Saucony Triumph 18 vs 17 Comparison Shoe Review

Josh reviews the Saucony Triumph 18 running shoes, a high mileage running shoe to reignite your passion on the pavement and cater to neutral to underpronated (high arched) foot types. He points out the updates to the Saucony Triumph 17 including a traditional blown rubber outsole, delivering more flexibility for snappier transitions and durability to clock up the Ks.

Durability from the ground up ensures the PWRUN+ midsole, your secret weapon for soft and springy cushioning, stays protected.

Improvements to the compression qualities translate to more impact dampening for less fatigue out on the road. A stable underfoot feel empowers you to glide over urban surfaces smoothly and in confidence.

An updated internal heel counter creates a secure yet unobtrusive fit – your rearfoot feels locked-in, but never suffocated. Breathable yet tough to tackle your daily mileage, the Saucony Triumph 18 is the bread and butter of your running shoe rotation and a go-to for everyday athletes craving plush comfort and a responsive pop.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude and today is shoe review time. We're going to be talking all things Saucony Triumph 18. This running shoe has had quite the update with regards to its predecessor, the Saucony Triumph 17.

What I mean by quite the update is that there's been a couple of little changes, but they've only been minor. However, they've executed quite a change in the performance, perception and feel of this specific running shoe.

Like all my shoe reviews we're going to talk all things outsole, midsole and upper. We’ll profile the runner that could be considering this running shoe and hopefully it'll give you some information at home that may help throw this into your running rotation. Let's get stuck in.

Runner Profile

First things first, we're going to profile the runner that should be considering the Saucony Triumph 18.

When looking at the running shoe we've identified on the medial side that like its predecessor and all the Triumphs gone by, it is a neutral high mileage running shoe. When we say neutral, there's no additional arch support on the medial side. There's no Dynamic Support system that's been placed within the midsole of this shoe.

It's designed for runners with a higher arch, a neutral runner to potentially a supinator. When we talk about supinators or under pronators, it's the runner that comes down, goes through midstance and the pressure is on the outside of the foot so they tend to roll out as they go through their gait transition.

What have Saucony done with this shoe in comparison to the Saucony Triumph 17? We’re going to duck into the essential changes from one shoe to the next.

Outsole

Looking at the outsole first, Saucony introduced a crystallised rubber last year and I really liked what it was all about. It was nice, light and durable enough. It probably wasn't ideal on slightly wetter days and that's just some feedback we received from some of our runners out there. However, all in all it performed quite well.

Saucony took them back to the drawing board and they’ve gone back to a traditional blown rubber with the outsole. It's a little lighter and provides a bit more durability as well.

The main reason is they’re trying to protect the asset of this shoe and the asset is that PWRUN+ midsole. It is a very cushioned but responsive midsole. In protecting that asset, you're going to keep the midsole and the ground protection nice and stable with that blown rubber outsole which is what Saucony have done.

To the naked eye, you can see ever so slightly they have tinkered with the forefoot flex grooves. With the Triumph 17 you can see this vertical line that runs right up towards the lateral component of the forefoot.

With the Triumph 18 they've kept that same consistent line, however they’ve added a little slip on the medial side which provides a bit more flexibility through toe-off. It’s a slightly snappier feel as you go through the later end of your gait cycle which is a great addition.

Midsole

Coming through to the midsole of this shoe not a lot has changed. They have the same technology, the PWRUN+ midsole which is what they had in the Triumph 17 and again rolled out it out in the Triumph 18. They've slightly changed the way it's been poured and set into shape.

You’ve got that convex set-up on the lateral component of the Triumph 17 and a similar set-up on the Triumph 18, but they’ve ever so slightly countered that shape. It helps the way the midsole compresses on first point of contact.

It provides a little bit more dampening when your foot contacts the ground on that heel component. If you happen to be a midfoot runner, you're still going to get a nice amount of cushioning through that landing zone as well. It’s full ground contact which I really like.

With the midsole we're talking about an 8mm heel-to-toe offset, nothing has changed there. Nothing has changed for a number of years with Saucony Triumph and they’ve kept that 8mm offset to be on the table for the best part of a decade now.

Regarding the cushioning system, if you haven’t happened to run with a PWRUN+ midsole before you can expect a very soft but smooth and bouncy ride.

