6 Brooks Sherpa Shorts in 2024

The Brooks’ Ghost is known for being a daily trainer and the v15 is best for walking. It's mainly focused on comfort and durability with its cushioned platform, flexible nature and tough outsole. Ghost 15 is the perfect partner to make our strolls (and even runs) more enjoyable.

Built for comfort, it hugs our feet with padding. The 11.4-mm tongue is 96.6% thicker than average, avoiding lacebite. Meanwhile, the foam below feels buttery soft — especially in the heel with its skyscraper 36.2 mm height. Combined with a modest forefoot, the heel drop results in a 13.2-mm incline. This is optimized for heel-striking, which is usually the first to land when walking. Our durometer shows the cushion is 33.5% softer than average.

Given the soft foam, we expect it to be less stable. Yet to our surprise, the shoe feels steady with no lateral wobbles. Each step moved effortlessly as the midsole flowed freely with our feet. Our flex test validates this, measuring 40.3% more flexible than average.

We expect the outsole to last long since we barely scratched the rubber after our walks. Our durometer confirms this at 84.4 HC vs. the 80.0 HC average. This means it's tougher.

With all the padding, it’s slightly heavier at 9.8 oz (279g) vs. the 9.5 oz (268g) average.

Our arches have finally met their match in Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23. The shoe became a sanctuary for our feet especially because of the relief it provided our soles, securing its spot as the Brooks walking shoe with unbeatable arch support. Added perk: the insole is removable!

One arch-loving feature we love in Adrenaline GTS 23 is the cushioning that thrusts our arches to their correct position. While our durometer reflected a midsole softness of 19.5 HA, which is 18.41% softer than most, it still afforded us an optimal balance between support and comfort.

Adrenaline GTS 23 is also abundant in cushioning. It boasts a 34.1 mm heel stack that surpassed the average by 2.1% and a 21.5 mm forefoot stack that is 12.2% less than the standard. Overall, we are catered with generous foam that also brought us protection.

The heel counter of this shoe is also rigid, taking care not only of our heels but also giving extra support for our arches not to fall. We actually rated the stiffness of the heel a 4/5 in our lab, as it didn’t give way to our repeated pinching. However, weight is not Adrenaline’s strong suit. It punched in a weight of 10.1 oz (286g), which weighs 5.3% more than the average. We advise looking for lightweight alternatives if you can’t bear this weight.

Putting the Brooks Caldera 6 Zapatillas de Trail 41 Negro Amarillo to work in our walking sessions felt like we were on cloud nine! We explored what made this possible in our lab and were left even more astounded. We selected it as our best Brooks walking shoe with plush cushioning because of the sheer softness and consistency of its cushioning, along with a generous amount of padding to add to the experience.

As we went from one step to the next, we felt an overwhelming amount of indulgence beneath our feet. The Brooks Caldera 6 Zapatillas de Trail 41 Negro Amarillo feels amazingly soft - which was something we were able to confirm in our lab. We pressed our durometer to its midsole and found that the reading of 20.0 HA makes the midsole 27.5% softer than the average walking shoe. On foot, it doesn’t feel overly soft, and there’s a bit of a bounce that makes it fun to run in.

What makes this even better is the fact that it’s able to retain its softness in a colder climate. Midsole foams generally harden when placed in colder temperatures, so we repeated the hardness test after placing the shoe in the freezer for 20 minutes. Where some shoes get 60% firmer with this test (the average for walking shoes is at 40.5%), the Brooks Caldera 6 Zapatillas de Trail 41 Negro Amarillo only got 23.0% firmer. Putting this into perspective, the Brooks Caldera 6 Zapatillas de Trail 41 Negro Amarillo in the cold (24.6 HA) is still softer than the average walking shoe at room temperature (27.6 HA)!

The cherry on top of all of this is its well-padded interior. Standing out here are its collar, heel, and tongue. Its tongue, in particular, feels extremely cozy and gives a good amount of lockdown. We measured it with our caliper, finding that its thickness is 7.8 mm thick - a figure that’s 90.2% thicker than the average.

