User Review: Brooks Adrenaline ASR

Brooks Adrenaline ASR
Above: The current Adrenaline ASR, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed June 18, 2006 by Keith

Rating:
Materials: stuff
Use: single track, technical mountain trails
Break-in Period: a couple of 30-45 min runs
Weight: 155
Price Paid: $80

Good: light, flexible, good for light/moderate trails (DRY trails), good smooth ride, not clunky or heavy in any way. Nice ankle stability and good laces too, they stay tight during a race =).

Bad: I just found out (the hard way) that these shoes do not descend well on wet ANYTHING. My old Asics Gel Eagle Trails were like suction cups and I could bomb down wet trails. Not these. I was tiptoeing down Mt. Greylock, losing time, getting passed left and right. At one point I had no choice but to run on wet rocks and both feet came right out from under me. Luckily I had grabbed a tree and was able to stop myself from bashing my head on the rocks. Oh and they run VERY hot - the material is supposed to be water resistant (hahahahah) so these shoes do not breathe well at all.

Needless to say I won't be buying these again. They have some good qualities, but for agressive trail running on gnarly trails there are better shoes out there.