If you’re spending long hours on your feet, good shoes are an absolute must. After a lot of testing, we’ve put together a list of the best Brooks shoes for walking and standing all day. Trust us, your feet are going to thank you.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all spent way too much time researching the perfect running shoes. But what about walking shoes? Whether it’s long days at work, just getting your steps in or long vacation days, your feet deserve the same kind of comfort and support no matter the activity.
While there aren’t a lot brands that focus only on walking shoes, many of us already have brands that we love, like Brooks! So why not see what shoes they have that can be used for walking too?
Now this doesn’t mean retiring a pair of running shoes with tons of miles on them to the walking shoes shelf. Don’t get me wrong, I have a few shoes that are getting their second life for yard work or quick errands. But it’s important to have a different pair of shoes for walking and a different pair of running.
Running has a different footstrike than walking. While walking, your heel will undoubtedly strike first, followed by a roll into the forefoot to lift off the ground.
These different movements put different stresses on your feet and legs, so you need shoes that have a different focus for each of these.
7 Best Brooks Walking Shoes
Brooks has been around for a long time and is often a favorite brand for many. Their shoes are not only meant for running; many of them can be used for walking, long hours on your feet, or even as casual shoes that you wear for errands.
There are so many great options from Brooks; some are obvious that they wouldn’t be a good fit for walking, but others perfectly fit the bill. It was hard to narrow it down to just one shoe for each of the categories below, but we did our best!
We hope that something below catches your eye and makes its way into your rotation.
Best for Walking Workouts: Ghost 18
When you’re heading out for a walk and are looking for a shoe that offers support, cushion, and a smooth ride, the Brooks Ghost is a great choice. And a popular one too!
You can count on the Ghost for comfort, cushion, and smooth transitions from landing to toe-off. It’s perfect for a walking shoe and makes a great shoe for running, too. Its new midsole features soft and lightweight DNA LOFT v2 cushioning, and the shoe boasts an engineered air mesh upper.
This is a great shoe from Brooks because it’s available in multiple widths, so there will be a fit for everyone.
The Ghost 18 is a neutral running shoe now with a 10mm heel to toe drop.
The Ghost 18 is your dependable daily training shoe. If you want something that’s going to hold up run after run without making you think too hard about it, this is it. It’s not your race shoe; it’s not your speed workout shoe. It’s the one you reach for the rest of the time, and it does that job really well.
- Weight: 10.2 oz Men’s, 9.2 oz Women’s
- Stack Height: 36mm
- Heel Drop: 10mm
- Available in 6 colors
- Available in Narrow, Standard, Wide (2E), and Extra Wide (4E)
- Available at BrooksRunning.com for $150
- Read our full review of the Brooks Ghost 18 here >>
Best Additional Support: Glycerin 23
It‘s a great all–around running shoe, providing great cushioning for a variety of running distances.
The Glycerin 23 uses nitrogen infused DNA Tuned cushioning, the same as the Glycerin 22s, with 2mm more foam in the forefoot. YES!! In our Glycerin 22, we mentioned a few times wisher for more under the forefoot. Clearly Brooks is taking feedback from runners.
These shoes were created with a tune dual cell technique which means the heel has large cells for plush landings and the forefoot has small cells for responsive toe-offs.
While this is going to provide great support with each step, it’s considered a neutral shoe. If you’re looking for a little extra stability, that’s where the well loved Glycercin GTS (or any GTS Brooks shoe) would come into play.
Some have said this a shoe you can pick up the pace and I could see that to an extent. It’s certainly a shoe that the middle of the pack could wear for marathon day, but it’s not a lightweight running shoe and it’s not that bouncy. So truly picking up the pace for hard efforts, not so much in this shoe.
- Weight: 10.6 oz Men’s, 9.5 oz Women’s
- Stack Height: 38 mm
- Heel Drop: 8 mm
- Available 8 Colors
- Available in wide and extra wide
- Available on Brooksrunning.com for $175
- Read our full review of the Brooks Glycerin 23 here >>
Best Stability Shoe: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25
The brand’s most popular road running shoe (GTS stands for go-to-support) just turned 25 and comes in a swath of colors. This supportive shoe is best for a medium to high arch, and is part of the cushion line.
While the foam upgrade made these shoes feel more comfortable and cushioned than past versions, they still maintain the firm feel of a stability shoe.
This is due to their GuideRails, which help prevent your foot from rolling inward with every step. By having firm foam around both sides of the heel, it reduces extra rolling of the heel in either direction, allowing the knee to move in a safe range of motion.
They’re still using DNA LOFT v3 foam, but have added 3 mm in the forefoot and 1 mm in the heel, elevating this shoe’s feel to be smoother and softer.
This is still considered a high heel-to-toe drop running shoe, but moving in the right direction for many. This is something to play with, as for those with plenty of ankle mobility, it can create some knee pain, BUT the flip side can also work well for stability shoes.
- Weight: 10.6 oz Men’s, 9.5 oz Women’s
- Stack Height: 37 mm
- Heel Drop: 10 mm
- Available in 9 colors
- Available in wide or extra wide
- Available on Brooks Running for $155.00
- Read our full review of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25 here >>
Best Run/Walk Shoe: Brooks Glycerin Max 2
The Glycerin Max takes the original Glycerin to a whole new level, it’s an incredibly different shoe but in all the right ways.
Numerous team members have tested it and so far it seems like a truly durable shoe. In comparison to the Ghost Max, this is going to have that softer cushioning underfoot.
