THE BROOKS BLOG

Recently added to the Brooks neutral shoe lineup: the Defyance 2. The shoe is an update to 2008’s Defyance, which (despite a love-it-or-hate-it lime-green men’s color scheme) won the Runner’s World Editor’s Choice Award in 2008.

Now some inside scoop for the shoe geeks:

The Defyance can be thought of as the the “neutral cousin” to our Adrenaline GTS.  Our most popular shoe series, the Adrenaline is widely praised for its brilliant fit and ride for runners in the Support category. So the Defyance (and now the Defyance 2) takes this same fit and ride and translates it to a different foot type. The result is a flexible, cushioned, “go-to” neutral shoe with the instant fit, mid-foot wrap and famed ride of the Adrenaline.

How’d we do it? By removing the Progressive Diagonal Roll Bar (PDRB), and combination board last (used for additional support in the Adrenaline), the Adrenaline GTS series was “neutralized”. The Adrenaline GTS series and Defyance series live together in harmony, with the Defyance inheriting the previous year’s Adrenaline GTS, purposefully devoid of the stability features.

So what’s new with the Defyance 2 vs. the original Defyance?

- Uses the Adrenaline GTS 8 tooling and upper construction.
- Bulit with the environmentally-friendly BioMoGo midsole.
- New shoe laces are comprised from 100% recycled materials.
- Increase in the amount of flex grooves on the outside of the heel encourages a smoother transition and decreases the forces rotating inward at impact.
- A slight expansion in the opening of the heel geometry allows for better cushioning scores and flexibility.
- The metatarsal window openings on the upper have been reduced in size, improving forefoot capture and complimenting the secure midfoot wrap.
- Last but not least: new colors for men and women!

Seattle is finally recovering from a bout of winter weather, the likes we haven’t seen in years. Snow and ice wreaked havoc all last week — closing roads, schools, and offices (including ours!). With just 27 snow plows and a no-salt policy, the city pretty much grinds to a halt when the snow hits.

The upside of all this? Plenty of time to lounge around the house (and slip-slide around the neighborhood!) in my comfiest Brooks cold-weather gear. My staples over the last week have been my HVAC Seamless Longsleeve Shirts, my Energy Flare Pants, and my brand-new Equilibrium Longsleeve Top. All three are soft, stretchy, and easily accommodate my rather large and growing belly. (Holiday eating + newborn incubation = big belly!)

Now that the snow is almost gone, I guess it’s time to change my clothes…

Brooks HVAC technical cold-weather top

Brooks Energy Flare Pants

Brooks Equilibrium Technical Top