Saucony Type A (A7) Review
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The Saucony Type A is a minor update to the previous Saucony Type A6. For some reason, Saucony called it "Type A" rather than "Type A7" which is confusing. The Type A appears almost identical to the A6, but it's not quite as good. It's slightly heavier and slightly less well cushioned. If you liked the A6, then the Type A is a reasonable alternative, but get the older A6 if you can find it. If not, I think the next version, the Saucony Type A8 is a better shoe than the Type A, but it is a more significant change. (I use The Science of Running Shoes as the basis of how I test running shoes and what you should look for in a running shoe.)
Saucony Type A top
Saucony Type A outside
Saucony Type A bottom
Saucony Type A inside
1 Characteristics
- Cushioning . The A/A7 is well cushioned for its weight, though it's a little firmer than its predecessor.
- Drop. The A/A7 only has 1mm of drop when loaded, which is a tad more than I'd like, but it shouldn't cause any biomechanical problems.
- Structure. The A/A7 is a nice simple shoe that does not attempt to manipulate your stride. There's a single density of foam and only a slight rise under the midfoot that shouldn't create undue pressure on your arch.
- Flexibility. The A/A7 has good flexibility with gaps in the outsole to allow the shoe to move naturally.
- Outsole. The A/A7 has harder wearing rubber outsole under most of the contact area, providing reasonable longevity. There are three drainage holes under the middle of the foot that can catch stones, which may be an issue. It's never caused me a serious issue, but there is some luck involved in the size of the stones. If your luck runs out and you get something wedged in there, it tends to wage rather firmly.
- Shape. The A/A7 is not designed to fit a human foot, so I cut open the toe box so my toes would not get crushed and so my foot could move naturally. (I recommend cutting open the toe box of virtually all running shoes, with the exception of a few shoes like some Altra shoes. When you have some worn out shoes, you should try cutting open the toe box. I've found that it's a big improvement, allowing my toes to move naturally and engage for toe off, as well as reducing the possibility of blisters.)
- Upper. The upper is inflexible, and I found that I preferred the upper of the predecessor A6. It's not an uncomfortable shoe by any means; it's more that the A6 was surprisingly nice given its low weight. There is still a good amount of soft padding around the ankle opening.
- Tongue. The Type A has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. The tongue has yet more soft padding.
- Lacing. The A/A7 has flat laces that have a bit of elasticity in them that also contributes to the overall comfort of the shoe and I never had them come undone.
- Heel Counter. The Type A has quite a firm heel counter, but it's so tiny that it won't cause any problems.
| This review was made possible by readers like you buying products via my links. I buy all the products I review through normal retail channels, which allows me to create unbiased reviews free from the influence of reciprocity, or the need to keep vendors happy. It also ensures I don't get "reviewer specials" that are better than the retail versions.
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2 A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes
| If you're looking for "the best of the best" running shoe, here are my top picks. Of course, the answer will depend a little on what you're looking for, so I have recommendations for various categories.
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For a more detailed on running shoes see the Recommendations for Best Running Shoes. This table lists the key attributes of What to Look for in Running Shoes. For more detailed information, on the shoes see detailed shoe comparison.
