Cascadia Series

I just took my new Brooks Cascadia 19 out for their maiden voyage and I really enjoyed them. I had a pair of the 17s that I did not enjoy at all— too stiff, too clunky, no energy return— but the 19s are a huge improvement. They fit my feet well, have a moderate drop (6mm; 6-8mm is ideal for me), the uppers are super comfy, and they are so, so stable. I have ankle tendon issues (yes, I am diligently working on them with strength and balance training) so stability is super important for me, especially on trails.

I decided to try Trabucos after running in Cascadias for a few years and I think I’ll be going back to Cascadia. Despite the length of the Trabucos being good I find I have to do the laces up really tight otherwise I feel like I’m sliding around in the shoe even with a heel lock, got bruises from the tight laces during my last ultra.

I just properly got into running on trail and road and I’m really enjoying a pair of brooks Cascadia 18 after having Salomon speed cross 6 for hiking and a wee bit of running. I picked myself up an innov8 racepac 8 as my runs were getting above 10km/ an hour. But I then got injured and I’m only back to running 3x 22 minutes this week. Though I’m sure I’ll be buying plenty more trail kit in the future!

Where the hell can you find Cascadia 17s or 18s for sale in a 10 nowadays?? I would trade my 19s for one of the previous two models in a heartbeat

Man, I just bought Cascadia 18s because I have Brooks Glycerine 22s for road running and love them. I had to opt for the wides on the Cascadias as the toe box felt like it was pushing against the outside of my toes. I have never worn wide shoes at any point in my life. Our 2 differing experiences, point directly back to the comment you are replying to. Haha

The length was fine, but it was just at the outside edge of the pinky toe. The employee at REI recommended the wides but they didn't have them in stock at the store to try. I ordered them and they fit much better.

lol I ordered cascadia 18s like 3 weeks ago, sounds like I dodged a bullet

Even as a longtime Cascadia wearer, I am surprised to see them up so high! They are such basic bitches as far as trail shoes go. I say that with all the love I have in my heart - they are not at all amazing but they get the job done. (Unless that job is gripping wet sandstone but that's a story for another day.)

oh that's perfect. rocks are fine for the cascadia, it's the slabs where their grip turns to garbage. sounds like my kind of run, anyway, I'm excited for race day!

I have been a Cascadia user for ever and I think they would be a hard switch after Speedgoats. I find the sole to be incredibly stiff and uncomfortable in comparison to plusher shoes. (Brooks says they are max cushion but I don't know what world they live in.) Plus - and I can not emphasize this enough - their grip is TRASH on rocky surfaces. Like, dangerously bad sometimes.

I wore the Cascadia for my first attempt at Manitou's Revenge and my feet were a mess afterwards - even in the correct size you are right the toe box was just not good. And the grip at Manitou's was really why I switched. They were an almost-new pair and the course was a lot of sandstone and rock - I was slipping around from the start and that is a situation you really need confidence in your shoes. I ran it again this year with the VJs and I could be much more secure that my feet would not come out from under me. For OP's question, I'd imagine if you are used to Speedgoats with the vibram grip you expect a lot of grip security.

I've run in Cascadia for years. The one caveat is they don't have great grip if you are doing super steep / rocky terrain. For your basic single track runs, they work great.