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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Saucony Zealot 3 Review}} The Zealot 3 is a well cushioned, Maximalist running shoe that's relatively lightweight. The biggest problem is the cramped toe bo..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Saucony Zealot 3 Review}}
The Zealot 3 is a well cushioned, [[Maximalist]] running shoe that's relatively lightweight. The biggest problem is the cramped toe box is a common flaw that effects most running shoes except for those from Altra or Topo. The new and novel problem the Zealot introduces is "ISOFIT" that may cause problems if you have issues with the tendons on the top of the foot. That's enough for me to downgrade the Zealot 3 from "Highly Recommended" to merely "recommended." {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Saucony Zealot 3-top.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 top
File:Saucony Zealot 3-outside.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 outside
File:Saucony Zealot 3-bottom.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 bottom
File:Saucony Zealot 3-inside.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Zealot 3 is nicely cushioned, with a thin (3mm) layer of Saucony's version of TPU foam they call EVERUN. TPU foam is longer lasting, and has more bounce than standard EVA foam. Such a thin layer of TPU didn't seem to make a noticeable difference to the feel of the Zealot, unlike a full TPU shoe such as the [[Altra Escalante]] that is noticeably bouncy. An obvious comparison for the Zealot is the [[Saucony Kinvara 8]], one of my favorite shoes at the moment. The Zealot is slightly better cushioned than the Kinvara, but also slightly heavier, so it's cushioning-to-weight ratio is not quite as good as the Kinvara. Of course, the Kinvara 8 is an outstanding shoe, and the Zealot is comparable with Hoka shoes.
* {{H:drop}}. The Zealot matches the claimed 4mm of drop, which is slightly more than I think is ideal, but shouldn't cause many people a problem.
* {{H:structure}}. While the Zealot uses two types of foam, this is not the typical attempt to control foot motion. Rather, this is an extra layer of Saucony's TPU foam at the top over a thicker layer of standard EVA foam. I found the Zealot to be an unobtrusive shoe, with no midsole protrusions that attempt to limit my natural foot motion.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Zealot reasonably flexible, mostly because of the fairly deep grooves in the midsole, and the gaps in the outsole. I found the Zealot flexes very naturally, unlike some shoes that tend to want to bend at a specific point.
* {{H:outsole}}. The hard rubber outsole covers the vast majority of the contact areas, and all of the high abrasion surfaces. The outsole rubber seems to be reasonably sticky, and I always felt I had good grip. I did occasionally find the deep grooves could pick up stones and temporary, and when this happened, the stones tended to get wedged quite firmly.
* {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so it's worth considering [[Shoe Modifications| cutting open the toe box for comfort]]. The Zealot is certainly not as bad as some shoes, but it's nothing like an Altra or a Topo. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is seamless in the forefoot, but has a couple of seams in the midfoot. These didn't cause me any problems. The upper is fairly soft, and there's a reasonable amount of padding from the midfoot back. I found the upper to be a little thicker than most running shoes, and if you don't cut the toe box open, you may find it a little warm. Sadly, Saucony have continued to screw around with the midfoot, this time with an approach they call "ISOFIT". This consists of widely spaced lacing attachments, which I did not find helped with the fit at all. The main impact of ISOFIT is to make the laces rather uneven on the top of the foot, and I can see that causing some problems for runners who have pain on the top of their feet.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Zealot has a sock style tongue, but in this case, it's a traditional padded tongue that is attached to the upper with a thinner, stretchy piece of material. This worked reasonably well, and didn't have the issues getting into the shoe that sometimes plagues sock-like uppers.
* {{H:lacing}}. The flat laces work well and remained tied, with quite a bit of elasticity in the laces to improve comfort. This elasticity somewhat offsets the wide spacing, but not completely, and I'd urge caution with the Zealot as I could easily see this widely spaced lacing irritating the tendons along the top of the foot.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The [[Heel Counter]] is quite firm, but the hard part is fairly low down, with some softer reinforcement further up. There's plenty of soft padding between the heel counter and your foot, which negates any influence it might have.
{{FastBlr|saucony/Zealot-6-952|952|Saucony Zealot 3}}
=Update After 200 Miles=
The Zealot 3 has shown very few signs of wear over the first 200 miles. The exposed midsole foam has it become dirty where it touches the road, but there's no sign of abrasion. There is a small amount of abrasion on some of the contact patches that are covered by the hard rubber outsole, but these are fairly minor. The upper appears completely on worn, other than where I've cut the toe box open of course. There's been surprisingly little compression of the midsole foam under the ball of the foot, and the Zealot appears to have loads of life left. It's been a comfortable shoe up to the marathon distance, and while I've not run further than that, I think they'd be fine for longer distances. I had very occasional issues with the Zealot picking up stones, and this could be a pain if you run on gravel surfaces.
