Brooks Ghost 15 review

 The Brooks Ghost is one of the brand’s best-selling running shoes and is now on its 15th iteration. It’s an excellent beginner running shoe, with a soft, safe feel underfoot, and a relatively firm ride. With the Brooks Ghost 15, the brand has added its new DNA Loft v2 midsole foam and tweaked the upper to make it more comfortable and supportive. “Smooth, balanced, and better than ever,” Brooks says.  

But how does it compare to some of the best running shoes on the market, and who is this shoe best suited for? To find out more, I’ve been running in the Brooks Ghost 15 over a number of different running sessions — from long, easy runs, to faster tempo sessions. My verdict? Brooks Ghost fans won’t be disappointed, but faster runners might be. Read my full Brooks Ghost 15 review below to find out more. 

Brooks Ghost 15 review: Price and availability 

The Brooks Ghost 15 was released in November 2022, and is widely available online and in running stores. The shoe costs $140/£130 and comes in men’s and women’s versions. The men’s shoe runs in sizes U.S. 7 - U.S. 15 and is available in four different widths: medium (regular), narrow, wide, and extra wide. The men’s shoe comes in 13 different colorways to suit every style of runner, although some of these are special editions. 

The women’s Ghost 15 is available in sizes U.S. 5 - U.S. 13 and comes in three different widths: medium, wide, and narrow. The shoe comes in 15 different colorways, some of which are limited editions, but there’s a huge range to choose from. 

Brooks Ghost 15 review: Design and fit 

The Brooks Ghost 15 fits true to size, and like most other Brooks running shoes on the market. I tested a UK 5/U.S. 7, and wear a UK 4 in my everyday running shoes (confused? Check out our guide to buying running shoes here). I had enough room in the toe box and didn’t have any issues with the shoe rubbing or chafing. 

The shoe looks very similar in design to the Ghost 14, but Brooks has made a couple of changes. The midsole foam has been updated, and the mesh upper has been tweaked for enhanced support and comfort. 

Upper 

Let’s start by digging into the upper, which is described by Brooks as an "air mesh upper." It’s been tweaked to offer a more secure fit around the foot, keeping it in place as you move. It does this well — I didn’t have any issues with my foot slipping at the heel, nor any hot spots when running in the shoe, but it didn’t feel all that different. This is very similar to the upper of the Ghost 14, and the Ghost 13 for that matter. It’s what we’ve come to expect from Brooks — a thick, cushioned upper, with a lot of padding around the tongue and the collar of the shoe for step-in comfort. 

It’s about as far from the newer bootie uppers on the market as you can get. Brooks wasn't worried about saving weight with this shoe.

Midsole

The midsole of this shoe contains Brooks’ DNA Loft V2 midsole foam, which Brooks claims is lighter and softer than previous iterations. It feels very similar to the DNA Loft used in the Ghost 14 — it’s fairly firm underfoot, and you’re not getting the sink-in, soft feeling you get with shoes like the Asics Gel Nimbus 25 or the Nike Invincible 2 or Nike Invincible 3.

While the firmer midsole does the job on slow, easier miles, it’s not overly responsive. It feels pretty clunky at anything that isn’t an easy pace — when trying to do tempo sessions in this shoe it felt a bit ‘meh’, and you had to work hard to get your legs moving in this shoe.

Outsole 

The outsole of this shoe is designed to be durable, and it does that well. There’s a lot of rubber, a great amount of grip on wet concrete and light trails, and what Brooks calls it’s ‘crash-pad’, for smoother transitions. I didn’t have any issues with the grip of this shoe, and after around 50 miles, there’s no sign of wear. 

Brooks Ghost 15 review: Running performance

The Brooks Ghost 15 is a decent, everyday running shoe that’ll no doubt be popular with fans of the line and beginners alike. That said, it’s not very versatile, or very exciting. It’s very similar to what they’ve done before, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there are far more exciting shoes on the market for the same price. 

I found that the shoe just wasn’t that responsive or snappy on the run. Plus, compared to a lot of the other ‘everyday’ shoes on the market, it feels a little like the Brooks Ghost line is being left behind. I’ve been reviewing running shoes for the past six years, and this feels like stepping back into the same shoe — some runners will find this extremely reassuring, but there are a lot of other shoe brands doing a lot more with their foam. 

This is also one of the few shoes on the market that has a 12mm drop — the drop is the difference between the distance of the heel and forefoot from the ground. 12mm is one of the higher drops, but as there isn’t much of a rocker in the shoe, you don’t notice this all that much. 

Brooks Ghost 15 review: Verdict 

The Brooks Ghost 15 isn’t anything new, and for a lot of runners, that’s ok. It’s a decent everyday running shoe for beginners, and if you’re a fan of the Ghost line, you’ll love this shoe. That said, it’s not the most comfortable cushioned shoe on the market, nor the most versatile. 

If you’re looking for sink-in comfort, and bouncy foam underfoot, I’d take a look at the Brooks Glycerin 20, the New Balance 1080v12, or the Asics Gel Nimbus 25. All of these shoes have a bit more versatility — they’ll allow you to pick up the pace either during tempo or speed sessions. For a super-plush shoe, check out the Nike Invincible 3. 

If you’re on a budget, save your money and buy the Brooks Ghost 14, which is bound to be on sale now the newer shoe has been released.