I did most of my trail running over the past year in 2 pairs of Brooks Caldera 6. They did sterling work in my three Ultra DNFs and many training miles. Strangely I don’t think I’ve seen a single other runner wearing them.
I gave them a very positive review last year which I updated when I realised they had one terrible design flaw - the two parts of the upper separated during a run because they were only connected via a thin layer of glue.
So I was thrilled when I saw photos of version 7 and realised they had added stitching in that high stress area. They either listened to my online complaints or I wasn’t the only person to suffer from it.
The main reason I loved the 6 was its performance on smooth wet rocks. The outsole rubber stuck like glue and out-performed every outsole by every other manufacturer, including all of those using Vibram Megagrip. I’ve had multiple falls/slips/skids in other shoes on wet rocks which is no fun as you get older. I also found the 6 to be very comfortable over longer distances.
Both of these benefits made me overlook some of the downsides of the 6, namely terrible grip on wet grass/mud and a strange combination of not much bounce along with not much cushion, despite the very high stack. A recent 27 mile run in very muddy conditions was too difficult and I fell at one point twisting my knee.
When my version 7 pair arrived, I did some easy local runs on light terrain and all seemed almost identical to the 6. I was fine with the lack of changes apart from the extra stitching.
But actually, there was a change.
I did a tough run in late February on very bad steep ground. It was in relentless soaking bog/grass/mud plus very wet rocks on The Sheep’s Head in Ireland. I skidded and skittered all over the grass, bog and mud, just like the 6. But then after a few slips I realised the 7 was terrible on wet rocks too. So the 8 miles was horrendous. I couldn’t relax for a second with almost no grip on any surface.
Brooks are using the same name for the rubber on the 6 and the 7 but something has clearly changed for the worse. I hope becoming “carbon neutral” doesn’t also involve losing the main benefit of the Caldera versus Speedgoats and others. I’ve had to retire both the 6 and the 7 from bad ground running permanently and plan to only use them on light candy-ass dry trails over the summer.
I thought that left me in a hard place. Shoes with narrow deep lugs tend to be designed for very short runs and have thin midsoles. Long distance shoes with shallower wider lugs aren’t able to handle bad conditions. But I think I’ve found a surprising replacement for the bad stuff over long distances - The Saucony Endorphin Rift. Check out my next review about that.
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