Review: Saucony Pro-grid Guide: Be my GuideMy wife bought me a pair of Saucony Pro-grid Guide after I told her following Sundown Marathon that my existing shoes' cushioning seemed overused and it's time to look for a new pair. Just in time for me to try out during my recovery run one week later in another event, the Passion Run although I already did another run 3 days after Sundown albeit just a short 5km...
The last time I owned a Saucony was more than 10 years ago... I can't even remember the model of that but I do remember the grid system in the midsole which to be honest, was kinda "gimicky" if you ask me at that point in time. Somehow, Saucony had stayed true to this "technology" and has since developed a more advanced version of it called the "Pro-grid". I can't really figure out what is the difference between the 2 except that the new Pro-grid seemed to be a new foam material instead of the old tennis strings of the old "grid" system.
As I understand it, the Saucony Pro-grid guide is the 6th addition and replaces the popular Saucony Pro-grid Trigon guide 5. I am not sure why Saucony stopped using Trigon for this shoe although they have continued to use names like Triumph and Trigon Ride for their other shoe series. Here's my review of the Pro-grid Guide after running about 25km in the shoes.
Weight 4.5/5
This shoe is light. Despite haing a medial post that people tend to associate with added weight, it is not the case for the Guide. In fact, upon checking, it seems like the official weight is even lighter than some of the cushioning shoes that I have. The shoes employs lots of mesh and few overlays (only in areas where they are needed). This could be one of the contributing factors to the light weight.
The mesh material is also highly breatheable and I did not suffer any heat built-up problem over a 11.5km run.
Cushioning, Stability, Responsiveness 4.5/5
One of the best shoes I've had, period. The Guide employed a whole host of technological system despite it not being the highest end stability shoes in its range. The heel and forefoot are added with SRC (Super-Rebound Compound) which makes the shoe highly responsive, something I really like a lot. In the heel, the guide also featured its patented Pro-grid impact cushioning system, which helps attenuate shock on heel impact. The result is a very very smooth ride.
The stability of the shoes comes in the form of a medial post which is placed somewhere between the heel and the forefoot. This actually helps to control late stage over-pronation and in my opinion works very well.
Some other technology used to provide stability includes a Flexion plate in the arch area which helps to provide torsional rigidity.
Fit, flexibility, traction 4.5/5
Again, the Guide scored very high marks in this area for me. The fit of the Guide is excellent. The toe box is wide but not too roomy whilst the midfoot and the heel is comfortable and snug. In no instances did I feel any heel-slip whilst wearing the shoes. The shoes are also very flexible. The flexibility is in my opinion just right, not too overly flexible. The traction of the shoes are good. The forefoot blown rubber provides outstanding grip.
Durability 3.5/5
Unfortunately, on good thing does not lead to another. As good as the cushioning is and as well constructed the Guide is, the durability of the shoe may be its archille's heel. After merely around 25km in the shoes, I can already see significant wear, particularly in the outsole area. This actually comes as a surprise to me given that the heel outsole is suppose to be made up of Saucony's in-house carbon rubber material called XT-900.
Overall 4.25/5
The Guide is indeed a solid stable shoes. As the name suggests, the Guide guided my feet and helps control overpronation diligently, providing one of the smoothest heel-to-toe transition and great cushioining. I would actually rate the cushioining of this shoe very highly (better than a cushioining category shoe)!
The shoes will definitely be good enough for long runs up to marathon distance. It is light weight, the cushioning is superb and the fit and breatheability of the shoes are also excellent.
The only set back is perhaps the durability of the shoes which I am somewhat a little disappointed. However, at a price of S$102.00 (after discount), it definitely held its ground very very well against many of the more expensive shoes and very value for money.
Disclaimer: The opinion rendered is strictly my own, based on my personal experience whilst running in the shoes. It is not intended to act as any technical or professional advice. Please do not rely or infer on this when deciding which shoes to buy as every runner's profile is different.
