I have to admit that I’ve never purchased Saucony shoes before. They never seemed to be among the biggie athletic brands that kids wanted to get (i.e. Nike, Adidas, Reebok) and struck me as more of an off brand than anything. So they always remained just off the shoe radar…

Until I caved in and picked up a pair of these older Saucony Traxsters at the local Big 5 Sporting Goods a few weeks ago. I probably wouldn’t have given these shoes a second look if I hadn’t been waylaid by their teetering stacks of “shoe sale displays”. I’d actually gone to Big 5 to pick up some roller hockey gear, but I’ve recently been on the lookout for some standard crosstrainer type running shoes.

At a retail of $55.99, the price tag of $24.99 was a pretty decent savings for a non-outlet store. I’d actualy thought it was $19.99 at first, but I’d made a mistake in looking at their printed flyer.

Saucony’s specialty is running, walking and outdoor trail type shoes. They also sell athletic apparel (under the “Hind” brand) and stuff like football/soccer cleats and casual leather walking shoes (which appear under the “Spot-Bilt” name). 53 countries besides the U.S., so they’re no small-time shoe maker.

What I liked most about these shoes was that they aren’t super-flashy. Now, I know most of us like to have other people stare at our feet, but I don’t dig the “clown jester” type basketball shoes that have been all the rage for a couple of years. Sorry, but to me those are just fuggly. I guess I’m conservative.

In fact, these are very standard looking running shoes with plain white leather and rubber along with occasional navy accents. Their “River Logo” (which looks like a hummingbird with three dots to me) is at the center in navy with a grey-ish trim. They use that “woven nylon” mesh on the toe and sides that many of these types of shoes use. Very plain looking shoe overall… just what I wanted.

As far as comfort goes, I have pretty wide feet so it’s difficult to get a good read ahead of time on whether a shoe is going to be comfy or not. They seemed fairly snug for size 8s, which is the size I usually try on first. I ran around with them at the store a bit, much to the chagrin of a few of the patrons. What, you’ve never seen a shoe test-drive before?

Overall, these have turned out to be great for the money. For me, I could care less if Saucony isn’t making this particular model any more (nowhere to be found on their website.) What matters for me is the comfort and price, and to a lesser extent the looks.

Shoe Name: Saucony Traxster Purchased/Seen At: Big 5 Sporting Goods Approx Price: $24.99
Comfort:
Style:
Versatility:
Overall Value:

Saucony Grid Trigon 3 Guide (Men's) - White/Silver/Navy

Saucony Velocity Spike Distance (Men's) - White/Navy/Red