Saucony Peregrine 16 Review

The Saucony Peregrine 16. All photos: iRunFar/Travis Liles

The Saucony Peregrine 16 ($145) is the latest iteration of a trail shoe line known for consistent performance over a variety of terrain types. The biggest upgrade to this new model is a full Vibram Megagrip outsole with Traction Lugs. The new rubber underfoot significantly improves traction on slippery surfaces, and the 4-millimeter lugs, although slightly shorter than those on the previous version, provide grip both while climbing and descending. The other notable change to the shoe comes from 4 extra millimeters of midsole foam underfoot, increasing the stack height to 32 millimeters under the heel and 28 millimeters under the forefoot, creating a 4-millimeter drop. While still considered low-profile in the world of maximum cushion shoes, there’s enough midsole to create a comfortable ride over rough terrain without compromising on ground feel.

The shoe has a claimed weight of 9.5 ounces (269 grams) for a U.S. men’s 9, and continues the line’s reputation of being a low-frills, great all-around shoe that excels in many conditions, all at a very reasonable price point.

iRunFar’s Travis Liles takes a detailed look at the Saucony Peregrine 16 from bottom to top.

Shop the Men's Saucony Peregrine 16Shop the Women's Saucony Peregrine 16 

Saucony Peregrine 16 Review Transcript

Hey, welcome to Trail Trials, the video review section of iRunFar. My name is Travis Liles, and in this video, we’re going to take a look at the Saucony Peregrine 16. Let’s check it out.

Let’s start off with the specs. In U.S. men’s size 9, this comes in at 9.5 ounces. It maintains the 4-millimeter drop that has been consistent on almost, I think, all Peregrines. The only difference is that they’ve increased the midsole foam another 4 millimeters across the entire stack. This is a 32-millimeter heel and a 28-millimeter toe. The upper is roughly the same. Not a lot of exciting new fabrics, more of a traditional kind of mesh. The biggest thing is here on the bottom, and they’ve updated to Vibram Megagrip across the whole shoe, which is up from their proprietary tread and compound that they were using before. With all that said, let’s get up close and personal. Let’s see what this shoe is all about.

Saucony Peregrine 16 Outsole

The outsole of the Saucony Peregrine 16.

Let’s start off with the key feature of the Saucony Peregrine 16 here, which is the new Vibram Megagrip outsole. This is Vibram Megagrip from heel to toe. This has the Traction Lugs, which are these tiny little dots all the way around each of the lugs, which is to add surface area, to add more grip. It’s hard to tell in practice how much difference this makes, but the concept makes a lot of sense. The more surface area there is to grab onto, the better the traction is going to be. And so that exists along every single lug from the toe all the way to the heel.

When we look at the tread pattern here, we notice small forward-facing lugs all the way to the midsole. That’s for climbing, giving you grip while you’re going uphill. And then reverse-facing lugs on the back so that you can dig your heel in and brake. All that dirt and mud and gravel and whatever else catches here in the back and slows you down when you need traction going downhill. This is a little bit of a shorter 4-millimeter lug.

I’m going to pull in the Saucony Peregrine 15 right here on the side, which is the green one. These have a lot of miles on them, so they’re worn down a little bit. But you can just tell looking at these, this is a longer lug, but a very similar tread pattern between these two shoes. And the rock plate remains the same. Instead of being a hard rock plate, you have almost this woven fabric-y type of thing, and you can see a little bit of that inside the shoe here. And it’s very much in the front of the shoe. The heel does not have it. It’s just really at this front part where you’re putting all the impact when you’re stepping down.

But overall, awesome update here. Really excited about having Vibram on the outsole. If you’re used to Vibram Megagrip on any of your shoes that you’re wearing, you’re getting the same kind of performance here. And when you compare that to the older versions, what you’re getting is better friction. Where on a wooden bridge or something like that that’s slimy, these would slide a lot more, whereas you’re getting more stick and grip out of this version here. So pumped about the fact that we’ve got Vibram on these shoes.

Saucony Peregrine 16 Midsole

A medial view of the Saucony Peregrine 16.

As we move up into the midsole of the Saucony Peregrine 16, the midsole is a little bit thicker for this version. What you’re looking at here is an extra 4 millimeters of foam all the way across the entire shoe. In the Peregrine 15 and in previous versions, you got a 28-millimeter heel and a 24-millimeter toe. This one has gone up to 32 and 28 millimeters. It’s still a low-profile shoe by maximum or even medium cushion shoe standards, but there is more foam in here, and I’d say it’s noticeable. I do feel like it’s more cushioned, more comfortable, and I think you really notice that — or at least I notice it — when I’m over rocky terrain. It just absorbs a little bit more. It just felt a little less sensitive, but not to the point of no ground feel at all.

This is a PWRRUN midsole. This is not anything crazy. Kind of your standard type of midsole foam here, not even Saucony’s high-end type of foam. It’s firm-ish. It’s soft-ish. It’s sort of that middle type of foam that’s slightly supportive. It doesn’t deform underfoot, but it’s not super hard where it feels pingy and like a beating on your feet. It’s just a nice in-the-middle type of foam. So no blocks, nothing for pronation, none of that, just some standard midsole foam all the way around.

