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Brooks Catamount AGIL - Review, Test Runs, Comparisons!
May 23, 2024
00:00 Mike P takes you on two test runs around Boise, Idaho - sharing his on-the-run thoughts on the new Brooks Catamount Agil. Lots of weather, mixed terrain, snow, and ice! 06:33 How does the Agil perform? 0720 Foam and Trail Feel Stay tuned until the end 12:44 for an in-depth comparison against rival speedsters - Merrell Skyfire 2 and Long Sky 2, VJ Lightspeed and MAXx2, Salomon Pulsar, and of course the big brother Catamount 3.
$180. Available now.
Full Multi Tester Written Review:
https://www.roadtrailrun.com/2024/03/brooks-catamount-agil-multi-tester.html
The sample was provided at no charge by Brooks for this review
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hello, this is Mike P. here from Road Trail Run, and today I'm going to be taking you
0:03
out for an on-the-run trail review of the Brooks Catamount Agile. Now we had about 9 inches of snow up at Bogus last night, a lot of rain down in the valley
0:12
so I kind of drove myself up, find a little bit of a mid-elevation trail here
0:16
It's a little bit too muddy, we'll have to turn around and go a little higher up. We should have a good mix of terrain, a little bit of steep climb, some descents, a lot of
0:24
technical stuff. Should be a good test for the Catamount Agile
0:50
Had to turn around over there, a little bit too muddy. Back to the road, next trail up, let's see how this one is
1:05
Really liking the feel on technical terrain, a lot of ground feel
1:10
Close to the ground in these, the upper feels super dialed in
1:14
Plate is also good, SkyVault plate, it's protecting. I feel like I'm moving pretty quick on the uphill, similar to the Catamount 3
1:23
Get a little bit of uphill impulse, which is nice
1:34
Found some better trails there, much better than the first one. No mud over here
1:37
The first one I had to run through a few sections of mud in the beginning, got a little bit
1:41
too muddy, had to turn around. Rooks handled that pretty good, wasn't slipping around too much, wasn't a ton of mud
1:46
A little bit in the front, you can see I didn't really get too deep in there. But it has pretty good traction
1:51
Back there on some of those rocky sections, the plate felt really nice underfoot
1:55
Felt like it was really dispersing a lot of the sharp impacts from the rocks underfoot
2:00
It feels low to the ground, it's firm, definitely not as much cushion as the Catamount 3
2:05
Other shoes with a little bit more foam underfoot, you're close to the ground
2:08
The upper's dialed in, it kind of has the feel of a Matrix upper. I was thinking about loosening it up, but I think on the run, this is my first run
2:15
it just kind of loosened up naturally a little bit and it felt pretty good
2:19
So I don't have to really lock down the upper so much, similar to a Matrix upper
2:23
You tension it just right with a little bit of give and the upper doesn't really have
2:27
that stretch back and forth where you feel like you're losing security
2:30
Feels really good on the run, solid underfoot. Feels like it's completely attached to the bottom of my foot as I'm going
2:36
So I've been running uphill so far. I'm going to head up this way, wind around a little bit more, a little bit of a rocky
2:42
descent there. On the way back, I'll be going a little bit faster
2:47
Probably be better testing on the stability, the security, how the impact feels underfoot
2:51
Alright, so here we go, next section. Head out along this way, then we're probably going to wind along up on that ridge over there
3:01
First tracks after yesterday's snow. Got a little funky back there
4:01
See how the video turns out. Hope you'll appreciate testing conditions as opposed to the actual video quality
4:08
We'll see. So I'll come back at you. Want to take them out a few more times
4:12
Really dial in my thoughts on the shoe. Probably go a little bit more in depth on the run, on the ride
4:18
I really want to focus on some comps on this one. So I've got the Salomon Pulsar, Merrill Long Sky 2 Matrix, the Merrill Skyfire 2 Matrix
4:28
also VJ Lightspeed and VJ Max 2. Those are the closest comps that I have in mind
4:34
If you have any others that you can think of, let me know. Alright, just doing a quick check
4:41
See how that knit collar worked out. Pristine. Alright, another test run today
4:54
A little bit more snow on the ground this time. Pretty cold too
4:57
A lot of crunchy bits. Should be good testing. A lot of times frozen ground, crunchy ice is really a good stand in for technical terrain
5:07
Aside from the slipping factor. But traction is pretty good and agile, so should be good testing
6:18
Alright, so I kind of bopped around back there on the entrance to this trail. A little bit more crusty back there
