3 Best Saucony Trail Running Shoes in 2026

How we test Saucony trail running shoes

We love testing the shoes, and we do that on the trails and in the lab. How else would we be able to publish the most detailed and objective reviews out there?

Once we lace up the shoes, we hit the trails. We need to know how the shoes perform in different environments, whether it’s road to trail, technical sections, hard-packed beginner trails, or deep mud and snow. 

Then, we take the shoes to the lab, where we perform various lab tests. First, on the whole shoes. Then, we use a band saw to cut the shoes in half, lengthwise. Then, we cut the upper to expose the platform. All of these stages are needed because the machines and the tools that we use need clear access to different shoe parts, like the midsole (for stack heights, heel drop, lug depth), midsole foam for midsole softness measurements, the whole platform for shock absorption and energy return tests, and so on. 

Given that we’re talking about trail shoes here, we naturally highlight the traction and the durability of the outsole. 

Once done with the lab tests, we summarise all of our findings and publish them on our website. Here, we put a select few under the spotlight because they managed to outperform the rest.

Saucony trail running shoes: overview

Saucony shoes are known for their grip and durability, and it’s in our lab that we double-check these claims. We also take other features into account and rank the shoes. 

Endorphin Trail, Endorphin Edge, and Endorphin Rift are things of the past. Currently, Saucony offers 4 trail running shoe lines. Let’s have a look at them. 

Saucony Peregrine trail shoes

Peregrine, by far the most popular. Equipped with rock plates and deep lugs, these are great for mixed terrain. However, the 16th iteration (newest one at the moment of writing this guide) got significantly shallower lugs than its predecessors. 

In the lab, we use a calliper to measure the depth of the lugs on shoes cut in half. 

We hope this is not a trend because the Peregrine is known as a great mud and even OCR/Spartan shoe. With 3.5 mm lugs, we doubt it will keep that throne. If they get even shallower, it will be Peregrine no more. 

The newest Peregrine is the tallest, and we also hope that’s not a trend. Great mud and Spartan shoes need to stay agile and lower to the ground. 

Saucony Xodus Ultra trail shoes

With “Ultra” already in the shoe name, the purpose is pretty self-explanatory. If the name alone doesn't convince you, we discovered that these shoes are great for longer distances thanks to the premium foam (PWRRUN PB). For ultras, premium foams are a better choice than standard foams because they offer better shock absorption and energy return, which reduces or delays foot and leg fatigue. 

While the Xodus Ultra 4 does not have rock plates, it relies on this thick foam mix when it comes to underfoot protection. 

Just like the Peregrines, Xodus Ultras have lost some bite. From Xodus Ultra 3 to Xodus Ultra 4, lug depth got 0.8 mm shallower. Let’s hope this isn’t a trend, because when it comes to versatility, especially mixed with technical terrain and mud, we’d love to see thicker lugs. 

Rock plates are visible once the shoes are cut in half (which is exactly what we do in the lab). In the case shown above, it's sandwiched between the outsole and the midsole, only under the forefoot. The outsole has cutouts that let you see the plate (in case you don't want to cut the shoe in half :) ). 

Ride TR shoes

In road running, the Ride may be the most well-known shoe from Saucony. 19 iterations (so far) confirm how good and needed the shoe is. Because of that, it made sense to keep the familiar feeling and make it available for trail running too. 

Guide TR shoes

Ride’s stability counterpart, the Guide. Same story: if you love Guide on the roads, Guide TR may be great on trails. Extra stability and support in a trail package. 

Grip in Saucony trail running shoes

If you’re a beginner runner, you may think “Oh, it’s Vibram, great!” and move on. Heck, even if you’re an experienced runner, you may think so! However, when talking about grip, here at RunRepeat, we also look at: 

1. Lug depth, which we measure using a digital calliper (this test is done on a shoe cut in half), 
2. Traction, which we measure in the lab, 
3. Outsole durability, which we also measure, and it matters because very sticky rubber tends to be soft and, therefore, less durable, 
4. Tread pattern, which essentially tells us what the outsole is good for. 

