Brooks Launch 5

Name: Brooks Launch 5
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.5 (37 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 9.2 oz · 10mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Brooks Launch 6 replaced it

How it ranks

The Brooks Launch 5 is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Value and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. Most runners who came to it from another shoe preferred it. The rating rests on 37 runner reviews and 11 other rated shoes in the Launch product line.

Excellent

93/100

Overall

Excellent 93

Value

Exceptional 99

Comfort

Exceptional 98

Appearance

Good 89

Cushioning

Good 87

Durability

Good 83

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

96/100

Very high 96

What runners say

“These shoes will not last particularly long. The upper started separating from the sole within five weeks of wear”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for middle distance came from the Brooks Ghost 9

“Outstanding durability. I only retired my Launch 3's at 700 miles”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 3

“The midsole is firm enough for faster paced runs, yet still bouncy enough to go long (10-plus miles)”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for sprints came from the Saucony Kinvara 9

“Within a couple days of molding to my feet, they were sublime”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for middle distance came from the Brooks Ghost 9

“The Brooks Launch is the ideal balance between cushioning and responsiveness”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for sprints came from the Saucony Kinvara 9

“With these on I feel like I'm being propelled forward a bit. Definitely springy and fun to run in”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 9

“The sock-like inner is the main, noticeable feature of a shoe that was designed with comfort as a priority”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 4

“It is responsive, durable enough to train in daily, and under $100”

4/5 Full review 30 mpw came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 35

“Incredibly durable for a lightweight trainer”

5/5 Full review 75 mpw came from the Brooks Ravenna 9

“The new upper is about the most comfortable running shoe I've ever worn”

3/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 4

Prefer this shoe over another

45% 28/62

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Eight reviewers use it for tempo work and racing, calling it light and responsive.
Comfort averages 4.7 out of 5 across thirty-seven reviews, and five reviewers praise the sock-like upper.
Four reviewers use it for everything from intervals to runs over twenty miles.

Cons

Durability averages 4.1 out of 5, the lowest of its six dimensions, and four reviewers see it break down by about 300 miles.
Four reviewers find it short on cushioning, and one gets foot soreness on longer runs as a result.
Two reviewers say the ride changed from the Launch 4, one of them returning the shoe with a sore Achilles.

Launch 5 rates 93. 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 This shoe

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

2009 · 55 reviews

98 Exceptional

99 Confidence

Reader Ratings

37 ratings

5/5 24

4/5 11

3/5 1

2/5 0

1/5 1

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 9.2 oz
Release: 2017 Q4
MSRP: $100
Drop Height: 10mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Brooks Launch 5

5/5

Overall

These were one of my first running shoes. My previous shoes all hurt to run in and left me aching every day. I can vividly remember the moment I slipped on these shoes and felt the springy comfort the cushion provided. It lasted me for about 800 miles before the heel cup wire got out of place and all messed up.

encypte · Mar 4, 2019

40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Vomero 11

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

Solid light trainer.

5/5

Overall

Compared to the Ghost 11, its not all that much lighter, but it is significantly more responsive. I feel like I could take this shoe on a long run and be fine, but you can defiantly tell it does not have the same cushion at the Ghost. So, not very cushioned, but its not supposed to be. Great response to get you going a little faster. The only place I will knock this shoe is in the appearance department. The Black/Blue/Green did not look very good. (Other colors online looked better, but my local running store only had this design). Brooks seemed to have made big improvements with the Launch 6 however. Also, this was due mostly to local sale, but I scored a pair of the for $60. That's an insane steal.

Supertramp · Dec 3, 2018

40 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Cavu

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

Just Were Not Compatible

1/5

Overall

The Brooks Launch 5 was my first experience with a shoe that was, for reasons unknown, completely incompatible for me. I ran 35miles total, about 5 runs in them and each run I had a strange and uncomfortable feeling in my legs. The closest thing I can compare it to is the feeling you get from wearing a pair of shoes that have been 'spent' for 100+miles. I figured I just needed to break them in, and I used them to walk around in for this. But I decidedto give them away after I had shooting pain in my quad during a workout (in different shoes) the day after wearing the Launch. Pain like I have not felt before or since. I know many people who have had no problems with this model but I ended up losing (idk remember the cost since it was a year ago) $70+ -RunnerSam

RunnerSam · Oct 16, 2018

60 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 8