- Weight: 11.3oz Men’s, 10.2oz Women’s
- Stack Height: 45mm
- Heel Drop: 6mm
- Available in 3 colors
- Not available in wide
- Available on Brooksrunning.com for $200
- Read our full review of the Brooks Glycerin Max 2 here >>
Best Casual Walking Shoe: Addiction Walker
Our tester team hasn’t tried these out yet but we’ve seen a lot of folks out there posting on social media that really loved the Addiction Walker 2. This is a great shoe if you are spending a lot of time on your feet, especially for work!
The shoe looks a little clunky but it’s meant to provide all day comfort and support. The extra foam that you see in the sole of the shoe has an Extended Progressive Diagonal Rollbar (PDRB) that helps to promote a natural stride and decrease pronation.
Just like with most of Brooks’s shoes, the Addiction Walker 2 uses the BioMoGo DNA cushioning to provide extra comfort which your feet will appreciate at the end of the day. Now, they’re not the most attractive looking shoe but sometimes you have to sacrifice that for comfort!
- Weight: 14.5 oz Men’s, 12.9 oz Women’s
- Heel drop: 12 mm
- Available in 2 colors
- Available in wide, narrow and extra wide
- Available from Brooks.com for $130
Best Walking Shoe for Flat Feet: Ghost Max 3
The Brooks Ghost Max 3 has been a popular shoe through all of its iterations, whether for running or walking. But the newest model vastly improved a number of features, including the look of the shoe!
The shoe has a wider outsole and a broad midsole that help provide a helpfully stable base.There’s plenty of space throughout the entire shoe but if the standard doesn’t have enough room, check out wide and extra wide in some colorways!
The sidewalls and guidance line helps curb that inward motion without feeling overly corrective, This is a neutral shoe, not a stability shoe which is important as not everyone loves the stiffness of some stability shoes. The a higher stack height combined with nitrogen-infused DNA Loft v3 foam means it’s very comfy.
In addition, the Ghost Max 3 employs rocker geometry that guides the foot from heelt-to-toe, compensating for the gait issue created by flat feet.
The removable insole is an added bonus, allowing those who prefer custom orthotics an easy way to make the swap.
- Weight: 9.7 oz women’s, 10.8 oz men’s
- Stack: 39 mm
- Heel toe drop: 6 mm
- Available in 9 colors
- Available in Wide and Extra Wide in select colorways
- Available from Brooksrunning.com for $150
- Check out our full review of the Brooks Ghost Max 3 here>>
Best for Trails: Brooks Cascadia
If you’re looking for a shoe with a little more traction underfoot for trail walks or hiking, this is a great pick!
The Cascadia is an extremely protected shoe so you don’t have to worry about your feet getting banged up on the trails, plus it’s a super lightweight shoe so it won’t feel like you have two cement blocks around your feet.
If you’re hiking, you need shoes that offer stability and comfort whether your feet are wide or narrow. Cascadia delivers.
- Weight: 11.1 oz Men’s, 9.9 oz Women’s
- Heel Drop: 8mm
- Trail running shoe
- Available in wide in select colors
- Available from Brooks.com for $140
- Read our full Brooks Cascadia 19 review >>
Why You Need a Good Walking Shoe
If you’ve had that aching feet feeling after a day of standing around or a long day of walking on vacation, it’s time to make sure you have the right walking shoes.
Choosing the right walking shoe is important to keeping your feet, legs, and back healthy and comfortable.
If you don’t have a good walking shoe, you can experience a number of discomforts and even injuries. Here are some potential issues that can arise:
Foot Pain: Walking in shoes that don’t fit properly or lack adequate support can cause foot pain, especially in the arches or heels. This can make it difficult to continue walking and can even cause pain when you’re not walking.
Blisters: Poorly fitting shoes can cause blisters to develop on your feet. Blisters are painful and can make it difficult to continue walking until they heal.
Knee Pain: When you walk, your knees absorb a lot of shock. If your shoes don’t provide enough cushioning, your knees can become sore and painful. This can be particularly problematic if you walk long distances or on hard surfaces.
Back Pain: Wearing shoes that don’t provide enough support can also lead to back pain. This is because your feet and back are connected, and if your feet aren’t properly supported, your back can compensate and become strained.
Injuries: Over time, wearing shoes that don’t fit properly or provide enough support can lead to injuries like plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, or even stress fractures. These injuries can be painful and can take a long time to heal.
What You Need to Know About Brooks Shoes
Believe it or not, Brooks started out in 1914 making ballet slippers and bathing shoes. Since then, they have made everything from baseball and football cleats to roller skates.
It wasn’t until Frank Shorter won the marathon at the 1972 Munich Olympics that Brooks considered limiting its focus. The first running shoe debuted in 1974 and their most popular running shoe, the Adrenaline GTS first hit the market in 1999.
In 2001, Brooks decided to focus solely on running.
They introduced the Transcend in 2013, a shoe that used new biomechanics technology to create a GuideRails technology, allowing runners to run naturally without trying to correct their gait.
The Seattle-based company is also well known for its commitment to sustainability and giving back. Brooks donates time, gear, and money to companies that align with their values around diversity, equity, and inclusion and staff receive paid annual volunteer time.
Drawbacks to Brooks Running Shoes
As noted, every runner has a preference, so there are just a couple of things from my experience.
- They are not ideal for those with high arches or a high mid-foot
- Most of them run a bit more narrow than other brands
- Still a very traditional looking run shoe, not fashion forward
- Bright colors or white dominate the selections
- Limited wide selection
We hope that our list of the best Brooks shoes for walking has helped narrow down all of the possible options.
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