Brooks Caldera 4 Trail Running Shoe Review

Josh reviews the neutral Brooks Caldera 4 trail running shoes to keep your feet primed and protected for wild terrain. Lighter than traditional trail running shoes and with a more subtle 4mm offset, the Caldera 4 gets you closer to nature yet stacks plenty of cushioning underfoot for your longer trail runs. 

A durable TrailTack outsole offers virtually all-terrain grip and is adaptable to meet changing conditions with sticky uphill and downhill traction. The BioMoGo DNA midsole is your secret weapon to manage fatigue over challenging trails, delivering plush and protective cushioning coupled with a responsive feel.

Adventure-ready features like a tightly woven upper, toe guard, lace garage and gaiter strap ensure you stay protected and can fully experience nature while keeping it out of your trail shoes for a distraction-free run.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude and today we're going to be doing a shoe review. I'm very excited to be reviewing the Brooks Caldera 4.

This shoe has had quite an update from its predecessor the Caldera 3. I don't have a sample to show you, but the Caldera 4 is essentially a new shoe anyway. Like all my shoe reviews we'll cover all things outsole, chat about the midsole, talk about the upper and profile which runner should be considering the Caldera 4 as their trail shoe.

Runner Profile

Let's profile the foot type that should be considering the Brooks Caldera 4. We're talking about a neutral foot type or someone that has mild overpronation through midstance. The reason being is there's no additional medial support on the inside of this shoe and that's true to the majority of trail shoes out there.

There's so much variability that comes into play with trail running. You're going up hills, you’re going down hills, you’re stepping over holes, you’re kicking sticks and you're hitting rocks. A lot happens on the trail.

Therefore, brands never really overdo the medial support on the inside if they have a shoe in their trail range. You can still run in the Caldera 4 if you're an overpronator, which is myself. I do have a tendency to roll through my arch through the midstance phase of my gait cycle. I have ran in the Caldera 4 and found it very comfortable.

Let's talk about who should be considering this shoe. It is very light for this category of running shoe. If you're wanting something with a lot of cushioning underneath the foot, Caldera is a go.

However, it is on a 4mm offset (heel-to-toe drop) underneath the foot. It doesn't run true to what your traditional trail shoes out there do. They're usually on 8mm or 10mm drop, so you will notice how your heel sits a little bit lower inside this shoe, but that is OK.

The repetitive nature of foot placement on a trail is different to that on the road. You're not going to get too much overuse in regard to how this shoe performs. When we’re running uphill we tend to grab the forefoot of the shoe or midsection of the shoe.

When we run downhill we overstride and tend to utilise the heel component of this shoe as well. There's a lot of variability in regard to your cadence and your foot placement on the trail. Hence, they don't over complicate things in regard to the support structure.

Outsole

Let's dive straight into the outsole of this shoe. In my opinion it’s a really good, almost all-terrain grip system going on. By no means is it as aggressive as the Brooks Cascadia which is Brooks other trail shoe which has been in the range for the best part of 14 years. They’re up to the 14th version of that shoe now.

The Brooks Caldera 4 has a perfect mixture of grip in regard to the forefoot construction. When going up hills you want a nice grab and purchase with the ground. Through the back half of the shoe, you're going to get a really good grab and secure feel on the trail when you're going down hills and getting that first point of contact with your heel.

As I said before, from my doorstep to my favourite trail is 5 kilometres. This shoe has done well for me in regard to running from door to trail in Adelaide and it's been fantastic. I've had no problems whatsoever with the durability of the outsole and also the feeling of this shoe on a bitumen pavement surface before I reach the trail.

Midsole

Let's go to the midsole of the shoe. That's probably where most of the discussion point is because there's a lot of cushioning underneath the foot. As we touched on before it's a 4mm offset and it runs true to that concept. You know you've got quite a bit of shoe underneath your foot so there's a lot of cushioning going on with the DNA cushioning system from Brooks.

The reason I like the combination of this shoe is because I'm a midfoot runner and I like what I feel underneath the ground through here. I like running on a flatter trail or as I said before a road or pavement before I get to the trail. It's almost used for my warm-up to get the blood flowing.

