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Gear and Technology
Gear Glossary
It’s true: the language of running can be intimidating. Mile pace, chafing ... fartlek? But never mind that. Today, we’re here to explain all the lingo behind the science and technology that goes into our gear we make so you can have an awesome run.
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3D Fit Print
3D Fit Print is an upper material used in our shoes. It is designed to provide flexible structure around your foot so that the shoe flexes without feeling too loose.
B
BlueLine Lab
The Brooks BlueLine Lab tackles futuristic shoe technology at rapid speed, developing our most advanced shoes at a much faster pace than our standard products. Think of them as the advance guard, developing tech today that we’ll use more broadly in the future.
Fun fact: the name “BlueLine” refers to the literal blue line painted on the roads of major marathons indicating the course route.
Read more: Get to know our BlueLine Lab
C
Cushion
Synonymous with midsole, this term generally refers to the soft material in shoes that protects your body from the impact your body absorbs each time your feet hit the pavement. Here at Brooks, “Cushion” is also the category name for our softest shoes.
Read more: Learn about the Cushion category or our favourite Cushion shoes including the Ghost and the Glycerin.
D
DNA
Several types of Brooks cushioning begin with the term DNA. Why, you ask? Because each of these cushioning types respond to your unique stride, just like you have a unique genetic make-up.
DNA AMP
DNA AMP is a midsole material that is formulated to absorb the force of your stride and return that energy back to you. That’s why shoes that use DNA AMP feel springy instead of just soft.
Read more: Check out an article on the science behind DNA AMP
DNA LOFT
The first version of our super-soft cushioning, DNA LOFT consists of a fine-tuned combo of EVA foam, rubber, and air that ensures that your feet get a super soft ride every time you lace up.
Read more: Check out an article on the science behind DNA LOFT
DNA LOFT v2
For the second version of our super-soft cushioning, we made updates to both the foam formula and our production method. What we didn’t change, though, is the cushion’s unique balance of foam, rubber, and air. The result is a soft ride that lasts for kilometres without bottoming out or weighing you down.
DNA LOFT v3
DNA LOFT v3 is the most advanced version of our super-soft cushioning — the third version of our original DNA LOFT cushioning. To give you the most amplified cushion experience yet, we injected our DNA LOFT foam with nitrogen, which changed the cell structure to create a lighter, more cushioned experience without sacrificing durability.
Read more: Check out an article DNA LOFT v3’s starring role in the Aurora BL
DNA FLASH
DNA FLASH is our fastest cushioning, achieved through a combination of light weight and responsiveness, with less of the extreme springiness of DNA AMP. You’ll find DNA FLASH only in our fastest racing and training shoes, like the Hyperion Tempo and Hyperion Elite.
E
Energy return
We know that running takes energy. But now we’re able to create cushioning that absorbs your energy and returns it back to you. Look for Brooks shoes that feature DNA AMP to experience our best energy-return technology.
G
Glide Roll technology
We developed Glide Roll technology — the rounded heel and toe shapes in our Aurora BL —to produce ultra-smooth transitions as you move from landing to toe-off.
Read more: check out more info on the innovative Aurora BL.
GTS
GTS stands for Go-To-Support — as in the Adrenaline GTS. When paired with a shoe name, “GTS” indicates that the shoe uses our GuideRails support technology to keep you in stride.
Read more: Learn more about GTS
GuideRails Holistic Support System.
We developed this lightweight support system to reduce excess movement in your stride as you fatigue. Think of them as lane bumpers in bowling — they’re there when you need them!
Read more: Check out this article on GuideRails Support and how it works.
H
Heel-to-toe drop
Also known as “offset,” this term refers to the change in cushioning thickness at the heel to the ball of the foot. For example, if the cushioning under the heel measures 14 millimetres, and 4 millimetres at its thinnest point under the toe or ball of the foot, the heel-to-toe drop is 10mm.
The drop of a shoe can affect how your foot lands. For example, at one end of the range, zero-drop shoes encourage a midfoot landing, while traditional shoes (10mm drop) are more forgiving of the common heel-strike landing.
M
Midsole
The midsole of the shoe is the layer between the outer layer of rubber touching the ground and the upper layer that covers the top of your foot. The midsole contains the cushioning of any given shoe, which can feel soft, springy, or fast and light, depending on which cushioning gets used.
N
Nitrogen infusion
Running on nitro? It’s not as weird as it sounds. By infusing the foam compounds of our cushioning with nitrogen, we can amplify a single trait like energy return or softness without affecting other qualities of the foam like durability or weight. That lets us fine-tune our cushioning for a wide variety of runner preferences.
We used nitrogen infusion to develop DNA FLASH and DNA LOFT v3
P
Progressive Diagonal Roll Bar
The PDRB is a support technology that we use in some of our Walking and Solution shoes. It helps manage excess heel motion. In most of our support shoes, we have a newer, lighter support technology: GuideRails Holistic Support System.
R
Ride
“Ride” refers to the sensation of the shoe on your foot while moving. In other words, it’s the collective sensation of the shoe as you run, made up of distinct impressions including, for example, how the shoe feels when your foot first hits the ground, how it feels while the cushioning compresses, and how it feels as you push off.
Run Bra
We coined the term “run bra” because “sports bra” doesn’t do our bras justice. Our Run Bras are specifically designed with advanced support to handle the high impact demands of running. The right bra can transform your workout by reducing unwanted movement and bouncing and making you more comfortable as you jog, sprint, or hit the perfect stride for an endurance race.
Check out the Dare Collection, Drive Collection, and read more about Brooks Run Bras
S
Smooth
See Ride
Softness
See Cushion
Support
See GTS
T
Toe box
The toe box is the part of the shoe that covers, well, your toes. Think of it as the part that starts right where your toes begin and extends forward to the end of the shoe.
Toe drop
See Heel-to-toe drop
U
Upper
The upper is the part of the shoe that covers the top of your foot, stretching from your toe to the back of the heel. Shoelaces help the upper fit snugly against your foot.
W
Width
Did you know our shoes can be ordered in different widths? We create these different widths to try and help runners find the perfect shoe to fit their unique feet. Women’s shoes typically use 1B, while men’s shoes use 1D as their “regular” widths. Here’s a helpful chart to decode width measurements:
- 2A (Narrow)
- B (Medium)
- 1D (Wide)
- 4E (Extra Wide)
You’ve made it to the end of our gear glossary! Thanks for sticking with it.
Our biomechanics experts, product developers, and insight researchers work together to create the best running gear out there. Check out the full story on our shoe technology, or learn more about our approach to research and product testing. And don’t forget to take a look at our Run Signature philosophy — it’s the key to understanding why we make each of our shoes.
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