The Brooks Revel 9 is a low-stack, entry-level shoe for people who want a stable trainer for walking or short runs. Its firm platform is impressively secure underfoot. However, its thin, dull midsole provides poor rebound and impact protection, while its geometry does little to roll you forward, making the ride inefficient and forcing you to work harder with every step. It's a shoe best suited to treadmill warm-ups before gym sessions or city strolls.
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Our Verdict
The Brooks Revel 9 is a bad choice for marathon racing. Though the ride is impressively stable, its heavy build is cumbersome and hard to turn over from the start line. Its harsh midsole also offers poor impact protection, so your legs will feel beaten up quickly. It also provides very little rebound and does little to roll you forward, forcing you to work harder to hold pace.
Heavy build feels cumbersome from the start of a run.
Poor cushioning leaves your legs beat up over distance.
Inefficient ride makes pace harder to maintain.
The Brooks Revel 9 is an unremarkable choice for 5K and 10K racing. Though its very firm forefoot provides a very planted base through toe-off, it inflates how well the shoe performs at speed. Its heavy build is hard to turn over, while the forefoot offers very little resistance under load, and the compliant rocker does little to drive you forward. Little energy is returned when the forefoot unbends, too, so the shoe lacks the snap and propulsion needed to race efficiently.
Very firm forefoot provides planted toe-off.
Heavy build is hard to turn over at speed.
Soft forefoot returns very little energy when lengthened, limiting snap and propulsion.
The Brooks Revel 9 isn't a great choice for long runs. Despite its great stability, it isn't up to the task for extended efforts. Its midsole offers poor protection from impact, so your legs will feel beat up early into runs. Its rocker also bends far too easily to deliver adequate roll. Its heavy build and lack of energy return make you work hard to maintain pace, too, making the shoe cumbersome underfoot and not giving much bounce back.
Impressively stable underfoot.
Rocker geometry is reasonably assistive.
Poor impact protection leaves your legs beat up early.
Rocker bends too easily to provide much roll.
Heavy build and low energy return make pace harder to maintain.
The Brooks Revel 9 is a satisfactory daily trainer with a few caveats. While the platform is impressively stable underfoot, and its exceptionally firm heel keeps rearfoot landings controlled and trustworthy, the midsole isn't up to the task of extended daily training. It's much too harsh for more than very short runs, while the heavy build and lack of bounce make the ride dull and inefficient. The forefoot also flattens too easily to deliver a properly assisted roll, so the shoe is best for treadmill warm-ups or short walk-run plans.
Impressively stable underfoot.
Poor impact protection leaves your legs beat up early.
Rocker bends too easily to provide much roll.
We've bought and tested more than 250 running shoes. Every pair purchased with our own money, never supplied or sponsored by brands. Our data-driven tests are designed to go beyond marketing claims, and since every shoe goes through the exact same methodology, you can directly compare results to find the right pair for your needs.
Test Results
Energy Return
The Brooks Revel 9 has bad energy return. The forefoot gives little back after each landing, while the heel returns even less, so you have to work very hard to keep the legs ticking over.
Forefoot provides poor rebound.
Heel rebound is absolutely awful.
Stability
The Brooks Revel 9 is an impressively stable shoe. Its very firm heel and forefoot keep the foot planted, while the wide base keeps it from wobbling underfoot.
Very firm heel keeps rearfoot landings controlled.
Firm forefoot delivers trustworthy toe-off.
Wide base makes it very secure for long walks or short runs.
The shoe's heel is remarkably firm, so the platform is very trustworthy for rearfoot landings or walking.
This shoe's forefoot is incredibly firm, so toe-off is very reliable.
The Brooks Revel 9 is plateless with a non-gusseted tongue. A gusseted tongue can help with the shoe's stability, but the shoe's great overall stability makes it unnecessary. The lack of a plate also makes the shoe accessible for lifestyle wear.
Cushioning
The Brooks Revel 9 is an inadequately cushioned shoe. Though the heel cushioning is acceptable for walking and running, the forefoot offers poor protection for heavier runners or anyone moving beyond easy paces. The midsole does little to soften the sting of the road, so your legs will feel beat up even after a short run.
Heel provides passable impact protection overall.
Forefoot offers poor protection for heavier runners or faster paces.
Harsh midsole leaves your legs beat up after short runs.
The heel of this shoe provides a passable amount of protection in the heel. Though it's more than the Brooks Anthem 8, it's significantly less than the Brooks Ghost 18, suggesting this shoe is intended mostly for walking.
The forefoot of this shoe offers inadequate protection overall. It appears to confirm that this shoe is best for walking, with adequate protection at lower force levels, but a severe decline as more force is applied.
