Brooks Caldera — anyone used them yet??

Haven’t used these particular shoes but the construction looks like a couple of their older models. Cascadia 9’s were the last to fit me as well. My biggest complaint about those older models was the inside toe edge would bulge over where it was glued to the sole and cause massive blisters on long runs. They surprised me as they were fine on shorter or hard packed trails but on soft stuff or long runs they were brutal. I trained in them with up to 6 mile runs and was fine but as soon as I did a 9 mile trail run in soft conditions I had the largest blisters I’ve ever had, 2″ long down side of my foot! As such, I’d avoid this these unless you have a narrow forefoot.

You can see the overlap in the first pic and in the second pic you can see it even hangs over on the outside. Getting that seam under either edge of your toe is bad news.

I tried on the Calderas, Mazamas and the new Cascadias at an REI in December.

Unfortunately, none of them work for my feet. The last model that worked for me were the Cascadia 8.

I’ve worn my pair of the Caldera on a couple of day hikes so far.  I was previously wearing the Cascadia 10 and before that the Altra Lone Peaks (1/1.5) and Brooks Pure Grit.

I’m not particularly discerning about my shoes, and it’s still early, but I’m liking the Caldera so far.  Brooks tend to fit my feet well.  The toe box is wider than the Cascadia 10, closer to the Lone Peak.  The 4mm drop seems about perfect for me (having tried both zero drop and 9 or 10 mm drop shoes before).  The shoes are thickly cushioned but don’t have a rock plate…  So far they seem to provide adequate protection from rocks.

Out of the shoes I’ve been wearing lately, I’d say they have the potential to be my favorite.  Perhaps my only criticism so far is that I seem to be slightly more prone to ankle twisting.  Not sure, but seems like it could be that I’m not used to the increased stack height coupled with my preference for lacing my trailrunners fairly loosely.