Type a shoe name, like Pegasus, Clifton or Kayano.

Brooks Pure Flow 4

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.

Brooks Pure Flow 4

of 5

Bottom-tier

58/100
Overall
58
Cushioning
67
Value
63
Durability
62
Comfort
55
Appearance
51
Confidence

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

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.

Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale

Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.

Confidence
50 60 70 80 90 100 25 50 75 100

Better Shoes Rating

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

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

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

Showing 11–11 of 11 written reviews

Reader review

4/5

Overall

good shoe overall but cushioning breaks down relatively quickly. cushion on inside of heels is too raised in my personal opinion, it pushes the ankle to roll outward on landing which can feel a little awkward.

Anonymous runner · Mar 25, 2015

85 mpw came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

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

Alternatives

Other shoes worth considering.

More from Brooks

Compared to other shoes

See how this shoe compares to others like it.

Current shoe
Choose a model
Reference shoe
Lightest / Newest / Best overall
Shoe properties
Type
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
8.9 oz M
8.9 oz M
8.5 oz M Lightest
Stack
22/18mm
24/20mm
40/35mm
Drop
4mm
4mm
5mm
Release
2015
2018 Q1
2023 Q1 Newest
MSRP
$110
$100 Lower MSRP
$145
Best price
$149.99
Ratings
Overall
Bottom-tier (58)
Bottom-tier (49)
Exceptional (99) Best overall
Comfort
Bottom-tier (55)
Below average (61)
Exceptional (99) Best comfort
Cushioning
Below average (67)
Below average (64)
Exceptional (99) Best cushioning
Durability
Below average (62)
Bottom-tier (57)
Very good (92) Best durability
Appearance
Bottom-tier (51)
Bottom-tier (50)
Very good (91) Best appearance
Value
Below average (63)
Below average (67)
Good (88) Best value
Specific shoe

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