review it!
review it!
No.
Perhaps the top neutral lightweight trainer on the market at the moment. Transition is first-class. Everything about the shoe is money, including the midsole. It has absolutely blown out at our store and across the region due to the amount of calls and special orders we get, but Brooks is sold out until January, I believe.
It has replaced the Asics Speedstar as the "go to" neutral lightweight. Great for tempo runs.
i thought it was a little bulkier than the speedstar? I was looking for more of a marathon flat
It's a nice shoe but not perfect. The midsole is very soft (I've heard the same thing from everyone who has run in it). It almost feels like you are being sucked in to the shoe with each step but there is no return (ie., it doesn't have much energy return). Decent shoe for longer or everday runs but I wouldn't tempo or interval in it. Hopefully Brooks will fix the midsole in the next version.
I'll second that. We have sold through several times since it arrived and customers are returning for 2d pair. Personally, I prefer mine now that they have a couple hundred miles on them and run a bit firmer, but they are still a really, really nice shoe.
The people at Brooks tell me it is because of the new midsole material combined with the forefoot configuration--lots of blown rubber up front, embedded--but I think it is because there is no midfoot truss and the midsole/outsole has continuous contact with the ground.
One of the simplest shoes on the wall, and one of the best--across all categories. Surprisingly, the shoe has done well with 1.) newbies who don't need a lot of bells and whistles and are not yet comfortable spending $100+ and 2.) those who think they need some stability. Again, because of the continuous contact with the ground, the transition is considerably smoother and doesn't throw people inward, as many shoes do, despite the best intentions of the designers.
If they really wanted to make a performance trainer, they'd firm it up a bit. But I doubt they will, since they might run the risk of losing numbers.
I'm loving the Launch. I've worn them for about 200 miles, alternating with the Defyance, and I definitely prefer the Launch now. I think they are a little narrower than other Brooks shoes. They don't run as small as the Ghost or the T5's, but they might be a tight fit until they get broken in a little.
Depending on how they fit your foot, the asics Bandito and adidas adiZero Mana, Rocket, and Ace would be just as good if not better.
I actually wear tested these shoes for Brooks and I probably was able to get right around 500 miles on them before they absolutely were shot. I'm about 5'8" and around 145lbs. Others that have tested it got between 400-450 miles on them. When I wore tested them I had to put them through hell and tested them in high humidity, cool temps, and even trails.
My reaction is that they are a great light weight trainer and they are built very well I thought because the cushioning stayed up on them. Durability was fairly good and it would be a good tempo shoe and even a marathon flat depending on how much cushioning you need because they have a lot of it for the little weight the shoe is.
I saw Brian Sell and Nick Arciniaga wearing them for a half marathon recently. At first I couldn't figure out what shoes they had on since I hadn't seen the Launch and Brian usually wore the T4-5-6 shoes.
http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/brooksieway_ro_100409dm_window.php?0
http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/brooksieway_ro_100409dm_window.php?4
http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/brooksieway_ro_100409dm_window.php?2
I second his experiences. I've put 450ish on mine, great shoes. Definitely my new favorite trainers.
Fascinating.
Kevin52 wrote:
I saw Brian Sell and Nick Arciniaga wearing them for a half marathon recently. At first I couldn't figure out what shoes they had on since I hadn't seen the Launch and Brian usually wore the T4-5-6 shoes.
http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/brooksieway_ro_100409dm_window.php?0http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/brooksieway_ro_100409dm_window.php?4http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/brooksieway_ro_100409dm_window.php?2
Looks like Sell is pronating quite a bit in the Launch (last pic) - maybe he should be wearing the Ravena...
I read a lot of raving reviews about the shoe, so I bought a pair. Then, as luck would have it, I found some more reviews, complaining mainly about lack of feedback.
I don't have racing shoes, and generally buy different brands of lightweight trainers, so these currently serve as my racing shoes for semi-marathons and marathons. (I did by the Racer ST at the same time for shorter road races).
I just raced a semi-marathon and a marathon, and really liked the lightness of the shoe, and did not notice any lack of feedback, or otherwise excess cushioning. My only complaint is the toe-box being a little too spacious for my toes.
I've had lots of comments about the shocking brightness of the shoes.