I like the fact that I've got a bit of cushioning underneath my foot. I sing my praises for this shoe on my longer trail runs when fatigue sets in and I get a bit tired, sloppy and my knees start to ache. I know I have a little bit more shoe underneath my foot so it's going to give me a lot more protection which is fantastic.

The DNA cushioning system from Brooks is one of their highlights. It has enough cushioning but also has that responsive element so you can pick up the pace in this shoe and it still feels OK. It almost has that rocker sole feel to it.

I wouldn’t classify it a true rocker by any stretch of the imagination, but through that forefoot you get that nice roll through to the toe-off phase. I found it nice and effortless as I'm running on the flat surfaces at a nice, smooth and consistent pace. In regard to the midsole it's a great execution of cushioning, support and stability. Well done to Brooks there.

Upper

Moving on to the upper, there's a little bit to get through. First things first, I’m going to talk about the close knit they've provided.

When we're running trails, we know we're going to hit sticks, rocks and other bits and pieces that pop up out of nowhere. You don't want to unfortunately hit something that’s going to rip a hole in your trail shoe. How they've executed that woven construction is nice and tight. It's very supportive and solid which is great.

Through the front half you have a nice toe guard on your first toe. We know that you're going to hit something like a rock or a stick and you don't want to feel it on the front half of your foot. However, you also don't want to feel that toe piece when you’re coming down hills, where your foot can move forward a little bit inside the trail shoe.

It's a very tricky one. You obviously want to protect the front of your foot when you're running trails but you also don't want to overcomplicate things and have too much structure when you're coming down hills and feel the front of the shoe too much. Well done to Brooks in regard to that execution through the forefoot. It’s fantastic.

Coming through to the heel counter, it's a little bit lower than what I would personally like in this shoe, but that's just me. The reason being is I do run with an orthotic from time to time. It is a little bit lower through the heel depth but that's OK.

If you go higher with the heel collar around the back for a trail shoe it adds a little bit more weight to the shoe. They've got to find that happy see-saw balance in regard to structure and design and I think they have got it right. I just personally would like a little bit more heel height but that's just me.

At the back we have a gaiter strap. For those of you that do run with the gaiter protection over your shoes to stop all the rocks, dirt and bits and pieces of build-up on the inside of your shoe, that gaiter strap locks down your gaiter around the back of your heel.

Coming through to the front half we have a lace garage. When you tie up your shoe laces and you're running your trails, you don't want the lace bouncing around and run a potential for it undoing on the trail. You can tuck the laces underneath the lace garage to prevent the laces from bouncing around. Well done Brooks, a nice little add-on and it doesn't change the fit by any means.

Talking about the fit, let's go through to the midsection. I like the amount of depth. As I said before, I want a little bit more height at the heel but I'm OK with it, I'm not going to lose sleep. It's still a very comfortable shoe around the back of my heel.

As you come through to the midsection, I like the amount of depth it provides. When we want to look at how your foot functions inside a trail shoe, usually you're going to spend more time out on the trails and there's a bit of swelling that comes into play. A little bit of extra space gives your foot a bit of room for that expansion which can happen on the trail surface.

There you have it guys. That is the Brooks Caldera 4. A great update and very light cushioned shoe that also sits in that responsive energised family from Brooks. It's certainly one you can consider if you're looking for a really plush running shoe underneath your foot for that trail surface.

If you haven't subscribed to the Sportitude YouTube channel please do so. If you have any questions or comments on this video please contact our Sportitude shoe experts.

Until next time happy running and we'll see you out on the trails.

FEATURES

• Support: Neutral   
• Upper: Mesh   
• Midsole: Brooks BioMoGo DNA
• Heel Height: 32mm   
• Forefoot Height: 28mm   
• Offset / Drop: 4mm  
• Weight (women): 292g / 10.3oz   
• Weight (men): 329g / 11.6oz
• Width (women): B (standard)   
• Width (men): D (standard)