Saucony Saucony Ride 18 Review

Potential bias in review
1. I have harsh mechanics
2. I am a neutral runner
3. I have a standard to narrow, accommodating foot shape
4. My left foot turns out slightly (slight toe out), which leads to an awkward flow of my left heel and tends to rub the ground when my mechanics get tired.  This leads to some outsoles dying quickly in combination with my harsh overall mechanics. 
5. I am a pro level sweat machine.  This is one of the reasons I have a good rotation of shoes, I like to let them air out. 
6. I started running at an older age, no proper training and my steady pace is in the mid 9 minute per mile range.

My size 12's came in weighing: Left 10.6 Ounces, Right 10.8 Ounces
Sample size weight: 9.5 Ounces
Heel Stack: 37 MM
Drop: 8 MM
Upper: Engineered mesh
Neutral shoe 
Outsole: XT-900 carbon rubber
Price: $145 USD

This pair of shoes traveled from Texas, to Arkansas, to Ohio and to Pennsylvania.  The shoes traveled on Rail to Trail, Towpath, black top and concrete paths.  They ran in hot conditions, dry and wet conditions. 

I have had several Saucony shoes and the uppers are always very durable and comfortable.  This shoe is no exception, I nice plush, but not overdone with padding upper. 

Laces: The laces are a nice ribbed style of lace that stayed tied during my runs, are not too puffy and look to be a durable quality lace
Tongue: It is a fully gusseted tongue, which always gets a thumbs up from me.  I did have to make sure the tongue was fully pulled up when I went to tie the shoes as it seems it just needs to be a tad longer.  If I had to lace loop the shoe, I do wonder how much tongue would be left to protect the foot
Upper material: The upper is an engineered mesh that is more of a traditional trainer build, which means it can be a bit thicker than some lightweight trainers.  This is neither a positive or negative, but rather something to keep in mind depending on the weather you are running in.  I was running in 90 plus humid heat and it did take some time to dry out, but I didn't notice any discernable weight added during run
Heel: The heel is nicely structured to keep the heel in place while not being to beefy or cumbersome.  I had zero issues with heel slippage, rubbing etc.  I have read some others state that they had some slippage, but I did not encounter an issues and had an easy great lock down
Collar: The foot collar is nicely padded, but again not overly padded.  They found a good compromise in providing enough protection for the feet while not making the shoe overly heavy.
Toe Room: With the foot shaped toe box, it allows room to splay while running and it was a nice shoe to rotate in while testing other shoes with a tighter toe box.

Summer use: The upper seemed to drain moisture well, but did not seem to dry out quickly.  So while it didn't really take on water weight, it also seems to be made of materials that hold onto the moisture a bit (like sweat)

Saucony has put strategically placed, thick allotments of their XT-900 carbon rubber.  In dry conditions, the rubber is very good with traction.  On black top, concrete and light trail I had no issues with traction.  

The wet conditions is a different story.  I ran black top and concrete a couple of times in wet conditions and it was a little suspect.  I did not outright slip, but I also did not feel connected to the ground when I landed.  It felt like there was a slight barrier between the shoe and the ground that made the run feel a little sketchy and I slowed my pace around turns/corners to ensure my grounding. 

Another thing I am noticing is at 62.4 miles run, I am seeing some wear in my high wear areas that I normally don't see until well over 100 miles.  I do not think I will get high mileage out of the shoes.  I believe I will get an average amount of miles. 

Saucony uses their PWRRUN Plus foam in the Ride 18.  This foam was in their Triumph 20 and 21.  I had a pair of the Triumph 20's and I like the underfoot feel of the Ride 18 at the 8MM drop more than I did the Triumph 20 with a 10MM drop and I was a fan of that shoe as well.  

The underfoot feel is not a highly springy feel.  It is a foam that absorbs the energy you put into it and supports your return mechanics.  It is a very good foam for a daily trainer in my experience, but not the overly exciting feel of an EVO SL by Adidas or the Salomon Aero Glide 3.   What it is, is a very good grind miles foam that will support an array of runs and is also, very nice underfoot for walking and around town. 

For a standard daily trainer, this shoe checks all the boxes for a shoe to use for those day to day grinder miles.  It is not a light shoe, it is not a heavy shoe, it is a shoe that fits into the middle ground of weight.  The foam is better than average, but not as bouncier as the newer foams coming out.  However, the shoe performs all runs you would want out of a daily trainer well.  It can pick up the pace, it is easy to hold steady, can do longer mile runs with no issues, is supportive through the runs and doesn't do anything to hold  you back on the run.  It doesn't "wow" me, but it is very dependable and a shoe that I can trust to put on my feet for most any type of daily run. 

If I were looking for a go to grinder of a shoe, this would be a shoe I would consider.  I would use it for the meat and potatoes types of runs.  I would supplement it with a lighter tempo shoe for speed work and probably a little more dynamic of a shoe for my long long run days (17 miles and over).  While I can run fast and can go long miles in this shoe, there are other shoes I would prefer to do those things in over this shoe. 

It is a fairly priced shoe (in today's market) that if you keep an eye on the market you can find for an even better deal. 

If you are just getting into running, this is a very good choice as an initial shoe.  It is at a fair price, will protect your feet and legs, is versatile, and will take care of you.  If you are looking for a shoe to take on those grind miles during the week or a shoe that you can run in and also use for walking/around town activities, this is a shoe that will meet that need. 

Is it the most exciting?  Not for me.  However, I don't need exciting for a grinder shoe.  I need a shoe that will take care of my body as I use it and this shoe hits that target.