Brooks Caldera 8 Trail Running Shoe Review

Key Details of Brooks Caldera 8

• Best For: Technical trails, rugged terrain, and all-weather conditions
• Not Ideal For: Pavement, concrete, or urban running surfaces
• Foot Type: Neutral runners
• Terrain Tested On: Fire trails, single track, grass, pea gravel, compacted mud, and dry crushed gravel
• Price: $269.95 AUD / $299.90 NZD
• Available At: brooksrunning.com.au / brooksrunning.co.nz
• Test Notes: Black/Blackened Pearl model provided by Brooks for review

If your idea of a perfect day involves winding trails, rolling terrain, and that unbeatable feeling of freedom only found in nature, then the Brooks Caldera 8s are ready to be your off-road companion.

Built for long-haul comfort and stability, this shoe is designed to keep you moving confidently, regardless if you’re tackling technical climbs or cruising through soft bush tracks. 

So let’s get straight to the point and talk snazzy features. 

The absolute standout feature of the Caldera 8 shoe is the plush, yet responsive cushioning. Brooks has packed the shoe with their nitrogen-infused DNA LOFT v3 midsole, which gave me an ultra-light, bouncy feel without compromising on durability. The result for me was a ride so smooth, I began looking for extra kilometres just to keep the fun going. 

Now let’s get onto the grips. The lugs. The spikes. Whatever you like to call them. We all know that nothing ruins a good trail run faster than unreliable traction (I’ve done it before, and this is one of the most true statements ever), and the TrailTrack rubber outsole in the Caldera 8s delivers fantastical grip on everything, keeping you steady no matter what the terrain throws your way – slick rocks, loose dirt, hitting the pea gravel downhill (so that’s fun!), over-grown grass and woodchip piles. With a re-designed, and might I say aggressive, lug pattern with lugs averaging 5mm, this shoe strikes the perfect balance between aggressive bite and smooth transitions. 

I wore the shoes a couple times for daily errands, and the lugs sounded like a soft version of cleats (they’re incredibly impressive, I must say!), so these are most definitely a trail specific shoe made and designed for outdoor fun. 

The shoe’s got a 6mm heel offset on the midsole, and suits foot arches that are high to medium – perfect to support my recovery with Plantar Fasciitis, so there was no need to use my orthotic insoles, and I was pain free throughout all my trial runs.

Durability meets comfort in the Caldera 8’s updated upper, with an engineered mesh that keeps things breathable and is quick dry (TPEE in the top layer), while offering a secure and adaptive fit. Extra reinforcements in key areas like the upper ensure your shoes hold up to the demands of trail running, whether you’re clocking daily miles or gearing up for an ultra. 

The toe box was great, letting my feet swell up as they do without any compromise, so I would safely say these are true to size. I wear a size 9.5 Women’s Wide shoe, and lo and behold, I couldn’t have sized them any better. 

And while some max-cushion trail shoes can feel a bit unstable, the Caldera 8s manage to provide a secure, balanced ride with a widened base and strategic midsole sculpting for support on uneven terrain without heaviness. That basically means less wobbling and more confidence on tricky descents. 

But that’s not even the best part. 

The Caldera 8 midsole is nitrogen infused, which is more than likely the reason why the shoe feels so lightweight in the hand. 

Onto some of the other features, the gusseted tongue is well padded and I had no chafing at the top of the foot whatsoever; the laces are just long enough to conduct an ankle lace up technique; the padding was perfectly structured around the ankle; and the heel loop is brilliant – it’s a feature I really like in my trail shoes, and helps putting them on a lot easier and faster. Halfway down the laces there is also an elastic strap to tuck your laces under so they don’t come undone once you’re ready to go, something I’m seeing more and more of, and simply makes sense.

The Brooks Caldera 8 is a trail runner’s ideal partner – cushioned for ultra distances, super grippy for technical terrain, and comfortable to make you forget about the kilometres ahead. 

The women’s Brooks Caldera 8 comes in CMA Moonlight Aurora Black/Ebony, Almond Peach/Falcon and Black/Blackened Pearl. The men’s versions are available in CMA Moonlight Aurora Black/Ebony, Bit of Blue/Quince/Cele and Black/Blackened Pearl.

This article appeared in Edition 55 of Trail Run Magazine 2025. Grab your copy here