This is the previous generation. The Brooks Ghost 18 replaced the Ghost 17 on 1 May 2026 at $150, and one major retailer now marks the Ghost 17 discontinued. Brooks describes the change as an upper refresh and says the ride is maintained, including the same 10 mm drop — so a discounted Ghost 17 in your size remains a sound buy. Just know you are buying last year’s model, and that stock and widths will thin out.
Brooks Ghost 17: A Podiatrist’s Analysis
We have not had this shoe under our own caliper. What stands out on the Ghost 17 is the opposite of the usual problem: its published figures hold up. Against an independent lab, Brooks’ stated drop and the retailer’s stack heights all land within 0.7 mm, and Brooks’ stated weight within 3 g. That is rare, and it is worth saying so.
It carries no score and no seal, and it cannot earn either until we test it. Here is what testing means on this site.
On this page
Brooks Ghost 17 specifications: heel-to-toe drop, stack height and weight
| Specification | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stated drop | 10 mm | Brooks |
| Lab-measured drop | 10.4 mm | RunRepeat lab |
| Stated heel stack | 36.5 mm | Retailer figure — Brooks publishes no stack height |
| Lab-measured heel stack | 36.2 mm | RunRepeat lab |
| Stated forefoot stack | 26.5 mm | Retailer figure — Brooks publishes no stack height |
| Lab-measured forefoot stack | 25.8 mm | RunRepeat lab |
| Stated weight | 286 g (10.1 oz) | Brooks |
| Lab-measured weight | 289 g (10.2 oz) | RunRepeat lab |
| Toe-box width, at the big toe | 69.6 mm | RunRepeat lab |
| Midsole softness | 36.2 Asker C | RunRepeat lab |
| Widths | Narrow, Medium, Wide, X-Wide | Brooks |
| Removable insole | Yes | Brooks |
| MSRP | $150 | Brooks |
What a foot and ankle surgeon reads into these numbers
The Ghost is the shoe most often handed to someone who walks into a running store and says “I just want something normal.” The specification supports that: a 10 mm drop is the traditional neutral trainer geometry, and a 36 mm heel is cushioned without being a platform.
A 10 mm drop unloads the Achilles and the plantar fascia relative to a flatter shoe, which is why this geometry has been the default recommendation for heel pain for thirty years. The trade is that more load moves forward, so the same feature that helps a heel can aggravate a forefoot.
The figure I would check in person is the toe box. At 69.6 mm at the big toe in a standard width, this is a noticeably more tapered last than the max-cushion shoes it is often cross-shopped against. Brooks does offer narrow through extra-wide, and for a bunion, a hammertoe or a neuroma the width you pick will matter more than the model.
Brooks Ghost 17 orthotic fit
Brooks states the insole is removable, which is the necessary first condition for a custom orthotic. What actually decides the question is internal volume and heel-counter depth once the stock insole is out — which is exactly what our Orthotic Volume Rating measures and exactly what a specification cannot tell you. This shoe has no OVR yet. If you wear a custom device and you are choosing today, buy from somewhere with a returns policy and try the device in the shoe.
Who should be cautious with the Ghost 17
- Anyone with a bunion, a hammertoe or a Morton’s neuroma buying the standard width. 69.6 mm at the big toe is on the tapered side. Go up a width or look at a wider last. Based on the published geometry, not on wear.
- Anyone who needs a flat, low-drop shoe. At a measured 10.4 mm this is a traditional-drop trainer. If you have been advised toward a low-drop shoe for a forefoot or calf reason, this is the wrong geometry.
- Anyone who wants maximum cushioning underfoot. 36 mm at the heel is moderate. If a thinned fat pad or long standing days are the problem, a taller stack will do more.
What we cannot tell you until we test it
The Ghost 17 has been replaced. Brooks released the Ghost 18 on 1 May 2026 and major retailers now list the 17 as discontinued. Our Brooks Ghost 18 spec analysis covers the current shoe — including why the 18 keeps the 17’s published 10 mm drop but measured 12.2 mm in an independent lab, while the 17’s own figure held up.
Who the Brooks Ghost 17 is probably for
Read from the published specification, not from wear. Treat these as hypotheses the test will confirm or overturn.
- You want a neutral trainer whose numbers agree with themselves — 10 mm stated against 10.4 mm measured, 36.5 mm stated heel against 36.2 mm measured. That is unusually close.
- You need a width and an orthotic — narrow through X-wide, insole removable.
- You want a moderate midsole rather than a soft one — 36.2 Asker C.
- Your forefoot needs room — 69.6 mm at the big toe, narrower than the Adrenaline GTS 24 at 73.7 mm or the Clifton 10 at 73.1 mm, all measured the same way.
- You need actual guidance — this is a neutral shoe. No medial post, no guide rails.
- You need a stack height from Brooks — Brooks publishes none; the heel figure you see at retail is a retailer’s.
Questions people ask about the Ghost 17
What are the Brooks Ghost 17 best for?