And again, I think it does a nice job on a lot of different terrains. Even for road running, these shoes do really well, probably because of the weight and the heel-to-toe drop, and all that kind of stuff. It just works well in a lot of scenarios, and I think this foam holds up well enough over the long term. For this price point of a shoe, I think what you’d expect.

Something I always talk about on Saucony Peregrine specifically is that they put their higher-end foam in their sock liner, and this is PWRRUN+. It’s that more modern foam that sort of looks like Styrofoam. You’ve got all these little dots in here. So this is a way to say, “Look, we’re going to add in some extra cushioning. We’re not going to put that cost in the midsole,” which I’m kind of excited about because I think this foam would be too cushy for technical terrain. Again, my own personal preference.

What’s cool about this is that this doesn’t deform. And this is something they’ve been doing for a long time. And so instead of being pitted out around the toes and a standard EVA, they put a little more investment here into the sock liner, and this sock liner holds up really well over time. Instead of having a more expensive foam in the midsole, they’re giving you a more quality and better foam sock liner, which tends to hold up really well.

And an example of that, just for the sake of it, is to pull this one out. This is from last year’s model, and I’ve worn this shoe a lot. And if you get close, what you’ll note is if you pull out a sock liner in most of your shoes, they’re going to be pitted out around the toes. They’re going to get a lot thinner. These really hold their shape and form over time, so they just feel more comfortable for longer.

I really like the fact that Saucony adds that type of sock liner to give it a little extra boost. You’re never going to hear me spend a lot of time on sock liners, but I always do here because I think it’s an interesting concept.

Saucony Peregrine 16 Upper

A lateral view of the Saucony Peregrine 16.

On the Saucony Peregrine 16 upper of the side of the house, nothing overly exciting here. This is not any type of new-age 3D mesh or anything like that. This is a standard mesh upper with a low number of overlays, which is nice. You don’t have a ton of plasticky stuff. You don’t have a ton of too much flopping around. You’ve just got a really solid build with fit that you can get a little bit of a view of here. This is black, so it makes it tough. Hopefully, there’s some contrast there that you can get on these laces that go down basically to here.

The tongue is attached, really the entire lace cage is. The tongue has got a little spandex-y feel, so when you slide your foot in, it’s got a nice wrap to it. It’s a semi-padded tongue, so it’s not super thick, but it’s definitely thicker than a lot of stuff that’s on the market.

And then on the inside of the shoe, not a whole lot going on. This is just a well-built upper that is slightly wider than the previous version and gives a little better feel. If your previous versions were tight and a little bit too much, this has got a good feel to it. Nice laces here that lock down, reinforced with nothing: no metal, no plastic, just a lot of these overlay types of things. You have this set here, which is going to help cinch the shoe down to your foot. There is not anything on the inside here that pulls this down to the midsole that you see in a lot of other shoes, just well-built and sturdy enough all the way around to keep your foot locked in without having a bunch of gimmicks.

The toebox is a little bit wider on this version. And when I pull in this one, it doesn’t seem like that much, but I do think it’s sort of widened out and a little bit taller than in previous versions. You see just less of this plasticky stuff, so a little more breathable. And then from a toe cap standpoint, real standard stuff here. Super strong point at the apex here. And then as we roll around back to the heel, this is a structured heel. There is a plastic cup or something along those lines in the back, but it feels good. Nice, padded cushion. Again, not overly anything on this shoe, very much sort of middling, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Nothing is overbuilt, but it also doesn’t feel like anything is underbuilt.

Saucony Peregrine 16 Overall Impressions

A top view of the Saucony Peregrine 16.

In closing out the Saucony Peregrine 16, I’ll say I’ve got a soft spot for this shoe, and always have. I think when low and fast shoes started becoming a thing, Saucony was in that. They’ve gone through some iterations over the years with this shoe, and I think this is striking a nice balance between that older low-and-flat ground feel, and something newer with a little bit more cushion, a little bit more longevity in terms of time on feet and comfort. And then, of course, updating to a really modern Vibram Megagrip outsole that we see across the industry on lots and lots of shoes from Hoka, Nike, and now Saucony. And I’m excited.

I like this shoe. All the runs I’ve been in it have been so far so good. No complaints. It feels like I want it to. It’s low to the ground. It’s got cushion. It grips well. It’s got a nice upper feel for my type of foot and the type of running that I like to do. But I also think you can wear it a lot. And really, it comes in at $145. Are there a ton of extra fancy things on this shoe? There aren’t, and I think that’s great, right? I love all the technology and the changes, but there’s no X-Pac, there’s no Dyneema. There’s no crazy plate or carbon or whatever. It’s a shoe that you can just use, and it works, and it does what it’s supposed to. And again, you’re not paying for that in today’s shoe economy, if you will. It’s one of the lower-priced ones.

I think for what it does, this is a mainstay for me and something that I sort of reach for when I’m not quite sure what I’m getting into. And now with Vibram Megagrip on it, it’s even more so, just because you’ve got that added security, a little bit better traction, a little stickier, a little more friction. Even though the lugs are a millimeter shorter than they were before, I think it more than makes up for it with the tread compound.

With all that said, leave your questions and comments below this video. Thanks for watching. We’ll catch you next time.

Shop the Men's Saucony Peregrine 16Shop the Women's Saucony Peregrine 16

Call for Comments

• Have you run in the Saucony Peregrine 16? What did you think?
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