Saucony Triumph 19 vs 18 Comparison Running Shoe Review
Josh reviews the Saucony Triumph 19 running shoes, a fantastic option for your daily training and one of his top 5 stable neutral running shoes of 2021. On paper, the specs are identical to the Saucony Triumph 18 but in reality, the feel has been improved.
Strategically placed XT-900 rubber in the outsole provides midfoot and heel-striker friendly engineering to extend the longevity of the shoe, while the forefoot offers a stable platform to toe-off.
Saucony have transferred the lightweight and springy PWRRUN+ cushioning and FORMFIT upper over from its predecessor - keeping true to what loyal Triumph runners love about this running shoe family. In this newest evolution, the upper provides a more consistent fit and works more harmoniously with the running shoe's engineering as a whole.
Check out the review with full transcript below.
Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude Running and we're doing a shoe review today on the new Saucony Triumph 19.
When I say new, this one has been on the market now for a few months and we're a bit late to getting this review done. However, what Saucony have done with this shoe and the feedback we've had from the running community and all of our customers will warrant it a shoe review.
That's for sure because on paper there's not a lot that's different from Saucony Triumph 19 from the Saucony Triumph 18.
In today's review we're going to dive into all the changes and give you all the information that you need at home to potentially make this your next purchase for a daily mileage neutral trainer. Without further ado let's get stuck in.
Runner Profile
Before I get stuck into the Saucony Triumph 19, I want to talk about the foot type that could be considering this shoe. When you're talking Saucony Triumph 19, you're talking about a neutral foot type and there's a couple of ways to explain what a neutral foot type looks like.
Generally it’s a foot that has a slightly higher arch in a static position with a bit of space between the arch and the ground. For this runner with this static position of foot type, when they're going through their gait cycle and landing through the midstance, a lot of the pressure will be on the outside of the foot. Technically we call that supinating, so the pressure will be in the lateral column of that midstance phase as they get ready to then engage their foot and toe-off. The pressure is through the outside of the foot.
However, we do see a neutral foot type from time to time that comes through with a flatter arch. You put that foot type on a flat surface when their transitioning through midstance and from the side profile it looks like the arch is relatively flat to the ground.
However, this runner is still putting majority of their pressure through the central part of their foot so there's no bias towards that medial side or lateral side as the foot gets ready to engage and toe-off through the gait cycle.
Outsole
First things first, let's dive straight into the outsole. One of the simplest part of this shoe is the configuration they've used underneath the foot.
Saucony have used over the last couple of seasons a compound rubber they like to call XT-900. It's a relatively durable rubber, I'm not going to fault that at all.
In the back column there is a very nice, slightly denser rubber that's strategically placed at the back of that lateral column of your heel for that heel striker that comes down. However, when you come through to the midfoot and forefoot through the midfoot column there is a nice piece of rubber that's going to offer that midfoot runner a good purchase with the ground when they make contact.
When you come through to the forefoot, whether you're a forefoot runner, midfoot or heel striker, this part of the shoe is going to get a significant amount of wear. Saucony have cut away two vertical flex grooves through this rubber to provide a slightly more stable forefoot.
If Saucony had gone with the old route with horizontal flex grooves, the compounded materials they use in their midsole would be way too flexible and it wouldn't be very stable for the runner who is transiting through the end of their gait cycle. Those vertical lines just offer a little bit more structured integrity for that forefoot as it gets ready to toe-off out of its gait cycle.
Midsole
Surprise, surprise we've got the exact same midsole on offer. We have PWRRUN+ from Saucony. It's been a slightly new midsole they rolled out a couple of seasons ago. They made marginal changes from one season to the next but between the Saucony Triumph 18 and the Saucony Triumph 19 they have kept the compound exactly the same.
The moulds are exactly the same. Everything in regards to the PWRRUN+ is the same. We have the same stack height which is 32.5mm in the heel, right through to 24.5mm in the forefoot and that is an 8mm offset.
When a brand has something right, we like when they don't touch it. I recognise that brands need to make progress with their engineering, they need to keep pushing the boundaries. However, it's not a bad thing when a brand gets it right and they go another 6 to 12 months with the same outsole.
It just buys them a little bit more time to start working on the next version of this shoe and let me tell you right now, I have seen the Saucony Triumph 20 on paper and I'm absolutely loving what Saucony is doing with that shoe.
