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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Saucony Freedom Review}} I was really excited to get the Saucony Freedom shoes as I had high hopes for the novel TPU midsole in a shoe with on..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Saucony Freedom Review}}
I was really excited to get the Saucony Freedom shoes as I had high hopes for the novel TPU midsole in a shoe with only a modest drop and a reasonable shape toe box. While I'm a little disappointed in the reality, I still rather like the Freedoms and I rated them "recommended." I think the main reason for buying them might be value for money. They're not a cheap shoe, but they seem to last rather longer than many others, so the cost per mile (or Km) is perhaps quite a bit lower. I was hoping the Freedoms would have the bounciness that I liked in the [[Adidas Energy Boost]], but they didn't seem to have as much bounce as a good EVA foam shoe like the [[Topo Fli-Lyte]]. The Freedoms are also pretty heavy, coming in at 10.7oz in my men's size 10.5. If I'd have known they were that heavy are I might not have purchased them, but I'm glad I did. Hopefully TPU foam will become lighter over time, as we've seen with the evolution of EVA foam. ''{{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}''
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-top.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom top]]
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-outside.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom outside]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-bottom.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom bottom]]
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-inside.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom inside]]
|}
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Freedom uses a different material to provide its cushioning. Instead of EVA foam the Freedom uses expanded TPU beads. This is the technology that's found in Adidas shoes like the [[Adidas Energy Boost]], though Saucony brand it "EVERUN." The idea is that TPU provides more spring than EVA foam and it lasts longer. Previously, I've found that the Adidas Boost had a distinctly bouncier feel, but I haven't noticed this much in the Freedom. In fact, I'd say that the Freedom feels a little firm, and it's rather under cushioned for its weight. One of the caveats to TPU cushioning is that it's relatively heavy when compared with EVA foam. Saucony have done an admirable job in reducing the weight of the upper without compromising comfort, but this does give the shoe is slightly odd feel when you pick it up as the weight is concentrated so much in the sole. The other oddity with the Freedom is that it doesn't seem to quite compress under pressure in the same way that EVA foam does, so I get a sense of extra pressure just in front of my metatarsal heads (the ball of my foot and the similar joints for the other toes.) I'm not sure this is necessarily a problem, but it's not something I'm terribly keen on. I'm a little disappointed with the cushioning-to-weight ratio of the Freedom, as it provides about the same cushioning as the [[New Balance RC5000v2]] but ways far more than twice as much. On a more positive note, I'd say that the cushioning seems to be lasting much better than EVA foam, though I've only put just over 100 miles on them so far.
* {{H:drop}}. Saucony claims the Freedom has 4 mm drop, but I measured it at only 1 mm and 3 mm when it has your weight in the shoe. When running in the Freedom it feels close enough to zero drop for my tastes.
* {{H:structure}}. Saucony seem to have styled the Freedom to look like it has a Medial Post, but this is just the superficial coloring they've printed on the TPU midsole. I found the Freedom to be very natural, with little to interfere with my biomechanics. There is a slight rise under the arch, but not enough to cause a problem.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Freedom is nicely flexible, and the forefoot has a little bit of springing us to the bend. I'm not sure if this really provides any propulsion at toe off, but it's a nice thought. The Freedom is rather more flexible than you might expect given its unbroken outsole along the forefoot.
* {{H:outsole}}. As you can see from the pictures above, the Freedom has harder rubber outsole over virtually the entire sole, with just a small gap under the middle of the arch. The rubber is nicely sticky and tacky, providing good grip while the tread pattern seems to work quite effectively. The outsole also seems to be quite hard wearing, and there are no stone traps or other holes in the sole that could pick up gravel.
* {{H:shape}}. I had high hopes that I might not [[Shoe Dissection| have to cut open the toe box]] of the Freedom, but after just a few miles my imprisoned toes cried out for freedom. This is not a shoe that has a terrible toe box shape, but it's still a long way from the human foot and the designs of shoes from companies like Topo and Altra. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. To offset the additional weight of the TPU midsole, Saucony have put in some extra effort to reduce the weight of the upper. They've done this without significantly compromising comfort, and the rear of the shoe is nicely padded, soft, and flexible.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Freedom has a sock-liner style of tongue that actually part of the upper and is attached all the way along. There is almost no padding in the tongue, except for a narrow section that runs the length of the midline of the tongue. Having run in ultralight shoes that have a barely more than a bit of tissue acting as a tongue, I was a little surprised to find the tongue in the Freedom to be lacking. This could be lead you to the lacing pattern of the Freedom where the laces cross over in bands that concentrate the force on a narrow part of the foot. This wasn't a big issue for me, but I did occasionally find the top of my foot was less than happy.
* {{H:lacing}}. The Freedom has flat laces that work how laces should and don't come undone mid-run.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Freedom doesn't have a heel counter in the traditional way. If you look at the photos above, you'll see a black band that runs roughly where the top of the heel counter would go. This black band is relatively thick plastic that acts as a skeleton of a heel counter. To me, this seems like an unusually pointless bit of design and it's hard to imagine that anyone would think that this provides any functional benefit. I'm guessing that the designers felt that a running shoe must have a heel counter so late put something in regardless of the futility.
