If you have followed my earlier quick take on the SP5, I have given it an early thumbs up and since then I have put in more mileage to reaffirm that first impression.
The upper material used gave no surprise and continue with the trend with light weight highly breathable mesh and FlexFlim. Running though a slightly damp muddy terrain patches had my feet immediately feels that water has found its way into the shoes, no problem there as it also means the mesh is highly breathable keeping the moist away quick too. On the downside, fine sands will find its way easily into the shoes but a gaiter would solve the problem largely, no biggie. However, I found no such issue for larger debris and no hot spot with close to 3hrs on a single run. The toebox is generous which suits my wide feet; with RunDry collar and a gusseted tongue, it wraps the feet nicely with no noticeable feet sliding. The rubber toe cap, is well executed and looks durable keeping the unwanted pain away kicking on roots or rocks.
PowerGrid form and nylon rockplate forms the midsole of the shoes giving the right amount of cushion similar to its road racing siblings. While the midsole provides protection and cushioning, it does not take away the ground feel and dulled the run. On a few occasion, I ran over edgy and sharp rocks on purpose just to test out the cushioning and protection. There may be a slight protruding feeling that you can sense on the feet, but it is not serious enough to bother me and I suspect the nylon's flexing genetic from the rockplate did the job well absorbing the impact.
SP5 comes with a 4mm drop with a stack height of 21.5mm heel and 17.5mm forefoot. The outsole is made out of XT-900 carbon rubber which was proven to be durable over Suacony range of shoes. With the chevron patterned lugs that has 4 - 5mm deep are off different direction providing traction both uphill and going downhill.
The grip comes alive when put on the trail terrain, on the ascend it really bites well. A reader recently asked if I will test it in Nuang especially on the slippery mud/clay surface and whether the grip will go away with the lugs collecting mud, unfortunately I did not find time to do it due to other commitments. Saying that, I have churned in some tests on a steep (maybe 15-20%) soft ground incline, and to answer the question I believed SP5 will suffer the same faith as any other competitor brands of shoes if the mud collected covers all the lugs/rubber. The condition I tested in did not allow me to collect enough mud/clay covering all the lugs; while the lugs collect mud and sands slightly but it doesn't affect the grip as SP5 drops the element off the sole quickly and grip was never a concern over the duration of test. There was only one occasion where I feel a small slip toeing off on a uphill wet tarmac, other than that, the outsole is giving the grip as it should on a trail shoe.
On the descend, putting my trust on the shoes, I ran as fast as I could again just to test out the traction. It was pure fun, in fact I ran the descend hard on a different occasion on both wet and dry weather to confirm the feeling is not a one off. It did not disappoint me. The stiffness of the shoes wasn't too bad, it gives room to flex but at the same time stiff enough to hold the shoes right as it should be attacking a descend.
I think Saucony has come out with a shoes that can give other established brand a run of the money. Retailing at RM 429, it is considerably easier on the bank account compare to the likes of Salomon SLab range of shoes.
The shoes are kindly provided by RSH (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, sole distributor of Saucony in Malaysia for review purposes; all opinion are based on actual test without influence.
The shoes itself does not wight much and it is a mere 9.6oz for a men's US9.0. Mere? you may ask. Yes, SP5 is not the lightest in its league, but with the cushion that comes with the shoes, it is one of the lightest that you can get your feet on. Saying that, SP5 is far from being a bulky cushioned shoes. When I first put on the shoes, my feet was comfortable wrapped around by the upper and boy I knew immediately this is a well designed shoes but will it lived up to the reputation as a fast shoes suggested by its name of Peregrine Falcon? Jeng jeng jeng!!
The upper material used gave no surprise and continue with the trend with light weight highly breathable mesh and FlexFlim. Running though a slightly damp muddy terrain patches had my feet immediately feels that water has found its way into the shoes, no problem there as it also means the mesh is highly breathable keeping the moist away quick too. On the downside, fine sands will find its way easily into the shoes but a gaiter would solve the problem largely, no biggie. However, I found no such issue for larger debris and no hot spot with close to 3hrs on a single run. The toebox is generous which suits my wide feet; with RunDry collar and a gusseted tongue, it wraps the feet nicely with no noticeable feet sliding. The rubber toe cap, is well executed and looks durable keeping the unwanted pain away kicking on roots or rocks.
PowerGrid form and nylon rockplate forms the midsole of the shoes giving the right amount of cushion similar to its road racing siblings. While the midsole provides protection and cushioning, it does not take away the ground feel and dulled the run. On a few occasion, I ran over edgy and sharp rocks on purpose just to test out the cushioning and protection. There may be a slight protruding feeling that you can sense on the feet, but it is not serious enough to bother me and I suspect the nylon's flexing genetic from the rockplate did the job well absorbing the impact.
SP5 comes with a 4mm drop with a stack height of 21.5mm heel and 17.5mm forefoot. The outsole is made out of XT-900 carbon rubber which was proven to be durable over Suacony range of shoes. With the chevron patterned lugs that has 4 - 5mm deep are off different direction providing traction both uphill and going downhill.
The grip comes alive when put on the trail terrain, on the ascend it really bites well. A reader recently asked if I will test it in Nuang especially on the slippery mud/clay surface and whether the grip will go away with the lugs collecting mud, unfortunately I did not find time to do it due to other commitments. Saying that, I have churned in some tests on a steep (maybe 15-20%) soft ground incline, and to answer the question I believed SP5 will suffer the same faith as any other competitor brands of shoes if the mud collected covers all the lugs/rubber. The condition I tested in did not allow me to collect enough mud/clay covering all the lugs; while the lugs collect mud and sands slightly but it doesn't affect the grip as SP5 drops the element off the sole quickly and grip was never a concern over the duration of test. There was only one occasion where I feel a small slip toeing off on a uphill wet tarmac, other than that, the outsole is giving the grip as it should on a trail shoe.
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| Women's Peregrine 4 in Red and Men's Peregrine 5 in blue |
The shoes are kindly provided by RSH (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, sole distributor of Saucony in Malaysia for review purposes; all opinion are based on actual test without influence.
I dunno la, I tried the right side, seems okay. Can't say much about the left side though ... :P
ReplyDeleteThe left side is available for you to date this coming weekend
DeleteI ran a pretty good distance on these shoes without breaking them in first. After both runs (even without breaking them in) I fell in love with this shoe.
ReplyDelete