I'm not going to talk about it too much. You have to wait potentially 10 months now till we talk about that review but again, brands sometimes buy time when they get it right. They buy themselves time to work on the next iteration of the shoe which is what Saucony have done.
Upper & Josh's Subjective Opinion
It's time to give you my subjective opinion on the Saucony Triumph 19. Probably the reason it's taking me a couple of months to get this review to you is because on paper it's such a similar shoe.
We have the same outsole, same midsole and a FORMFIT upper. What could possibly be different for me to justify telling you the difference between the two of them?
However, when we started to get some feedback from our running community, our staff members downstairs and podiatrists that referred to this shoe, I had to put a pair on my foot. I've used them for around 30km now. I’ve done three 10km runs at different speeds which is really important.
I went for a slower run which is around that 5 – 5.15 minutes per kilometer for me. I did a progressive run, got out the door at 5 minutes per km and ended up finishing about 4.20 minutes in that last kilometre.
I really couldn't fault the shoe. I didn't have an uncomfortable wearing phase. It was seamless from the first K right through to that last run which I did last week. However, in saying that I didn't mind the Saucony Triumph 18 either.
It probably took a few more runs for me to get used to this shoe and that could be totally reliant on the fact I was slightly different 12 months ago to where I am now. My expectations from shoes with regards to the Saucony Triumph 18 was different to where it is with Saucony Triumph 19. You got to take in consideration it’s my subjective opinion. It's mine and mine entirely, please take it with a grain of salt.
The other thing which I'd like to say about the Saucony Triumph 19 is that it's a more consistent feel around the whole fit of your foot. Up top it didn't feel like I had a disconnection between the midsole and the upper.
It felt like the shoe was one piece and it works in unison with every single component of this engineering breakdown.
Putting the Saucony Triumph 18 on the foot back in the day, I did find that the midsole and the upper was a bit disconnected and in the sense that it felt like it had a slightly more weighted system underneath the foot than what was locking me down on top. If you have your foot sitting on top of a platform and if you're not getting that connection on top of your midsole, maybe it's the gusseted tongue and how your navicular and arch sits on top of the midsole.
If there's a little bit of a disconnect with regards to how your foot sits, then you're going to feel like you're picking up a heavier system every single step. A 20 gram reduction in weight is a significant amount especially when it's all in the upper.
However, how this shoe fitted and how this shoe locked me down on top of that midsole, I really did feel like it was doing everything I wanted it to do and more. The Saucony Triumph 19 is a highly underrated shoe.
If you happen to be a runner that fits this profile, you're looking for a neutral or stable neutral shoe, you haven't tried the Triumph before and maybe you've come from a Brooks Glycerin, Asics Gel Nimbus or a New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 previously, and you may be searching for something slightly different, I would certainly consider giving this running shoe a go.
Pop into your store, have a conversation with a salesperson, try it on and give it a go. Don’t feel that because you tried the Saucony Triumph 18 like I had done and thought, “I like it, but it's not for me” that you would not even consider the Triumph 19 because boy was I wrong.
It has performed really well and I'm looking forward to putting a few more clicks inside the Saucony Triumph 19, that's for sure.
The Wrap Up
If you have any questions, queries or theories or you'd like to let us know if you've had a Saucony Triumph 19 and what your feedback is, please contact our Sportitude shoe experts. If you happen to be a Triumph franchise lover and you've had your ups and downs, please let us know your journey.
I'm going to do a throwback to the Saucony Triumph ISO 3. Going back about 5 years now, I really liked that shoe. I didn't really get along with the ISO concept however the Saucony Triumph ISO 3 got me back into Triumphs and I really enjoyed what they did. The Saucony Triumph ISO 4 was a complete miss in my opinion but now coming back to Saucony Triumph 19, I'm liking what Saucony is doing. They have some big plans for this shoe going forward.
As I said in this review earlier, I have seen the prototype for the Saucony Triumph 20 and it is going to be an absolute jet. Again, I'm only saying that off of CAD drawings and off the conversation I've had with the team at Saucony in Australia, but they are making real noise, real progress in the area of high mileage stable neutral running shoes and I'm excited with what this brand is doing in the future.
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Until next time guys, stay safe, be kind to one another, happy running and we'll see you on the road. Take care.
FEATURES
Saucony Triumph 19
- Support: Neutral
- Upper: Mesh
- Midsole: Saucony PWRRUN+
- Heel Height: 32.5mm
- Forefoot Height: 24.5mm
- Offset / Drop: 8mm
Saucony Triumph 18