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Full Review |
Brand | Name | Rating | Recommended price |
Benefit | Weight (oz) |
Penalty (sec/mile) |
Forefoot Thickness |
Heel Thickness |
Loaded Drop mm |
Cushioning | Flexibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saucony Type A Review | Saucony | A/A7 | Recommended | $100 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 12.1 | 19 | 22 | 1 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Saucony Type A6 Review | Saucony | A6 | Highly Recommended | $100 | 8.2 | 6.1 | 9.5 | 17 | 21 | 4 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Saucony Type A8 Review | Saucony | A8 | Highly Recommended | $90 | 7.5 | 6.2 | 9.7 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Adidas Adios Boost 2 Review | Adidas | Adios | Worth considering | $140 | 4.7 | 8.6 | 13.4 | 17 | 27 | 11 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Hoka Bondi 5 Review | Hoka | Bondi | Recommended | $150 | 6.1 | 11.6 | 18.1 | 38 | 42 | 5 | 7.1 | 2 |
| Hoka Clayton 2 Review | Hoka | Clayton2 | Highly Recommended | $150 | 9.1 | 8.3 | 12.9 | 23 | 28 | 1 | 7.5 | 5 |
| Hoka Clifton 4 Review | Hoka | Clifton4 | Worth considering | $130 | 7.7 | 9.3 | 14.5 | 30 | 35 | 10 | 7.2 | 3 |
| ON Cloudflash Review | On Cloud | Cloudflash | Worth considering | $180 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 14.6 | 19 | 26 | 7 | 3.7 | 6 |
| On Cloudracer Review | On Cloud | Cloudracer | Worth considering | $130 | 5.7 | 8.2 | 12.8 | 19 | 27 | 5 | 4.7 | 7 |
| ON Cloud X Review | On Cloud | CloudX | Not recommended | $140 | 4.5 | 8.3 | 16.3 | 21 | 27 | 7 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Mizuno Wave Cruise Review | Mizuno | Cruise | Worth considering | $120 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 12.5 | 17 | 20 | 7 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Newton Distance IV Review | Newton | Distance | Worth considering | $155 | 7.5 | 9.1 | 14.2 | 26 | 31 | 3 | 6.8 | 5 |
| Asics Gel DS Racer 10 Review | Asics | DS Racer | Worth considering | $110 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 10.9 | 21 | 26 | 6 | 5.8 | 5 |
| Altra Duo Review | Altra | Duo | Recommended | $130 | 6.0 | 8.4 | 13.1 | 29 | 29 | 1 | 5.0 | 5 |
| Mizuno Wave Ekiden 8 Review | Mizuno | Ekiden | Worth considering | $115 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 14.6 | 13 | 18 | 6 | 3.2 | 8 |
| Saucony Endorphin 2 Review | Saucony | Endorphin 2 | Worth considering | $115 | 8.0 | 5.1 | 9.6 | 15 | 13 | -1 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Adidas Energy Boost Review | Adidas | Energy | Worth considering | $160 | 7.2 | 10.0 | 15.6 | 20 | 30 | 7 | 7.2 | 5 |
| Altra Escalante Review | Altra | Escalante | Best of the Best | $130 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 13.5 | 28 | 25 | -1 | 7.9 | 6 |
| Altra Escalante 1.5 Review | Altra | Escalante 1.5 | Best of the Best | $130 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 14.0 | 26 | 27 | -1 | 7.4 | 7 |
| Saucony Fastwitch Review | Saucony | Fastwitch | Highly Recommended | $90 | 9.5 | 7.1 | 11.1 | 20 | 22 | 4 | 6.8 | 7 |
| Topo Fli-Lyte 2 Review | Topo | Fli-Lyte2 | Highly Recommended | $100 | 6.7 | 9.1 | 14.2 | 24 | 26 | 3 | 6.1 | 5 |
| Reebok Floatride Run Review | Reebok | Floatride | Worth considering | $150 | 7.7 | 9.6 | 14.9 | 28 | 34 | 10 | 7.4 | 5 |
| Saucony Freedom Review | Saucony | Freedom | Recommended | $160 | 5.4 | 10.7 | 16.6 | 25 | 29 | 3 | 5.8 | 6 |
| Skechers GORun 4 Review | Skechers | GORun | Not recommended | $100 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 11.7 | 15 | 23 | 3 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Skechers GOrun Ultra 2 Review | Skechers | GRU | Worth considering | $90 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 15.6 | 28 | 34 | 8 | 7.5 | 4 |
