Brooks Ghost 8

Name: Brooks Ghost 8
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.5 (11 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 10.3 oz · 12mm drop · 28/16mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Brooks Ghost 9 replaced it

How it ranks

The Brooks Ghost 8 ranks above most daily trainers in our data. Durability and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Looks scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 11 runner reviews and 13 other rated shoes in the Ghost product line. One more review would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Good

80/100

Overall

Good 80

Durability

Excellent 95

Comfort

Very good 93

Cushioning

Good 89

Value

Decent 76

Appearance

Decent 71

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

88/100

High 88

What runners say

“Downhills in the rain can be positively bloodcurdling”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 6

“Had the front cushioning separating after about 600 miles”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Fastwitch 5

“The traction is truly scarily dangerous”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 6

“Too tight of a fit, narrow in the toe box”

3/5 Full review 25 mpw came from the Brooks Ghost 7

“My feet sometimes slip on flat roads if the roads are wet”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 6

“The bottom of the shoe is wearing out very quickly”

4/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance came from the ASICS GEL-Cumulus 14

“Wider toe box than most other shoes”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Fastwitch 5

“Grip is not the greatest especially in the rain”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw came from the ASICS GT-2000 3

“I used to get 1000 miles in shoes of similar structure”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Fastwitch 5

“A bit of cushion and higher heel-toe drop seem to work well”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw 956 miles in this shoe training for a marathon came from the Nike Zoom Terra Kiger 3

Prefer this shoe over another

47% 9/19

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers repeatedly call it comfortable and easy to forget on daily runs.
One reviewer with a wide forefoot says the toe box is wider than most.
It scores 79 against 76 for the Ghost 7 before it.

Cons

Three reviewers report slipping on wet roads, one calling the traction scarily dangerous.
Two reviewers saw the outsole wear down early.
Appearance draws the lowest ratings of any dimension, at 4.0 out of 5.

Ghost 8 rates 80. This shoe has high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Brooks Ghost

Each dot is one version of the Ghost, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

76 2012 71 76 80 2015 97 87 98 2018 82 90 2020 97 99 2022 97 89 2025 90

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Ghost 18

2026 · 6 reviews

90 Good

77 Confidence
Ghost 17

2025 · 8 reviews

89 Good

80 Confidence
Ghost 16

2024 · 38 reviews

97 Exceptional

96 Confidence
Ghost 15

2022 · 94 reviews

99 Exceptional

100 Confidence
Ghost 14

2021 · 66 reviews

97 Exceptional

98 Confidence
Ghost 13

2020 · 13 reviews

90 Good

86 Confidence
Ghost 12

2019 · 50 reviews

82 Good

96 Confidence
Ghost 11

2018 · 73 reviews

98 Exceptional

99 Confidence
Ghost 10

2017 · 57 reviews

87 Good

98 Confidence
Ghost 9

2016 · 13 reviews

97 Excellent

94 Confidence
Ghost 8 This shoe

2015 · 11 reviews

80 Good

88 Confidence
Ghost 7

2014 · 74 reviews

76 Decent

98 Confidence
Ghost 6

2013 · 55 reviews

71 Decent

95 Confidence
Ghost 5

2012 · 4 reviews

76 Decent

82 Confidence

Reader Ratings

11 ratings

5/5 7

4/5 3

3/5 1

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 10.3 oz
Release: 2015
MSRP: $120
Stack Height: 28mm heel - 16mm toe
Drop Height: 12mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Fine trainer, but awful traction.

4/5

Overall

This has been a sturdy, comfortable shoe for me even at 500 miles, but the traction is truly scarily dangerous. My feet sometimes slip on flat roads if the roads are wet. Downhills in the rain can be positively bloodcurdling. Unfortunately I live in a rainy moist humid area so these will be my first and last pair of Ghosts.

Coach Jeff ROC · Dec 11, 2018

50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 6

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 4/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 3/5
Value: 4/5

Great Shoe

5/5

Overall

Shoe had a wider toe box than most other shoes (I need it wider). It did not last as long as shoes of the past though. I run shoes into the ground and these had the front cushioning separating after about 600 miles. I used to get 1000 miles in shoes of similar structure.

remy240 · Jul 5, 2018

20 mpw training for a marathon came from the Saucony Fastwitch 5

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 4/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

Comfortable daily trainer

5/5

Overall

Very reliable shoe, helped me get back into daily training (en route to a marathon PR) after Achilles issues from training in lower-drop shoes. I supinate a bit and have high arches so a bit of cushion and higher heel-toe drop seem to work well for me.

Anonymous runner · Jan 5, 2018

55 mpw 956 miles in this shoe training for a marathon came from the Nike Zoom Terra Kiger 3