Customer Reviews Brooks Caldera 4

I regularly buy Brooks Athletic Shoes because I can count on a consistent fit. These Calderas are replacing a pair of Cascadias and I feel they have fixed several of the features of the Cascadias which were not optimal. Hoping these last just as long as my previous pairs of Brooks shoes.

These shoes are great! They provide enough cushion and are of a healthy width that makes trail running, especially long distances, more comfortable.

Fit is great, true to size. Like walking on a cloud.

Good solid shoe for trail running. I have very wide feet and am always worried about shoe fit. While it was a little tight for the first 30 miles while I broke them in, now they fit very nicely. These are definitely trail shoes and not street shoes. Parts of some of my runs go across concrete and I can tell the difference in my feet after using them there. However, once you are on the trails, they are lovely. They aren't stiff or overly heavy like many trail shoes but they provide plenty of grip and protection from uneven terrain. As an amateur and novice trail runner, these work great.

Because the base is more pronounced it tended to exaggerate my pronation and my knees then moved inward. The shoe feels very good otherwise so if you don’t pronate this shoe should be a winner for trail work.

OK, it pains me to write this review. No literally my feet are still in pain! I wanted so badly to like these shoes. I have used them solely for trail shoes, I like the look/style. I like the arch support and the heal is good, but the shoe was WAY TOO tight in forefoot. Now I wear a size 15 D-Medium width shoe. ALL of my MANY, MANY pairs of brooks are Medium width. I was unable to find a balance between keeping my heal snug while trying to loosen up the forefoot enough not to be painful on the medial and lateral aspects of my forefoot. It's like the sides rolled up and curved in right at the forefoot. It was not on the weight bearing surface of the shoes, but it was in both the right and left shoe. I tried them repeatedly, even wearing them for the first 4-5 miles and then doing a shoe change to "try and break them in" per-say. Nothing works, they are in the back of my closet now... Ugh I hate wasting $150!

This newer Caldera is a travesty. Brooks has cheapened the material significantly. The tongue at the top of the lacing is a single layer coarse piece of material that has a prominent knot where it meets the inner elastic. It would guarantee a top-of-foot sore within a block. It is a shame as this is an excellent sole design for my often injured knee. Sad too as now I have to find a store(all closed for who knows how long) and try on other shoes.