Men's Addiction 8

Comments about Addiction 8:

I am 6'0" and 205 lbs. I bought my first pair of Addictions in November 2008 after purchasing and liking the Trance in the summer of 2008. I had a nagging and longtime case of severe plantar fasciitas and the salesman recommended the Trance. They helped alot, and intrigued by the Addiction I purchased that first pair in November 2008. I ran successfully in that pair, and the Trance, and the p.f. disappeared by early winter. I continued to run in the Addiction everyday through the Maine winter. They have great traction in snow and even on icy roads, and I did a 15 mi. trail race. In July 2009, I purchased a new pair of Addiction 8. In 53 weeks I put a whopping 2017 miles on that pair, including the 2009 Maine Marathon and then the Bay State Half Marathon 2 weeks after the Marathon, turning them in today, July 26,2010, for a pair of Addiction 9. I was wearing size 10.5 US EE in the two prior pairs. I had felt my toes hitting the front of the shoe on steep downhills. I ended up with a pair of 11s (2E)for additional toe room and a slightly roomier shoe. I ran only around the block twice in my new 9s before buying, but they felt wonderful. In my 48yrs. running experience, Addictions are an exceptional--durable-- shoe.

Comments about Addiction 8:

I use these for walking, standing for long periods of time. I found them to have great durability, support, stability & comfort.

Comments about Addiction 8:

This product was recommended to me by my physical therapist after I tore my ACL. I'm 6'3", 240 lbs. and tend to overpronate. I've been wearing them for a year they are the best pair of shoes I've ever owned.

These shoes provide great control and fabulous support especially for large people. They're not meant for sprints I don't think, but they're surprisingly light for all the support and cushion they give. I recently took up running after my knee surgery. These shoes have me get back into shape faster with far less pain than I had imagined. I will be buying another pair.

Comments about Addiction 8:

After wearing The Beast for my last 4 pair of athletic shoes I decided to give the Addiction a try. Major drop-off from the Beast! I have felt that the Beast was a godsend to my flat/low arch feet and figured the Addiction would be at least very similar to that performance. Been wearing the Addiction for about 8 weeks now, already stretched out and feel big, my fore-foot/toes feel as if there is no support versus my previous experience with the Beast. Tried to save a few bucks to use Addiction as a secondary pair but I wasted my money.Incompetent product... bad job Brooks. Not thrilled that I now have to go back and purchase a new pair of the Beast. Need to re-tool or discontinue the Addiction. Very close to just going back to the other brand control shoes.

Comments about Addiction 8:

Decided to upgrade from mere stability shoes, in the form of the ASICS GT, to a full-fledged motion control shoe, in the form of the Brooks ADDICTION. Went with black in both models.
1) Blown rubber forefoot outersoles blow chunks for us big guys because they wear out too fast, so a full carbon rubber HPR outersole sounded inviting.
2) A medial post should be ridiculously firm, with no give at all; and it should wrap up high on the medial side of the heel and midfoot.
3) More than initial out-of-box comfort, the midsole should stand up to high body weight and provide decent shock absorption over the long haul.
The BA8 satisfies all of these criteria.

However... 1) This shoe is way too narrow; even after upsizing to a EE, the forefoot feels tight around the base of my toes.
2) While I previously wore a size 12D in the Brooks Vapor, a size 12 here runs long, both in terms of heel to ball, and ball to toe, measurements. I have wiggle room for the tips of my toes, but the flex point is too far forward.
3) Most importantly, while the medial sidewall is indeed firm and high, the INTERNAL arch area of the shoe is completely flat, which provides no arch support at all--I get the impression this shoe is meant mostly as an orthotic platform, rather than actually being meant to provide support, itself. This shoe depends entirely on the medial post to hold the arches IN, rather than propping them UP. The ASICS GT actually kicked the BA8's butt in this department.

I've decided to stick with this shoe because a full carbon rubber outersole rules, and I think I can manhandle the forefoot upper into stretching to accommodate my big Clydesdale hooves. Now that I'm logging 50mpw, durability means more to me than initial comfort. I only hope that the perceived lack of arch support doesn't come back to bite me.