Brooks Cascadia 9

This may be the most comfortable shoe I've ever owned. Great for training, early morning walks, and light day hiking.

My feet are notoriously difficult to fit. I have long toes... wide fore-feet (bunions)... narrow heel... no arches... and size 14. These all combine to make shoe purchasing a chore every time.

With the Cascadias, I have found the holy grail of training shoes for my feet. Fit is excellent, with lots of room for my toes and bunions, without having my feet slip around in the shoe. Break-in time was non-existent. With my Sole footbeds inside, I get excellent support for my over-pronating ankles.

For years I had some Vasque Blur trail running shoes. They fit quite well, but the traction was truly awful. No such problem here. These soles stick like glue to whatever surface I am on, wet or dry. The tops are mesh, which is wonderfully breathable in warm conditions. The other side of the coin is, that they are not waterproof... though with the drought conditions we are currently experiencing in Nor Cal, this has not really been an issue. When they do get wet, they dry quickly.

My only concern is durability when hiking in rugged conditions. After the first couple of Sierra Foothill hikes I took with them, they started to show an unusual amount of wear. But after a long hike in boots, it feels luxurious to put these on my tired feet at the end of the day.

So these are my go-to for training, going to the gym, and post-hike, and a pleasure to wear. If someone would make a hiking shoe this comfortable, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

Got these for Spartan racing. A solid shoe for running on the rocks of PA.

Fit is right on for me.

I use the "heel lock" tie and the laces could be a bit longer.

Good for multi use and Spartan Race tough even for muddy slopes.