I have always been a fan of Brooks Ariel for the wide, deep foot. The shoe is torsionally stable with a stiff heel counter and an inflexible forefoot sole. Recently Brooks changed the model which may or may not be a good thing depending on your foot volume.
The first change is toebox depth. The old Ariel (left) is shallower than the new Ariel (right). If you have a deep foot than this will be great. It’ won’t be great however, if you’re wearing the old Ariel and it was already too deep in the toebox.
The next change is overall length. The old Ariel is shorter, given the same size, than the new Ariel. This only applies to the toebox length, as the heel to ball measurements remain the same in both shoes. This will matter if your heel to ball is a 9 and your heel to toe measurement is a 7, because the extra toe box length may make the shoe uncomfortably long for you.
The back of the shoe in the old Ariel is lower than the back of the shoe in the new Ariel. This change is generally a good thing, as the new Ariel will accommodate an orthotic as well as reduce heel slippage.
In summary, the new Ariel is deeper, wider and longer than the old Ariel. For many people who wear this shoe, the changes won’t matter. However, if you try them on and it seems you’re swimming in them, you might want to try the Brooks Addiction which is also deep but a bit narrower.
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