Brooks Ghost 16 so I can't talk about that feature too much, but I can say there was plenty of breathability on my run. I found it very comfortable, with no issues whatsoever.

The tongue fits almost identical and it’s the same set-up as last year, with no gusseted tongue. That's a bit of a bugbear of mine. I like gusseted tongues and I think they make a lot of sense for running shoes to lock in that that tongue on top of the arch.

However, for brands that don't use gusseted tongues they tend to get away with it and we've had no issues whatsoever with the Brooks Ghost 15. I expect the same thing with the Brooks Ghost 16.

One call-out is it’s a little bit shallower through the forefoot. It's going in the other direction compared to other running shoes over the last few years. We found that brands are going a little bit deeper through the toe box.

Brooks probably got to a point where they couldn't go any deeper with the Brooks Ghost franchise. Therefore, they've actually shallowed it up a little bit at the front half regarding the width through the forefoot and arch, with a noticeable toe spring through the forefoot.

Just keep that in mind because it is a little bit more secure on your toe box in comparison to last year's Brooks Ghost 15.

Widths

Regarding the overall widths, it's important to know this running shoe is and will probably always remain available in four widths. In the women’s model we're going to have a 2A which is narrow, a B which is standard, D which is wide and then the extra wide 2E.

In the men's model we have B width which is narrow, D which is standard, 2E which is wide and the extra wide 4E. Having a running shoe like this available in four widths makes our job so much easier with reference to fitting it in and dialling it to your absolute specifications.

Josh’s Subjective Opinion

To give you some context of what I experienced in the Brooks Ghost 16 running shoe this morning, I only did 7km. I did a nice consistent run to roll the legs over and get a feel for what this running shoe is going to do. To be completely honest with you, it did everything that I would expect it to.

It is a Brooks Ghost - a running shoe that's very popular. It's not a shoe that I'm going to lean towards if I want a really snappy ride where I want a explosive toe-off or I'm looking for a lot of cushioning underneath the body.

Cushioning is a very interesting topic of discussion because cushioning is always relative to where you've come from.

If you're coming from a Vivobarefoot, the Brooks Ghost 16 running shoes are going to be more cushioned. However, within the stable neutral category we're seeing some brands veer off towards that more cushioned line, whereas a shoe like the Brooks Ghost 16 is staying pretty consistent.

While it is using the DNA Loft v3 cushioning, it provides enough compression underneath the body for me running at 5:30 minutes per kilometre, and if I ran a bit quicker in it it was OK. However, 5:30 (8:52 mins/mile) was a sweet spot and I found it to be very comfortable.

Although it is using the same DNA Loft v3 as the Brooks Glycerin, the Brooks Glycerin at the same pace runs a lot softer. That's more to do with the geometry set-up of that running shoe in comparison to the Brooks Ghost 16.

If you're going to be choosing the Brooks Ghost 16 over the Brooks Glycerin, you're going to be looking for something that's going to be more balanced. Yes, you're going to get this element of cushioning underneath your body and entry, but you want something that's a little bit more responsive through the forefoot.

The Brooks Glycerin provides a softer roll from entry, midstance and toe-off in comparison to the Brooks Ghost 16.

Similar Running Shoes To The Brooks Ghost 16

Some brands are edging off towards more cushioned shoes and this stable neutral category or balanced cushion category is becoming a little bit skinnier.

The running shoe I would compare the Brooks Ghost 16 to would be the Mizuno Wave Rider 27 (above). I would have said the Asics Gel Cumulus, the New Balance 880 or the Saucony Ride but those running shoes are getting softer.

While they technically sit on the same line in that neutral category, the Brooks Ghost 16 is marginally more balanced and it's certainly a little bit firmer through the forefoot. A really true comparison for the Brooks Ghost 16 would be the Mizuno Wave Rider 27.

The Wrap Up

I kept this review short and sharp as there's not a lot to go over this year because the Brooks Ghost franchise is pretty consistent from one season to the next. However, I tip my hat to Brooks in reference to that because it's a brand and it's a model that people are very familiar with. Traditional Brooks customers don't like too much change.

If you're a Brooks Ghost lover, you're going to absolutely find the Brooks Ghost 16 to meet and potentially exceed your expectations.

If you have any questions on this running shoe please contact our Sportitude shoe experts.

Please subscribe to the Sportitude YouTube channel if you haven't already done so to stay notified and we’ll keep working on these shoe reviews for you the fantastic running community all over the world. We appreciate your support.

Until next time, stay safe, be kind to one another and we'll see you out the road. Take care.

FEATURES

Brooks Ghost 16

  • Support: Neutral
  • Upper: Mesh
  • Midsole: Brooks DNA Loft v3
  • Heel Height: 28mm
  • Forefoot Height: 16mm
  • Offset / Drop: 12mm

Men

  • Weight: 270g / 9.5oz
  • Width: D (standard)

Women

  • Weight: 241g / 8.5oz
  • Width: B (standard)

Brooks Ghost 15

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