Comments on: Dirty Runner: Brooks Pure Grit 2 Review

By: Andrew Stringer

Andrew Stringer — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 19:25:31 +0000

The PureGrit 2’s give me a blister every time I run more than 6 miles in them. In addition, the sharp edged, wide sole is wide enough to often bang my ankle, which is a bit annoying.

By: Walter Lewis

Walter Lewis — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 13:20:55 +0000

Just ran my first few miles in the PG2. What I noticed is the strapping built into the shoe, which peaks at the top lace acts as an arch support, making the shoes much more rigid than the PG1, which I love.

By: Kristie

Kristie — Fri, 30 May 2014 04:48:08 +0000

I just bought the pure grit 2 this week. I looked at many reviews and decided to try. This is my first time trying a minimalist style shoe. I’ve run in Asics for years but wanted a change. I live in Northern California and it hardly rains so I have not experienced dissatisfaction from that, but good to know they won’t work if I go to my hometown of Cleveland for a visit. I found them extremely comfortable and light and after my first run I had slightly sore pinky toes, but assumed it was just part of the break-in process–nothing out of the ordinary. Otherwise the fit is so snug, lightweight, and comfortable I almost thought “I’ll never go back to asics”. Today I took a walk and wore them for maybe two miles. My little toes hurt again but when I got home I saw blood all over my socks. The stitching on both sides cut deeply (through my socks) into my toes…wow! It did not happen on my 3mile run though, and I’m hoping using these for running only and with thick supportive running socks will solve the problem. Wish me luck after these large cuts heal. Don’t wear without socks!

By: David Milner

David Milner — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:15:26 +0000

In reply to Kelly Springs.

Kelly – I wish I’d paid more attention to your review before I bought!
The concave outsole is a weird thing. I’ve not found it particularly unstable, just unpleasant: running on any hard surface (not only tarmac, even hard-packed dirt), the shoes abruptly slap flat against the ground (thanks also to the rubber being so stiff) and make a ‘clip-clop’ sound like a horse’s hooves. Plus they seem to pronate unless I force myself into an artificial forefoot strike. And, of course, they have no traction on hard wet surfaces.
All a great shame, because the upper and footbed are very good – as long as you’re standing still…

By: Nate S.

Nate S. — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Andrew Skarzynski.

Thats interesting Andrew. I ran a ton of pavement miles on mine and found the durability to be very good. I did notice that Brooks now has a blurb on their website that says. "Because of their lightweight construction and fewer materials, runners
should generally expect shoes from the PureProject line to last
approximately 250-300 miles". My guess is that your not the first person to run into that. My pair lasted over 600 miles without any problems.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Nate S..

That blurb is the reason I've avoided the Pure line. They all look and seem really nice, but I need more miles than that.

By: Enkindu

Enkindu — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I can confirm that traction on wet and hard surfaces is absolutely terrible. The rubber is way too hard to have any sort of grip on rocks and when wet, you'd be better off with skis. Also the pattern is not very deep, so grip on loose surfaces (gravel etc) is bad as well. I went into these from the NB minimus range and the grip has been hugely disappointing. I raced a hard 46k 2,800m+ trail race yesterday and had several slips because of these shoes which led to unnecessary cramps etc. I need to go and purchase another type of a shoe and only use the PG2 on dry days and probably will never race in them again. Fit, weight, etc are good as has been said but the grip issue is just too bad to tolerate...

By: Ben McDonald

Ben McDonald — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Curious about how they handle wet harder surfaces as well. Running on even a little wet pavement in the originals was comically difficult work.

By: Andrew Skarzynski

Andrew Skarzynski — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for the review. My displeasure with the first edition was the sole durability. My first pair wore out relatively quickly and the only reason I can think was due to the pavement stretches back and forth to the trailhead (which would typically represent about 5.5 miles of a 13 - 16 mile weekend run).

By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Traveling Guy.

Bionic Trail is coming :)

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By: Karl Wilcox

Karl Wilcox — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have the Grit 1 and I find them lethal. Lethal as in really dangerous. I love the fit. Love the weight and the way they drain quickly but the tread is a disaster in my opinion. It's fine on loose shingle but if you hit something smooth and wet then get ready to slide like you are on ice skates. I ran the wet and windy cliffs of cornwall this Xmas and it was hard work. mud was no problem but as son as you try and scramble over wet rocks use lose all traction. This week I came back from a 52km endurance race, was walking through the car park and it was raining. Turned a corner and bang I was flat on my side with a bruised hip and elbow. I don't understand how brooks can design a trail shoe that has little to no tread it seems to go against all convention for what a trail shoe is meant to do. Have read other reviews and many point out the same IMO serious and dangerous flaw. Have also noticed that the Grit 2 have a completely different tread pattern to the 1.

By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Karl Wilcox.

My first run in the Grit 1 I stepped on a wet rock and my foot slid and wedged against another rock which gashed my ankle pretty good. Also found that running over wet wooden footbridges was like trying to cross an ice rink. You would think that wet surface traction is something that would have been tested in a trail shoe before going into production...hopefully it's better in the update.
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