The original Brooks Catamount was a firm-ground favourite thanks to its lightweight design and the responsive ride delivered by the DNA Flash midsole also seen on Brooks’s road shoes. In the time since it’s launch, many there brands have released speed-focused shoes for the trails that use foams from their road line-up, so is the new and improved Brooks Catamount 2 still one of our top trail-running shoes? Run Testers Tom and Nick deliver their verdict here.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:11 – Design & Key Stats
02:05 – How’s The Fit
02:49 – The Run Test
07:43 – Verdict & Alternatives
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Hello and welcome to run testers my Name's Nick and this is our review of The Brooks catamount 2. Catamount 2 is a trail shoot from Brooks It's built more for hard Trails hence The lugs on the outsole not being Especially deep obviously it's the Second version of the shoe and Brooks Has made some fairly big changes Inserting a new plate into the front Foot and reducing the weight of the shoe Across the board it costs 160 pounds in The UK 170 in the US it weighs in at 277 Grams or 9.7 ounces in my UK size nine It's got a six millimeter drop from Heel To Toe there's no stack height given by Brooks but it looks around 30 Millimeters at the heel or so so the Catamount 2 is a bit lighter than the First version of the Catamount which was Still a pretty lightweight trail running Shoe it's interesting to me that's Dropped in weights it looks almost like A more built up shoe than the first Version but it does use very light Materials across the board one of the Big new updates is the new Sky volt Plate in the forefoot of the shoe Brooks Mentions this as a propulsive plate to Help you get up hills but really feels More like a rock plate just something That's there to protect the feet from a Rough surface underneath it hasn't Really given us much pop on the Run
You've got DNA flash midsole that that's Brooks's nitrogen infused EVA foam it's The stuff used on the Hyperion range of Road running shoes a nice lightweight Responsive foam not too squishy so still Quite stable on the trails you've got These side walls of foam here that your Foot sits within this kind of little Jagged edges there that helps with Stability the upper's been revamped from The first version as well to give it a Small secure fit around the mid foot in Particular you've got a toe bumper there Decent amount of structure at the heel To create stability and a little bit of Padding around the collar and tongue not Too much this is still designed to be Quite a lightweight Trail shoe a Trail Tech a rubber outsole that has four Millimeter lugs they're quite closely Spaced and fairly large and flat they're Not really built to bite into soft Ground so much they're more four harder Surfaces providing good grip and a Comfortable smooth ride on harder Trails But it's a little bit of lug depth there To try and help you stay upright if you Do strain to any mud Okay I've been joined by Tom now who's Also been testing the Brooks Catamount 2. let's start with a bit of a chat About fit Tom does the shoe fit under Size eight this is a size eight shoe I Would stick to a size eight although I
Would say that it's slightly narrow I Don't normally have a problem with Narrow shoes but I did notice it was a Slightly narrow shoe yeah I'm true size Mission as well across the board I'm Looking now at the USA European and UK Sizing here they're all my normal size Uk9 eu44 us10 no problems at all with Fit I didn't fight it narrow but I have A very narrow foot so I've got no Concerns about narrow shoes held me well At the heel yeah everything was fine in My normal running shoe size same size I Have for all my Brooks Road shoes as Well Run test uh Tom you had the shoe first Uh talk about your running experiences With the Brooks cat of the mountain so I Have done I think probably about 50k This shoe and that has varied between uh Runs around the trails in a park in Brighton not not particularly difficult Trails uh but I've also been on the Downs of it as well Um and I think it's a solid shoe for For Those runs I didn't I didn't feel like There was a run that I did that it Couldn't handle equally though I didn't Feel like it like that there's like a Standout thing about this shoe it just Felt like a solid Trail shoe that did The job Um I'd probably say that I know there's A there's a design feature in this which
I I mentioned to you earlier about the Fact that it's sort of got this Plate that helps you run up hills a sky Place skyport Sky vault which I I Definitely didn't feel like it was Helping me right uphills and the Downs Have some quite big hills in them um it Wasn't bad at running up hills it just Did just same as any other shoe that's Uh that I've been using on the dance I Think there's a bit of a rocker in this As well uh I didn't really notice it Um but yeah in in all of those runs that I did I did run in any wet conditions Um because it's been quite nice here While I've been testing this Um but I didn't have any issues with Grip or anything and I just found it to Be fine I also think it's a pretty good Road to Trail shoe as well um so when I Do the road that runs in the parks Around here I have to get to them it's About two and a half K to get to them And it was fine for those I think that DNA flash midsole it's a bit firmer than What you get in Most Road shoes but it's still a bit Softer than I'd expect from Um uh Trail shoe I think the previous Catamount was a bit harder a bit firm Than this also I've Been Told yeah well I had the previous caramel and Um I liked it a lot at the time I Thought it was a really good she was one
Of the first shoes that brought these Kind of Road running shoe Foams to the Trails it was pretty lightweight it Looked pretty cool I liked it as a Speedy Trail shoe with not too much grip A nice Summer Trail shoe maybe um used It for a 10k race once and really liked It and then it feels like this is Another shoe where Brooks has made quite A good shoe left it a few years for Other people to make quite a lot of Better shoes come back with an update That doesn't really you know put them Ahead again leaves them more or less Where they were in the market I think Like they've added a little bit to the Shoes made it actually a little bit Lighter despite the fact it seems looks More built up than the first version Kept the outsole the same added the sky Ball played Sky Vault that's the name Isn't it it's like a Ben Affleck film Skyport Um and I really like the look of the Shoe I love the speckling in particular But the ride hasn't really come on I Don't think and it's a good ride and It's a decent speed shoe but for me it Almost ends up falling in between Um really Speedy shoes like really Lightweight trail shoes that you know I Built Just For Speed then comfortable Cushy shoes that are only a little bit Heavier than this but actually I'm a lot
