I have a couple post-Christmas purchases to consider and they have to do with running. Even though I was dreaming of hunting for a cute new pair of boots during the after-Christmas sales, I am having a hard time justifying boots over running essentials. Ah, so has my life become. Running comes first! Well, after my kiddo and family, but you know what I mean. When I have to choose between a stylish boot or a running shoe, hands down the running shoe will win. I have already logged 65 miles on my Newton Gravity running shoes and really love them. However, the new Brooks PureFlow 2 running shoe is taunting me.
Newton Gravity or Brooks PureFlow 2
If you’ve been following me, you know I recently migrated to Newton Gravitys. I really like them and am going to continue running in them for a while. The lower heel-to-toe drop is a permanent commitment to myself now and I will never go back to a higher heeled running shoe. That being said, Newtons are expensive. Is there perhaps an equally good alternative at a better price point with the Brooks PureFlow? I recently tried on the new PureFlow 2 and immediately loved them. They fit me a little better than the original PureFlow in the toebox area which was one of the reasons I didn’t go with them over the Newton Gravitys.
My hubby received his first pair of Newtons for Christmas too, migrating to a lower heel-to-toe drop.
I have been a big fan of the Brooks PureProject line for a while now. I have hiked many miles in my Brooks PureGrits, recently spending 8+ hour days in them at Disney World. I have much love for the Brooks line of products! My new running Coach Erin has been running in Brooks PureFlows for a long time now and I trust her judgment on a “good running shoe” too. All in all, I do need to consider Brooks PureFlows. Harold over at Veteran Runnah is currently testing out the original PureFlows and I am keen to see what he reports on them over time.
Analysis on the shoes
I decided to make a list to try to come to some kind of decisions on this:
Newton Gravity:
1. heel-to-toe drop is 3mm
2. price point is $175 give or take
3. claim to last very long compared to most other running shoes, up to 1000 miles (although most people aren’t going to keep them that long)
Brooks PureFlow:
1. heel-to-toe drop is 4mm (?)
2. price point is $100 give or take
3. company states around 250-300 miles of running before needing a replacement
Maybe some rough math will help settle this?
yearly cost to replace Newton Gravity every 4 months = $525 + taxes versus
yearly cost to replace Brooks PureFlows every 3 months = $400 + taxes
So in the end, perhaps what we are really at is the 3mm heel-to-toe drop of the Newtons compared to the 4mm heel-to-toe drop of the Brooks? That is, if the new PureFlow 2′s are a 4mm heel-to-toe drop. The original PureFlows are reported to have that drop, however, I am having trouble finding out what the drop is of the newer line. If you know the answer, please let me know!
Something else to consider, Newton just released a new line at the start of this year, although I can’t find yet where to buy them. I’ve only seen the release mention on their Facebook page. I must stress, I really like the Newton Gravity shoe!
How would you analyze these two shoes?
I checked with the @Brooksrunning on Twitter and the PureFlow 2 is a 4MM drop shoe.
Harold recently posted..5.0 Miles of Cold Weather Running 1/3/13
Thank you Harold!
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I rate Newtons very highly. I’ve done about 700 miles in my Motions so far, and they are still almost as good as new. The way they are going I reckon I’ll get 2000 miles out of them, which would make them way better value on your cost analysis. I haven’t tried the pure project shoes – I previous had some Brooks T5 racers, which I rated, but they had a higher heel drop, and they are very stripped back, which wasn’t always a good thing.
Look forward to hearing what you decide, and how you get on with the gravities! I am super-excited about the new colours – they aren’t released in the UK yet though :(.
Charlotte recently posted..Book review – The Good, the Bad and the Dumped by Jenny Colgan
I hear that often, that most folk get pretty high mileage with their Newtons. I really love them! The company believes the material used will last much longer than most other shoes and I do get the trade-off. I don’t expect the Brooks Pure Flows to go beyond 250 or so miles, but expect the Newtons to go much longer. I think a lot will boil down to wanting to be in a “fresh” shoe race day for me, regardless of either. :)