Discontinued · trail · Trail / Tempo / Race day · $160
Earlier generation of the Brooks Catamount line, kept for replacement lookups.
Built for trail, tempo, race day, at a target pace of 7:30–10:00 /mi on trail.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Brooks Catamount 4.
Brooks tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is modest, so the ride feels protective and damp rather than springy. 32 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as calm at 2/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The geometry is fairly traditional and flat, so the shoe follows your foot rather than steering it. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 350 miles from the outsole, about $0.46 per mile at $160.
For the foams and plates Brooks uses across its line, read the Brooks brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
266 g / 9.4 oz
9 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
32 mm
4 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$160
Level with the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~350 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Brooks line it is lighter than the brand's median (283 g / 10.0 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Merrell ProMorph
266 g / 9.4 oz · 33 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $140
Road-to-trail daily on FloatPro+ with Vibram XS Trek Evo grip.
Skechers Premier Trail 2.0
290 g / 10.2 oz · 32 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $110
Cushioned budget trail shoe with Goodyear rubber traction.
Topo Athletic Pursuit 3(2025)
278 g / 9.8 oz · 32 mm · 5 mm drop · — · $160
Roomy, natural-feeling trail trainer for door-to-dirt mileage.
New Balance DynaSoft Nitrel v5
285 g / 10.1 oz · 30 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $90
Budget trail shoe for packed paths and light terrain.