6:23
A little harder on the ground. Getting into some softer snow as I move up now
6:28
I just want to talk about the fit of this shoe real quick. It's just awesome
6:32
Totally, 100% secure. I don't feel any disconnect between the bottom of my foot, the bottom of the shoe, and the ground
6:41
Just feels excellent. Also I want to point out, they didn't narrow it too much under the midfoot
6:48
Some light and fast shoes make this really super narrow under the arch area
6:53
They went ahead and kept that a bit wider here. And I think that really helps with stability
7:00
I didn't feel like I was teetering a little bit. Sometimes with a narrow shoe, you have to be really up on your toes, be really agile
7:08
I felt like I could really get a solid plant on here and not worry about that being too
7:13
tall and having that little bit of wobble. DNA Flash Foam, really energetic
7:18
I mean of course I'm on snow here, so it's not going to feel too firm. But I did have some dry sections on my last run, hard packed sections of ice back there
7:27
It doesn't feel harsh, but it also doesn't feel soft or even bouncy
7:34
It just feels like you have that layer right there, and it doesn't want to interfere with
7:40
your feel of the trail by giving you an extra bounce or really transmitting harshness into
7:46
your foot. I really like it a lot. I feel like I could use this as an everyday shoe
7:51
If you don't want a ton of cushion underfoot, it definitely could be an everyday shoe
7:57
So I'm going to head a little bit higher up that way. Snow should get a little bit softer
8:01
I'm kind of in a taper period now, so I don't want to get too crazy in deep snow
8:06
I'll probably turn around if it gets a little bit too deep, but I'll take it easy, maybe
8:10
hike a little bit, get a little working. Just a gorgeous day out today
8:23
I'm just hiking up this side ridge here just for fun. Nobody's been here in the fresh snow, so why not
8:50
All right, so that about wraps it up for the review. I'm going to head back, get you some specs, I'm going to look into those comps, and give
8:56
some final thoughts on the review. All right, so now the fun part
9:00
Just trudged up this trail right here in the snow, get to run back down, have some fun
9:06
there, and then the trail I came in on comes down that way through the creek back down
9:14
There's some other connecting trails over that way heading all the way on up, but that's
9:22
for another day. So I'm back in the lab
9:43
I got the Agile here. I got a bunch of shoes lined up
9:47
I'm going to really focus on comps here, but first I'm going to go through some of the
9:51
things that I loved about this shoe. The ride is just great
9:55
DNA Flash Nitrogen Infused Midsole. It's not a ton of stack. Feels responsive and fast
10:03
Speed Vault Plate in the bottom. Flex it here. You can see the flex point
10:09
It's kind of similar to the Sky Vault Plate in the Catamount 3 that I love so much
10:14
It has that flex kind of forward of the toes, so when you're climbing it really feels quick
10:21
on the uphills and also quick on the run. It gives you a kind of propulsion, a kind of efficiency on the run that just sneaks
10:30
up on you. It doesn't feel super fast all the time, but like some other commenters have posted, and
10:36
I've noticed myself, you check your watch, you say, whoa, I'm moving pretty quick for this shoe, and I didn't really expect it
10:42
The plate has a similar feel on the Agile. Again, that flex is kind of forward of the toes, so climbing it feels great
10:50
If you take a look here, you can see it kind of splits here. I didn't notice any instability from having a flat plate underfoot
10:57
It seemed to have good flex. If I'm flexing it laterally, you can see it does flex pretty well, so it's not stiff laterally
11:08
I felt it actually was quite Agile and didn't really throw my foot
11:14
Looking down at the lugs, the lugs are great. I think they had them at some strange decimal of 4.7
11:21
They're definitely higher than in the Catamount 3, and I believe they're the highest out of
11:28
some of the test pairs that I have here. Definitely great on traction
11:32
The upper fits like a glove. It's similar to a Matrix upper, similar to a shoe I have here, the Pulsar
11:41
It just wraps well. You don't really have to tension down the laces
11:46
It holds the foot perfectly. The heel is just great. Something I talked about in my first impressions review, there's this big huge bolster around
11:56
the back of the heel. It goes above your heel bone, and you're totally locked in
12:01
Feels great. Knit collar, again, something I'll point out. On the run, completely wraps the foot
12:10
No dirt in there. I ran in snow, muddy conditions, have some mud still on the bottom
12:15
