The Brooks Divide 5. All photos: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
The Brooks Divide 5 ($110) is beginner-friendly, experienced-runner-approved, budget-conscious, light trail shoe — with the soul of a road shoe, and underfoot protection worthy of trails. It’s easy to forget about on the feet as long as terrain stays relatively mild, and your pace is determined more by your mood than your watch.
The Brooks Divide model has been a staple in the road-to-trail running shoe niche for the past four years, but with this fifth iteration, it seems Brooks embraced what the Divide is. A few upgrades in the cushioning and upper allow it to fully move into the role of a shoe you can comfortably run some paved bike path miles in, before connecting to dirt roads and less technical trails.
The new Divide feels like the perfect blend of the softer cushioning and flexibility of the Brooks Ghost line from the past several years, mixed with the excellent traction and more stable platform of the Brooks Cascadia 18 (without the stiffness and weight.) It’s a rare trail shoe that doesn’t feel clunky on pavement, yet still feels balanced on less technical trails. It doesn’t discriminate between heel and midfoot strikers and, at least for me, it’s perfect for easy runs and tempo runs alike.
The Divide 5 has an 8-millimeter drop with an actual weight of 9.9 ounces (282 grams) for a U.S. men’s 9, nearly a full ounce lighter than the Cascadia 18. For those who prefer a Gore-Tex shoe, the Brooks Divide 5 GTX ($140) is also available, though we didn’t test that shoe for this review.
Sizing note: The Divide 5 is consistent with my usual Brooks size and on par with what I wear in New Balance, La Sportiva, Asics, and Montrail. It’s a full size larger than what I wear for Salomon.
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Brooks Divide 5 Upper
A lateral view of the Brooks Divide 5.
The upper of the Brooks Divide 5 is a soft, snag-resistant, breathable mesh that allows for ample ventilation but is lined with a smooth inner layer to help keep sand and debris out and friction low. The neutral last and relatively roomy toebox make for a very comfortable environment for the feet to do their thing through the gait cycle. Thin TPU overlays provide a bit of structure through graphics medially and laterally along the midfoot and heel. Thicker overlays on top house the lacing slits that allow for a really snugly locked down midfoot, without creating any eyelet pressure points along the top of the foot.
The flat, woven laces stay tied better than some shoes, but a tight double knot is key. The effective, secure fit through the midfoot and heel was especially evident with cambered trails, washes, cross-prairie travel, and when I hit short sections of more technical trail, I was able to maintain the pace and turnover I desired with the confidence that my foot and shoe were working together as preferred.
The well-padded ankle collar and sturdy heel cup further improve the comfort, security, and confidence when running or hiking, and even straight out of the box, I had zero issues with hot spots or break-in creases. On road sections, the padding and smooth interior keep the foot and ankle stress and blister free even as the pace and repetitive nature of the foot strikes increase. The rand around the toebox is more substantial than a road shoe, which is ideal for the occasional incursion into cement sidewalk lips and trail features alike; it also helps provide appreciated stiffness for shorter, steeper hills when being up on the toes is important. Toebox volume is lofty enough that even with the protective front, my toenails remain friction free and happy.
Thankfully, Brooks hasn’t tried to reinvent the tongue as has been the case with some other brands. The standard looking tongue is relatively low profile but has just enough padding to protect the top of the foot from locked down laces, yet is thin enough not to soak up water when a rock-hopping stream crossing gets a bit splashy.
As part of their commitment to sustainability, Brooks states that the upper is made with almost 60% recycled materials. In my 140 miles in the shoe, the comfort, flexibility, and function of the upper is still as good as when new out of the box. I see no wear patterns or creases in the upper and have yet to have even one friction point, even though I’ve worn them with traction devices attached to navigate some recent persistent icy and packed snow sections of road and trail. Road shoes rarely hold up to traction devices well without putting odd pressure on the toes and feet — the Divide 5, however, is performing flawlessly.
Brooks Divide 5 Midsole
A medial view of the Brooks Divide 5.
