If you've been missing out, allow me to catch you up:
- Some background on why the heck carbon plate running shoes & where did they come from
- A little editorial about my experience running in the New Balance RC Elite carbon plate shoe
Today, another little editorial on the Saucony Endorphin Pro, Saucony's first foray into the carbon plate world. You can still get this version of the shoe at a few places at a significant discount though the available sizes are limited. The version 2 (extremely similar to version 1) is widely available and the version 3 (HELLA different) is coming soon. (A few shoe blogs and running stores have released their preliminary reviews.)
Why did I buy these shoes when I already had a pair of New Balance RC Elites? Three reasons, friends:
- 1) Curiosity; Saucony shoes have always fit my foot well and I wanted to see how they compared with the New Balance version.
2) They were $45 cheaper than the RC Elites at the time ($180 vs $225).
3) I had a $20 coupon for Saucony.com which to be honest was what ultimately tipped the scales.
There were a few different colorway options but let's be honest, if you have the option of a checkered flat colorway in a racing shoe, why would you NOT take it.
Like my RC Elites, this shoe is also a size 7.5 and weighs in at 6.4 ounces, just a touch heavier than the Elite's 5.95 ounces.
Like the RC Elites and pretty much all carbon plate racing shoes, the outsole is overwhelmingly foam (PWRRUN PB in this case, Saucony's high-end performance foam) with just enough blown rubber to grip the ground and provide some protection for the foam, meaning you can't expect them to last all that long. Remember that the top priority for this class of running shoe is speed, not durability.
Unlike the RC Elites (whose outsoles were covered in little hard blown rubber "spikes"), the Endorphin Pro went the route of doing a kind of outline around the outer edge of the shoe, plus some ridges across the forefoot area. I've had
I've had these shoes for a little over a year but only run about 45 miles in them, so it remains to be seen whether this strategy gives them a little more durability than the RC Elites had.
How do they compare?
When I first put them on, there was definitely the same sort of squishy, bouncy, unstable feeling as in the RC Elites. You can definitely feel the foam squishing and unsquishing even just walking around. There is the same "little trampolines" feeling running, though to me the Endorphin Pros felt juuuust a touch stiffer than the RC Elites and juuuust a touch less bouncy and "poppy". Does that mean they don't offer the same advantage as the RC Elites? Honestly, I don't even know how to begin to assess that.
Also like the RC Elites, I often find my foot sliding toward the front of the shoe when I really try to run fast, and heel lock lacing only seems to help a little. For the first few miles, I found myself pausing at red lights to try to kick my heel back into place in the shoe. It's not terrible, just noticeable enough to be slightly annoying when you've paid $180. If I were having this same issue in a $100-110 pair, I might not even mention it.
On the plus side, the Endorphin Pro had a MUCH roomier toe box, so the sliding forward in the shoe wasn't as big a deal as in the RC Elites. I think I still might size up to an 8 if I were to buy another pair, thanks to the extra space, the sliding was mostly just kind of annoying and not painful.
Would I buy them again?
Probably not, but it's kind of a trick question since Saucony is already on to version 3, which appears to have been completely redesigned (the price has been redesigned as well, from a "modest" $180 to a cool $225). Of the RC Elite and Endorphin Pro, I preferred the feel of the RC Elite, but I'd be open to trying other versions of the Endorphin Pro in the future.
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