Brooks Cascadia 18 Evaluate – iRunFar

The unique Brooks Cascadia path working shoe was a collaboration between Brooks and ultrarunning legend Scott Jurek. The shoe first launched in 2004, and Jurek received the Western States 100 whereas carrying them that very same yr. At this yr’s States, I acquired my toes right into a pair of the shoe’s latest iteration, the Brooks Cascadia 18 ($140), whereas hanging out on the Foresthill support station.

After wiggling my toes in them and trotting just a few steps, I made a decision the match felt fairly good and advised the oldsters on the Brooks tent that I’d put on them to tempo my buddy later that evening by means of the ultimate 22 miles of the race. Within the wee hours of the next morning, my runner and I chatted briefly with Jurek on the Quarry Street support station at mile 91, the place he was volunteering, although we have been all too centered on the race to strike up an in depth dialog concerning the shoe’s 20-year historical past.

A notable replace with this version is a brand new mesh higher with overlays for improved sturdiness. The Brooks Cascadia 18 has an precise weight of 10.9 ounces (308 grams) in a U.S. males’s dimension 9, and like its predecessors, it has an 8-millimeter drop with stack heights of 33 and 25 millimeters on the heel and toe, respectively.

Designed for mountain trails and all distances, the Cascadia line continues to be considered one of our high picks in our Finest Path Operating Sneakers information.

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Brooks Cascadia 18 Higher

The Brooks Cascadia 18 has a brand new single-layer mesh higher with overlays in high-wear areas for elevated sturdiness. The overlays are on the entrance of the shoe, across the outdoors of the toebox, and product of a skinny materials that bends with the shoe. The higher itself feels clean and abrasion-resistant, and the brand new overlays appear to be they’ll be immune to cracking or splitting. After 100 miles on trails in California and Oregon, there’s no signal of damage on the surface of the shoe’s higher. Nonetheless, some put on spots are forming across the high of the heel collar and simply contained in the again of the shoe the place the Achilles tendon is available in contact with the shoe lining.

The sturdy laces and evenly cushioned gusseted tongue seem much like the earlier model. The laces keep securely tied, even when moist. I tuck them into the elastic lace keeper on the highest to stop them from getting snagged on the path.

Lastly, as with different latest Cascadia fashions, these footwear have a small webbing loop on the again that can assist you tug the shoe onto your foot. Additionally they have a hook-and-loop tab on the again for attaching a gaiter and are suitable with any working gaiters that connect with a hook-and-loop system or by way of a stirrup strap.

The Cascadia 18 higher felt gentle and breathable, even whereas working in 90-degree Fahrenheit temperatures close to Auburn, California, and in Bend, Oregon. After I splashed by means of creeks, these footwear drained and dried shortly sufficient that I by no means gave them a second thought. My foot felt securely locked in, even on steep trails that have been largely moon mud and unfastened rock, but my toes had sufficient room within the entrance to grip and flex.

Brooks Cascadia 18 Midsole

The Brooks Cascadia 18 options the model’s DNA Loft v2 midsole foam, a brand new addition to the road just a few years in the past with the Brooks Cascadia 16. The midsole has a reasonable cushion degree, with 20 millimeters of froth beneath the heel and 12 millimeters beneath the forefoot. The 8-millimeter drop is mid-range and can work effectively for nearly any runner. The DNA Loft v2 foam is tender and comfy out of the field, requiring minimal break-in time. Even after placing 22 miles on these footwear on my first run, my toes felt recent, and I skilled no sizzling spots.

Though this shoe’s midsole foam lacks the bouncy responsiveness that we see in different path footwear, just like the Nike Zegama 2 with its ZoomX foam or the Hoka Mafate Velocity 4 with its ProFly+ foam, the Cascadia additionally doesn’t really feel mushy or flat. Throughout a exercise that concerned quick tempos capped off with one minute of arduous effort on rolling singletrack, the shoe dealt with the number of turnover simply high-quality. I by no means felt just like the footwear have been slapping the bottom or holding me again. After 100 miles of testing, the midsole nonetheless feels the identical because it did on day one with no signal of breakdown. Lastly, it’s value noting that whereas the Cascadia might not have a brilliant fancy midsole foam, it has a way more approachable price ticket than lots of its rivals.

Due to a forked rock plate layered between two items of midsole foam, the shoe is impressively steady and protecting. Whereas traversing technical trails layered with rocks and uncovered roots, descending steep trails of unfastened scree and billowing mud, and bombing down a gravel highway throughout a exercise, my toes by no means felt achy or bruised after hammering over tough terrain. My heels and ankles additionally by no means wobbled whereas bounding from rock to rock.

Brooks Cascadia 18 Outsole

The Brooks Cascadia 18 outsole stays unchanged from the Brooks Cascadia 17, which had obtained an replace from the earlier model. The model’s TrailTack Inexperienced rubber outsole is product of 25% recycled supplies and has 4.5-millimeter lugs in a goat-hoof-inspired lug sample. Throughout testing, the outsole gripped effectively on unfastened filth, moist rocks and roots, and clean, rounded rocks. Because of the dry summer time season, I haven’t had an opportunity to check them on icy trails, packed snow, or thick mud.

Though primarily designed for path, this shoe additionally performs effectively on pavement and hard-packed gravel or filth. Over the previous a number of weeks, I spent many mornings working the flat asphalt bike path close to my home to Pilot Butte State Park in Oregon after which hammering a number of hundred toes up the filth path to the summit. The Cascadia 18 by no means felt clunky or sticky on pavement. In reality, I by no means even thought concerning the transitions between roads and trails whereas working in these footwear.

Brooks Cascadia 18 Total Impressions

Total, the Brooks Cascadia 18 is an approachable shoe that may enchantment to a variety of runners. Its reasonable cushion and heel-to-toe drop, conventional match and profile, and on- and off-road-friendly outsole give it a versatility you don’t get with extra specialised trainers. Though it doesn’t have a brilliant tech-y outsole compound or cutting-edge midsole foam, it’s a time-tested shoe that has remained well-loved for many years, for good purpose. And at a time when trainers are getting increasingly more costly, it provides a high quality possibility at a worth that’s comparatively simple on the pockets.

From a brief lap across the neighborhood to a 100-mile race, and from easy-day plodding to hurry exercises, the Brooks Cascadia 18 is a workhorse that may deal with absolutely anything. It’s light-weight and breathable, but sturdy and dependable. Regardless of the minor put on displaying within the shoe’s lining materials, I think about that I’ll get 300 or extra miles out of it.

The iRunFar staff loves the time-tested and trusted Cascadia line, so the Brooks Cascadia continues to be a high choose in our Finest Path Operating Sneakers information.

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Name for Feedback

• Are you a Brooks Cascadia fan? Which model has been your favourite, and the way does this latest model examine?
• Do you favor one path working shoe that may do most issues effectively or a quiver of specialist footwear? Which footwear do you retain in your rotation?

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