Saucony Triumph 22 Review

Last year, we wondered what would happen if Saucony put their premium PWRRUN PB foam into the Triumph. This year, they answered that question. In some ways, it's a win — the underfoot feel is soft and bottomless. In others, it's a disappointment — the responsiveness and versatility we loved is gone.

Performance Comparison

Landing Comfort

Let's start with the win: PWRRUN PB in a max-cushioned shoe makes for serious comfort. Of the various max-cushioned shoes in our lineup, the Triumph 22 feels closest to the pricey Hoka Skyward X in terms of plushness. That's a compliment, as the Skyward X is the most plush shoe we've tested.

We measured 40 mm of stack height at the heel and an 11 mm drop, which tracks with how the shoe feels underfoot. The foam is highly compressible and reasonably resilient, although it doesn't feel as energetic as the PWRRUN PB formulations in other shoes. Throughout testing, we didn't bottom out and, in fact, felt very little of the ground under our feet. Runners who want a max-cushioned shoe with better ground feel will likely prefer a different shoe.

This shoe is ideal for easy mileage at relaxed paces. Thanks to the cushioning, we found it to be very comfortable over long efforts, although we did start to notice its overall size as we fatigued. We found that the cushioning of this shoe felt best on hard pavement rather than crushed limestone or dirt roads, where it felt a little mushy underfoot.

The Triumph is still our recommendation for max-cushioned mileage, although for a different reason than last year. Previously, we loved the way the Triumph bounced along at easy paces. It was enjoyable and engaging. The new version of the shoe is extremely comfortable but less engaging. This iteration lost much of what we loved about the previous model (versatility), but the Triumph 22 still gets our recommendation thanks to its excellent overall cushioning score.

Responsiveness

As we've already alluded to, this isn't a responsive shoe. It scores pretty low in this metric. On one hand, we wish it was more responsive. On the other hand, this is a shoe designed for cruising, not pushing the pace.

Runners looking for a highly cushioned shoe that can handle a range of paces should consider other options — we struggled to run threshold pace in this shoe and found it frustrating to maintain an uptempo effort. During relaxed long runs, this shoe worked well. During long runs with faster segments, we didn't care for it.

The two most significant issues are the compressibility of the foam and the overall weight. The PWRRUN PB does compress well under our weight for comfort, but we didn't get the energy return we've come to expect. That means the shoe feels like it's stealing some power as we start picking up the pace. The shoe isn't tiny, either, and that gets in the way when we try to change gears. There is a slight amount of rocker geometry, but it's subtle and doesn't do much for faster-paced efforts. As with most of its max-cushioned competitors, this shoe makes a significant tradeoff between comfort and performance.

Stability

High-stack, soft shoes such as this are rarely stable. The Triumph is no exception. While Saucony built the shoe on a wide platform that promotes inherent stability, the PWWRUN PB foam is very compressible, which makes it somewhat wobbly.

The shoe's lateral stability is good, which we expect from a wide base. However, the Triumph 22's support through the impact and stance phase of a stride holds it back. Runners with strong mechanics will likely have no issues, but those who struggle with knee and hip issues might find that something firmer is a better fit. This isn't option we'd recommend for runners who prefer more support underfoot.

Upper Comfort

The Triumph 22's upper is excellent. It's one of the most comfortable uppers in our lineup, thanks to plush padding around the heel and ankle, a good fit, decent breathability, and good lockdown.

The upper follows the premium comfort theme of the rest of the shoe, using high-quality soft-touch materials. We experienced no rub in this shoe, and the well-padded tongue never caused any issues. The toe box is reasonably wide, which should make the shoe suitable for most runners. However, our lead tester found that he had to snug up the toebox a bit more than usual to prevent his narrow-average width forefoot from sliding. While the materials are comfortable, the knit upper doesn't breathe as well as some competitors.

Weight

11.58 ounces for each shoe in a US men's size 10.5 is pretty heavy. As a result, the Triumph scores poorly in this metric. It gained weight in this version, likely due to the overall more plush upper.

We don't mind our easy-day shoes being a little heavy, but as we mentioned earlier, we do feel the bulk of the Triumph towards the end of a long run. Similarly, that heft contributes to the lack of overall responsiveness.

Traction

Thanks to some decent lugs and a good rubber compound, the Triumph has excellent overall traction.

We found it bites well on wet pavement and had no issues on looser surfaces, either. While it isn't as good as the PumaGrip outsoles, which remain best-in-class, it's a great choice for runners who want a durable and confidence-inspiring landing.

Should You Buy the Saucony Triumph 22?

If you're after premium comfort and aren't concerned about pace, the Triumph 22 is for you. We found it to have leg-saving levels of cushioning and excellent upper comfort. On the other hand, if you like to change up the pace and don't have a faster daily trainer or speed trainer, this probably isn't the right choice for you. This shoe is best as part of a rotation, where it can share the mileage with something a little lighter and faster.

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