Brooks Pure Flow 3

Name: Brooks Pure Flow 3
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.3 (45 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 9 oz · 4mm drop · 22/18mm stack

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

How it ranks

The Brooks Pure Flow 3 trails most daily trainers in our data. Value and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Comfort scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 45 runner reviews and 5 other rated shoes in the PureFlow product line.

Below average

64/100

Overall

Below average 64

Cushioning

Decent 71

Value

Decent 71

Durability

Bottom-tier 56

Appearance

Bottom-tier 54

Comfort

Bottom-tier 52

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

94/100

High 94

What runners say

“Light, close to minimal, but still cushioned enough to get the job done without any injury.”

4/5 Full review 65 mpw 1,412 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

“Have been injury-free for more consecutive miles of training than ever before.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“The low heel drop is perfect because I have a mid-foot strike.”

5/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a marathon

“Wears out and loses all structure after eight 30-mile weeks.”

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

“Gives me enough cushioning for a marathon without the weight or clunk.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon

“More comfortable and cushioned than a true minimalist shoe but like the relatively small heel lift.”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a marathon

“Great cloud-soft shoes helped me get rid of my plantar problems.”

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

“They have held up really well with about 300 miles or more on them already.”

4/5 Full review training for a marathon came from the Pearl Izumi EM Road N1

“Lightweight enough that I do not feel a need to wear lighter shoes for any workouts.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“The soles seem to be wearing very well, with 200 miles and not much wear.”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

33% 13/39

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Six reviewers call it light with enough cushioning for long runs, one of them for a marathon.
Two reviewers praise the wide toe box and three the 4mm drop.
Four reviewers use one pair for easy, long and tempo runs.

Cons

Durability averages 3.9 out of 5, the lowest of its dimensions, and four reviewers say it wears out or loses structure quickly.
Four reviewers get rubbing, blisters or numb toes from the upper.
One reviewer finds the laces cinch tight and the upper stiff, and another lands on a ridge in the forefoot.

Pure Flow 3 rates 64. This shoe has high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Brooks PureFlow

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

49 2014 64 2014 58 2015 56 2017 61 2017 49 2018

Release year

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

PureFlow 7

2018 · 9 reviews

49 Bottom-tier

89 Confidence
PureFlow 6

2017 · 4 reviews

61 Below average

75 Confidence
Pureflow 5

2017 · 2 reviews

56 Bottom-tier

65 Confidence
Pure Flow 4

2015 · 11 reviews

58 Bottom-tier

89 Confidence
Pure Flow 3 This shoe

2014 · 45 reviews

64 Below average

94 Confidence
PureFlow 2

2014 · 39 reviews

49 Bottom-tier

95 Confidence

Reader Ratings

45 ratings

5/5 16

4/5 28

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 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $100
Stack Height: 22mm heel - 18mm toe
Drop Height: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Light, close to minimal, but still cushioned enough to get the job done without any injury. Overall great ride, and you can really feel the ground underneath you in these, even if they aren't as minimal as the PureConnect.

Anonymous runner · Aug 28, 2014

65 mpw 1,412 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Aug 28, 2014

40 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

It's a great shoe for short or long distances for me, especially when the pace is uptempo. The low heel drop is perfect because I have a mid-foot strike. I balance this shoe with either the Ghost (7) or the new Nike Elite.

Asrun · Aug 28, 2014

75 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Shoe does fine, but I never am sure if I am wearing the right shoe for the way I run.

domoslay · Aug 28, 2014

25 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

The lacing is a bit funny and hard to get used to. The laces are easy to become very tight and uncomfortable. ALso the upper fabric is too stiff and does not breathe well.

bochertj · Aug 27, 2014

45 mpw training for ultramarathons