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The complete Brooks Cascadia lineage

The Cascadia is the other institution of thru-hiking footwear. Where the Altra Lone Peak owns the Appalachian Trail, the Cascadia keeps outscoring everything on the Pacific Crest: Halfway Anywhere's PCT surveys rated it the single highest-rated shoe on trail in 2022 and the highest-rated women's shoe in the most recent survey, ahead of the Lone Peak both times. It has been Brooks's flagship trail shoe for two decades, a protective, conventional, 8 mm drop workhorse with a rock plate and one of the few wide fits in trail running. The last six versions tell a full arc. The 16 (2021) was the ground-up redesign that deleted the four-point Pivot Post system the line was built on, and a slice of decade-long loyalists walked over it. The 17 and 18 coasted on the same DNA Loft v2 foam until reviewers ran out of patience, and a Reddit thread titled The Death of a Once-Great Shoe collected the mood. The 19 (August 2025) answered it with supercritical DNA Loft v3, a drop change to 6 mm and the line's first real score jump in years, and both reviewers and owners called it the comeback. The 20 (August 2026) then changed more than any version before it: Vibram Megagrip replaces Brooks's own TrailTack rubber for the first time in line history, the rock plate is gone entirely per RunRepeat's teardown, and the platform narrowed by roughly a centimetre. It is weeks old and unproven. The GTX versions of each generation share the platform without joining the succession, and the Cascadia Elite (March 2026) is a separate plated PEBA racing shoe wearing the family name, not a numbered Cascadia.

Version timeline

  1. 152020REPLACED
  2. 162021REPLACED
  3. 172023REPLACED
  4. 182024REPLACED
  5. 192025REPLACED
  6. 202026CURRENT

Every version, newest first

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Brooks Cascadia 20, men's shoe, side profile

Brooks Cascadia 20

2026Sizes running out

10.8 oz · 38/32 mm stack · 6 mm drop

DNA Flash v2, nitrogen-infused

Men's at AmazonWomen's

Buy the current model: Brooks Cascadia 20

Sizes running out

Discontinued at retail. Amazon carries what remains, so treat an in-stock size as a closing window, and expect prices to swing.

Men's: Check remaining stockWomen's: Check remaining stock

Availability last checked Sep 10, 2026.

Replacing a shoe you bought two versions ago?

Most runners skip a version or two rather than buying every update. These compare a version against the one two updates on, with the net change rather than a single step.

Thinking about leaving the Cascadia?

We ranked the shoes that ride closest to it (a protective, conventional trail workhorse with a rock plate, moderate drop and a wide option) and called out the honest differences.

See shoes similar to the Brooks Cascadia

Questions runners ask

What is the newest Brooks Cascadia?
The Brooks Cascadia 20, released in 2026. List price at launch was $160.
Which Brooks Cascadia versions are hard to find now?
Cascadia 15, Cascadia 17, Cascadia 18, Cascadia 19, Cascadia 20. They are discontinued at retail, so Amazon carries whatever stock remains and sizes disappear one by one.
Which Brooks Cascadia should I buy?
New to the line: buy the Cascadia 20. Loyal to the older ride: the previous version rides differently from the current one, and remaining old stock is the only way to get it. See the what-replaced page for that version before deciding.