7 Best Brooks Running Shoes For Walking 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.

Brooks Ghost Max uses its maximum cushioning as its main focal point, delivering a plush ride for devouring the miles. Despite its size, it surprises us with its light construction and stability, gracing our runs with confidence and ease. Our lab and test runs are sure of one thing: it’s the best comfortable Brooks walking-running shoe.

As a true maximalist, Ghost Max sports a 39.8/30.3 mm stack, way above the 33.5/24.9 mm average. It offers a cushioned ride for any foot striker and is composed of a light 13.0 HA foam, 39.0% softer than average. It’s perfect for those days we ran mindlessly, without worrying about our pace.

Given its skyscraper build, it weighs only 10.3 oz (291g) and feels exceptionally stable for its height. We give credit to the massive sidewalls in the rear area that embrace our feet in place and extend throughout the shoe. On top of this, Ghose Max adds width to the heel to stabilize our landings. While the average is only 90.3 mm, our caliper reveals a massive 100.2 mm heel.

However, the thick slab of foam makes Ghost Max harder to bend than the average walking shoe. Those who prefer more flexibility and versatility for walks and gym workouts are better off with other pairs.

Putting the Brooks Glycerin 20 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 Glycerin 20 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 Glycerin 20 only got 23.0% firmer. Putting this into perspective, the Brooks Glycerin 20 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 Glycerin 20 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.

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.

Our arches and overpronating feet have finally met their match in the Beast GTS 23. It offers gentle support through the GuideRails technology while ensuring a comfortable in-shoe feel courtesy of its balanced DNA Loft v3 cushioning, flexible midsole, and breathable upper. It earns our seal of approval in the lab as the best stability walking-running shoe from Brooks.

The cushioning delivers unwavering support through its balanced foam, which our durometer reflected with a 25.3 HA measurement. We found it to be the perfect combination of stability and comfort.

At the core of Beast GTS 23 is the GuideRails technology, subtly guiding our foot alignment by limiting excessive movements. Further boosting our surefootedness is the extra width we found in the heel: a mind-blowing 12.4 mm! To ensure comfort, the midsole maintains a level of flexibility. Our bend test reveals it’s 27.3% more malleable than average, making it highly versatile.

The overall ride feels premium and fresh, largely due to the well-ventilated upper that scored a remarkable 4/5 on our breathability test. We found this shoe to be a great place to be in all day.

However, those who prefer lighter shoes will feel leg fatigue early on. Tipping the scales to 12.4 oz (352g), this shoe feels like a burden for long distances.

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.

At a hundred bucks, we are taken to a hell of a ride by the Brooks Revel 6, 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.