Brooks Cascadia 8 Review

The Brooks Cascadia 8 is a superb hiking/trail-running shoe and is currently my hiking shoe of choice. It has a light weight design, street runner feel, great ventilation and amazing traction.  I use this shoe for all my hiking outings from day hikes to multi-day trips.  I came upon this shoe after I retired my Vasque Juxt's.  I was looking for a tighter fitting show with better ventilation and more grip.  All my wants were answered with the Cascadia 8.  The shoe simply preforms great under any condition.  This is the shoe that will be leading me into the wilderness for the foreseeable future.

Durability

When I first picked the shoe up in the local outdoors store it looked and felt exactly like a street runner.  Immediately an alarm went off in my head as to its durability.  It just didn't look rugged or trail worthy.  The shoe has a thin mesh outer layer streaked with thin strips of leather and the kick toe was the smallest I'd ever seen on a hiker.  After I tried it on though I had to risk it, it was that comfortable.  The shoe fit like a glove and the Brooks insole felt amazing.  I purchased the Cascadia 8 that day and have since put almost 450 miles on the pair with no durability problems.   The shoe is surprisingly
tough.  I've had no rips or tears in the mesh and I've done my far share of bushwhacking through thorns and thick under brush.  The laces are not frayed or ripped in any spot and the sole isn't pulling away from the shoes.  The brooks insole is still very comfortable and my feet feel great after a 20 mile day.
Overall Score:  8/10

Grip

Lug lose!!

The Cascadia 8 features a lug style self cleaning tread pattern that bites into all terrain types.  Every step I take, from loose dirt to mud, feels secure and planted.  The grip is really one of the highlights of this shoe.  With all that said here comes a blemish on the Cascadia, some of the lugs on the tread have fell off completely or have partially torn.  I'll post a picture to the right showing this.  When I first noticed this I was angry and considered contacting Brooks about the issue.  I did some digging online and found that many people are having the same problem out of the Cascadia 8.  So apparently it's a defect in the design of the tread.  Surprisingly though I have noticed zero lose of traction.  Loosing a few lugs off the tread effected the shoes grip none for me personally.  So my anger subsided and I went back to loving the shoe.  I'm sure that peoples experience on this topic will be dramatically different, but for me it hasn't been an issue.
Overall Score:  10/10

Comfort

The Brooks Cascadia 8's comfort is the best I've experienced straight out of the box.  The shoe has no break-in period and the insole feels amazing.  I can only compare it to a street runner in comfort.  The shoe simply just feels good on your feet.  This is my go to shoe for long or multi-day hikes and my feet never hurt at the end of the day while setting up camp.  As for blisters, I've never got one while wearing the Cascadia 8.  Its the first shoe, both hiking and running, that's never produced a blister at some point.  I can't stress enough how comfortable these shoes are.

Overall Score:  9/10

Long Distance Performance

For long distance hikes, thru hikes, and multi-day hikes I've never came across a shoe better then the Cascadia 8.  The shoes street runner comfort combined with it's great grip and excellent ventilation lets you eat up the trail miles while never noticing your feet are beating away at the earth beneath you.  The shoe's great ventilation allows it to dry very quickly when it becomes wet.  Combine this with merino wool socks and your feet will be dry in a mile of hiking.  Also the shoe laces are on the short side which I love.  This prevents the laces from dangling low and catching on branches pulling them untied.  I had this problem with my old hikers, the Vasque Juxt, but not with the Cascadia 8.  This might not sound like a big deal, but when I get into a good hiking rhythm there's nothing I hate more then breaking it every 3 miles to tie my shoes.

Overall Score: 10/10

Overall Summary

The Brooks Cascadia 8 is a true long hike shoe.  It will carry you securely and comfortably to whatever destination is on your radar.  Although the deep lug tread might make it a bit awkward for around
the town use, on the trail it is king.
PROS:  Very durable.  "Suction cup" like grip.  Excellent ventilation.  Street runner comfort in a hiker.  One of the best shoes for long distance hiking.  Light weight.
CONS:  Lugs can and probably will break off the tread.  Not to great for around the town use.

Overall Score:  9.5/10