I went to a local running shop yesterday and fondled a few pairs of the new Project Pure shoes. Unfortunately my current shoe stable is full and I need to kill off a few more pairs before I buy any more.
Until then, I’m looking for reviews, anyone run in them yet?
I’m interested to hear about these, too. I love the NB Minimus Roads, but the tongue and lining started to fall apart at 300 miles. At 400 miles, they’re pretty ragged-looking, and I’m hesitant to buy another pair.
Gonna go pick up a pair of the cadence or flow later today. Ill let you know after a short run this evening.
Tried a pair of the Cadence yesterday. Ran about 1 mile on a treadmill and found that they were to squishy for my taste.
i tried them on yesterday and here are my thoughts:
-too squishy, if you think the brooks launch of any asics shoe is too soft, this shoe is much softer than either, even compared to the stability (cadence) model.
-non traditional heel, you dont heel strike as far back as one usually would. interesting, but not for me.
overall the pure project line was fairly disappointing and only targets someone who prefers to midfoot strike and enjoys an overly squishy midsole.
I currently use the Launch as trainers and race in the T7’s. Picked up a pair of the Pure Flow last night and used them for my 6mi recovery run this morning and am very impressed. IMO, they felt a lot like the Launch but I could tell they were a little lighter. Need to get a few more miles on them before I declare my undying love but so far so good.
I tried out the Pure Connect on the treadmill and the arch felt more pronounced then the T7.
Tried them a little today but didn’t buy because they didn’t have my size. Coming from the ST5 and Adrenaline I felt the ground more. I didn’t notice the toe groove at all, and the drop didn’t seem to be as big of a change as I expected. I only ran a little bit in them though. I still think I’ll pick up a pair to experiment with though.
I work in a run shop and got to try them all… So far all reviews here sound spot on.
The Connect is for a real feel, no support needed foot. Perhaps someone who runs trail in a Montrail Trail Glove or NB Trail Minimus but likes a little cushion for the pavement.
My wife bought the Flow and loves the cushion and comfort of the upper. Good shoe for someone who run’s in a neutral shoe like the ghost or cumulus, but wants less shoe and less heel drop.
My flat floppy feet like the extra support of the Cadence. At 9.5 oz I would still consider it for a marathon shoe as well as a trainer. My flexible feet over pronate when I get tired and the shoe has a little bit of tread on the medial side under the arch. (Although my go to marathon shoe is the Fastwitch 5, “love it”.)
The Grit (trail) is a really nice shoe for someone who doesn’t want to go to a full minimal shoe but is looking for less than say a Brooks Cascadia.
The fit on all of them are dreamy. Overall I think the Pure line is a great addition to the Brooks lineup and I look forward to seeing how they hold up.
i tried them on yesterday and here are my thoughts:
-too squishy, if you think the brooks launch of any asics shoe is too soft, this shoe is much softer than either, even compared to the stability (cadence) model.
-non traditional heel, you dont heel strike as far back as one usually would. interesting, but not for me.
overall the pure project line was fairly disappointing and only targets someone who prefers to midfoot strike and enjoys an overly squishy midsole.
Bought some connects on Friday. I agree that they are squishy, but for me it’s not overwhelming. I like the “feel” for the footstrike they offer for a midfoot striker. Decent return off the strike as well.
Wasn’t a big fan of the cadence/flow; went with the connect even though I traditionally wear a shoe with a bit of support just because it was the most comfortable. I thought the Grit was actually the second most “comfy.”
For me, this is the first shoe (Connect) that I’ve put on and immediately felt like I really liked it. The previous time that happened was the DS Trainer 15. I think the 16 sucks.
First run in the PURE FLOW…3 mile easy run with my wife.
Felt great. Wasn’t too “squishy” but then again I like squishy. I race (and have trained) in the T6/7 and was looking for a more durable everyday trainer. I tried on both the FLOW and CONNECT. The Connect is definitely a lot sleeker looking (especially looking from above down onto the toe box). I feel the Connect could rival the T7 as a race shoe for me so I’ll buy a pair of those later on.
Oh…I wear an 11.5 in the T7. Went with an 11 in the FLOW…will buy an 11.5 in the CONNECT.
Oh man,:
http://talk.brooksrunning.com/2011/03/07/the-running-experience-float-or-feel/
Are you kidding me? Basically, what they’re saying is that people are stupid ('nator? are you kidding me?) and don’t have a clue, so they’re going to release shoes that appeal to people that have no idea what they are doing.
When I go shoe shopping that possibly involves switching brands, it is so annoying that when I open a shoe box, there is zero ZERO nada Nothing no technical information on the shoe, from basic shape (curved vs straight), width/narrowness, toe box width/narrowness, pronation/supination and stabilization intents. Nothing.
This isn’t going to help things.
