Saucony Men's Triumph 18 Trail Running Shoe

Product Information

The XT-900 carbon rubber has proven to be very effective on the Triumph 18, as well as on the majority of the brand’s road shoes. It was therefore logically renewed identically on the Triumph 19. All of the yellow rubber from heel to forefoot appears to be of the same firmness with the green medial piece, for a touch of support firmer. Note also in the picture above that the midfoot cut out to the medial side in the T18 is narrower while its center cavity is also narrower but deeper. In combination with the darker green firmer rubber now at mid foot, replacing crystal rubber, we have a more stable flatter feel at mid foot, less arch pressure and I think a slightly smoother transition if not quite as snappy as T17’s. Again the focus on comfort and cushion through and through here.

I love that level of comfort for recovery or long easy runs. The all-over plushness also reminds me of the ASICS Gel Cumulus 24. Sam is the Editor and Founder of Road Trail Run. He is 63 with a 2018 3:40 Boston qualifier. Sam has been running for over 45 years and has a 2:28 marathon PR. These days he runs halves in the just sub 1:40 range training 30-40 miles per week mostly at moderate paces on the roads and trails of New Hampshire and Utah. He is 5'10" tall and weighs about 163 lbs if he isn't indulging in to many fine New England IPA's. We don’t know the real reason why Saucony did this but we can only guess that they now want the Triumph to have a mid-year instead of an end-of-year launch.I think this is a great shoe. It’s not WOW!!! But it’s comfortable, stable, consistent, and feels great on your feet. The upper looked like it had gone on a 6 month diet. It looked less puffy than the Triumph 17 which had a chunky heel counter and the midfoot synthetic overlays were now gone on the Triumph 18. Nothing but praise for this. After running more than 70 miles in the shoe, we found no signs of wear! We do expect the shoe to be able to log more than 500 miles for sure!

When I first opened the box and saw the colors I immediately became excited. I couldn’t wait to put them on and take them out for a test run. A smooth, silky material lines the insides of the Triumph 18. It has no irritating seams and caused me no hotspots. The PWRRUN+ midsole (8mm drop) material has made a splash in 2019/20. It’s like a magic power. It isn’t your grandmother’s EVA midsole. It’s PU based and reports 3x higher durability– more flexible, less sensitive to temperature changes, and lighter to boot. Think about it as a lighter BOOST foam, but don’t get it mixed up with PWRRUN PB that you find in the Endorphin Speed and PRO. That stuff is even lighter and has Peba as an ingredient. Saucony says PWRRUN+ gives the runner the best of six aspects of cushioning – impact absorption, stride response, pressure reduction, energy return, durability, and weight. The upper material is thinner and covered with venting perforations making this shoe much more enjoyable to run in than past versions. Extra laces for added color

Where to buy

For those doing long training days that possibly start or end in the dark, there’s a great reflective strip on the heel of this shoe that lights up brightly when needed, keeping you safer in low light. A max-cushioned shoe should be soft. Soft enough to provide cloud-like comfort and protection for distances over 30 kilometres. The design and brightness of neon orange that dominates the front of the shoe just sells the shoe. The color is called “VIZIPRO.” This color and model have reflective details that help provide visibility in low-light situations. A great choice for those who are early morning or sunset runners. Ok, after all the praise for this outstanding upper is it too much of a good thing adding to weight and making the shoe less breathable and heavier? I think so. The Omni 19 a support/stability shoe has a similar holding but lighter upper with a less substantial bootie. It is yet more comfortable and breathable. Bottom line, the Triumph 18 has a great upper but maybe more than the stable underfoot platform actually needs. I felt somewhat the same about the Ride 13. Bring on the next generation thinner mesh of the Shift, at pretty much the same shoe price point.

Soft with more snap - New midsole geometries coupled with a new, durable rubber outsole make the cushy ride of this shoe feel faster. A substantial lightening of the shoe, making it more competitive with other models like Puma Velocity, whose upper is lined with an inner sleeve The triumph weighs in at 10.6 ounces (300g), which is still a midweight to slightly heavy shoe in my opinion, but Saucony has seen the light that less is more and the Triumph 19 lost nearly a full ounce since version 18. Don’t forget to explore the Saucony Triumph ISO 5 women's range on offer here. These shoes come with the ISOFIT technology which gives you the perfect fit by adapting to not just the shape of your foot, but your movement too.The Triumph 18 is of course clearly a highly cushioned road shoe and given its characteristics, one focused on top to bottom on comfort, and not speed or versatility. It succeeds in its mission and very well indeed. It would be too much shoe and weight for my preferences as a daily trainer but for easy days when you don’t want to think too much about form it is a fine option. For heavier runners, new runners, those on the edge of needing some pronation control and max cushion fans, the combination of secure (maybe overly so) comfortable upper, stable platform, and expected durability makes it a top choice if you are not too shoe weight conscious. Lots of brands market their trainers as max-cushioned and use terms such as “pillowy soft” and “cloud-like” but in reality, the ride isn’t soft at all. The biggest competitor to this shoe comes from within Saucony itself, the Endorphin Shift. If I were the one choosing, I would go with the Shift. It isn’t that much lighter, but I like the Speedroll setup of the midsole. The closest comparable trainer to the Triumph 18 would be the adidas Ultraboost PB. I live for the weekend, so long runs in a comfortable shoe is all I ask for. Well, that and a happy hour with an up martini in my hand. The reviewers who tried the T19 are unanimous on the subject: there’s nothing to complain about this simple and effective outsole. The grip is excellent on its favorite playground, the asphalt, and even wet pavement after a good heavy rain. It also works very well on dry trails or gravel roads. Normally, the new version of a running shoe is released 12 months after the previous version however, the Triumph 18 was released a mere 6 months after the Triumph 17.

The upper, midsole and outsole have all changed but the Triumph 18 performs only slightly differently to the Triumph 17. It definitely is an overall improvement but a small one. Tipping the scale at 11.1 oz (315g), the TRiumph 18 is 0.3 oz (10g) more than the Triumph 17, and 1.3 oz (36g) more than an average running shoe. Good for rainy days

Saucony Triumph 20 Introduction

is Saucony’s signature drop and it makes the shoe feel balanced and not heel heavy. It also makes it easier for me to strike towards my midfoot. Jacob: The Triumph 18 is clearly a premium shoe. Out of the box the construction, from stitching to material choice, is immaculate. I like the Triumph 18 for long weekend runs above 25 kilometres and slow recovery runs but it also isn’t energy-sapping so it can also be used as a daily trainer if you prefer a plusher ride for the bulk of your training.