More comfortable so recently I've been Testing out the sucking Exodus 2 the Suck any Peregrine uh 13. other shoes Testimonies like the innovate Trail Flight all those I feel like they're Shoes that do pretty much everything the Catamount does whilst having better grip And a bit more comfort in many cases as Well so I've done you know some easy Ones that should have done one harder Longer run like progressing the pace and Finishing running sub six minute miles And undulating terrain and it's fine Like it does that okay but like I didn't Feel much pop from this the sky of all Plate uphill I think it's really just a Rock plate Um it doesn't give you a huge amount of Bounce compared to some of the other Phones that are now appearing in trail Shoes it's decent stable base it's Lightweight but yeah it's just not Enough of anything to really stand out And then probably the bigger problem for Me is the grip which is fine right now It's a summer shoe where I am in the UK But it's not grippy enough really for um Wet trails at all and that's gonna be a Problem and then I think actually if You're looking at using it purely on Hard Trails it's far it's not that Comfortable I think there are more Comfortable shoes out there so if you're Just hammering out long runs on harder
Ground I think you'd probably find a More comfortable shoe than this and at The same time it's not that lightweight So you would say oh you know it's a Brilliant 5K 10K Trail shoot it's so Lightweight it's pretty good at those It's not that lightweight and at the Same time it's not that comfortable that I'd go oh I'd love to use this for a Marathon on hard ground so I do think It's a good road to crouchy I did like I Agree on that I think it grips well it's Got fairly nice smooth lugs there that Give a nice ride on the road so although I like using it it just feels like a Missed opportunity they could have gone Really lightweight or they could have Made it a bit more comfortable and They're not read on anything with this Shoe I think that really puts it at the Front of the market it came when it's Quite expensive as well That's the problem isn't it Um yeah I I think if you picked up the Shoe you were not going to be Disappointed in it but equally there's Better shoes Um yeah but yeah I definitely didn't Mind running it um and uh but yeah Nothing nothing stood out for me about It Yeah nice sandwich last summer look as Well I guess this isn't sure I wouldn't Mind taking on holiday because I like
The look of it might be a bit much for Some yeah I'm not that bothered it's all Right Right verdict then on the Catamount 2 uh Tom buying the shoe any other shoes You'd recommend ahead of it so I think This is um this the cat Man 2 comes in The market we mentioned it a bit earlier Where there's a lot of other shoes and They're doing a very similar thing so There's shoes like the Saucony Peregrine Range and that the design of the program Is almost the same as this but I think It just has more standard elements I Think the lugs are better on the Peregrine the poker is also a very good Road to Trail shoe I can't remember Which on the right what are we on now Peregrine 12 13. uh so the Peregrine I Always find with that is that it's a Very good Red Trail shoe but it also is Pretty formidable on the mud as well When it gets a bit wet in in the winter Whereas this isn't so I think there's There's shoes like that that are just a Bit better than this shoe um and then Also when you're looking at if you if You're looking at this as a shoe to buy And you go oh there's a plate in it oh That's going to be great for running Faster over the trails there's equally There's better options as well and so You've got things like the soccer and The Endorphin Edge which I'd prefer to
Use over this bit more expensive but I Do think that plate actually has a an Impact on the Run yeah I agree yeah Don't look at this as a plated shoe as Like the edge detect and the uh even the Summit effective Pro from North Face Though those complex are built a bit More propulsion this is doesn't seem to Have that maybe they talk about it on up Hills but again I do really know it's Not bad uphills it's a pretty Lightweight Trail shoe but it's not Great you know it's not outstanding and Yeah it doesn't add a lot of punch when You're running fast on good runnable Trails grip maybe isn't there if you're A soft ground person I often in soft Ground myself and then if you are on Hard ground I think it maybe isn't Because you're a shoe so yeah like I say It falls in between lock cages like I Say I think it's a good shoe I like Using it I think a lot of people pick it Up and use it if you're on dry Trails All the time it's going to be completely Fine it's reasonably light it's got that Decent phone there that DNA flash foam But it doesn't really stand out and I Think some shoes do they cost less as Well like suck in the extras to my Favorite neutral shoe absolutely loving It it's got a ride that has decent Stability lots of comfort but a little Bit of Bounce from sucking his power on
PB foam a road through foam in a trail Shoe that Just gives it more oomph and I found That easier to run fast and actually Even though it's a little bit heavier Than the Catamount and it's got better Luck so I mean just read me that way I Think one of the reasons it's life and Lots of issues is just because it Doesn't it has shallow looks all those Saucony sucking issues have four or five Six millimeter lugs in them to give you That extra grip while still being pretty Lightweight midsole foam so yeah I I Don't I like the shoe I like the cat man I really like the first one at the time I just feel like second version hasn't Moved on enough to re-justify its price And its place in the market if you set This back to 2018 people would have been Blown away with it yeah just now it's Like yeah we've got we've got stuff like That now there's so many shoes out there So many travel shoes that I found really Good ways to incorporate phones from Road running shoes while still being Stable and comfortable and having grip And yeah the caramel feels good but Maybe not good enough that we can Recommend this if it becomes uh in the Next year if it gets cheap in the sales I I would say to people it's probably if You if you could pick it up for like you Know 80 quid or something I think it
Would be a good shoe then Um but yeah at the current price I Wouldn't suggest buying it over other Shoes yeah I think they can either go Really max out stack add a full plate in It try that route or I think they could Try stripping it back a bit and go well We're not really going for Ultra level Comfort here but we've made it lower Stack it is now very lightweight and a Good phone maybe that could be something Interesting in it but at the moment it's Just a good shoot not necessarily one That's great
