Thursday, December 22, 2011

Saucony Hattori review

I've just bought a pair of Saucony Hattoris and they really good!



They're minimal, but have a lot more cushioning than Vibrams or the Evos since the EVA+ sole is quite soft and about 10mm thick. They're zero-drop and ultra light weight (250g/pair), about half the weight of the Evos and lighter than Vibram Sprints.

They're a really comfy fit, with no laces they are held on by a tight, thin "lycra" upper. Mine are maybe a little on the small side, so the velcro straps don't do anything useful.

The tight fitting upper has another advantage that no other shoes I've got come close too: It's virtually impossible to get sand in them, which is great as that's extra annoying when running sock-less.

Time will tell how the sole wears, but the hard reinforcements are in all the places I usually wear through, so I can't see why they won't last a fair while.

[Update, 7-June-2013] It slipped my mind to do an update on these, but I've been wearing them on my shorter runs pretty much all the time over the last 18 months. They've racked up more than 1,800km and though getting quite worn I'm sure they'll go past 2,000km without any problems.

As I suspected, I bought them a tiny bit too small, which has occasionally given me a blister on the tips of my toes and I've now got a couple of holes in the upper where my big toe sticks out. This doesn't cause any problems however and the extra ventilation can't hurt!

They get smelly fairly quickly, but washing them in warm water with a few tablespoons of white vinegar seems to clean them up nicely.

They're a great shoe & fantastic value for money.