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The Brooks Glycerin Flex aims to bring a different ride feel than most cushioned running shoes, with a midsole that’s broken into segments to create flexibility and allow the foot to move more naturally.
It does feel different to very rockered and stiff max-cushioned shoes and the Glycerin Flex will appeal greatly to some runners who want a more natural ride. However, on performance alone it doesn’t match the best running shoes, with lighter, more lively cushioned options available for less.
Design & Key Stats
- Price: £165/$170
- Weight: 271g/9.6oz (men’s UK 9 / US 10)
- Drop: 6mm
- Stack height: 36mm heel, 30mm forefoot
- Upper: Flat knit upper
- Midsole: DNA Tuned nitrogen-infused EVA foam and flexible S-Groove
- Outsole: Thick rubber on forefoot and heel
Brooks Glycerin Flex review
How’s The Fit
Nick, Tom, Mike and Kieran all tested the Brooks Glycerin Flex for our review and found that it fit well in their normal running shoe size. True to the shoe’s name, the upper is more flexible than with other Brooks shoes, with a less noticeable internal heel counter in particular.
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The Run Test: Likes
The Brooks Glycerin Flex is designed to feel different on the run, and it does, especially when compared with max-stack, rockered shoes like the Brooks Glycerin Max 2. You can feel the flexibility in the shoe, especially from the midfoot to forefoot, where the various pods on the shoe come down almost layer by layer as you run.
It’s still a comfortable shoe though, and in that it differs from classic minimalist options that aimed to create a natural ride by having a very low stack height. There’s a big wedge of foam at the heel of the Glycerin Flex, and it’s comfortable and supportive over long distances.
The Glycerin Flex is also pretty light and the DNA Tuned midsole foam, while not the most exciting and responsive, does give a good amount of energy back in the forefoot to facilitate steady or tempo efforts.
There’s a thick layer of rubber on the bottom of the shoe too, and with DNA Tuned proving a long-lasting foam in our past experience, we expect the Glycerin Flex to be a durable shoe.
The Run Test: Dislikes
If you’re not excited by the flexible feel of the Glycerin Flex, there’s not much to recommend it over many other cushioned running shoes, which offer livelier midsole foams and more comfort. The Glycerin Max 2 is more cushioned and the rocker creates a smooth ride, for example, while many max-cushioned shoes we’ve tried have bouncier midsoles, like the Nike Vomero Plus or Kiprun Kipride Max.
The DNA Tuned foam in the midsole is comfortable overall, though the relatively low stack height in the forefoot means the Glycerin Flex doesn’t feel as cushy as other shoes, but it’s not highly responsive. The Glycerin Flex is not particularly versatile as a result, and it’s a shoe we’d mainly just use for easy efforts.
Finally, the Flex does live up to its name in being more flexible than rockered, max-cushioned shoes, but when compared to other relatively low-stack options like the Puma Velocity Nitro 4, the difference isn’t so clear.
Verdict And Alternatives
The Brooks Glycerin Flex could well make you think about your choice of running shoes more, and highlights the potential appeal of greater flexibility, but on performance it’s not a shoe we’d pick out ourselves.
That means if you don’t mind, or even enjoy, a highly cushioned and/or rockered shoe, you have several better options like the Kiprun Kipride Max or Nike Vomero Plus, and there are more versatile cushioned daily trainers like the New Balance 1080v15 or Puma Velocity Nitro 4.
We’ll be interested to see how this idea of flexible cushioned running shoes develops, if it does, but for now we’d look elsewhere for your cushioned daily trainer.