Nothing got into my foot. Not a pebble, not anything. Just perfect
12:19
So if you want a fast shoe, a race day shoe, something that feels like it's just attached
12:26
to the bottom of your foot, wraps around your ankle, nothing's getting in there, just feels
12:33
like an extension of your body when you're running, this is a great shoe
12:37
Great pick. One of my favorite shoes of the year so far. I got on my table here the shoes that I feel are most similar in comparison to the Agile
12:47
I've tried them on one by one to kind of refresh my memory
12:51
I've run in all these shoes pretty recently. Some of them extremely recently with the exception of the Pulse Arm
12:58
So I'm just going to go through them one by one. I'm going to throw a little spec sheet up on the screen
13:03
I'm not going to talk about specs or anything like that. You could pause it, screenshot that, whatever you want to do
13:09
All these shoes are US size 9.5 with the exception of the Maxx X2, which is strangely
13:18
a US 9. Strangely for VJ because VJ typically runs very small
13:23
This one runs large. So this one's a 9 and I have my Catamount 3
13:27
That's not a similar shoe. I'll talk a little bit of comparison in regards to the Agile version, but I have that one
13:34
in a size 10. That's my ultra sizing. I like to be a little bit more comfortable
13:38
If I'm thinking of running these for longer distances. So again, I'm just going to go through these, kind of talk about which ones I feel are the
13:44
most similar. Maybe look at some of the features here and there. I haven't prepared anything
13:49
So this is going to be completely off the cuff. Looking at these two new shoes from Merrell, the Skyfire 2 and the Long Sky 2, I feel like
13:57
the Brooks is a mashup of these two shoes. The Skyfire 2 is very thin underfoot
14:04
The profile of the midsole is similar to the Brooks, but the Float Pro Foam is not as responsive
14:12
as the Brooks Nitrogen DNA. Upper, very similar in fit. The Matrix gives you a great fit
14:19
The Merrell's a little bit squeezier, a little bit narrower. This does have a plate in it, but on the run, this shoe feels very firm underfoot
14:29
This is a little bit more forgiving, a little bit more versatile
14:34
If you look at this one, very narrow under the midfoot and also through the heel
14:39
That's something that I like about the Agile. They maintain this kind of width under the midfoot, which gives it some stability compared
14:49
to some of these extreme narrow platform type of shoes. And now that's something that carried over from the regular Catamount
14:58
They maintain that width through the midfoot, which does give it a lot of stability, a lot
15:04
of smoothness, and they carry that over to the Agile. So it doesn't quite..
15:09
It's narrow, of course, but it doesn't quite taper in as far as some of these other shoes
15:14
So you do feel that stability under the midfoot, which I really like
15:19
So I say it's in between these two shoes because this one has a little bit more stack, feels
15:24
a little more forgiving underfoot. The Agile's not as forgiving as this one, but not as hard, full power to the ground
15:33
as the Skyfire 2. Long Sky 2 doesn't have a plate. This is more flexible
15:40
I love this shoe just for everyday running, cruising around. It's kind of a throwback shoe
15:46
Really love it. Skyfire 2 does have a plate. So this has some stiffness similar to the Brooks Agile
15:54
So you see where I'm going here. Cushioning is kind of in between, but the Brooks has the plate of this
16:01
The upper is not quite as narrow as the Skyfire 2. The upper is more similar to the Long Sky 2
16:08
One thing to point out, this knit collar so much better than these new Merrells
16:13
Merrell really kind of messed up here. The edging on both of these collars is just floppy
16:20
It's worse than a regular collar. They wanted to make it very lightweight and I guess kind of skimp on materials around here
16:27
but it lets the bring in. It's not great. So moving on, we have the new VJ Lightspeed
16:35
Look how narrow this gets. This is similar to the Pulsar and also more similar to the Long Sky 2
16:43
This is probably even the narrowest one. Compared to the Brooks Agile, you could tell the difference under the midfoot
16:50
This shoe is way more stable here. You have a lot more foam underfoot here
16:55
This VJ Super Foamance, nitrogen infused I believe. That's quite similar to the DNA Flash midsole foam here
17:04
In terms of all these shoes right here, in terms of the foams, the Brooks is similar to both of these VJ models
17:11
The VJ models have more foam underfoot though. So they're going to be softer, more cushioned
17:16
This has a plate in it. You could see this is a very fast shoe with a very soft stack
17:24