This shoe isn't up to the task of long runs. The midsole does a truly poor job of protecting your legs from repeated impact, and if you run the gauntlet and take it for anything beyond 10km, you'll certainly feel it.
Bounciness
The Brooks Revel 9 is not a bouncy shoe. Its heel and forefoot compress very little under load, so landings stay rigid rather than sinking into the midsole. It also returns very little energy, making the ride flat instead of springy.
Midsole compresses too little to produce much bounce.
Poor energy return makes ride dull.
Snappiness
The Brooks Revel 9 delivers inadequate snappiness. The very firm forefoot stays planted through toe-off, but the forefoot bends too easily and returns very little energy when it unbends. Its gentle rocker angle adds little propulsion, either, so the shoe lacks the quick turnover needed for speed.
Forefoot returns very little energy when it unbends.
Gentle rocker angle adds minimal propulsion through toe-off.
The Brooks Revel 9 is bad at returning energy stored when unbending, so toe-off lacks punch or juice.
The forefoot of this shoe is very compliant. It provides much less leverage than in actual running shoes like the Brooks Ghost 18.
The Brooks Revel 9 has decent forefoot rocker geometry. Its high toe spring and early apex help the foot roll forward through late stance, but the shallow rocker angle transfers load to the toes more slowly, limiting assistance at push-off.
Roll
The Brooks Revel 9 rolls inadequately. Despite the forefoot rocker's decent geometry, it's much too compliant and bends too easily under load to provide a rolling sensation. The low stack also flattens instead of guiding you smoothly through toe-off.
Compliant rocker bends too easily to guide toe-off.
Low forefoot stack flattens instead of rolling you forward.
The shoe's rocker is quite soft. It loses its shape easily under load, so it stops the shoe from rolling fluidly through toe-off.
The Brooks Revel 9 has a low stack in both the heel and forefoot. While a low forefoot stack doesn't necessarily inhibit a shoe's ability to roll, without a stiff rocker, it flattens far more easily instead of fluidly guiding the stride.
The Brooks Revel 9's rocker isn't very assistive. The angle is steep enough to help heel strikers roll forward, but the low heel spring and early apex limit how smoothly and easily the shoe moves from heel strike into midstance.
True To Size
The Brooks Revel 9 fits true to size overall. Its length is spot-on, while the forefoot and arch widths closely match our reference fit. The toe box height is a little low, and though it may cause some scraping for runners with taller toes, we're still confident all runners can go with their usual size.
Length is spot-on.
Forefoot and arch widths closely match our reference fit.
Low toe box may feel restrictive if you have especially tall toes.
The Brooks Revel 9 is an acceptable weight for a daily trainer, with a negligible difference between the left and right shoes.
The Brooks Revel 9 uses the same basic EVA midsole blend found in the Brooks Anthem 8. It's far from a premium composition, which explains why the ride is flat underfoot and not very protective for the legs.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Brooks Revel 9 in men's U.S. size 9, as indicated on the label of our unit. The colorway shown here is White/Orange/Black. Brooks offers Standard and Wide sizing for men and women, with multiple color options available across regions. There is also a "Max" version of the shoe, though we haven't tested it at the time of writing. The design section applies specifically to the version we tested, but we expect other sizes and gender variants to perform similarly.
Popular Running Shoe Comparisons
The Brooks Revel 9 is an affordable shoe for walking, gym work, and some running. However, if running is your priority, the adidas Questar 4 is a better shoe that costs less at retail. Its ride is much smoother, and it's significantly more cushioned underfoot. It's also got great stability, too, and even though it's much heavier, it's still the best option if you're looking for an affordable and reliable shoe that will protect your legs much more than the Revel 9. If you want to stick with Brooks, the Brooks Anthem 8 sits between them price-wise and boasts superb overall stability, though its narrow arch and lower forefoot make the fit more restrictive, and it's nowhere near as protective as the adidas.
For more options from the brand, check out our picks for the best Brooks running shoes. If you're new to running, check out our recommendations for the best running shoes for beginners.
The Brooks Ghost 18 is a better running shoe than the Brooks Revel 9. Though heavier, its higher stack provides much better impact protection for daily miles, and while neither ride is particularly lively, the Ghost 18 is a bit bouncier underfoot. If you're mostly running to warm up before a gym session, though, the extra cost of the Ghost 18 isn't worth it, so the Revel 9 makes more sense.
The Brooks Revel 9 and Brooks Anthem 8 are very similar budget shoes for walking, gym work, and some running. Both have firm, low-stack rides that prioritize ground feel over rebound and impact protection, and both are very stable underfoot. The Anthem 8 is a bit cheaper and the more stable option, but its arch is very narrow. If that fit works for you, it's the better choice. If not, the Revel 9 has a more generous fit and performs very similarly.