Shoe review - Brooks Mach X
Ok, not dirty enough yet, I know!
Spikes are great. Spikes are cross-country’s nemesis. They keep you upright in the mud, they make you feel faster. Course they aren’t for everyone and likes of Inov8 offer some great stud alternatives. But for real cross-country its got to be spikes, right?
This year I decided to buy (see that, no blagging on this site!) a new pair, and being a Brooks spike man plumped for the rather nice new Mach X. Brooks are still pretty small, as a business, when compared to the behemoth Nike, Asics, Adidas clan, but they are definitely up there when it comes to technology. And certainly hold their own when it comes to user groups. They are also a green lot over there in the States and still have that family ethos embedded in the business. Its just one big Brooks love in then!
Brooks state “This supersonic spike is engineered for speed, support, and superior cushioning. With an extremely lightweight and breathable upper and a wider base for greater stability, this versatile, nimble shoe is perfect for cross and track. And it looks as good as it feels.”.
That's fast...
That’s it then, no need for a review…… Well I suppose that I had better add in that it has a HPR™ (High Performance Rubber, geddit?) out-sole with gives more durability and better grip, according to Brooks. Oh and they also feature DRB™ Accel, which is a stability mechanism, that tunes in the mid-foot. So plenty of science then.
Many reviews will tell you all of this, but here at MST we’ll aim to only review kit that gets used. Yep, gulp, yikes, no lists of product that haven’t even left the box on this site, no siree. So, do they work?
Build quality
Nothing untoward to report here, other than they have lasted two races without falling apart. The stitching and gluing is robust, as you would expect from Brooks, and there are no frills where there shouldn’t be.
At 213 grams they are also light enough for most people. What I like here though is that build hasn’t been compromised – so they weigh, what they weigh.
On the run
The first thing you’ll notice about these shoes is that they feel really good, they have that stable feel of a road shoe. There is no splaying of the foot as you strike uneven ground either, knocking you off balance, wasting energy, wishing you had put your fell shoes on. They are also slipper-like in the comfort area. Internally I can’t feel any rogue stitching or bits of material that could ruin a race with irritation. The comfort could be down to the width, I’m not sure, but having now raced twice in these babies, and done a couple of speed-sessions, I can report that I had no pain, blisters or rubbing.
More sole than JB
The mid-sole is also a proper mid-sole, unlike some of wafer-thin EVA that comes standard on some of the competitors out there. The grip grips, and although it could be a bit more aggressive on the heel I haven’t yet slipped. (Though lets face it with the dry Autumn we haven’t had any real mud yet either, so lets hold fire on that one for now). You also get a six-spike plate (I cant believe that some brands only offer 4 on an XC spike), which keeps your forefoot where it should be when you hit the ruff-stuff.
Economics
At £50 srp they are on the upper scale of the XC spike price bands, but a bit of hunting around will see you save a bit on this price, and for my money they are value-for-money.
Other stuff
- Sizes: 3-10, 6-13,14,15
- Widths: D (M) and B (W)
- Colour: Men’s – Black/Gold. Women’s – Grey/Silver
Verdict
Would I spend my hard-earned on these shoes? Well, I did, so its a big thumbs up from this part of the world. I tried two competitor spikes and really didn’t get on with them. These? Fitted straight out of the box, comfy, light, stable, proper. That’s it…
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