NNormal Cadi Review and Shoe Tester Thoughts

NNormal Cadi

Built for all runners to enjoy lasting comfort over moderate trails and mixed terrain, the NNormal Cadi is highly cushioned and user-friendly. Meant to be a great choice as your first and only trail shoe or as an easy-to-love addition to your quiver, did it check all the boxes for us?

Positives

Lots of cushioning underfoot
Comfortable over long distances
Felt secure over a variety of terrain
Very durable and breathable upper

Negatives

Lacked a bit of spring in the midsole
Fit slightly short on length
Midfoot might be a little narrow for some

Best Use

Daily Trainer Trail

Surface

Smooth Trails & Fireroads

Stability

Neutral

Stable

Cushioning

Minimal

Low

Medium

High

Maximal

All Men's Road Shoes

Daily Trainers

As the broad base of the running shoe pyramid, daily trainers are the definition of a go-to running shoe. They prioritize dependable comfort, support, durability, and routine versatility. They're a staple in every runner's closet. If you're newer to running shoes, you can confidently start your journey here.
Performance Trainers

Performance trainers (or "super trainers") blend elements of daily trainers and super shoes, often giving you the benefits of advanced foams and plates while being adapted for daily training. They make fast runs faster and long runs easier. Their high versatility also makes them great choices as accessible racing shoes.
Race Super Shoes

The pinnacle of the pyramid, super shoes are the fastest running shoes you can buy. They're designed to race your absolute best and are the apex of running-shoe technology and innovation. Often built with carbon-fiber plates and cutting-edge superfoams for the highest energy return, they're made for ultimate racing speed.

Men's Running Shoes by Surface

Roads & Pavement

Road running shoes feature smooth outsoles that are designed for running on paved surfaces such as roads, sidewalks, and bike paths.
Smooth Trails & Fireroads

Designed to handle most trail runs, these shoes prioritize comfort and a smooth ride. These shoes are great for anything from smooth singletrack, park trails, and fireroads making them ideal for those who run from their doorstep on streets before hitting the trail.
Rocky & Technical Trails

These shoes are best used for hard, rugged trails such as shale, granite or sandstone where grip on smooth surfaces and underfoot protection are important.
Soft & Muddy Trails

Designed for use in muddy, soggy conditions, these shoes feature very aggressive outsoles that dig deep into soft ground for exceptional traction.
Snowy & Icy Trails

These shoes feature technical outsoles designed to grip snowy and icy trails making them ideal for winter trail running.

Cushioning Level

Cushioning level, or stack height, refers to how much shoe is between your foot and the ground. For this category, we reference the amount of cushioning below the forefoot as the heel height will be equal to or greater than the forefoot height.
Learn more about stack heights and how we measure them.
Minimal

14-18mm. The shoe has a thin midsole that allows for a natural running experience. Racing shoes and minimalist shoes are common here. These shoes offer a feeling of being connected to the road or trail.
Low

19-23mm. The shoe has a slightly cushioned feel and may feature added cushioning technologies. Performance training shoes and some trail shoes are common here. These offer protection during footstrike but prioritize a lightweight, grounded experience.
Medium

24-28mm. These shoes have a stack height that fall near the middle of the spectrum.The shoes in this category are verstaile and great for all types of runs and distances.
High

29-34mm. The shoe has a thick midsole and ample cushioning. These shoes are highly protective and absorb more impact than the body.
Maximal

35mm plus. The shoe has an extremely thick midsole and extra cushioning. The focus is on protection and soft foam underfoot with hardly any ground feel.

Stability Level

Neutral Running Shoes

Neutral shoes support the foot through a normal range of arch collapse and generally do not have built-in technology to correct movement.
Stability Running Shoes

Stability shoes are a great option for those who overpronate or need added support. These shoes help to limit the inward rolling motion of the ankle while running or walking and assist in guiding the foot straight through the gait cycle.

Shoe Specs

Weight10.1 oz | 286 g Men's

9.3 oz | 264 g Women's
Heel Stack37 mm
Forefoot Stack31 mm
Heel Toe Offset6 mm
SizingRuns Slightly Short

You want seriously sticky grip in your trusty daily trainer or long-run shoe for the trails
You want generous underfoot cushioning that feels sturdy and balanced instead of plush
You mostly run moderate terrain with some road-to-trail miles, but love a shoe that can handle trickier trails as needed

The Cadi is NNormal's first model made specifically to be user-friendly for less experienced trail runners and somewhat tamer terrain. It still performs quite well in more challenging terrain, but it's not focused on fast and nimble performance like the Kjerag family, or on highly technical trails like the Tomir family.

Yeah, the Cadi invites us to enjoy cruising around and simply appreciate moving through beautiful places, even for long distances. Importantly, while the Kjerag and Tomir are made in unisex sizes, the Cadi is made in men's and women's sizes, so that should be good for some runners to have improved specificity of fit.