{{FastBlr|Saucony/type-a6-597|597|Saucony Freedom}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
I was really excited to get the Saucony Freedom shoes as I had high hopes for the novel TPU midsole in a shoe with only a modest drop and a reasonable shape toe box. While I'm a little disappointed in the reality, I still rather like the Freedoms and I rated them "recommended." I think the main reason for buying them might be value for money. They're not a cheap shoe, but they seem to last rather longer than many others, so the cost per mile (or Km) is perhaps quite a bit lower. I was hoping the Freedoms would have the bounciness that I liked in the [[Adidas Energy Boost]], but they didn't seem to have as much bounce as a good EVA foam shoe like the [[Topo Fli-Lyte]]. The Freedoms are also pretty heavy, coming in at 10.7oz in my men's size 10.5. If I'd have known they were that heavy are I might not have purchased them, but I'm glad I did. Hopefully TPU foam will become lighter over time, as we've seen with the evolution of EVA foam. ''{{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}''
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-top.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom top]]
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-outside.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom outside]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-bottom.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom bottom]]
|[[File:Saucony Freedom-inside.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Saucony Freedom inside]]
|}
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Freedom uses a different material to provide its cushioning. Instead of EVA foam the Freedom uses expanded TPU beads. This is the technology that's found in Adidas shoes like the [[Adidas Energy Boost]], though Saucony brand it "EVERUN." The idea is that TPU provides more spring than EVA foam and it lasts longer. Previously, I've found that the Adidas Boost had a distinctly bouncier feel, but I haven't noticed this much in the Freedom. In fact, I'd say that the Freedom feels a little firm, and it's rather under cushioned for its weight. One of the caveats to TPU cushioning is that it's relatively heavy when compared with EVA foam. Saucony have done an admirable job in reducing the weight of the upper without compromising comfort, but this does give the shoe is slightly odd feel when you pick it up as the weight is concentrated so much in the sole. The other oddity with the Freedom is that it doesn't seem to quite compress under pressure in the same way that EVA foam does, so I get a sense of extra pressure just in front of my metatarsal heads (the ball of my foot and the similar joints for the other toes.) I'm not sure this is necessarily a problem, but it's not something I'm terribly keen on. I'm a little disappointed with the cushioning-to-weight ratio of the Freedom, as it provides about the same cushioning as the [[New Balance RC5000v2]] but ways far more than twice as much. On a more positive note, I'd say that the cushioning seems to be lasting much better than EVA foam, though I've only put just over 100 miles on them so far.
* {{H:drop}}. Saucony claims the Freedom has 4 mm drop, but I measured it at only 1 mm and 3 mm when it has your weight in the shoe. When running in the Freedom it feels close enough to zero drop for my tastes.
* {{H:structure}}. Saucony seem to have styled the Freedom to look like it has a Medial Post, but this is just the superficial coloring they've printed on the TPU midsole. I found the Freedom to be very natural, with little to interfere with my biomechanics. There is a slight rise under the arch, but not enough to cause a problem.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Freedom is nicely flexible, and the forefoot has a little bit of springing us to the bend. I'm not sure if this really provides any propulsion at toe off, but it's a nice thought. The Freedom is rather more flexible than you might expect given its unbroken outsole along the forefoot.
* {{H:outsole}}. As you can see from the pictures above, the Freedom has harder rubber outsole over virtually the entire sole, with just a small gap under the middle of the arch. The rubber is nicely sticky and tacky, providing good grip while the tread pattern seems to work quite effectively. The outsole also seems to be quite hard wearing, and there are no stone traps or other holes in the sole that could pick up gravel.
* {{H:shape}}. I had high hopes that I might not [[Shoe Dissection| have to cut open the toe box]] of the Freedom, but after just a few miles my imprisoned toes cried out for freedom. This is not a shoe that has a terrible toe box shape, but it's still a long way from the human foot and the designs of shoes from companies like Topo and Altra. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. To offset the additional weight of the TPU midsole, Saucony have put in some extra effort to reduce the weight of the upper. They've done this without significantly compromising comfort, and the rear of the shoe is nicely padded, soft, and flexible.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Freedom has a sock-liner style of tongue that actually part of the upper and is attached all the way along. There is almost no padding in the tongue, except for a narrow section that runs the length of the midline of the tongue. Having run in ultralight shoes that have a barely more than a bit of tissue acting as a tongue, I was a little surprised to find the tongue in the Freedom to be lacking. This could be lead you to the lacing pattern of the Freedom where the laces cross over in bands that concentrate the force on a narrow part of the foot. This wasn't a big issue for me, but I did occasionally find the top of my foot was less than happy.
* {{H:lacing}}. The Freedom has flat laces that work how laces should and don't come undone mid-run.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Freedom doesn't have a heel counter in the traditional way. If you look at the photos above, you'll see a black band that runs roughly where the top of the heel counter would go. This black band is relatively thick plastic that acts as a skeleton of a heel counter. To me, this seems like an unusually pointless bit of design and it's hard to imagine that anyone would think that this provides any functional benefit. I'm guessing that the designers felt that a running shoe must have a heel counter so late put something in regardless of the futility.
{{FastBlr|Saucony/type-a6-597|597|Saucony Freedom}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
