This new Brooks Ghost Amp is light, comfy, and stylish, but it’s running a crowded race

Introduction to the Brooks Ghost Amp

TINA: Allow me to paint you a picture. The year is 2019, and I’m in physical therapy school, living in Houston, Texas. I slip into the Brooks Glycerin 17 at 3 pm every afternoon to make my book-escape, regretting my choice of roasting in the heat and humidity of summer. I’m training for my first half-marathon, which is surprising, given that I’ve spent most of my life running. Precious hours sacrificed on a run when I could, and should, have been studying anything cardiopulmonary system related (shoutout Dr. Sev, I’m sorry I almost failed your practical). Anyways, where were we?

There is a Brooks shoe associated with most of my early running memories. Whether I was mountain running in Alaska, tackling trails in Sedona or the Superstition Wilderness in Arizona, or outrunning the cows on the 6-mile Farm-to-Market road in the middle of West Texas, Brooks and I have seen some things. So when I had the opportunity to run in the Ghost Amp, I was excited to see what the shoe had to offer.

JON: Brooks’ lineup of daily trainers has conjured another soul. The Ghost Amp lands on the left side of the Venn Diagram, with the chonky on the other side. It seeks to offer a light, responsive trainer with a modern aesthetic.

The Seattle brand has thrown its hat into the ring of affordable, sleek, and fast trainers. Is this going to be a deafening wall of sound that leaves my ears ringing for days? Or is it nothing more than haphazardly stacked speakers that Marty McFly blows out after one guitar strum?

THOMAS: The Ghost Amp is Brooks finally admitting what everyone already knew: the Hyperion Tempo was a good shoe, so why not sell it twice?

Six years ago, the Hyperion Tempo showed up with a single-density Supercritical EVA midsole, riding the wave Skechers started with Hyperburst. It was fast, it was fun, and it didn’t overthink itself. Fast forward to now, and Brooks hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel; they’ve just dressed it up. The Ghost Amp takes that same Tempo chassis, wraps it in a more standard upper and outsole, and calls it a daily trainer. A dash of PEBA gets blended into the nitrogen-infused EVA this time around, but don’t expect a personality transplant. The bones are the same 36/30mm stack, the same 6mm drop, the same unmistakably Brooks ride underfoot.

Up top, the Warp Knit upper and gusseted tongue do their job without drawing attention to themselves, cushioned where it counts, only slightly puffy. Same story at the heel counter.

So is the Ghost Amp a new shoe or the Tempo in a costume? Yes.

What we like about the Brooks Ghost Amp

TINA: Having run in various models of the Brooks Ghost, I have to admit the aesthetics for most models are… safe. Without having seen the Brooks Ghost Amp, I could have drawn up a colorway for the release based on the years of other models I’ve known and loved. This is why I was pleasantly surprised and felt a minor shock to the system when I opened the box to a bright peach-toned, monochrome shoe. The colorway and sleek style automatically give you the expectation of something more than a daily trainer.

Let’s dive a little deeper. Unlike the Ghost 18, which uses a single EVA foam, the Brooks Ghost Amp offers a mix of PEBA foam (think more responsive, high-energy) in addition to EVA foam in its DNA Hype midsole, elevating the shoe from a classic daily trainer to a more responsive, up-tempo shoe. On my first run in the Brooks Ghost Amp, I audibly said, “Wow, this is fun,” to which my friend replied, “You are so bad at describing things.” Alas. The dual foam gave me a pep in my step, a pleasant surprise for a Ghost iteration.

Regarding the fit, the gusseted tongue is snugger than a daily trainer like the Glycerin 23, but not as locked down as you’d want from a speedier shoe like the Brooks Hyperion Max 3. It provided what was necessary for performance.

JON: The sky blue colorway with a big Brooks logo spread alongside the medial side looked sharp. I’ve been a fan of the stylistic choices Brooks has made over the last couple of years. I like that they have been willing to try something new and aren’t sticking to the safe option, as Tina mentioned. Would I wear this shoe casually? Absolutely not. Was I excited to run in it, and was it a conversation starter? Definitely.

The mesh upper comfortably wrapped around my foot with sufficient padding around the heel, giving a locked-in fit throughout. The gusseted tongue allowed me to keep the laces as tight as I wanted without cutting into the top of my feet. There is plenty of room in the toe box.

I got the Ghost Amp during Maryland’s 2nd semiannual heatwave of doom. The material breathed well and didn’t overheat my feet like other shoes with mesh uppers tend to do. As a heavy sweater, this was a huge plus. Overall, it fit great, and I saw no need to go outside of my usual size.

The DNA Hype midsole compound aims for a best-of-both-worlds experience: soft on impact and fast on lift-off. A 6mm drop and the shoe’s geometry naturally pushed me forward. The outsole’s resilient traction gave great control on dry and wet days. I noticed very minimal wear during testing and can see them lasting quite a while.

