Shoe Review : Blazing the trails with the Saucony Peregrine 5

With the recent spate of volcano eruptions in Java, Indonesia in July / August 2015, causing impromptu closure of nearby airports, I was having second thoughts whether to actually go run the Bromo Half Marathon trail race I had signed up for.

I thus continued to delay purchasing my return flight to Surabaya, which was the nearest airport to the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru (BTS) National Park where my race would take place in mid September 2015.

While I was still procrastinating, meanwhile, I re-focused my runs on trails after a 8-month hiatus and it was really rewarding to pound the dirt path amidst the cool foliage once again.

However, my Sketchers Go Bionic trail did not really offer me the sufficient amount of support and protection that my vulnerable right heel needed. And after just one run in them, the troubled heel started to throb and ache again at the fat pad.

So you can imagine how excited and pleased I was, when Frank told me that thanks to Saucony Malaysia and RSH Malaysia, I would finally get the opportunity to test the Saucony Peregrine 5, which is the latest edition of Saucony’s trail running shoe whose predecessor, the Peregrine 4, won the Outdoor Gear Lab’s Editor’s Choice Award in 2014.

The Peregrine 5 was released in the US in January 2015 with apparently, minor changes to the Peregrine 4. I had never won any trail shoe from Saucony prior to this, so I can’t make any comparison in this area.

The Green Caterpillar with Orange Legs, begging to be taken for a run.

 Frank presented me with this green caterpillar-like shoe with bright orange outsoles after one of our extremely wet, rainy runs in Genting Sempah. I learned later that the shoe color combination was named Blue / Citron / Coral, although I am still scratching my head to find any Blue color in the shoe or perhaps I am color-blind??

Anyway, I was instantly struck by the shoe’s contrasting sharp colors and how light it felt in my hands. I was looking forward to running in it and penciled in several training runs along the trails in FRIM and MARDI immediately.

What a looker!

On the outset, the shoe presented itself with a new rubberized toe tip (bumper) that apparently was supposed to enhance durability and protection for the feet from bumping against rocks and pebbles in the rough terrain. It is a shoe meant for neutral-pronators with normal arches* and had a low profile, 4mm heel-to-toe drop for stability. The shoe also had a wide toe box which would prevent squashing of toes against each other upon forefoot impact.

(*Note: I had been wrongly analyzed in the past as a flat footer who over-pronated, hence leading me to choosing the wrong shoes to run in and exposing myself to a multitude of injuries in the process. I have since thankfully and painfully, found out I am actually a neutral pronator with normal arches.)

PowerGrid Foam Cushioning

There were nylon fibre rock plates embedded at the midfoot and forefoot as well in addition to the the standard Powergrid foam cushioning for foot protection on anything the foot might land on, which I secretly hoped wouldn't make the shoe too rigid and hamper my movement.

Fierce-looking lugs

Looking at the XT-900 carbon rubber outer sole, I was stunned with the “aggressive”-looking V-shaped lugs about 0.5 mm deep lining the edges of the outsole and also the middle of the sole which according to other reviews, was for added high traction. Usually, I am not really too fond of shoes with too deep lugs as they might have a tendency to clog up with dirt and mud which would not come off so easily while on the run. Anyway, that would remain to be seen when I put it through the test.

Breathable no-sew Flexfilm upper mesh

The shoe upper consisted of breathable no-sew synthetic mesh and Saucony’s Flexfilm. I also wondered how the shoe would fare in my race at Bromo as it was a pretty sandy area due to the volcanic ash and it would get pretty uncomfortable and tricky to run if sand could get easily into the shoe via the mesh.  Perhaps it would be more suited to the trails back home.

Flat laces with gaiter clip

The laces were a traditional old-school flat type with a gaiter clip. Whatever laces would suit me just fine as I have a peculiar way of tying laces which would not allow them to get unfastened and loosened.

Now to put this pair of kicks to the actual test….

Colorful eh?

My first few runs with the shoe was in FRIM followed by another recent run in MARDI MAEPS, Serdang. The shoe felt light as expected, felt stable thanks to it’s low profile and was very responsive. I felt that it encouraged a natural and quick stride with a little bit of bounce, I might add.

