Glycerin 23 vs Glycerin Max 2

The Glycerin 23 is Brooks at its plushest: a max-cushion daily training shoe built for the soft, unhurried side of your week. This is not a shoe chasing a personal best. It is the one you reach for on recovery days, easy miles and long relaxed runs when you want your legs coddled rather than told to work. The DNA Tuned midsole is deep and forgiving, with a tall 38mm heel stack and a moderate 8mm drop that suits heel and midfoot strikers alike. At 300g it is not light, and it never pretends to be fast, so if you want a snappy tempo shoe look elsewhere. What you get instead is comfort you can rely on, mile after mile, in a neutral running shoe that feels like it was tuned for pure cruising. If you want the same plush ride with a touch of support, the Glycerin GTS 22 adds guide rails. We rate it as one of the most dependable soft daily trainers going.

The Glycerin Max 2 is Brooks going all-in on soft, tall, protective cushioning. This is a max-cushion daily training shoe built for one job: swallowing up easy and recovery miles so your legs feel fresh the next day. With a 42.3mm heel stack and dual-density DNA Tuned foam underfoot, you sit high off the road and the landings are pillowy rather than snappy. At 305g it is a heavy running shoe, and it never pretends to be quick. There is no carbon plate and no pretence of speed. What you get instead is a big, forgiving platform and a smooth, rockered roll from heel to toe that keeps long slow runs comfortable well past the hour mark. In our view it sits at the plush end of the daily-trainer market, up against the Hoka Bondi 9 and Nike Vomero 18. If you want cushioning first and pace last, it delivers.