Brooks Men's Levitate Gts 5 Running Shoe

Product Information

MERCER: Brooks is finally getting around to updating their foams in shoes like the Ghost, Glycerin , and the Aurora-BL . But the traditional DNA AMP is here to stay for this iteration. It’s an excellent choice for low-volume training, slower runs, or recovery sessions. Runners also liked the sleek look, though in this case, it seems to be at the expanse of performance. The outsoles are the same on all models and identical to the Levitate 4’s with firm continuous coverage. Walking and jogging around, the underfoot feel doesn't seem very different from the Levitate 4; it is a stable traditional feel without a whole lot of dynamism shining through from the midsole. Let's see how the new upper compares!

Finally, all runners agree that the shoe is way too heavy (311 g/11 oz for men and 266 g/9.4 oz for women). Sally : Stable, predictable, controlled… Joost summarizes the ride well. And yes, it responds to pushing the pace, not like a plated shoe or a max cushioned shoe would, but as a traditional old school shoe might. The impact dampening under the heel is clearly felt on the downhills and much welcomed. I found myself running on my toes often in this shoe, especially on the uphills. Somehow the ride is stiff and not fluid for me, perhaps because I do not weigh enough to activate the DNA AMP midsole? But this is a very comfortable shoe, and it is always a pleasure to have your feet feeling happy at the conclusion of a run. GTS is more about stabilizing the knee earlier in the landing and guiding the gait than under foot pronation control via a firmer post or plates. The idea is that the support should be more on demand than prescriptive. As with the recent Launch and Glycerin, which also get the GTS option, models such as the Ravenna and the Transcend which were essentially support versions of the preceding go away. In the case of the Levitate GTS 5, it replaces the Bedlam. GTS is created through a Guide Rails of the same foam as the midsole that rises on the lateral side with a co-molded slightly firmer foam rail on the medial side.

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Many including me seek “fast” shoes for everything or nearly, yet 80% of our miles should be easier rather than harder I say. My last run in the non GTS regular upper was super easy, slower than expected and just what I needed that day. The controlled, consistent ride was soft enough, the vibration dampening fantastic, the upper as comfy as could be, the weight and quite ponderous transitions evident so.. I forgot about trying to move them along and enjoyed the sights along the way.

Sam is the Editor and Founder of Road Trail Run. He is 64 with a 2018 3:40 Boston qualifier. Sam has been running for over 48 years and has a 2:28 marathon PR. These days he runs halves in the just sub 1:40 range training 30-40 miles per week mostly at moderate paces on the roads and trails of New Hampshire and Utah. He is 5’9” tall and weighs about 164 lbs if he is not enjoying too many fine New England IPA. It is deceptively warm! It doesn't feel like it would be warm when you first start running in the shoe, but after a couple of miles, the heat will start to build up. I didn't get hotspots consistently in any particular spot during testing, though it was most noticeable under the ball of my right foot. There was just a general warm feeling under the whole foot.

Standard Cushioning

Sam: Somewhat softer especially upfront the Cumulus 23 has a more effective geometry and moves along equally as well as slow as fast making it a more versatile daily trainer than the Levitate. This foam is going to have that golden age uptempo trainer feel similar to the Kinvara . It gives you a lot of ground feel while rolling through your stride. The arrow-shaped outsole allows this shoe to stay forward and glide you through your gait cycle. Paired with the upper, it’s a light and sharp ride. On the standard Levitate GTS 5, we’ve got the OG cut collar with an engineered mesh upper providing a solid amount of structure when laced in. To those who loved the ride of the Bedlam line in the past but always strayed away because of the fit around the collar, now is the time to say hello to an old friend. The Levitate GTS 5 rolls with a firmer ride. It’s excellent for people looking for a daily trainer to eat up a ton of miles because I don’t see this shoe compressing in the midsole at all. I’m talking 400+ miles out of these bad boys. The DNA AMP midsole is added with the benefit of Brooks’s GuideRail System to provide an ergonomic amount of support to make your stride resist any pronation. Just like all Brooks shoes that fall into the GTS category, the Levitate GTS 5 has the same stable but non-intrusive support. I’d be more receptive to this shoe and how it feels if it was 6-7 ounces, but at nearly 11 ounces it needs to come with more benefits. More durable than your legs