with a very narrow platform. The review on this shoe just dropped today
17:28
I like this shoe. I love this shoe. But in technical terrain, it's very narrow, very soft, and very high
17:35
You have to be on your toes. You have to be ready to handle this kind of platform
17:40
the more technical the terrain gets. But on moderate ground, easier terrain, this shoe flies
17:47
The softness feels great. The plate gives you a great impulse. Super fast shoe
17:53
Whereas in comparison, the Agile feels a little bit harsher on harder ground
17:58
because you don't have that soft cushion. Still feels fast, but you're going to have more ground feel
18:03
I'll just skip over here to the Maxx X2. Compared to the Lightspeed, you see more coverage through the midsole here
18:12
More of a wider platform under the midsole. This is a more stable shoe
18:16
A more versatile shoe. Stack height, I believe, is one or two millimeters higher in the Maxx 2 here
18:23
But same exact foam. So same soft feel, but you get a wider forefoot base
18:29
Definitely wider under the midfoot and also wider in the rear. So you kind of get some of the properties of Lightspeed
18:36
but in a more stable package. This is really great shoe. Love this shoe
18:42
In terms of handling technical terrain, I'd say the Agile does handle it better
18:47
You are closer to the ground. You have more feel. It's similar in platform
18:53
Slightly narrower, I would say. But this foam gives a little bit more between you and the ground
18:59
A little bit more stack. A little bit more softness. Here you feel the ground more
19:04
You have more control. I think it's a better, faster technical shoe
19:08
But for longer distances, this is a great pick. A more comfortable shoe
19:12
The upper has probably a little bit more width here. Crazy to say for a VJ shoe, but it is
19:18
You're more locked in for technical terrain in the Agile. Moving on to the original Pulsar
19:25
I don't have the soft ground version. So this one has some shallow lugs
19:29
Around here in the Boise foothills, it's great. But it's limiting in technical terrain
19:34
The lugs on this one are just, it's not even a question here
19:38
The Pulsar is narrower through the midfoot. Similar to the Skyfire 2, VJ Lightspeed
19:44
And it's also taller, similar to the Lightspeed. These two shoes are very similar
19:50
But this shoe is extremely light. That's the main difference here. This shoe, by the look standing next to them
19:56
looks a full size smaller than all of these shoes. But it's the same 9.5
20:00
You have a really snug fit in this Pulsar. I know the SG version
20:05
I think they relaxed the upper a little bit. Especially up front. I haven't tried that version
20:10
But this one is probably the most dialed upper fit of them all
20:14
I have no issues with the forefoot fit in this one. Because there is decent width across the forefoot
20:21
It does narrow a little bit by the toes. But I find I could relax this
20:25
And with the Matrix upper, it's not an issue here. Compared to the Agile, this shoe is a little bit higher
20:30
You have to pay a little bit more attention in technical terrain
20:34
Just because you're that much higher. And it's a little bit narrower
20:38
They're very comparable. The Brooks feels more stable. Probably with this plate, it's more propulsive oriented than the Pulsar's plate
20:46
Which is kind of a flexible protective plate. So this shoe may feel faster
20:51
But this shoe, I think the extreme lightness makes up for the disadvantage
20:57
Possibly with this plate feeling a little bit quicker. Looking at these two knit collars, they're very similar
21:04
Brooks almost copied them. It works just as well. One thing, I'm slightly concerned about this stitching in the Agile
21:12
They have some open stitching here. And Salomon really thought about this
21:17
They covered up that stitching on the inside. I haven't had any issues with the Agile here
21:23
But that's something that I definitely noticed. That this stitching is kind of on the back of my heel
21:28
I'm not sure if I would take these for an ultra tight distance
21:33
So I don't think that would come into play. It's a little something that they overlooked that Salomon paid attention to
21:41
I hope you enjoyed coming along for a couple of my test runs in the Agile
21:46
Scenery in the area. The weather conditions in the area. The comps
21:50
Again, let me know down below if you have any specific questions
21:54
I'm not going to pick a favorite amongst all of these shoes
21:58
But if you ask me for a particular scenario down in the comments
22:02
I'll let you know which shoe I would pick for that scenario
22:06
I assure you the Catamount Agile would surely be in the running for most of those cases
22:12
Thank you for watching
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