Brooks Defyance 7

Name: Brooks Defyance 7
Brand: Brooks
Rating: 4.4 (7 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 11.0 oz (men's) · 29/20mm stack · 9mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Brooks Defyance 8 replaced it

How it ranks

The Brooks Defyance 7’s rating is an early estimate. We’ve collected 7 runner reviews so far, with product line history also informing the score.

Decent

Overall

Decent 78

Value

Good 87

Durability

Good 84

Comfort

Decent 73

Cushioning

Decent 72

Appearance

Below average 61

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 is low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

74 Moderate

Moderate 74

Based on

The bars show roughly how much each source contributes to this shoe’s rating. Their influence depends on how many reviews we’ve collected, how many earlier versions are in the product line, and the external ratings available.

Product line track record
Our ratings
External ratings

What runners say

“Can get up to 500 miles with legs still feeling fine.”

5/5 Full review 85 mpw came from the Nike Zoom Vomero+ 7

“The shoe feels a lot less bulky and significantly lighter than its listed weight may otherwise suggest.”

4/5 Full review 85 mpw training for a marathon

“It has enough structure built into it that it actually prevents me from overpronating.”

4/5 Full review 85 mpw training for a marathon

“I like a cushioned, but not too cushioned shoe that has some responsiveness to it.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“I like a shoe that is not too cushioned and is responsive.”

4/5 Full review 55 mpw 956 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Glycerin 11

“They seem to last forever.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14

“I have a narrow rearfoot, but a wider forefoot.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

50% 4/8

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.

Pros

One reviewer gets up to 500 miles with their legs still feeling fine, and another says they last forever.
Two reviewers describe a moderately cushioned ride that stays responsive.
One reviewer uses it for daily miles, tempo runs and threshold work.

Cons

Appearance is its lowest-rated dimension, at 3.9 out of 5.
At 11.0 oz it is well above the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers for sale.
Three of seven reviewers report an injury while running in it.

Defyance 7 rates 78. This shoe has moderate confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Brooks Defyance

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

81 2014 72 2014 78 2014 70 2014 73 2017

Release year

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

Defyance 9

2017 · 1 review

73 Decent

53 Confidence
Defyance 8

2014 · 2 reviews

70 Decent

63 Confidence
Defyance 7 This shoe

2014 · 7 reviews

78 Decent

74 Confidence
Defyance 6

2014 · 1 review

72 Decent

51 Confidence
Defyance 5

2014 · 4 reviews

81 Good

72 Confidence

Runner Ratings

7 ratings

5/5 3

4/5 4

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: 11.0 oz (men's)
Release: 2014
Stack: 29/20mm
Drop: 9mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

5/5

Overall

Durable, can get up to 500 miles with legs still feeling fine.

BilltownRunner · Mar 23, 2015

85 mpw came from the Nike Zoom Vomero+ 7

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

4/5

Overall

I liked it a lot. I like a shoe that is not too cushioned and is responsive. I injured my Achilles' tendon at the end of this shoe's life cycle and the Hoka Clifton has felt better on it as I have been coming back, so I have switched for now.

rivabanks · Mar 22, 2015

55 mpw 956 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Glycerin 11

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

5/5

Overall

For some reason I always have a difficult time finding the Defyance, but it is my all time favorite shoe. I've never had any problems with it and they seem to last forever.

Anonymous runner · Mar 21, 2015

50 mpw came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14

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

4/5

Overall

This shoe works well as a good day-to-day trainer as well as a solid shoe to use for tempo runs, threshold work, and even does a serviceable job off the roads. I have a relatively flexible arch and despite the fact that this is a neutral shoe, it has enough structure built into it that it actually prevents me from overpronating. As a result, the shoe feels a lot less bulky and significantly lighter than its listed weight may otherwise suggest.

Anonymous runner · Sep 10, 2014

85 mpw training for a marathon