The shoe is stiff and dense. It should be durable as hell. The midsole and outsole are both going to last a long time without much fear of wearing out. For any kind of faster running, the Stealth Fit has a more secure hold despite being a stretch knit but still as with all knits is a bit on the loose side. And it delivers a weight below 10 oz without GTS and in my GTS version is 0.6 oz less than the circular knit version without GTS’s extra midsole pieces. Some reviewers noticed that the tapered toe box on the StealthFit model was a bit too snug, so if you have a wide foot you may prefer the original Levitate 5. MERCER: I’ve had my experiences with DNA Amp midsoles. When I first got into shoes the Levitate looked so upscale and fast. I became an Amp fan pretty soon after, and am very excited for the new Levitate Stealthfit 5.Allison says: It’s a great fit, true to size. One shoe size up from everyday shoes and laced at the top is spot-on perfect. I have always noted in the Levitate (all versions) that my slow pace runs in them were slower than I expected and my faster ones faster so a dual personality for the ride indicating to me that the DNA AMP’s return is proportional to the energy (or runner weight) on the way down! Derek: I wear US9.5 in both shoes. I actually prefer Levitate 4! Levitate 4 has the more breathable and more supportive upper and complements the firm ride a little better than the StealthFit upper on the Levitate 5. The heel and achilles collars are less rigid and have more substantial internal padding which not only were less padded but had a rigid rear clip. The new StealthFit upper, while just as smashing looking as the Levitate 4's, clearly resolves the rough and very low and stiff over the center toe fit of the Levitate 4 ( RTR Review ) with a softer, thinner, more stretchable knit. The upper now includes an integral knit tongue instead of the 4’s more conventional one and softer rear collars.

The Levitate 5 features a flexible yet structured upper, with a detached tongue and extra eyelets that let you lace your shoes for a more personalized fit. Fleet Feet reviewers noted how the extra eyelets made it easier to adjust the fit of the shoe. The new engineered circular knit material provides extra breathability and an adaptable fit. Sam: DNA AMP PU while heavier than most other modern foams (other than maybe Boost..) leads to a shoe at the upper limits of practicality for daily training for the circular knit version (10.97 oz) while Stealth Fit is fine at sub 10 oz. Sam : As Joost says “stable, predictable, and controlled” and Bryan says a “thin forefoot and dull-sh” ride. I agree. The Levitate comes to life when pushing the pace, not something the weight of the normal upper non GTS version is that much fun to do in, but which becomes a far better experience in the lighter GTS with Stealth Fit. Here the uppers are very clearly improved and now differentiated through two types: comfort for the “regular” and more performance oriented and certainly performance looking with the lighter Stealth Fit which now is a super fine “knit” upper that isn’t the painful experience of the Levitate 4’s.Joost: There’s a lot of outsole rubber here, in all sorts of patterns. The main one is a fishbone like pattern with just a couple of cutouts in the heel, providing some decoupling for heel strikers and on the lateral side of the forefoot, adding some lateral lengthwise flexibility for forefoot strikers. There is very little flexibility across the midsole. As Bryan stated: no issues with durability and traction and the copious usage of outsole rubber definitely adds to the weight of an already heavy shoe. ADRIENNE: Brooks is somehow making things less and more complicated with their naming system. They nixed their stability Bedlam and there are now FOUR options of the Levitate: the neutral one, the neutral Stealthfit one, the GTS (stability) one, and the GTS Stealthfit one. Are you still reading this? Let’s get to the review. (By the way, GTS now means Go-To-Support, though for years it meant Go-To-Shoe.) I’m sorry Brooks but the Levitate 5 is more of a gym, CrossFit, lifting option than a real running shoe in my opinion. Complete lab-specs overview The newest version of the Brooks Levitate allows runners to choose between two different uppers, making it more accommodating for different foot shapes than previous models.