By Kieran Alger
Saucony is a brand on the rise. In recent years it has produced some of the best running shoes for daily training and race day. At the faster end, the Saucony Endorphin Speed set the benchmark for speedy daily trainers and the Endorphin Elite delivered marathon racing potential to rival some of the top carbon race shoes.
If you’re a newcomer to Saucony running shoes or a regular who’s wondering whether to switch things up from within the Saucony range, I’m here to help. I’ve tested most of the newest Saucony shoes. And from the big cushion stability of the Saucony Hurricane 25, to the do-it-all prowess of the punchy Saucony Endorphin Speed 5, I’m here with my pick of the best Saucony running shoes.
1. Saucony Hurricane 25 – Best Stable Daily Trainer for Cushioned Easy/Recovery Runs
It’s in the big volume easy miles where the real magic happens. Those longer, slower miles build your engine. And the key is to rack up as many of those as you can without digging yourself into a hole. For these low heart rate, conversational runs where you feel like you could keep running longer, most runners reach for shoes that prioritise cushion, comfort and protection. Think saloon car comfort. The Hurricane delivers that.
The Hurricane combines the comfort of a big, soft stack with stability elements like a wide platform to offer subtle guidance for those who need it. It uses PWRRUN PB (the lively foam you get in the Endorphin Speed 5) directly underfoot to provide the softness and response with a PWRRUN carrier for added protection and stability. Along with Saucony’s CenterPath Technology – a pairing of higher walls and wider platform – works with a rocker to deliver a smooth ride and subtle stability that even neutral runners can enjoy.
Saucony’s CenterPath Technology – a pairing of higher walls and wider platform – works with a rocker to deliver a smooth ride and subtle stability that even neutral runners can enjoy. I don’t tend to need stability shoes but in tests I enjoyed the added control that feels nicely natural.
The Hurricane combines the comfort of a big, soft stack with stability elements like a wide platform to offer subtle guidance for those who need it. It uses PWRRUN PB (the lively foam you get in the Endorphin Speed 5) directly underfoot to provide the softness and response with a PWRRUN carrier for added protection and stability. Along with Saucony’s CenterPath Technology – a pairing of higher walls and wider platform – works with a rocker to deliver a smooth ride and subtle stability that even neutral runners can enjoy.
2. Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 – Best Daily Trainer All-Rounder With a Faster Edge
If easy runs build engine capacity, fast runs shift the top-speed potential. As a rule of thumb around 20 per cent of your weekly mileage should fit in the fast bracket. We’re talking intervals and harder sessions that ask you to move at 70-80% of your all-out effort. This can include 200m, 400m and 800m repeats or runs with segments pushing your fastest paces. Think 5km, 10km and half marathon pace.
My go-to shoe from Saucony’s line up for these faster sessions has always been the Saucony Endorphin Speed. Luckily Saucony hasn’t meddled too much with the Endorphin Speed 5. That’s a good thing in my book. You’ve got a softer-tuned midsole and an updated nylon plate but on the whole it’s business as usual.
While it’s starting to feel different to some of the bigger stack, softer, springier shoes. I like that Saucony has resisted the urge to stick its super squishy incrediRun foam from the Endorphin Elite 2 in here to chase a softer, more bouncy ride.
With its combination of punchy PWRUN PB foam, nylon plate and Speedroll rockering, it’s light, snappy, smooth and responsive. It offers more ground feel and agility than some of the bigger stack super trainers like the ASICS Superblast 2.
I think the Speed package works. It’s still a cracking all rounder, light and fast enough for your faster training miles but cushioned, protective and smooth enough to handle slower miles as well.
If you enjoy shoes with energy that don’t try to do all the work for you, you’ll enjoy the Speed 5. Though it’s built for speed, it’s got great versatility too. If I could only buy one shoe to cover all my runs, this would be high up the list.
3. Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 – Best Carbon Plate Shoe for Tempo Runs
Tempo runs train your body to sustain speed over distance. These comfortably hard efforts should have you feeling like you’re in control but you’d be happy if you could ease off the gas a little. The classic tempo run is two to four miles. But if you’re training for a 10km, you might want to push to four to six miles, eight for the half-marathon, and eight to 10 for marathon.
There are a lot of shoes in the Saucony line-up that can handle these tempo efforts. The Endorphin Speed 4 is definitely worth considering as there’s also not much to choose between the energy of Speed 4 and the Pro 4. But if you want a shoe that offers more cushioning and softer landings and a little more bounce in the midsole, the Pro 4 is it.
The Endorphin Pro 4 features two types of foam in its midsole. There’s an added layer of PWRRUN HG atop the carbon plate, closer to the foot and then a wedge of PWRRUN PB at the bottom.
That stacks up to a good level of cushioning that caters well for tempo efforts. I also like the fact the heel collars offer much more padding than you’ll find on many carbon race shoes. That boosts the long-run comfort.
The Endorphin Pro 4 isn’t as all-out fast and efficient as the top carbon racers like the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokoy or the Nike Alphafly 3. It’s not as aggressive as the Saucony Endorphin Elite 2. But if you want a more subtle carbon shoe for faster-pace miles, the Endorphin Pro 4 is a good option. It’ll also look after you deep into a marathon if the wheels have come off.
4. Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 – Best Carbon Plate Shoe for Racing the Half Marathon
The Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 is Saucony’s top-tier carbon racer, designed for your fastest efforts in training and racing. The original Elite divided opinion. Some found it fast but too firm for longer races. Others enjoyed the consistent energetic ride. But you can forget everything you‘ve read or heard about the Elite because it’s been given a complete overhaul.
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Saucony swapped its very responsive but somewhat firm PWRRUN HG foam for a big stack of a new TPEE incrediRUN foam.
This new foam is incredibly soft, squishy and really bouncy. Perhaps the softest, most compressive foam we’ve seen yet on a carbon race shoe. There’s a full-length, slotted carbon plate in the middle to bring some stabilisation to that super soft foam. Plus you get Saucony’s familiar SpeedRoll rockering to help smooth out those transitions, along with quite a big cutaway on the lateral side of the midsole.
The midsole is all about high compression and high rebound which creates a slingshot sort of ride that’s big on energy but at the cost of certainty. If you need lots of stability, this probably isn’t the race shoe for you.
For most runners, the Endorphin Elite 2 is probably less versatile than the Endorphin Pro 4, just due to how soft and wild the midsole foam is. It likely caters better for the shorter, faster runs up to the half marathon. You might want a more reliable cushion and protection for tackling the full 26.2.
But for all out efforts where the going is good underfoot and you’re running in nice straight lines, the Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 is a very capable, fast, racy, PR-chaser that really delivers when you’re running fast, concentrating on good form, with good foot placement.
5. Saucony Guide 18 – Best Stability Shoe for Daily Miles
The Saucony Guide 18 steps into Saucony’s running shoe line-up as a solid, no-nonsense and milder stability option for overpronators who want more cushion in a daily mileage shoe. It’s not as stacked as the Hurricane 24, so if you want even more cush with stability, check that out. But there’s a lot to like about the Guide 18.
For a maximal, highly cushioned, stability shoe, it manages to feel light and offers smooth transitions and great clip-along for the slower easier miles. The ride can be a bit blocky fresh out of the box but once you’ve broken it in, it’s the kind of shoe that helps you tick over the easy miles in solid, reliable comfort.
The dual-foam combination of the PWRRUN and PWRRUN PB midsole foams works well and the supportive elements create a subtle stability. The shoes really feel like they’re working with you in a natural way for a supportive – but not interruptive – feel.
I’d pick the Guide 18 ahead of the likes of the ASICS Gel Kayano 32. Though fans of softer support might prefer the Kayano’s more cushioned ride. Fans of much lighter stability might want to check out the HOKA Arahi 8 as well.
If you need extra support, the Guide is one to check out. A good, stable, dependable daily trainer right here.
6. Saucony Triumph 23– Best Responsive Daily
Now in its 23rd generation, the Saucony Triumph is the brand’s longest-serving running shoe. It’s been through a lot of changes over the years but it remains Saucony’s range-topping model in terms of cushioning.
The latest incarnation stays true to the Triumph remit - to deliver cushioned daily miles for those who want softness but response. On the surface it doesn’t look like much has changed from the Triumph 22 but there are some important updates. Crucially the PWRRUN PB midsole has been fine tuned to add some extra pop while the uppers and outsole have been tweaked to cut the weight.
The weight savings and the reworked midsole has transformed the shoe once again. It’s back to being a more versatile shoe, suitable for a range of paces. If you want a soft, wide platform that’ll cushion and cocoon the Triumph 23 offers that, just with a bit more response.
7. Saucony Endorphin Azura – Best Non-Plated Daily Trainer
A brand new shoe in the Saucony Endorphin line-up, the Endorphin Azura drops in alongside the Endorphin Speed 5 and the Endorphin Pro 5 as a fast-edge daily trainer. Only, like the hugely popular Adidas EVO SL and the ASICS Megablast, this forgoes the plate. And if you’ve been looking for a faster daily trainer without a stiffening carbon or nylon plate, the Azura is excellent.
This new non-plated daily trainer uses the same PWRUN PB foam you find in the Endorphin Speed 5 with Saucony’s familiar Speedroll rockering, engineered mesh uppers and grippy XT-900 rubber outsole. That all adds up to a hugely versatile, light, lively, fun and well-fitting package that has the do-it-all swagger of the best versatile shoes.
It offers ample cushion and support with a slightly softer edge than the stiffer Speed 5 but still bounces you out of each footstep with an energy that’s not far off the Endorphin Speed.
The Azura fulfils its brief as a lively, fun and free-flowing running shoe, that’ll eat most of the runs in a marathon training block. All at a price that also represents really good value.
My Saucony Shoe Rotation
If I was picking my current Saucony shoe rotation, it’d be the Saucony Ride 18 for my easy, recovery miles, the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 for the majority of my daily training miles, tempo sessions and speedwork and then for all-out racing for the half or marathon distance, I’d lace up the Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 over the Endorphin Pro 4.
Except for a couple of circumstances: if I knew the course was twisty, the going underfoot was cut up and uneven or I knew there was a good chance I wouldn't be able to hold good form for the full race. In which case the Endorphin Pro 4 for its more reliable platform.
Hi, thanks for sharing above info, however I would like to correct that on Guide 18 – heel drop is 8mm and not 6mm, though it is mentioned on Saucony website as 6mm. I watched a YouTube video where reviwer mentioned it is 8mm and is also mentioned as 8mm on its insoles. Only downside of this shoe, is there is no grip and is highly slippery on wet/slippery surfaces