NNormal hopes that reaching for the Cadi makes you look forward to getting outdoors even more, and keeps you coming back for more. For us, while it wasn't an exciting energetic shoe, we generally found that its security and protective underfoot cushioning helped us feel confident and earned it a place in the rotation.

Performance

We expected the Cadi to have great grip, and the Vibram Megagrip proved up to its name once again. Over a combination of East Coast and West Coast terrain, we didn't experience any slipping. We feel secure and confident in the shoe.

Women's beige-colored Cadi right shoe, toe angled toward camera

Linda tested it a few times over her regular trail run route that has a combination of terrains, with plenty of roots, some trickier rocky parts, and some hilly runnable dirt. Key to performance, she felt secure in the shoe and with her footing. She got in at least one run after it rained and she had no slippage on wet rocks or leaves.

Ava agrees that it has great grip, but felt that she wouldn't really enjoy this shoe on super technical trails, just because the stack height is a little tall for her preference for a trail shoe. But, for the purpose of long trail days on your feet, this Cadi feels great underfoot.

"One of my favorite parts is the Vibram outsole. That thing is grippy. I took it on a local hike that basically has around an 85% incline and I usually slip and fall in the loose gravel at least once. Not with these shoes!"

-Ava

Outsole shot of women's beige-colored Cadi right shoe facing left, showing the Vibram Megagrip lug pattern

Comfort

The bottom line? This is a comfortable trail shoe.

Right out of the box, the foam feels a little firmer in hand than expected, but once you have it on your feet and you're moving, it feels really good. While wouldn’t necessarily describe it as plush, there’s a good amount of cushioning underfoot, and we feel confident that this will provide ample protection for longer trail jaunts.

If we had to critique the midsole, it might feel like it lacks a "springy" element that can help inject some energy back into a max-cushion trail shoe.

The shoe itself is quite comfortable for a trail shoe. I found the midsole to be comfortable, but it just felt like it lacked a bit of playfulness that I may have expected from a more cushioned trail shoe. Not to say I didn’t enjoy the shoe overall, but that’s why I rated it an 8 and not higher.

-Linda

NNormal Cadi in green color, medial side of left shoe facing right

Lastly, the upper disappears once it's on, which we enjoyed. For all of us, that's usually the highest compliment for an upper: that you don't notice it and can forget you have it on. Plus, we like that there's a little extra cushioning in the tongue.

Fit

This is the area where we'd most like to see some fine-tuning to match our individual preferences. There were some negatives and some positives, but overall the fit ended up working fine.

On initial try-on, the shoe feels slightly short, but this did not translate into any toe-crowding issues once in motion, especially when wearing thinner socks. We didn’t experience any hotspots, and there’s a nice amount of room in the toe box.

NNormal Cadi in blue, left shoe facing right, top view of the upper

We found the midfoot to fit on the narrow side. Linda was able to absolve this by loosening up the lower laces to give herself a bit more room. Ava struggled a bit more to find her ideal fit—without a proper lockdown, she became acutely aware of an uncomfortable geometry under her arches. Thankfully, after cinching down with the runner’s loop (lacing into the extra eyelet at the top near the ankle), she was able to get a dialed-in fit, and this problem disappeared.

If given options, we might test the fit of a half-size up. But, since we ran fine in our normal sizes, this is ultimately a matter of finding the lacing security that works for you.

I do have average-to-narrow feet, so I could see this being too narrow for the average-to-wide feet runners. I did love the amount of space in the toe box though!

-Ava

NNormal Cadi in Beige, left shoe facing left

Linda

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My number one factor for any trail shoe is the confidence to support me on a variety of terrains, and the Cadi did just that. I found the midsole to be comfortable over many miles; however, I didn’t feel that extra little spring in the shoe that I've gotten from some comparable models. I did take pause when initially trying on the shoe due to a concern on correct sizing (the shoe felt just a tad shorter than my usual size), but ultimately (and thankfully) the size worked for me without issue.

Maybe looks shouldn’t matter, but in my world, they do. I’m typically not a beige/brownish colorway gal, but I give NNormal a big high-five on the visual of this shoe. Overall, I've enjoyed testing the Cadi, and I'll keep this in my regular rotation for the trail.

Linda's Breakdown
Performance	8
Comfort	8
Fit	8
Overall	8

Ava

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The NNormal Cadi is a great option for an everyday trail shoe. The cushioning felt surprisingly more firm than expected right out of the box, but once I put it on, it felt good. There's plenty of cushioning to keep you feeling fresh during long trail days, and I personally would rather have a trail shoe leaning firm rather than too soft. One of my favorite parts is the outsole. I was able to take it on one of the steepest hikes in the area and actually not slip for the first time ever!

The one aspect that's preventing me from rating it higher is the narrow midfoot. I had to use the runner’s loop to get a good lockdown and keep me centered on the pretty narrow midfoot area. I wish there was just a bit more room to breathe there. But I loved how much space was in the toe box. Overall, I'll be using this as my weekend long run trail shoe moving forward!