The midsole of the Brooks Divide 5 is where Brooks seems to have spent most of their upgrade efforts. The dynamic cushioning is now 4-millimeters thicker and feels softer and more responsive, thanks to the DNA Loft v2 midsole compound. The rockplate is still present, but it interacts seamlessly with the EVA and goes unnoticed except for the protection offered underfoot. The increased midsole cushioning stack comes at only a 0.2-ounce increase in weight, but at least for me, it’s well worth it for the comfort it brings.
Previous versions of the Divide were sometimes identified as being too firm or not feeling cushioned enough to handle road miles well. In my experience with the Divide 5, when I did end up running some miles on the pavement to get to the crushed gravel or smoother singletrack, my legs still felt good and springy as if I had a proper road shoe on. Yet on the singletrack, the shoe provides the protection and torsional stiffness needed to handle the varying angles and occasional chunks without feeling overbearing. Returning to the pavement to connect back to the car, again, the road shoe resilience and springiness still shines.
Heel-toe roll through is smooth and easy and the shoe feels fairly light on my feet. I wear a couple other types of door-to-trail shoes, and the Divide 5 is the closest to the road shoe experience out of any of them, while not sacrificing light trail performance.
I didn’t test this shoe beyond 15 miles at a time. It did seem that around that distance is where the comfort started fading a bit. Part of that may be my body’s distinct preference for more elevation change and less flat, poundy terrain during longer runs, but I think the midsole of this shoe is probably more of a daily-running-miles shoe rather than an ultra/long-run shoe. Your experience may vary. I’d need a bit firmer resilience, particularly through the arch, to use this shoe on longer outings.
Brooks Divide 5 Outsole
The outsole of the Brooks Divide 5.
The Brooks Divide 5 outsole features excellent traction, thanks to the TrailTrack Green compound Brooks uses throughout the bottom. Multidirectional 3-millimeter lugs in varying chevron and triangular shapes are well spaced over the entire sole, except where functional grooves are carved to both lighten the weight and improve the flexibility and torsional mobility through the outsole.
This compound works exceptionally well on wet rocks, roots, dirt, and pavement alike, and because the lugs aren’t too prominent, they don’t stack clay-mud very deep before you can fling it off with a well-placed little mid-air kick. The traction also provides ample confidence on hilly crushed gravel and sand layers over hard dirt road, trail, pavement, and even on steeper descents.
Fall-winter offers such mercurial weather experiences, that on any given hour you could face a variety of underfoot conditions. This outsole makes it easier to just keep running. While the Divide 5 is not necessarily designed for snow, on well-packed snow, there’s just enough grip from the lugs and the outsole compound to keep slippage to a minimum, and the outsole works really well with a particular traction device that let the lugs do their thing with overlying small teeth.
The outsole might just be the highest performing aspect of the shoe — rising well above its “station” as a door-to-trail shoe. If you happened to take only one pair of shoes on a trip that would include road and trail running and hiking, the outsole alone would help you get away with more technical terrain in a pinch, although the Divide 5 really excels on calmer surfaces.
Brooks Divide 5 Overall Impressions
A top view of the Brooks Divide 5.
At only $110, the Brooks Divide 5 is an impressive option offering road shoe vibes and trail shoe traction in a very secure, comfortable package. Whether you’re a road runner dabbling in trails, or an experienced trail runner who connects pavement and dirt roads to some gentler singletrack, the Divide 5 will get you where you need to go without fanfare or drama.
Possibly the best compliment I could give this shoe is that when you lace them up and head out, you just don’t think about them very much. There are undoubtedly lighter, faster, more technical shoes out there, but for the daily miles on gentle mixed terrain, the Divide 5 is a terrific choice. So far, I expect I’ll get the usual 350-400 miles out of these, based on the durability and resilience so far. Runner math definitely holds up well then on the cents-per-mile cost accounting — they’re a great deal!
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Call for Comments
- Have you tried the Brooks Divide 5? How did they work for you?
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