Brooks Ghost 7 Updated Review

brooks ghost 7I love the Brooks Ghost 7, as evidenced by my willingness to not only purchase a second pair, but to buy both at full price. I’m a careful shopper and usually won’t settle for less than a bargain—especially when a shoe has been available for months. However, as my first pair of Ghosts wore down (see sole picture comparison), I tried on at least eight other shoes and kept coming back to the Ghost 7. This is the link to my first post about my first pair. 

When I bought my first pair, the only color available locally was blue/eclipse/lime. In plain terms, bright-ass blue. I was fine with the upper color, but the glowingly white sole looked bad against the blue. It was definitely a case of function over fashion. This second time around, seven months later, seven colors plus a GTX version are available. Hmm… Brooks Ghost 7 lasted 7 months and now has 7 colors. If I were a gambling woman, I might wear my Ghosts to a casino. Instead, I’ll wear them for hundreds of miles of walking.

brooks ghost 7 soleLongevity/durability is my only major complaint about the Ghost 7, but now that I realize how long I’ve had them, I’m not sure it’s a fair issue. I have no idea how many miles I’ve walked in them, but I walk between 1 and 4 hours almost every day, plus wear them to walk my dogs and do errands, so they’ve been through a lot. Other than sole erosion, the plastic that makes the end of the laces firm broke and became useless. I have to be very careful not to let the laces get pulled through their holes or I’ll be wasting time lace-fishing.

Superficially, I like several of the new color choices. My favorite by far is what I bought for my second pair—white/heliotrope/green. That color combo is pedestrian by today’s loud running shoe design standards, and I like the nod to fashion civility without boringness. Everything besides color appears to be the same with my new pair compared to my old pair, as it should since they’re the same version of the same shoe. I couldn’t believe how cushioned and firm and tall the new ones felt when I first wore them. It made me realize how badly worn out my first pair is.

The minor tweaks I’d like from Brooks for the Ghost 8 (whenever it’s released—I have no idea) are a wider toe box more like Altra shoes, better plastic ends on the laces, and a lower price. I can dream, right? $120 is a tough pill to swallow, but since I walk so much and the Ghost 7 is a great shoe, I made the investment for a second time.

Comfortable Shoes: Brooks Ghost 7

I’ve always been bothered by the bones that stick out on the outsides of my forefeet, but I didn’t know until recently that I have what’s technically called “tailor’s bunions.” What that means for me is trouble finding comfortable shoes. Wide shoes are too wide throughout, and regular shoes put pressure on the tailor’s bunions and make my feet hurt. I’ve even gone so far as to use a scalpel to excise a bothersome piece of rubber from a pair of running shoes to allow my bones to spread out instead of feel bound in pain.

brooks ghost 7
Brand new and blue!

I’ve been a big fan of Altra shoes lately, although they’re still not wide enough for me in the tailor’s bunion area. They have soft, stretchy mesh in the forefoot though, which allows my feet to push out to their required width. Since my muscle spasms have been so bad in my right hip, I haven’t been able to run in two months. I’ve been walking a lot, and Altras don’t do it for me as walking shoes. Their zero-drop platforms work well with my running style, but I’m a slow, heel-toe walker and prefer traditional running shoes for walking.

I spent an hour this morning trying on shoes from Asics and Brooks, and finally stumbled upon the Brooks Ghost 7. I hate buying the latest model of anything because it’s always marked up so much, but the Ghost 7 is superior to everything else I tried. The toe box isn’t nearly as rounded and wide as a pair of Altras, but the area near my tailor’s bunions doesn’t have a bunch of stiff overlays, so my feet can push the mesh out and relax. Sold!

Normally I wear a size 8.5, but I opted for a 9 in the Ghost. My feet are probably bigger than usual since it’s July in Florida and I’ve been walking a lot, and the 9 felt just right. I can’t wait to start putting some miles on my new shoes. They feel surprisingly light for traditional (not minimalist) running shoes, and I’ve read that they weight around 9 ounces. The heel offset is 11mm, but I don’t feel awkward in them like some shoes with big offsets. I really like that the heel collar is well-padded and covered in what feels like non-abrasive fabric. The color—“blue/eclipse/lime”—is not something I would design in a perfect world, but it’s not hideous. There are other color options, but my local running store only carries blue.

As far as the outsole goes, I’m glad to see full-length rubber. I don’t like the trend of leaving rubber off the soles in order to save weight and provide flexibility. If I’m wearing shoes, I want them to last a long time. If I want to feel the ground more, I’ll take off my shoes. I also like the Ghost’s lack of plastic plating on the sole. The hard, smooth plastic that connects the heel to the forefoot on some shoes is dangerous. I’ve slipped on the edge of a curb and slid along a fence because of that plastic. The Ghost looks like it uses a pretty thick dose of rubber on the outsole, so I hope this pair lasts for many hundreds of miles. I’ll update this post or write a new one after I’ve put a bit of distance on my new pair of Brooks Ghost 7!