Brooks Launch 1

Name: Brooks Launch 1
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.7 (55 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 9.1 oz · 10mm drop · 27/17mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Brooks Launch 2 replaced it

How it ranks

The Brooks Launch 1 is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Comfort and value are its strongest sub-ratings. Looks scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 55 runner reviews and 11 other rated shoes in the Launch product line.

Exceptional

98/100

Overall

Exceptional 98

Comfort

Exceptional 99

Value

Exceptional 98

Cushioning

Good 88

Durability

Good 85

Appearance

Below average 69

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

99/100

Very high 99

What runners say

“Has enough cushion to keep your feet happy during a long run, but is flexible and light enough to be used for fast workouts on the track.”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a marathon

“Enough cushioning for marathon training and races but not too clunky for tempo's and speed work.”

5/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a marathon

“Just straight EVA. Makes for a smooth ride and natural feeling transition.”

5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for a half marathon

“It is so comfortable and supportive despite being light.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon

“Over time it feels somewhat unstable in the heel, leading to some ankle soreness.”

4/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“It is light enough for relatively fast training but solid for long training runs also.”

5/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Mizuno Wave Precision 7

“The cushioning is pretty much shot at ~300 miles.”

5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for a half marathon

“Relatively light, good cushioning, fits my foot well, and I don't notice it that much when I run.”

5/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a marathon came from the Mizuno Wave Sayonara

“One is 2 years old and still going strong after maybe 1,000 miles.”

4/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“It's the first shoe I have repeatedly purchased since the old DS trainer.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

48% 14/29

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers use it for easy runs, tempos and marathons alike.
At 9.1 oz, runners find it light with usable cushioning.
Reviewers buy the same shoe again and again, one on a thirteenth pair and another through ten.

Cons

Several runners say the cushioning flattens around 300 miles.
Two reviewers replaced pairs because the upper wore through, one of them at over 1,100 miles.
Two reviewers say the heel grows unstable over time, one of them getting ankle soreness from it at around 700 miles.

Launch 1 rates 98. This shoe has very high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Brooks Launch

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

98 2009 70 2015 98 2017 86 2017 93 2017 96 2018 85 2019 86 2020 71 2022 99 2023 90 2024 85 2026

Release year

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

Launch 12

2026 · 1 review

85 Good

58 Confidence
Launch 11

2024 · 1 review

90 Very good

75 Confidence
Launch 10

2023 · 12 reviews

99 Exceptional

95 Confidence
Launch 9

2022 · 20 reviews

71 Decent

86 Confidence
Launch 8

2020 · 3 reviews

86 Good

70 Confidence
Launch 7

2019 · 3 reviews

85 Good

77 Confidence
Launch 6

2018 · 29 reviews

96 Excellent

95 Confidence
Launch 5

2017 · 37 reviews

93 Excellent

96 Confidence
Launch 4

2017 · 24 reviews

86 Good

92 Confidence
Launch 3

2017 · 11 reviews

98 Exceptional

94 Confidence
Launch 2

2015 · 25 reviews

70 Decent

93 Confidence
Launch 1 This shoe

2009 · 55 reviews

98 Exceptional

99 Confidence

Reader Ratings

55 ratings

5/5 38

4/5 16

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: 9.1 oz
Release: 2009
MSRP: $100
Stack Height: 27mm heel - 17mm toe
Drop Height: 10mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Reader review

5/5

Overall

On my fifth pair of this shoe. Have a 2 more pairs in boxes. Have put over 1100 miles on a couple pairs. Replaced due to upper starting to wear. Have trained for and run a couple of marathons in these shoes. Initial colors were a bit much, but have like the last 3 colors.

Anonymous runner · Apr 3, 2015

60 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Apr 3, 2015

80 mpw came from the Altra Instinct 2.0

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Generally OK. I have had a brief bruising of the right foot and am currently off due to a slight knee injury.

BRun74 · Mar 24, 2015

50 mpw came from the Brooks Ghost 6

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

mathguy54 · Mar 23, 2015

50 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

I love the original Brooks Launch. I've gone through about 10 pairs. I can wear them for any run, any distance, including races. I haven't tried the Launch 2 yet, but I will.

runbhp · Mar 23, 2015

45 mpw training for a marathon came from the ASICS DS Trainer 17

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

Alternatives

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Analyses

Brooks Launch 1

Exceptional