Spec analysis — not yet tested

The Adrenaline is the shoe most often handed to someone who has just been told they overpronate. The 25 is not a refresh of the 24: on an independent lab’s calipers the heel-to-toe drop fell by 3.3 mm and the midsole went from firm to soft. If you wore the 24 and liked it, read this before you re-order the same size in the same model.

What Brooks says it is

Brooks positions the Adrenaline GTS 25 as its everyday support trainer. The support does not come from a posted arch — the older way of building a stability shoe, and the one most people still picture. It comes from GuideRails: firmer bumpers running along either side of the heel that sit passive until the rearfoot moves further than it should, then limit it. Underfoot is DNA LOFT v3, Brooks’ nitrogen-infused foam. It lists at $145 and, unusually and importantly, in narrow, normal, wide and extra-wide.

The published specification

Every figure below is attributed to whoever published it. Where Brooks and the lab disagree, both numbers appear. No number on this page was measured by us.

Brooks publishes an honest sheet. Every stated figure here lands within about a millimetre of the lab’s measurement, which is not universal — we have looked at shoes where stated and measured drop differ by several millimetres. You can plan around these numbers.

What the spec sheet suggests — and what only a test can answer

The drop change is the story, and nobody is marketing it. The lab measured 13.5 mm on the GTS 24 and 10.2 mm on the 25. Drop decides how load is shared between the back and the front of the foot: the lower it goes, the more dorsiflexion the ankle has to find and the more work the calf and Achilles do. If you were put into the Adrenaline 24 because a tall drop settled an irritable Achilles or a sore heel, the 25 is not the same prescription. That is not a criticism of the shoe. It is a reason to treat it as a new one.

The midsole got substantially softer. 44.1 Asker C on the 24, 34.5 on the 25 — firm to soft on the same durometer. In a neutral trainer that reads as comfort. In a stability trainer it is a trade, because part of what a firm midsole does is resist collapse on its own. The 25 asks the GuideRails and the heel counter to do proportionally more of the work.

The counter is still genuinely stiff. 4 out of 5, unchanged. That matters more than most spec-sheet lines: a stiff heel counter is the part of a shoe that actually holds the rearfoot, and it is the single feature we would not give up on a foot that pronates heavily. Whatever else changed, this did not.

The insole is thin. 4.9 mm. It lifts out, which is the necessary first condition for a custom orthotic — but pulling out a 5 mm insole frees about 5 mm of volume, and a bulky custom device may still sit high. For comparison, the stock insole in a Skechers Arch Fit is about twice that thickness. Whether a specific orthotic seats without heel slip is exactly what a specification cannot tell you, and exactly what our Orthotic Volume Rating measures. This shoe does not have one yet.

The width is the decision, not the model. Four widths is rare and is the most useful thing on this spec sheet. For a bunion, a hammertoe or a neuroma, the width you choose will do more for you than the difference between this shoe and its competitors.

What changed from the Adrenaline GTS 24

Read together, the 25 is a lower, softer, slightly taller-toed shoe than the 24, with the same stiff heel counter and the same four widths. Whether that is an upgrade depends entirely on why you were in the 24.

Where to buy

The links below are paid links. If you buy through them Amazon pays us a commission at no cost to you. Commissions never influence a score, a ranking or the seal, and this page carries no score because the shoe has not been tested — see our independence policy.

Amazon listings are colourway-specific; these point at one common colourway of each. If you need a narrow, wide or extra-wide, check that the listing you land on actually offers it — the width is the part of this purchase most worth getting right. Price checked 9 September 2026 at a $145 list.

Questions people ask about the Adrenaline GTS 25

What is the drop on the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25?

Brooks states 10 mm. An independent lab measured 10.2 mm, so the stated figure is reliable. The GTS 24 measured 13.5 mm, so this generation is meaningfully lower.

Is the Adrenaline GTS 25 good for plantar fasciitis?

The features that tend to help heel pain are present: a stiff heel counter, a cushioned heel and a removable insole so a device can go in. But a lower drop puts marginally more demand on the plantar fascia and Achilles than the 24 did, and we have not tested this shoe. If heel pain is the reason you are buying, buy somewhere with a returns policy and give it two weeks.

GTS 25 or GTS 24 — is it worth upgrading?

If you liked the 24 for its cushioning and support, the 25 gives you the same counter in a softer, lower shoe. If you liked the 24 specifically because it was firm and high-drop — which is often why an Achilles or a heel settles in it — the 25 changes both of those things, and the 24 is worth buying while stock lasts.

Does the Adrenaline GTS 25 work with custom orthotics?

The insole lifts out, which is the first requirement. At 4.9 mm it is thin, so a bulky device may sit higher than you would like. Whether yours seats without heel slip depends on internal volume, which no specification reports.

Is the Adrenaline a motion control shoe?

No. Motion control describes the older, heavily posted category. The Adrenaline is a support trainer that limits movement at the end of its range with GuideRails rather than resisting it throughout. For most feet that is the more comfortable approach; for a severely collapsing foot it may not be enough on its own.

What happens next

Everything that makes this site different is missing from this page, and deliberately so. We have not had this pair under our own caliper. We cannot give you our own toe-box width or depth, we cannot tell you whether a custom orthotic seats without heel slip, and we cannot score comfort from a spec sheet. Those numbers come off a bench, on a pair we own. When they do, this page becomes a scored review and is relabelled.

Related on this site: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 24 · Brooks Ghost 17 · Best shoes for overpronation · Every shoe on file.