Running the trails in FRIM

Up, and away we go into the forest.

It was also VERY comfortable, about the most comfortable pair of trail running shoes I have ever worn! Protection was so good that my feet pretty much didn't feel a thing no matter where I landed thanks to the rock plates which proved not to be rigid at all, thus disproving my earlier misgivings of flexibility.

Good traction on the trails after the rain

The traction was quite good and even after the rain; the shoe didn’t slip much over wet rocky surfaces and muddy areas or grass. Also, although the shoe is not water proof nor water resistant, even after I splish-splashed through puddles, the breathable mesh with the Flexfilm wicked away the water and dried quickly so that I didn’t end up with damp socks and feet.

Bounding along the roads of FRIM.
The shoe's versatility shone through.

The shoe was very versatile and performed well either on road surface, grass or dirt paths. I was rather pleased with this because it’s pretty hard to find a really versatile trail shoe these days. (The Sketchers Go Bionic Trail is another versatile shoe as well).

The shoe felt light and responsive

However, although the upper mesh was extremely breathable, I also noticed that it gradually began to let in small little pebbles and dirt and before hitting the midway mark of my run, I was already feeling uncomfortable in my inner sole and needed to stop to shake out all the pebbles and dirt that got trapped in the shoe. Perhaps I would need to seriously rethink about using this as a racing shoe in ash-happy, sandy Bromo.

Now for the lugs… oh boy, as expected, they did suck up dirt, pebbles and mud like nobody’s business and refused to come unstuck no matter how hard I stamped my feet. 

The outsole lugs clogged up with dirt and mud

When the shoe sole started to clog up with dirt while I was running, the entire shoe suddenly felt so heavy that I momentarily imagined I was running with a pair of wooden clogs! The added weight made it very difficult to run indeed.

Post-run, I had to scrub, dig and hose down the sole real hard before getting all that clogged up dirt out from the grooves.

Check out all that clogged up dirt!

Outer sole-wise, I’d say that compared to the soles of the Brooks Pure Grit, the Saucony Peregrine’s will need to improve in this area, as clogged up dirt and mud becomes quite a hindrance during the run and may even impair the traction ability of the shoe further into the run.

I’d like to say something about the shoe-fit as well. Although it felt stable, thanks to it’s low-to-the-ground design, however, the shoe wasn’t as snug as I would like it to be. It did not lock onto my feet 100% and it still felt loose in my feet no matter how tight I tied the laces up or maybe it’s simply because I have narrow feet. Perhaps this shoe would be better suited to wider-feet people.

Anyway, the result was my foot would move a little within the shoe if I landed unevenly on technical trail terrain, which made me worry if I would accidentally twist my ankle or strain my ligaments during a run. This made me extra alert and careful where I landed to avoid unnecessary injury.

That aside, the Saucony Peregrine 5 is a great, colorful, fun shoe to run in (3 different colors to choose from for Women). It is lightweight (only 8.4oz for a Women’s US Size 8), flexible, and responsive. It offers good protection for one’s feet and relatively good traction and the best thing is its usage versatility whether for road or trail running and all kinds of terrain. If you have wide feet, this is a good shoe for you.

I would rate the shoe as follows (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest):-

• ·         Foot protection : 9/10
• ·         Traction : 8 / 10
• ·         Stability : 8/10
• ·         Comfort : 9/10
• ·         Weight : 8/10
• ·         Responsiveness : 9/10

The Saucony Peregrine 5 will be available at Running Lab Malaysia and all RSH stores in Malaysia by the end of August 2015 and will retail at RM429.00.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention… I've finally bought my return flight to Surabaya, so I am going to be running the exciting Bromo Marathon (Half-Marathon category) 2015! I’m really looking forward to the short trip and running that race.

Never be afraid to challenge my limits!
So don't be afraid to challenge yours!

Disclaimer : The opinions expressed in this review is entirely the writer’s own and is not influenced in any way by any other party.