Something with a lower drop and that promotes forefoot movement will usually set my calves on fire, but the shock absorption of the midsole helped offset it. This shoe did best on days when I wanted to zone out and lock into a comfortable pace.

THOMAS: Three Ghosts feels like at least one too many, but if we’re picking a favorite, it’s the Amp.

At 9.65 oz (274g), this is the lightest Ghost in the lineup, and it also happens to have the best cushioning underfoot of the three. Go figure. The fit is classic Brooks: true to size, no surprises. My US M10.5 fit well with nothing to complain about.

Most of my miles came in Spain, temps north of 75 degrees, and despite an upper that doesn’t scream “breathable” on looks alone, my foot never felt like it was cooking. The PEBA-blended EVA midsole holds up for double-digit days, too. Even the exposed strips of outsole showed barely any wear, and the foam kept its mojo mile after mile.

Credit to Brooks for not going overboard on outsole rubber. The lighter touch keeps the ride feeling smoother through the gait cycle, rather than clunky underfoot.

What we don’t like about the Brooks Ghost Amp

TINA: The Ghost Amp felt pre-structured on my foot and added a clunky appearance when wearing. The low profile, compared to others in the Ghost series, also detracted from the aesthetics. I like my Ghost to look a little more classic than this.

For sizing, my US W9 foot normally has no issues in a Brooks shoe, but this one felt a little snug in the midfoot.

JON: Everything about this shoe suggests that this is something that is fast. The name, the look, the midsole, and even the forefoot geometry being called a SpringRamp. Sadly, it just did not deliver in that department.

I appreciated the fit and the feel underfoot, but I just couldn’t shift into the next gear. The geometry that pushed me forward just didn’t agree with how soft the foam was. Whenever I set my intentions for faster efforts, I overworked myself at lift-off. The pace rarely matched the effort. I wouldn’t be as critical of this if the design and marketing promised something else.

THOMAS: Here’s the rub: At $150, the Ghost Amp just doesn’t bring enough to the table. That price bracket is stacked right now, and this shoe reads like Brooks checking a box rather than making a statement. It’s competent, but it’s forgettable.

My biggest gripe is up front. The forefoot cushioning comes up short. A couple more millimeters of foam under the toes would go a long way, and a rocker wouldn’t hurt either; something to give the ride a little life. As the miles stacked up, that flatness became harder to ignore. The shoe just goes quiet on you.

Final thoughts on the Brooks Ghost Amp

TINA: This shoe came to me during a lull of summertime training: ending a three-month block of rebuilding following the, officially cancelled but unofficially completed, UTMB Tenerife 50k in March while gearing up to start a new marathon block in August. I needed something beyond a simple daily trainer and the Brooks Ghost Amp was just that. I was pleasantly surprised by the soft yet springy ride and felt myself reaching for it frequently over the last couple of weeks.

If you’re looking for an elevated daily trainer with a comfortable yet responsive forefoot and lightweight enough to carry you through quicker paces, this shoe is the one for you. For any wide-foot runners, the prestructured, narrow-leaning midfoot may be difficult to get past. With a combination of the EVA and PEBA foam, and only 8 oz. for a W9, the price point feels completely reasonable. I would be remiss if I didn’t leave you with this: the new addition to the Brooks Ghost series left me feeling pretty amp-ed.

JON: While the canvas is not as vibrant as Tina’s, Brooks has a sentimental place in my heart, too. I picked up a pair of the Adrenaline GTS after my second breakout marathon in 2012 to try and keep inching my way towards a BQ. The internal monologue of “ooh that’s where it came from,” getting lost running through Ravenna in Seattle while wearing my Brooks Ravenna, was a very meta moment. The Asteria were the last pair of racing flats I wore before carbon-plated super shoes became a thing. I can associate Brooks with many different periods of my life, both in and out of running.

At the end of the day, the Ghost Amp is not a bad shoe. It does fine as a daily trainer, is affordable, and looks great! There are just many other uptempo trainers at this price point that do way better at executing what the Ghost Amp is trying to do. It needs a little more power if it wants to compete with shoes like Adidas Evo SL, Asics Novablast, or New Balance Rebel.

The last few years have seen a lot of innovation and exciting developments, but this needs some work to match the marketing campaign. If the midsole leaned more on the firmer, snappier side, it could have done better for me. Something to hope for in future versions.

THOMAS: Timing is everything, and six years ago this would’ve been a legit banger. Today? It’s a solid, conservative step forward for the Ghost line, safe, competent, unlikely to turn any heads. Sometimes safe is exactly what a shoe needs to be, and for a certain runner, that’s plenty.

If you’re a Brooks loyalist and a Ghost devotee, congratulations, this is the best Ghost yet, full stop. You’ll love it. But if you’re chasing a little more spark in your daily miles, check out this video detailing our favorite affordable running shoes.

You can pick up the Brooks Ghost Amp for $150 from Brooks by using the buttons below.