| Asics GT 2000 Review | Asics | GT 2000 | Not recommended | $120 | 4.8 | 11.2 | 17.4 | 28 | 35 | 5 | 5.4 | 2 |
| New Balance Hanzo S Review | New Balance | Hanzo | Worth considering | $110 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 10.7 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 5.2 | 5 |
| Hoka Hupana Review | Hoka | Hupana | Recommended | $115 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 13.9 | 31 | 36 | 7 | 5.4 | 4 |
| Asics Gel Hyper Speed 7 Review | Asics | Hyper Speed | Highly Recommended | $75 | 10.9 | 6.3 | 9.8 | 22 | 26 | 5 | 6.8 | 6 |
| Altra Instinct 4.0 Review | Altra | Instinct 4.0 | Worth considering | $120 | 6.0 | 9.8 | 15.3 | 29 | 25 | -1 | 5.9 | 5 |
| Asics Tarther Kainos 3 Review | Asics | Kainos | Worth considering | $130 | 10.0 | 6.9 | 10.7 | 17 | 27 | 9 | 6.8 | 6 |
| Altra King MT 1.5 Review | Altra | King MT | Recommended | $140 | 7.5 | 10.7 | 16.7 | 19 | 21 | 3 | 8.0 | 5 |
| Saucony Kinvara 8 Review | Saucony | Kinvara 8 | Best of the Best | $110 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 13.4 | 26 | 31 | 3 | 8.0 | 5 |
| Altra Lone Peak 3.5 Review | Altra | Lone Peak | Highly Recommended | $120 | 4.2 | 11.4 | 17.7 | 24 | 25 | 4 | 4.8 | 5 |
| Nike Zoom Streak LT 3 Review | Nike | LT3 | Best of the Best | $80 | 9.8 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 16 | 21 | 5 | 5.3 | 7 |
| Nike Zoom Streak LT 4 Review | Nike | LT4 | Recommended | $90 | 8.5 | 5.5 | 8.5 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Nike LunarSpider R5 Review | Nike | LunarSpider | Recommended | $125 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 10.4 | 17 | 21 | 3 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Hoka Mafate Speed Review | Hoka | Mafate | Best of the Best | $170 | 7.6 | 11.9 | 18.5 | 39 | 40 | 4 | 9.0 | 1 |
| Pearl Izumi EM Road N0 v2 Review | Pearl | N0 | Highly Recommended | $100 | 7.9 | 6.5 | 10.1 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Saucony Nomad Review | Saucony | Nomad | Worth considering | $110 | 4.3 | 10.5 | 17.2 | 25 | 27 | 2 | 4.5 | 4 |
| Hoka Odyssey Review | Hoka | Odyssey | Highly Recommended | $130 | 8.5 | 9.4 | 14.6 | 37 | 45 | 5 | 8.0 | 3 |
| Altra Olympus 2.5 Review | Altra | Olympus | Highly Recommended | $150 | 4.6 | 11.8 | 18.4 | 35 | 34 | 0 | 5.4 | 6 |
| Altra One 3.0 Review | Altra | One | Recommended | $100 | 6.1 | 8.8 | 13.7 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 5.4 | 6 |
| Altra Paradigm 4.0 Review | Altra | Paradigm | Highly Recommended | $150 | 5.3 | 11.0 | 17.1 | 28 | 30 | 5 | 5.8 | 8 |
| Asics Piranha SP 5 Review | Asics | Piranha | Recommended | $100 | 10.1 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 4.2 | 9 |
| Brooks PureFlow 5 Review | Brooks | PureFlow | Worth considering | $110 | 6.0 | 9.7 | 15.1 | 26 | 29 | 5 | 5.8 | 8 |
| Salming Race Review | Salming | Race | Worth considering | $130 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 10.1 | 16 | 19 | 4 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Altra Escalante Racer Review | Altra | Racer | Highly Recommended | $140 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 11.8 | 24 | 26 | 6 | 5.0 | 8 |
| New Balance RC1600 v2 Review | New Balance | RC1600 | Highly Recommended | $110 | 8.8 | 5.6 | 8.7 | 15 | 21 | 5 | 4.9 | 8 |
| New Balance RC5000v2 Review | New Balance | RC5000v2 | Best of the Best | $125 | 14.2 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 13 | 21 | 6 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Skechers GoRun Ride 3 Review | Skechers | Ride | Worth considering | $85 | 5.9 | 8.5 | 13.2 | 18 | 28 | 6 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Nike RN Distance 2 Review | Nike | RNDist2 | Worth considering | $120 | 8.0 | 9.2 | 14.3 | 25 | 28 | 4 | 7.4 | 7 |
| Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 Review | Inov-8 | RXT-220 | Worth considering | $120 | 5.2 | 8.0 | 18.2 | 14 | 17 | 3 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Salomon Sense Ride Review | Salomon | Sense | Worth considering | $120 | 8.5 | 10.0 | 15.6 | 26 | 29 | 6 | 8.5 | 0 |
| Altra Solstice Review | Altra | Solstice | Highly Recommended | $90 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 12.5 | 23 | 25 | 0 | 5.7 | 5 |
| Topo ST-2 Review | Topo | ST-2 | Highly Recommended | $90 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 11.4 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 6.0 | 7 |
| Hoka Stinson Lite Review | Hoka | Stinson | Highly Recommended | $160 | 7.3 | 11.6 | 18.1 | 35 | 40 | 6 | 8.5 | 0 |
| Altra Superior | Altra | Superior | Highly Recommended | $110 | 5.6 | 9.9 | 15.5 | 21 | 25 | -1 | 5.5 | 4 |
| Adidas Takumi Sen 3 Review | Adidas | Takumi Sen 3 | Highly Recommended | $160 | 7.7 | 6.6 | 10.2 | 17 | 21 | 4 | 5.1 | 5 |
| Topo Terraventure | Topo | Terraventure | Review Pending | $110 | 2.6 | 10.8 | 27.5 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 2.8 | 10 |
| Altra Timp Review | Altra | Timp | Best of the Best | $130 | 3.7 | 11.6 | 18.1 | 30 | 31 | -1 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Altra Torin 2.0 Review | Altra | Torin | Worth considering | $125 | 3.4 | 9.6 | 20.7 | 30 | 25 | 1 | 3.3 | 9 |
| Altra Torin 3.5 Review | Altra | Torin 3.5 | Worth considering | $125 | 5.8 | 9.3 | 14.5 | 27 | 28 | 0 | 5.4 | 8 |
| Hoka Tracer Review | Hoka | Tracer | Recommended | $130 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 11.5 | 21 | 24 | 2 | 5.3 | 5 |
| Merrell Trail Glove 4 Review | Merrell | Trail Glove 4 | Best of the Best | $100 | 3.4 | 8.4 | 23.8 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 2.8 | 10 |
| Topo Tribute Review | Topo | Tribute | Recommended | $100 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 11.4 | 20 | 18 | -1 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Mizuno Wave Universe 5 Review | Mizuno | Universe | Highly Recommended | $125 | 10.7 | 3.1 | 10.6 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 3.3 | 9 |
| Altra Vanish-R Review | Altra | Vanish-R | Recommended | $100 | 16.1 | 5.3 | 8.2 | 19 | 21 | 4 | 8.5 | 6 |
| Merrell Vapor Glove 3 Review | Merrell | Vapor Glove 3 | Highly Recommended | $85 | 2.1 | 6.1 | 27.6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.3 | 10 |
| Nike Vaporfly 4% Review | Nike | Vaporfly | Best of the Best | $250 | 10.4 | 7.2 | 11.2 | 25 | 37 | 8 | 7.5 | 2 |
| New Balance Vazee Pace Review | New Balance | Vazee Pace | Worth considering | $110 | 6.0 | 8.6 | 13.4 | 18 | 24 | 6 | 5.2 | 5 |
| Asics TartherZeal 3 Review | Asics | Zeal | Worth considering | $140 | 10.9 | 6.3 | 9.8 | 17 | 27 | 9 | 6.8 | 6 |
| Saucony Zealot 3 Review | Saucony | Zealot3 | Recommended | $130 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 14.8 | 29 | 32 | 4 | 8.5 | 6 |
| Nike Zoom Fly Review | Nike | Zoom Fly | Worth considering | $150 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 13.5 | 29 | 36 | 8 | 7.2 | 3 |
It's not a running shoe, but I love the Hoka Tor Ultra hiking boot and I've tested the Altra Lone Peak Boot, the Hoka Tor Speed 2, and the Inov-8 Roclite 325 hiking boots
Older shoe reviews: Saucony Hattori Review, Mizuno Cursoris Review, Skechers GO Bionic 2 Review, Hoka Clifton Review, Saucony Virrata 2 Review, Brooks PureCadence 3 Review, Brooks PureConnect 3 Review, Brooks PureFlow 3 Review, Skechers GO Bionic 2 Review, New Balance 980 Review, Brooks Transcend 2 Review, Hoka Huaka Review, Patagonia EVERlong Review, Asics 33-DFA Review, Hoka Conquest Review, Saucony Cortana Review, Puma Faas 100 R Review, Saucony Fastwitch Review, Nike Free Review, Asics Gel Lyte 33 Review, Skechers GOmeb Speed Review, Skechers GOrun Ultra Road Review, Nike LunaRacer Review, Altra Paradigm Review.
