Cascadia 16

I’ve done multiple 20 mile days in cascadia 16 gtx while in the Adirondacks. great shoe for rough trails.

Fellow Pennsylvanian here... and this struggle is real! I'm somewhat in the same boat as you as I've been trying to find shoes that are protective against the rocks and roots of our region while also being durable enough to get your money's worth out of the shoes. Here's my progression of footwear over the past 5-7 years or so along with some insights you can take as suggestions. None of these options are zero drop though except the Merrell trail gloves. Adidas Terrex - Pros: good coushion, plenty of padding and protection against rocks. Cons: not wide enough for my feet and they changed the cut of the heel stabilizer to be too high. Merrell Trail Glove - Pros: out of box comfort and very light. Cons: not at all good on rocks. Asics Gel Venture - Pros: out of box comfort and good tread. Cons: not durable, not wide enought, bad quality control. Merrell Moab Speed 1 - Pros: great durability of shoe body, available in wide sizes, and sufficient protection against rocks. Cons: tread is not durable. However, this is probably my favorite trail runner and I wish it was still in production. Its a 500 mile shoe with 300 mile tread. Brooks Cascadia 13 and 15 - Pros: quality tread and good rock protection. Cons - not as wide as I'd like in their 2E size and the heel lock fabric deteriorated quickly causing blisters on my heel. New Balance Hierro V7 - Pros: good coushion and heel support. Cons - that damn flappy thing on the heel, lack of padding in the tongue, durability. Brooks Cascadia 16 - Pros: great rock plate, awesome tread, and wider toebox in 2E size. Cons - shit quality. Regardless, I went through 3 pairs and just dropped the 3rd in the trash after hiking up Old Rag in Shennandoah a week ago. 500 mile tread on a 250 mile shoe body that is not worth the cost. Merrell Moab Speed 2 - Pros - lightweight and PA approved rock plate. Cons - durability and the redesign in general. Wore these on a 260 mile section hike and they messed up my feet and gave me blisters on top of my toes. Was fully refunded though. Merrell Nova 4 - arrives in the mail today in advance of a 120 mile AT section in central Va in a couple of weeks. Might move onto Topo Terraventures or Ultraventures next.

I despise the 18s.  After a run or hike my feet were always super sore and after a couple months I left them in the closet and bought another shoe.  I miss the feel of the cascadia 15 and 16!!  I’m hoping the 19s are back on form

seconding/thirding/fourthing/fifthing/etc everyone who said Brooks. Been on that Cascadia 16 game for my trail shoes and I love 'em.

I use brooks cascadia 16’s I believe, absolutely amazing trail shoe one of the best pieces of kit I’ve ever bought, solid, supportive, firm and not too bouncy. I would highly recommend

Same exact combo for me. Very happy with both but lately I have been wondering if the Cascadia 16’s aren’t a little hard. I don’t mean stiff as I like that but meaning hard on impact.

Thanks for this! I bought a pair of 16s I loved in 2022, and have been using them for hiking only. It's time to replace them and I've been thinking about the 19s. Super appreciate you coming back to comment after 100K. And congrats on coming in well under your A goal time!