In production · road · Daily · $160
Levitate's energetic ride with GuideRails holding the stride in line.
Built for daily, at a target pace of 8:30–11:30 /mi on road.
Brooks tuned this midsole soft (4/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 34 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as lively at 3/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 8 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The geometry is fairly traditional and flat, so the shoe follows your foot rather than steering it. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It offers real guidance through the gait cycle — useful for runners whose form collapses when tired.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 500 miles from the outsole, about $0.32 per mile at $160.
For the foams and plates Brooks uses across its line, read the Brooks brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
305 g / 10.8 oz
30 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
34 mm
2 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
8 mm
2 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$160
Level with the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
3 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
4 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~500 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Brooks line it is heavier than the brand's median (283 g / 10.0 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Brooks Levitate 7
295 g / 10.4 oz · 34 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $150
DNA Amp rubber foam: dense, springy and extremely durable.
Saucony Echelon 10
305 g / 10.8 oz · 36 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $150
Neutral trainer with a wide, accommodating last for tricky feet.
On Cloudswift 3
309 g / 10.9 oz · 34 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $160
Snappy city runner with Helion superfoam pop.
Nike Winflo 12
305 g / 10.8 oz · 40 mm · 10 mm drop · — · $110
Nike Winflo 12: 40 mm heel stack, 10 mm drop, 301 g — specs from independent lab testing.