Brooks Launch 6

Name: Brooks Launch 6
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.7 (29 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 9.3 oz · 10mm drop · 27/17mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Brooks Launch 7 replaced it

How it ranks

The Brooks Launch 6 is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Value and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Cushioning scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 29 runner reviews and 11 other rated shoes in the Launch product line.

Excellent

96/100

Overall

Excellent 96

Value

Exceptional 99

Comfort

Excellent 96

Appearance

Good 87

Durability

Good 86

Cushioning

Decent 78

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

95/100

Very high 95

What runners say

“Durability is great—both pairs still look almost new after 300+ miles.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

“Excellent value—costs next to nothing compared to $275 shoes.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks PureFlow 7

“Lasted 700 miles.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 12

“Excellent durability—400 miles and still regularly used.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks PureFlow 7

“Very low cushioning—feet 'slapping' ground with each stride.”

4/5 Full review training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 34

“Light for tempos, cushioned for long runs, raceable, inexpensive.”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 12

“Can run 10 miles right out of the box.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

“Wider toe box lets metatarsals splay naturally.”

5/5 Full review 100 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Under Armour HOVR Sonic 2

“Perfect balance of flexibility, cushion, durability, responsiveness.”

5/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

“Lightweight trainers that fit narrow heeled feet.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

Prefer this shoe over another

62% 18/29

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers find it light and responsive for tempo runs and workouts.
It lists at $100, and value is its strongest dimension at 4.8 out of 5.
Comfort averages 4.7 out of 5, and reviewers use it from easy days to long runs.

Cons

Four reviewers find the cushioning minimal or firm.
Four reviewers report quick wear or the upper tearing, one at about 300 miles.
Two reviewers find the upper rigid or tight until it is broken in.

Launch 6 rates 96. This shoe has 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 This shoe

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

2009 · 55 reviews

98 Exceptional

99 Confidence

Reader Ratings

29 ratings

5/5 19

4/5 10

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 9.3 oz
Release: 2018 Q4
MSRP: $100
Stack Height: 27mm heel - 17mm toe
Drop Height: 10mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Every time

5/5

Overall

I have run in (conservative estimate) 40 pairs of the Launch line. This shoe compares to all the rest. Light, just enough cushioning, and a responsive feel.

Anonymous runner · Dec 10, 2019

25 mpw

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Aug 13, 2019

40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Vomero 9

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

Brooks Launch 6 Review

5/5

Overall

Overall, my experience in the Brooks Launch 6 was great. They're lightweight, responsive and fairly well-cushioned. Although to be honest I was not a fan of the blue and yellow colorway. I think that the best thing about these shoes is their durability. They have lasted me close to 700 miles due to me not being in a situation where it was convenient to replace them. I have had some of the fastest workouts of my life in them. They've worked for everything from fast 300m repeats at 800m pace all the way up to 13-mile progression runs, and they could have gone longer. I will say that they are not the most cushioned shoes (they're still reasonable - but not as cushioned as the Ghosts, for example), but the responsiveness more than makes up for it in my opinion. If someone were to ask me if I recommended them, my answer would be yes, without question.

Anonymous runner · Aug 13, 2019

50 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 12

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

Love the Launch 6 (still)

5/5

Overall

I have been running in Brooks Launch since they were on version 2 and almost dies when Brooks said they would discontinue them after the version 3. Well here they are on version 6, and I am still loving them. Lightweight trainers that fit my narrow (heeled) feet and I can put on a pair and run 10 miles right out of the box. I am also loving all of the cool colors and patterns over the last couple of years. I love the mixture of just enough cushioning without going overboard (the Ghost has too much for me) and the lightweight which makes me unencumbered if I want to do speedwork in them. My only complaint is that they don't last as long as a heavier trainer - of course, that makes sens - but I love them so much, I don't want them to wear out.

Anonymous runner · Aug 13, 2019

60 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Launch 5

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

Great standard trainer that doesn't go beyond 300 miles

5/5

Overall

Had a morton's neuroma recently and switched to the Launch for the first time in a few years. Worked great due to a little cushion (but not too much) and a slightly wider toe box that allowed for my metatarsals to splay out more naturally and not compress the nerves. I like the combo of weight and cushion for 100 mile weeks + some long tempos. Only issue is about 300 miles in the upper starts to rip from the shoe last rubber on the inside of the foot.

Anonymous runner · Aug 12, 2019

100 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Under Armour HOVR Sonic 2