I don't usually want to draw comparisons from one shoe to the next, but if you happen to have felt an Adidas Ultraboost cushioning shoe on your foot it does have similar features. However, I tend to find this to be a more stable ride.

A lot of that is to do with the other executions of this engineering. The PWRUN+ midsole has that soft, springy feel but it certainly feels nice and stable as well. Kudos to Saucony for producing another great midsole.

Upper

As you come through to the upper, probably my favourite change with this shoe is the execution of the internal heel collar.

Comparing the Saucony Triumph 17 and 18, they probably tried to create too much comfort in and around that heel counter of the Triumph 17 by having a lot of foam. Sometimes you can make your shoe too much like a slipper.

I didn't mind it personally, it was nice, snug and secure. The feedback was that it had too much padding and the heel felt like it was being suffocated a little bit with the lining inside the Triumph 17 heel counter.

They’ve taken away a little bit of that foam. You still have a nice amount of memory foam and you get a plush feel around the back of your heel, but it's nowhere near as intrusive as what was going on with the Triumph 17 set-up.

As we're coming through to the midfoot, I don’t find there's much change at all regarding how the shoe fits in comparison to the Triumph 17. It has enough volume and you can obviously manipulate how the shoe feels with lacing techniques to create a little bit more depth.

The lockdown with the traditional lacing system is absolutely fine. I've ran with this with and without an orthotic and it felt fine on both occasions. I didn't have to change too much with regards to what the lacing system was doing for my foot.

Coming through to the forefoot, I found it became a little bit more generous through the toe box. It’s more to do with the width. It's hard to tell to the naked eye but the Triumph 17 tapered in a little bit too much for me to the forefoot. It was OK and I didn't have any concerns with it, but I certainly felt like I had a secure fit through that front half which was fine again.

This is how brands change one model to the next. The feedback was it was a little bit too firm through the front half, so they went back and gave it more generosity with the volume of materials through that forefoot. It has more space through the front half which is a lovely thing.

I want to call out another feature which is probably more to do with what you see in trail shoes. This grey line that runs around the midsole, upper and goes onto the medial side provides a little bit more structure and support from connecting the upper to the midsole. You get a nice lockdown and a really decent amount of durability.

Brands are trying to limit the amount of support or overlays and materials in uppers, they're trying to make them as light and as breathable as they possibly can. However, they still need to make sure that it is going to be durable and it's going to hold up for miles and miles which is exactly what this shoe is built for. That additional layer connecting the midsole to the upper on both the medial and lateral side is a great add-on by Saucony.

Widths

While we're talking all things upper we're going to tell you what both the men's and the women's come in. At this point in time it is only a D width in the men's and a B width in the ladies'. In my previous reviews I like to call out brands that are making a variety of widths.

Saucony make these in a broader width in both men's and women's, however they don’t supply the Australian and New Zealand market with that specific width. 2E in the men’s and D width in the women's is only in the northern hemisphere at this point in time and who knows, let’s hope that changes.

That is my take on the Saucony Triumph 18. I like what this brand is doing at the back of the Saucony Endorphin series which has been insanely popular throughout mid-2020. However, when you're releasing niche shoes like your racing, speed tempo and your rocker sole shoes, you need to make sure you put a lot of focus and attention on your bread and butter.

The Triumph 18 is their key high mileage, very cushioned running shoe. Let’s be honest, over the years they’ve had some hits and some misses like all brands but from the Saucony Triumph 17 to the Triumph 18 they are certainly progressing north with regards to the execution and the feedback on their running shoes.

It’s a very cushioned high mileage plush shoe that you can pick up the pace a little bit in. It's certainly targeting that runner that's looking to spend plenty of time on the road, clock up those miles and enjoy every single step.

Please subscribe to the Sportitude YouTube channel if you haven’t done so already. If you have any questions, comments or queries about the Saucony Triumph 18 please contact our Sportitude shoe experts.

Until next time stay safe and happy running. We'll see you on the road. Take care.

FEATURES

• Support: Neutral
• Upper: Mesh
• Midsole: Saucony PWRRUN+

• Heel Height: 32.5mm
• Forefoot Height: 24.5mm
• Offset / Drop: 8mm

Men

• Width: D (standard)
• Weight: 315g / 11.1oz

Women:

• Width: B (standard)
• Weight: 275g / 9.7oz