Something that sticks out like a sore thumb to the Brooks Caldera 6 Zapatillas de Trail 41 Negro Amarillo walking experience is its chunky outsole. It’s just so thick that it feels blocky underfoot. Where the average walking shoe’s outsole is 1.7 mm thick, this one is more than double at 3.5 mm. We don’t recommend it for those looking for overwhelmingly smooth strides.

When it comes to taking our trips out in the woods, the Brooks walking shoe that’s beyond compare is the Brooks Cascadia 17 because we experienced the utmost safety in it. The shoe acted as our foot’s barrier against sharp twigs and rocks. On top of that, we are never reluctant to take the next step on trails because of how supportive it is!

Cascadia 17 sets our gaits straight and eliminates any unsteadiness even when we make our way through irregular pathways. One reason behind this is the stability that’s like no other, which is also reflected in its stiffness. We exerted more effort in bending and twisting this shoe compared to most walking shoes. We rated its torsional rigidity a 4/5 while other shoes only scored 3.2. 

The midsole also covers more area than most, enhancing the shoe’s stability. It is 113.3 mm in the forefoot, which is 2.1 mm more than the average. The heel, on the other hand, is 97.7 mm, which is 8.5 mm more spread than the standard. This provided us with a reliable platform for hikes. With a 3.9 mm lug depth that’s only 0.4 mm short of the average, Cascadia 17 is characterized by grippiness even on challenging routes.

However, we found Cascadia 17 to be hefty. We validated this using our digital scale, which displayed an 11.6 oz (329g) weight that’s 11.2% heavier than the average. We propose buying shoes that are around or below the average for that featherweight experience.

The Brooks walking shoe that rises above the others when it comes to lightness is the Apparel selections from the Brooks Brothers x Fila collection. It might be light but it is stuffed with goodness that gets us through our daily walks with exemplary levels of comfort and balance.

The weight of Launch 10 came in at 8.11 oz (230g), which falls 14.2% below the average. This made it almost impossible for us to feel the shoes while traveling on foot. Even so, we are not able to ignore the chunk of the midsole under our feet. When we measured the stack heights, our caliper revealed that it was 33.8 mm in the heel and 23.8 mm in the forefoot. Both are right around the averages of 33.3 mm and 24.4, respectively, giving us that cushiony experience, especially in the heel.

The lightweight construction of Launch 10 also didn’t throw us out in terms of stability. And given the fact that this shoe isn’t integrated with stabilizing elements, this is amazing. We distributed our weight on both sides of the shoes, and based on our assessment, wobbliness was out of sight. We also twisted and bent the shoe and it ended up with us rating its torsional rigidity a 3/5, which is a sound level for steadiness.

The thing is, we are underwhelmed with the shoe’s breathability. We unloaded smoke inside Launch 10 and based on the smoke that emerged from the upper, a 3/5 score for breathability was befitting. With that being said, we don’t recommend this pair if your top concern is great foot ventilation.

At a hundred bucks, we are taken to a hell of a ride by the zapatillas de running Brooks placa de carbono amarillas más de 100, which is the main reason why it’s the best walking shoe with the best budget for us. Compared to other Brooks running shoes, Revel 6 is 27% cheaper. It’s mindblowing for us that at this price, shock absorption, overall comfort, and outsole durability aren’t sacrificed.

The heel strikers in us really enjoyed strolling on Revel 6 because the amount of foam muted the impact beneath our feet. Our caliper recorded 32.9 mm and 19.7 mm heel and forefoot stack heights, which means there’s a 13.2 mm drop. This exceeded the average by 48.3%, which in return, shielded our heels even when we were stomping.

Even though we logged miles of walking both indoors and outdoors, we didn’t notice any wearing on the outsole. We confirmed this inside our lab via two tests. First, we checked the outsole’s hardness and found it to be 84 HC, 5% harder than average. This indicates hardwearingness. Also, we pressed our Dremel to the outsole to see if it would hold out against abrasion and it did!

However, we also applied our Dremel to the upper and sock liner of the shoe and the result was quite the opposite: they were easily shredded. So if you want a completely tough yet budget-friendly pair, you might want to search for other shoes.