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Zealot3 200miles (2).jpg
File:Zealot3 200miles (3).jpg
File:Zealot3 200miles (4).jpg
File:Zealot3 200miles (1).jpg
</gallery>
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
The Zealot 3 is a well cushioned, [[Maximalist]] running shoe that's relatively lightweight. The biggest problem is the cramped toe box is a common flaw that effects most running shoes except for those from Altra or Topo. The new and novel problem the Zealot introduces is "ISOFIT" that may cause problems if you have issues with the tendons on the top of the foot. That's enough for me to downgrade the Zealot 3 from "Highly Recommended" to merely "recommended." {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Saucony Zealot 3-top.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 top
File:Saucony Zealot 3-outside.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 outside
File:Saucony Zealot 3-bottom.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 bottom
File:Saucony Zealot 3-inside.jpg|Saucony Zealot 3 inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Zealot 3 is nicely cushioned, with a thin (3mm) layer of Saucony's version of TPU foam they call EVERUN. TPU foam is longer lasting, and has more bounce than standard EVA foam. Such a thin layer of TPU didn't seem to make a noticeable difference to the feel of the Zealot, unlike a full TPU shoe such as the [[Altra Escalante]] that is noticeably bouncy. An obvious comparison for the Zealot is the [[Saucony Kinvara 8]], one of my favorite shoes at the moment. The Zealot is slightly better cushioned than the Kinvara, but also slightly heavier, so it's cushioning-to-weight ratio is not quite as good as the Kinvara. Of course, the Kinvara 8 is an outstanding shoe, and the Zealot is comparable with Hoka shoes.
* {{H:drop}}. The Zealot matches the claimed 4mm of drop, which is slightly more than I think is ideal, but shouldn't cause many people a problem.
* {{H:structure}}. While the Zealot uses two types of foam, this is not the typical attempt to control foot motion. Rather, this is an extra layer of Saucony's TPU foam at the top over a thicker layer of standard EVA foam. I found the Zealot to be an unobtrusive shoe, with no midsole protrusions that attempt to limit my natural foot motion.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Zealot reasonably flexible, mostly because of the fairly deep grooves in the midsole, and the gaps in the outsole. I found the Zealot flexes very naturally, unlike some shoes that tend to want to bend at a specific point.
* {{H:outsole}}. The hard rubber outsole covers the vast majority of the contact areas, and all of the high abrasion surfaces. The outsole rubber seems to be reasonably sticky, and I always felt I had good grip. I did occasionally find the deep grooves could pick up stones and temporary, and when this happened, the stones tended to get wedged quite firmly.
* {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so it's worth considering [[Shoe Modifications| cutting open the toe box for comfort]]. The Zealot is certainly not as bad as some shoes, but it's nothing like an Altra or a Topo. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is seamless in the forefoot, but has a couple of seams in the midfoot. These didn't cause me any problems. The upper is fairly soft, and there's a reasonable amount of padding from the midfoot back. I found the upper to be a little thicker than most running shoes, and if you don't cut the toe box open, you may find it a little warm. Sadly, Saucony have continued to screw around with the midfoot, this time with an approach they call "ISOFIT". This consists of widely spaced lacing attachments, which I did not find helped with the fit at all. The main impact of ISOFIT is to make the laces rather uneven on the top of the foot, and I can see that causing some problems for runners who have pain on the top of their feet.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Zealot has a sock style tongue, but in this case, it's a traditional padded tongue that is attached to the upper with a thinner, stretchy piece of material. This worked reasonably well, and didn't have the issues getting into the shoe that sometimes plagues sock-like uppers.
* {{H:lacing}}. The flat laces work well and remained tied, with quite a bit of elasticity in the laces to improve comfort. This elasticity somewhat offsets the wide spacing, but not completely, and I'd urge caution with the Zealot as I could easily see this widely spaced lacing irritating the tendons along the top of the foot.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The [[Heel Counter]] is quite firm, but the hard part is fairly low down, with some softer reinforcement further up. There's plenty of soft padding between the heel counter and your foot, which negates any influence it might have.
{{FastBlr|saucony/Zealot-6-952|952|Saucony Zealot 3}}
=Update After 200 Miles=
The Zealot 3 has shown very few signs of wear over the first 200 miles. The exposed midsole foam has it become dirty where it touches the road, but there's no sign of abrasion. There is a small amount of abrasion on some of the contact patches that are covered by the hard rubber outsole, but these are fairly minor. The upper appears completely on worn, other than where I've cut the toe box open of course. There's been surprisingly little compression of the midsole foam under the ball of the foot, and the Zealot appears to have loads of life left. It's been a comfortable shoe up to the marathon distance, and while I've not run further than that, I think they'd be fine for longer distances. I had very occasional issues with the Zealot picking up stones, and this could be a pain if you run on gravel surfaces.
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Zealot3 200miles (2).jpg
File:Zealot3 200miles (3).jpg
File:Zealot3 200miles (4).jpg
File:Zealot3 200miles (1).jpg
</gallery>
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}