6 Best Saucony Walking Shoes in 2023

We cannot pick any other Saucony walking shoe apart from Saucony Ride 16 considering all the aspects that compose an outstanding shoe. From notable breathability and well-founded traction to light construction and pampering yet stable footbed – this Saucony has got it all!

We subjected Ride 16 to our breathability test and evaluated how much smoke emerged from its upper. As it transpired, the upper freed a huge amount of smoke that earned its 5/5 breathability rating. This resulted in the most refreshing rides. Speaking of refreshing, the thickness of this shoe’s insole exceeded the average by 2 mm, as it’s 6.4 mm thick! Clearly, this supplied us with pleasure even on long walks.

We also brought Ride 16 indoors, to cities, and to light trails and one thing is common in all these places: the shoe’s dependable outsole! Measuring the outsole hardness, we realized that at 83.9 HC or a hardness greater than average by 5.9%, it isn’t only grippy but also durable.

This durability didn’t extend to the toebox and sock liner, though. We verified this using our Dremel tool, which frayed the areas easily, thus getting a 1/5 durability rating. If you seek something that you can use for a lengthy period, we suggest selecting other robust shoes.

Saucony Guide 16 is not only the best Saucony walking shoe for flat feet but also the most extraordinary one. With Guide 16, keeping the ankles in a neutral position and being supported on the heels and arches do not automatically correspond to rock-hard midsoles and overall rigidness. It equates to all-day-long pleasure minus flimsiness, ideal for flat footers.

Our ankles were glued to place, thanks to the excellent heel support of Guide 16. We further tested its containment capacity by subjectively assessing its stiffness. Compressing and squeezing it didn’t do any good: the heel was unbudging, scoring 5/5 for stiffness.

While pushing our durometer down, the midsole logged a softness of 20.0 HA (18.7% softer than average), but we still found Guide 16 supportive of our arch. We cracked the shoes open and discovered that one of the elements that took the strain off of our arches was the HOLLOW-TECH system. This, along with the other reinforcing elements of the shoe, surprisingly didn’t turn it into an immovable shoe. We substantiated this using our digital force gauge. It reflected a significantly lower force of 20.5N compared to the 30.7N average. This means that Guide 16 is 33.2% more flexible than most.

Our only concern is the shoe’s ability to last. It didn’t take us long before we realized that its outsole was already moderately grounded away. If this also concerns you, we recommend looking for other alternatives.

In the realm of cushioning, the Saucony Triumph 21 is beyond compare among the other Saucony pairs because the pleasure and responsiveness it brings are on another level! We are over the moon whenever we are sporting this shoe, thanks to the air-soft footbed that makes us oblivious to the harshness of the ground.

Our caliper displayed a 39.1 mm elevation in the heel and 28.6 mm height in the forefoot. These are above the averages by 17.8% and 17.2%, demonstrating how chunky the midsole is. Making it even better is its softness that takes care of our feet on prolonged on-foot journeys. We verified this using our durometer and it registered 16.8 HA softness which is 30% more plush than the average!

The softness of the midsole practically felt the same to us even in cold seasons and our findings in the lab validated our impression. After putting Triumph 21 in our freezer for 20 minutes, we measured the midsole softness again and it increased to 21.6 HA. Despite the 28.6% increase, the midsole is still softer than the average by 28.7%, so we didn’t get to step on a rock-hard foam.

The cushioning stack heights resulted in a 10.5 heel-to-toe drop, which is 1.7 mm greater than the standard. While this is good news for the heel strikers among us when we also sported this shoe in light runs, our forefoot striker testers are not enthused. If you also land on your forefoot and you think this drop is too high, we suggest looking for other shoes.

In our search for the best Saucony hiking shoe, which involved hours of outdoor quests and lab tests, we stumbled upon the excellence that is Saucony Peregrine 13. It’s the best out there because of how it turned complicated trails into easy-peasy ones. The insole and cushioning even concealed the constant impact when landing on rocks and roots, making our treks as smooth as possible.

We looked into the cushioning system of Peregrine 13 and found that the heel and forefoot stack heights were below the usual by 13% and 2.5%. But still, at 27.5 mm and 23.6 mm, respectively, we felt that these were healthy amounts of cushioning that buffered shock while trail walking.

The impact wasn’t the only thing Peregrine 13 protected us from but also treacherous pathways. We didn’t miss our footing on any trail we went, may it be snowy, muddy, rocky, or icy. Thanks to our handy durometer and caliper, we learned two things: the outsole is almost as hard as the standard and it caters to 4.8 mm lugs (1.3 mm thicker than average). Combining the two made it easier for the outsole to clasp hard onto any surface.

Our feet had natural placements on the terrain, allowing us to maintain our balance on uneven ground. We inspected the shoe in our lab and we discovered that what made this possible is the superb flexibility. Our digital force gauge reflected a 20.8N force, which we calculated to be 34.2% more flexible than average.

However, we do not advise sporting this shoe in scorching hot weather because it only scored 3/5 on our breathability test. We recommend searching for other more breathable pairs if you are to tackle long trails in the warm season.

The title of the exemplary lightweight Saucony walking shoe belongs to Saucony Kinvara 14. The sense of relief is what makes us go about our trips with this shoe without qualms – just pure comfort. And have mentioned it’s hella responsive?

While Kinvara 14 is ultra-light, our walks in it are lively and energetic. We discovered that this is due to the midsole that registered a firmness of 24.8 HA, which is in close proximity to the 24 HA average. 

Weighing in at 6.84 oz (194g), the Kinvara 14 comes lighter and behind the average by 27.6%. On our strolls, the feeling of airiness indeed prevailed, making our trips all the more comfortable. Speaking of airiness, the shoe also granted us properly ventilated feet, on account of its light and porous upper. We examined its upper closely with our microscope and it exhibited large holes for air to freely pass through.

However, the upper is also proven to be the weak spot of the shoe. When we drove our Dremel into its toebox, the material ripped fast. With a 1/5 toebox durability rating, we recommend seeking more robust pairs if you want something that isn’t prone to wear.

Laborious testing of Saucony walking shoes led us to the decision of surmounting Saucony Endorphin Shift 3 as the best for all-day wear. We found that it isn’t only perfect for day to night because of its unbelievable in-shoe feel but because of its versatility and stylishness. No pain, all gain - this is what this shoe is all about!

One of the many reasons why we didn’t mind being in Shift 3 for hours was its fantastic ventilation. The air smoothly circulates in and out of the shoe as clearly shown in our breathability test. We pumped smoke inside it and the upper easily coughed the smoke out, scoring 4/5 in breathability.

Whether we were touring or working, we didn’t feel like we were carrying weights down our legs with Shift 3. Our weighing scale displayed a 9.4 oz (266.0g) weight, which is only 1.9% lighter than average. This was surprising for us because it felt so much lighter than on paper.

We also loved the cushioning of Shift 3, which made it seem like we were stepping on pillows. We turned to our durometer and we discovered that the midsole is 22.0 HA soft, which is 10.6% softer than average. What sucked was that the shoe wasn’t that accommodating. Using our caliper, we learned that the widest part of the toebox measured 94.2 mm. This is 3.7 narrower than the average. So if you have bunions or generally have wide feet, we suggest skipping this pair.