Everyday neutral running and walking. It is Brooks’ softest-riding conventional daily trainer: a 10 mm drop, nitrogen-infused DNA LOFT cushioning, four widths from narrow to X-Wide, and a removable insole. It offers no medial support, so it is aimed at a foot that does not need correcting — or at one that gets its correction from an orthotic instead.
What is the difference between the Brooks Ghost 17 and 18?
We have measured neither, so we will not declare one better. What can be said from the record is that the Ghost line’s published stack and cushioning specification changed between generations, and that the 17 remains widely available and often discounted once the 18 lands. A version bump is a new shoe on this site and gets re-tested from scratch, not inherited.
Is the Brooks Ghost 17 good for plantar fasciitis?
Its 10 mm drop, cushioned heel and removable insole are the features usually wanted for a painful heel, and the four widths mean an orthotic can go in without crowding the foot. But no shoe treats plantar fasciitis — it manages the load on an irritated tissue, and the rest of the work is done elsewhere. We have not tested this pair, so we cannot tell you how the heel actually behaves after ten miles.
Do podiatrists recommend the Brooks Ghost?
The Ghost is one of the most-suggested neutral trainers in podiatry, and the 17 makes that easier to justify than most: four widths including X-Wide, an insole that lifts out for an orthotic, and a 10 mm drop — the conventional choice for an irritable Achilles or a sore heel. There is a second reason to take its numbers seriously, and it is unusual enough to state plainly: the figures published for it hold up in an independent lab. Brooks’ stated 10 mm drop measured 10.4 mm and its stated weight came within 3 g; Brooks publishes no stack height, but the retailer figures quoted for this shoe land within 0.7 mm of the lab. Most brands are not this close, and when a clinician chooses a shoe because of its drop, that accuracy is the difference between advice that holds and advice that does not. Podiatrist Tested has still not worn or measured this pair, so it carries no score and no seal. Cushioning and durability remain impressions until someone runs in it.
Other shoes we have looked at
Drop is the figure that decides how load splits between your heel and your forefoot, so it is the fastest way to tell these apart. Where a figure was independently measured rather than taken from the brand, it says so — and on several of these the two disagree.
HOKA Bondi 9
Max cushion, 41.3 mm heel, and 94.1 mm across the widest point of the toe box.
HOKA Clifton 10
Taller heel than the Bondi at 44.4 mm and a softer midsole, in a lighter shoe.
ASICS Gel-Nimbus 28
ASICS does not publish a stack figure; the page says so rather than guessing.
Brooks Ghost 17 — MSRP $150. Amazon pricing varies by size, colourway and seller; price last checked 3 September 2026. We have not tested this shoe — if you buy it, buy it on the specification and on a returns policy, not on our word.
Check price on Amazon (men’s)Podiatrist Tested is reader-supported. We earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no additional cost to you. Commissions never influence a score or a ranking, and we publish shoes we recommend against. Read the editorial policy.
Ghost or Adrenaline? We put the Ghost 17 and the Adrenaline GTS 24 side by side on every measured figure — and the support shoe turns out to be the wider one. Read the comparison.
Where this shoe fits
Guides on this site that weigh the Brooks Ghost 17 against the problem you are actually trying to solve:
- Best shoes for plantar fasciitis — what a shoe actually has to do for heel pain.
- Best walking shoes — why a cushioned running shoe usually beats a walking-specific one.
- Best shoes for standing all day — what changes when you stand still rather than walk.
- HOKA vs Brooks — two houses with different ideas about what cushioning is for.
- Best running shoes for plantar fasciitis — what changes when the heel has to survive a run.
- Best shoes for Achilles tendonitis — why the drop figure matters more here than anywhere else.
- Best shoes for sesamoiditis — the shoe criteria when the pain is under the big-toe joint, and the padding protocol that goes with them.
- Best shoes for bunions — the five things that decide whether a shoe works, and the paper test to do before you buy.
Browse every shoe on file or read how we test.
Buying it for heel pain? We assessed this shoe against the plantar fasciitis evidence, including its 10 mm drop, its APMA seal status and the fact it has been superseded: is the Brooks Ghost 17 good for plantar fasciitis?
Compared head-to-head: Brooks Ghost 16 vs 17 — a lab confirmed the drop cut from 12 to 10 mm and more forefoot stack, and found the 17’s toe box narrower and lower.
Compare it with the rest: every Brooks review · everything for running · the extra-wide fittings · the narrow fittings · the wide fittings. Every list shows the published drop, stack, weight, widths and price side by side.
This page is a spec analysis, not a test report: the figures are the manufacturer’s or a named third party’s, each printed beside its source, and nothing here carries a score or the Seal until the shoe has been worn and measured on our bench. Quote any figure you like — keep the source attached to it, and link the page rather than the number. How to cite or link to an analysis.
Deciding whether to upgrade? Brooks Ghost 17 vs Ghost 18 — an upper update on Brooks’ own sheet, but 1.8 mm more drop and a firmer midsole on the lab’s.