When it comes to lug depth and tread patterns, there are 2 contrasting options. The first one is shallower lugs that are rather wide, flat, and placed close to each other. These lugs are usually great for easy terrain like gravel or large flat rocks. The second one is very deep, aggressive lugs that are placed further apart from each other. These are great for mud and snow. 

The middle ground varies. We have very versatile trail running shoes with different lug shapes and orientations, or with thin slits that channel the water away. Saucony, with their Peregrine and Xodus Ultra lines, is more into versatility and aggressiveness for soft ground. 

The traction test tells us how Saucony trail shoes perform on wet surfaces. We follow the SATRA TM144 methodology when doing this test, and the result is a dynamic coefficient of friction. The higher it is, the better! Especially when higher than 0.45, meaning the shoes will excel on both dry and wet surfaces. 

Given that this test is done on wet concrete, the result is not transferable to other surfaces, which is why we take other things into account (tread pattern, lug depth, rubber type).

Last but not least, we have to talk about the durability of the outsole. Say you have 3-mm-thick lugs on your trail shoes. Prematurely losing 2 mm due to daily wear and tear is significantly worse (you’re basically left with almost-flat outsoles) than losing only 0.1 mm. 

We measure the depth of the dent that the Dremel made and the conclusion is straightforward: the shallower the dent, the more durable the outsole. 

How durable are Saucony trail running shoes?

We already covered the durability of the outsole in the section above. In the lab, we also test the durability of the toebox and the durability of the heel padding. 

The process is the same: we use a Dremel, press it against the surface, apply the same pressure, use the same time duration, and look at the damage. We assess the damage on a 1-5 scale, where higher numbers mean better durability. 

If you often cover technical terrain or patches covered with sharp debris, you should look at the toebox durability. Heel padding, on the other hand, is often a worry for runners with Haglund’s deformity (as they need a cushioned heel that lasts).

Finding stable Saucony trail running shoes

Given how demanding and uneven the terrain can get, you may want more stable shoes to keep you planted. This means that we need to look at a) the platform width, b) heel stiffness counter, c) torsional rigidity. 

In the lab, we use a digital calliper to measure the width of the midsole at the forefoot and at the heel. Naturally, the wider the platform, the more stable it is. This is especially important if you like high-stacked trail shoes, because when they are high and narrow, they become unstable. 

When it comes to locking the heel in place and, therefore, creating a more stable overall feel, we turn to the heel counter and assess its stiffness. 5/5 stands for very stiff and 1/5 very flexible. 

Often overlooked: torsional rigidity. This test tells us basically how difficult it is to twist the shoe, except we don’t do it with our hands but with a specialised machine. Torsional rigidity comes to light when hiking over technical terrain, like roots and sharp rocks. Basically, the part of the shoe in contact with the ground is small (think the edge of a rock or a small root surface). When you land on something like that, the rest of the foot wants to overhang, and a torsionally rigid shoe prevents that. By doing so, it also makes your feet less tired. 

Most comfortable Saucony trail running shoes

When runners discuss comfort, different things pop up, but midsole softness is almost always #1. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t ready to talk about more than midsole softness, so let’s dig in. 

The higher the number on the durometer’s display, the firmer the foam. However, a shoe being cloud-like or not-like-a-brick at first is only telling us how it feels at first. Upon stepping in. What happens later, though? For that, we look at shock absorption. 

We perform the test on a shoe that has had its upper removed, because the machine has to access the forefoot and the heel freely (just like your feet do when landing on them). This test tells us how good the midsole is at absorbing impact forces (shock absorption) and how lively the ride is (energy return). In race shoes, we’d want both of these to be high. In daily trainers, it’s expected for them to be moderate. Heavier runners or those running longer distances should look for high shock absorption for sure. 

If this wasn’t enough to convince you, and if you actually prefer having more materials hugging your feet to make them comfy, we also measure the thickness of the tongue, and we note down whether the tongue is gusseted. A tongue sliding to the side can significantly reduce the overall comfort (we know).