Brooks Pure Flow 4

Name: Brooks Pure Flow 4
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.2 (11 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.9 oz · 4mm drop · 22/18mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Brooks Pure Flow replaced it

How it ranks

The Brooks Pure Flow 4 trails most daily trainers in our data. Cushioning and value are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 11 runner reviews and 5 other rated shoes in the PureFlow product line. One more review would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Bottom-tier

58/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 58

Cushioning

Below average 67

Value

Below average 63

Durability

Below average 62

Comfort

Bottom-tier 55

Appearance

Bottom-tier 51

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

89/100

High 89

What runners say

“Can regularly get 500+ miles out of them.”

5/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance 1080 v3

“Cushion on inside of heels is too raised; pushes the ankle to roll outward on landing which can feel awkward.”

4/5 Full review 85 mpw came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

“This year's model causes tons of toe blisters unlike last year's model.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw came from the Brooks Pure Flow 3

“Sturdy and cushioned enough for any distance, but still light enough for longer race distances.”

5/5 Full review 84 mpw training for a half marathon

“For higher mile runs (9+), the shoe doesn't provide much support on the way back.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Breakthru 1

“Cushioning breaks down relatively quickly.”

4/5 Full review 85 mpw came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

“Lightweight but have a lot of cushion in them.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw came from the Brooks Pure Flow 3

“Feels more comfortable and no longer has the tongue attached on the side.”

4/5 Full review came from the Brooks Pure Flow 3

“Has ample responsive cushioning, a neutral, flat platform and is very comfortable.”

4/5 Full review 30 mpw training for middle distance came from the Nike Lunaracer+ 3

“Not responsive enough; too soft.”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Pure Flow 3

Prefer this shoe over another

41% 9/22

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Comfort averages 4.4 out of 5 across eleven reviews.
Three reviewers find it cushioned enough for long runs while staying light enough to race in.
One reviewer regularly gets 500 miles or more from a pair.

Cons

Two reviewers say the cushioning breaks down or the shoe wears out quickly.
One reviewer finds it too soft and less responsive than the earlier versions.
One reviewer gets toe blisters in this version that the last one did not give them, and another finds it uncomfortable until broken in.

Pure Flow 4 rates 58. 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 This shoe

2015 · 11 reviews

58 Bottom-tier

89 Confidence
Pure Flow 3

2014 · 45 reviews

64 Below average

94 Confidence
PureFlow 2

2014 · 39 reviews

49 Bottom-tier

95 Confidence

Reader Ratings

11 ratings

5/5 3

4/5 7

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: 8.9 oz
Release: 2015
MSRP: $110
Stack Height: 22mm heel - 18mm toe
Drop Height: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Versatile value

5/5

Overall

The Pure Flow gives you a lot of bang for your buck. The shoe is sturdy and cushioned enough for any distance, but still light enough for longer race distances. In many shoes I have trouble with forefoot pain caused by too little cushioning, but I never feel any discomfort in these shoes.

Anonymous runner · Jan 11, 2020

84 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

These shoes are literally perfect for me. I've run in them since the PF 1's and I love the low heel/toe drop and the cushioning I get out of a new pair. I can regularly get 500+miles out of them.

wilsonuconn · Mar 22, 2016

55 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance 1080 v3

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

They seemed pretty uncomfortable until after I broke them in after a week of running in them and have felt great since. Only complaint I have is how quickly they wore out.

Anonymous runner · Mar 3, 2016

55 mpw training for middle distance came from the New Balance 1400 v3

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

The Brooks Pureflow 4 is a great day-to-day, easy mileage, or long run shoe because it has ample responsive cushioning, a neutral, flat platform and is very comfortable.

Anonymous runner · Jan 31, 2016

30 mpw training for middle distance came from the Nike Lunaracer+ 3

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

They are lightweight but have a lot of cushion in them. I do everything from racing road 5ks in them to 400m interval workouts to 12 mile long runs. They're great.

Bhgersh · Dec 10, 2015

40 mpw came from the Brooks Pure Flow 3