Gear Review: Saucony Xodus GTX 4.0 trail running shoe

The Xodus has been my go to trail shoe for 3 consecutive purchases. I did two pair of the Xodus 3.0 and now I have put several hundred miles on my Xodus GTX 4.0. This is the first time I have bought the more expensive GTX (Gore-Tex) model and I have only ran in rainy conditions once or twice so perhaps I don't really need the GTX feature. It does add weight via the added "booty" inside and the added overlays. The other thing that the Gore-Tex does is work. My feet stayed dry, all of the reviews I read said their feet stayed dry so if you're running in wet weather this shoe will keep you dry. The shoe pays a price for that GTX feature. It comes in at a hefty 11.9oz!!! but I suspect some of that is due to all of the protection this shoe offers beyond just the weatherproofing.

First off this shoe has a Vibram outsole with a very aggressive lug pattern. The protection and grip that this affords you in dry weather is exceptional but in wet weather the rubber starts to get a bit slippery. I've never had mud cake up the tread pattern or rocks wedge into the tread but the slippery aspect is a bit of a let down. This shoe also has a rock plate that runs the length of the shoe and it works! Roots, rocks or whatever you step on is not going to bruise the soft underside of your foot in this shoe. To lock your foot down to this bed Saucony has incorporated it's Pro Lock system that goes over the midfoot area to help lock the foot down to the shoe and give it that glove like feel. This is super important in my opinion when your bombing down technical single track. The shoe laces are those stretchy kind that I know nothing about other than they do not come untied. To back that up this shoe offers a lace garage on the tongue and to further protect you from trail debris this shoe has a gusseted tongue and gaiter loops at the toe and heel of the shoe. This shoe is the Hummer SUV of trail shoes. Most of the reviews I have read all agree that the weight of this shoe is less than stellar so that will take some getting use to for you but beyond that I have no reservations in recommending this shoe.

 I like the fit and feel of this shoe. It has a 4mm heel drop with plenty of cushion and protection for even the gnarliest of trails. The low heel drop is not the same on this shoe as it is on a minimalist shoe because the stack height is substantially different. 26mm at the heel and 22mm at the forefoot!!! When I said this shoe was the SUV of trail shoes I wasn't kidding. It's big and heavy but it works in all regards. Dry feet, protected feet, laces that stay tied and a lace garage on a gusseted tongue. You can not complain about this shoe other than it's heavy and I slipped out a little bit on some trail debris when it was misty out. I highly recommend this shoe although I may not go for the GTX model simply because I don't have a ton of wet run days or river crossings but if you do, by all means, get this shoe.

Gear Review: Saucony Ride 7

 The reviews I read when this shoe was brand new on the market were astounding. Trusted sites were saying this was the best version of an already great shoe. I read it was lighter with more cushion and could take a pounding for 500 miles. This sounded exactly like what I wanted for my fall/ winter marathon training and racing. Now that I have put 200+ miles on this shoe and I have done five 20+ mile runs on them I think I have my mind made up on these. In my opinion they are "uuuhhhhhh whatever". In other words I have nothing bad to say about them but for some reason I don't love them or feel the need to dump praise all over them. I am just middle of the road neutral on this shoe.

 Lets look at the stats that are being heralded as stellar by the shoe reviewers out there. First the weight of the shoe has been reduced from previous versions down to 9.3oz. That's great but 9.3 is not super light in my opinion. 10oz is where shoes start to get heavy and sub 9oz is where they start to get light. This shoe at 9.3oz is just okay. I will admit that when I first put them on they felt light and cushy and I was really impressed but as time went on I realized they didn't feel much lighter or much softer than my Saucony Xodus trail shoe. In reality they are lighter by about 2 oz! The second most praised aspect of this shoe is that it has been lowered down to an 8mm drop. That's great for people who are trying to work their way down to a more minimalist shoe. I highly encourage people to get out of the standard 12mm drop by starting with an 8mm and then going to 4mm and then to a zero drop. I'm running in 4mm or less 99% of the time and for me to go back to an 8mm was surprisingly strange. I did not realize just how different this higher heel would feel after an hour out on the road. Don't get me wrong. It's not a horrible feeling just different then what I am used to. One thing is for certain. When you shorten your Achilles tendon by raising your heel you risk Achilles tendinitis when you return to the lower heel height. So I'm not doing myself any favors by running often in this shoe, so I don't. I've owned the shoe since October and I barely have 200 miles on them.

 To sum it up, most of the reviews you will read on this shoe will convince you that it is a really great shoe and it is for some people but perhaps not me. It was Runner's World Magazine's Editors Choice award winner for whatever that is worth. I like the shoe. I don't love it. It's nice to rotate this in every once in awhile and if my legs feel beat up this is a good recovery shoe. I will probably explore other shoes in the future so buying a second pair is not on my radar for this model.

Gear Review: Saucony Kinvara 3

Originally written in 2012

2012 Kinvara 3

This is a great shoe. I feel like this is the love child of my Pure Cadence & MV2's. My Pure Cadence were approaching the replace point and I thought I was going to go buy another pair. My brother had mentioned his love for the Kinvara line a few times and I recently fell in love with the Saucony Xodus trail shoe. So I decided to do a comparison at the local Road Runner Sports Store between the Brooks & the Saucony's. It was close but the Kinvara is just a touch better and I don't know what it is that makes the difference. The Kinvara is a 4 mm drop shoe that connects to the road as well if not better than any of the other shoes I've tried. Its definitely a light weight shoe at 7.7oz. The upper doesn't have the traditional sewn in overlays strategically placed to pull the shoe into your foot. Instead it has a "Flexfilm" that can be described as a plastic, filmy sort of nylonish material that locks the shoe upper onto your foot. This is a really great shoe at one of the lowest price points ($100) for a shoe of this quality. I ran hundreds of training miles in this shoe and even used in the Napa Valley Marathon in early 2013 where I set my PR. This shoe is not to be missed. I really feel confident in telling you to go out and try this shoe. Buy it at a store where they have a good return policy so you feel safe in making the purchase and then go do 3 or 4 days in the shoe and I am certain you will love it. You will not return it and you will come back to this post and leave a comment telling me I was not full of hype but rather spot on with my analysis that this is as close to a perfect shoe as any could be.

Gear Review: Saucony Progris Xodus 3.0

Saucony Progrid Xodus 3.0 from 2012

Original article written: Fall 2012

Saucony Progrid Xodus 3.0 - Another hybrid shoe in my arsenal that works really well on both roads and trails. I have a few combo routes that I like to do that keeps me from driving to the trails and this shoe fits that bill perfectly. I think it is a little more trail than it is road and that's a good thing (see NB Minimus).