“IDEO is often regarded as the preeminent design and innovation firm. This is due in large part to their unique, qualitative approach to consumer insight gathering and how they synthesize that into inspiration for design.”
That’s just terrible. Basically, no science or quantification at all. The entire Vibram movement is founded on MIT studies of gaits. What is this founded on? Touchy-feely.
To be blunt, it’s the job of your specialty running retailer to provide those data points for you. And if you aren’t getting that at the shop you stop in at, you need to change shops.
It is my duty, as a retailer, to be able to provide those answers regarding last, concept, offset, weight, width, stability range, and reasoning why you’d be feeling X, Y, or Z regarding a shoe.
The concept, overall, is providing an allegedly similar positioning to you being barefoot, with the understanding that we’ve built one hell of an unnatural world around us, and therefore providing a range of cushioning (Connect vs. Flow). There’s also the understanding that, even with better running mechanics, some of us will still require some type of stabilization from the shoe (Cadence). The Grit, IMO, is going to overlap too much with the existing Cascadia.
To your point, VFF were not developed initially with MIT gait in mind (as said study did not come until after VFF had been in market for at least 2 years).
Now, to SeasonsChange point about “squishy”–I fully concur. That being said, I don’t think this line is targeted at…well, men. The natural running movement, looking at sales percentages, has been a male-driven category. Women have been hesitant to make the switch due to the perceived lack of cushioning from shoes like the Kinvara. The Flow is going to sell, HUGE. I can see the Cadence cannibalizing some sales from, say, the Adrenaline/Omni/3030 crowd. I think the Connect will be pretty limited in appeal.
Yes,
My local running store held a party. We have alot of Brooks ID runners, as well as many elites. I tried all of them and I feel that I’ll switch between Kinvara’s and the Connect/ Flow. I’m a brooks fan and love the fit of these new shoes. I like the higher amount of vulcanized rubber on the bottom of the shoe. Kinvara’s lose cushion and I get a harder road feel after 250-300 miles. We’ll see how these feel in a few weeks. I’ll be running them in my 3rd marathon in 8 days next Sunday. (Chicago, Indy, Grand Rapids). It seemed like a comfortable shoe for those last miles!
All good stuff, thanks for the replies.
I tried running in Books. I found they feel really heavy.
I’m a launch wearer, and expected that I would prefer the flow, as those two translate the most, but after trying on the Flow and Connect, and doing a small test run in each, my initial thoughts were that the connect was the better shoe. Definitely from a racing standpoint. Just feels like I would have a LOT more control… (not talking stability or motion control).
I am running Chicago this weekend, and need a new pair of shoes. I decided against buying the any of the Pure series because the 4mm rise was definitely noticeable enough in that I am pretty sure it would have an effect on my legs, so I stuck with the Launch… which is the best shoe i’ve ever wore.
Overall thoughts though, without too much experience, is that they should firm up the cushioning of the Flow… just a little bit, then it would be the preferred shoe. I will be buying in the next two weeks. TBD on which pair.
Had my first run in the PureCadence yesterday. I’m very pleased with the performance of the shoe. I felt like it was a great combination of support without getting the sensation that I was running ‘with pillows tied to my feet.’ What I would mostly like to speak to is the comfort of the shoe’s fit. They were extremely comfortable- I could’ve sworn that they were custom molded. This is compared to my standard running shoe of an inexpensive, neutral-stability Asics model. It felt more like a ‘glove with a sole’ than a ‘shoe.’ I really like them.
How was the sizing? I run in the brooks ravenna size 9? Should I get the same size?
Thanks.
I run in a size 11 Asics and a size 11.5 PureCadence fit me perfectly. I don’t know how they compare with Brooks other lines, unfortunately. But my experience is consistent with what a Brooks sales rep told my running buddy when he asked about sizing, to go up half a size.
Just got PureFlow. Tried all of them at the running store. Sizing, Cadence and Flow fit half a size larger, Connect fits half a size smaller. In other words, Size 10 Connect is smaller than size 9.5 Flow. But I think the sizing is off for a reason since Cadence is the minimalist of the bunch with more tighter fitting.
I just did 4 miles out of the box and they immediately feel similar to Kinvara as far as the 4mm drop goes but even the Flow is closer to the ground than Kinvara. I read the reviews and most say Kinvaras are more mushy feeling but I don’t know about that. I did not do long runs in any of them but as far as the runs up to 4-6 miles Brooks Flow felt more cushioned like a high milage trainer. Connect is down right felt like a racing flat.
I wear 9.5 in Kinvara and got the same size in Flow. They are definetely bigger but they did not felt big while running. No heel slipping or foot shifting.
The band does the job keeps the shoe close to the feet, wraps around but that seperate toe thing I think its a BS.
Here is a pic after 4 miles.
