The Saucony Peregrine 15. All photos: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
The Saucony Peregrine 15 ($140) is the latest iteration of the popular no-frills, all-round versatile trail running shoe. It features the shoe’s trademark luggy outsole that performs well in a range of conditions.
There are some gentle updates, but the new version stays true to what the Saucony Peregrine has been known for down through the years — maintaining its low profile with a 28-millimeter heel and a 24-millimeter toe, resulting in a four-millimeter drop. Impressively for a durable workhorse of a shoe, it weighs in at an actual 9.7 ounces (273 grams) for a U.S. men’s 9.
In this video, iRunFar reviewer Travis Liles takes a deep dive into everything you need to know about the Saucony Peregrine 15.
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Saucony Peregrine 15 Review Transcript
Hey and welcome to Trail Trials, the video review section of iRunFar.com. My name is Travis Liles, and in this review, we’re going to take a look at the Saucony Peregrine 15.
Let’s start off with the specs about this shoe. This maintains a very similar silhouette to what the Peregrine has really been throughout the years, and that’s a low-profile shoe that’s fairly luggy. It weighs in at 9.7 ounces (273 grams) in a U.S. men’s size 9, with a 28-millimeter heel and a 24-millimeter toe, so a four-millimeter drop. It has a five-millimeter luggy outsole, so that tradition continues. There’s some updated foam, but a lot of it is fairly similar to the last version. So, with all that said, let’s get up close and personal. Let’s see what this shoe is all about.
Saucony Peregrine 15 Outsole
The outsole of the Saucony Peregrine 15.
Alright so let’s start off by talking about the Saucony Peregrine 15 outsole, because that’s really where I think the Peregrine makes its identity, in this luggy outsole. It uses the PWRTRAC compound, which is Saucony’s proprietary material. I think it’s a good compound. I’d say it’s fairly in the middle, it’s not super high-friction like a Vibram MegaGrip. In really slick, wet conditions — on something like mossy rocks, which are pretty prevalent here in the U.S. Pacific Northwest — it doesn’t do great. But I think outside of that it does a really good job, it’s got plenty of grip and bite, especially with all these lugs.
You have forward-facing lugs in the front in this triangle pattern, with a transition here in the inner part of the arch area that’s a little bit forward and a little bit backward. And then toward the back, you’ve got rearward facing lugs that trap and catch the grit and give you some more braking power. So overall, these five-millimeter lugs do a really good job in just about anything. They do well over rocky and dry terrain, and, of course, mud. As long as it’s not overly soupy, which most shoes don’t do a good job in, these do great. I’ve not noticed anything too outrageous about this shoe. In fact, I’ve always felt fairly confident going uphill and downhill in these shoes.
Some things of note here are the rock plate is made out of a woven fabric, you can kind of scratch at it and sort of feel that. It’s this tightly woven little plate that’s in here so it’s not overly stiff, which is kind of nice. You can get some movement to it. That rock plate stops at the front of the shoe and doesn’t exist in the back. Though you do have full coverage of rubber, there aren’t any open, exposed midsole foam sections. If something does poke through, it’s not just poking directly into the foam, which I think is nice. And especially while still being able to keep the shoe under 10 ounces.
Saucony Peregrine 15 Midsole
A medial view of the Saucony Peregrine 15.
Alright so let’s move on to the midsole of the Saucony Peregrine 15, and in this version it uses the PWRRUN compound. And just for reference sake here, I’m going to pull out the Saucony Peregrine 14 as well. You can see that the tread pattern is fairly similar, and in fact this midsole is fairly similar as well. I think the 15 is a little sleeker and a little less bulbous than the 14 is, but I don’t know that that’s anything more than aesthetics. The only difference that I’ll call out is the density of the foam, the new 15 has a slightly softer foam. You can just feel it by squeezing it, you can feel it by stepping into it. It’s not a lot, but it definitely is just a touch softer than the 14. I just wanted to give an example of that, but this is PWRRUN foam and that is all the way around. It’s single-density foam.
Again, this is a low-profile shoe. You’re looking at 28 millimeters on the heel and 24 millimeters on the toe, so it is a low profile, low drop. This foam is not overly springy and it’s not overly firm, so it’s sort of a good in between in terms of what you’re going to go out and do. There’s nothing mechanical in here, there’s no extra blocking or carbon plates or anything like that. This is a standard single-density foam, but it is a pretty good foam that I think performs well in a lot of different areas from road to trail to concrete. You can run on a treadmill in these. I tend to just run shoes through the gamut of different running scenarios, and I think — overall, is a road shoe quicker? Sure. Can you get by with this if you’re running a long race and part of it is on road? Yes, you absolutely can.
One thing here that I’ll call out that I tend to do with Sauconys is the sock liner, and this actually is their PWRRUN+, so the sock liner is not just a piece of EVA foam. And the benefit here is that one, it’s really comfortable. It’s got a little bit of extra cushion and spring to it, which is nice, but the other part is it doesn’t pit out. And because this is the same type of foam that’s in a lot of their road shoes, which are bouncier and springier, I don’t think you’d want this same foam for an entire trail shoe, because it would bottom out and be a little bit squirrely, especially as you’re stomping hard and taking corners. I don’t think this foam is really good for allover use on a trail shoe, but for this application I always like it.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I wish more shoe companies would do something like this, because the comfort level is high. And your midsole sock liner, the thing that sits on top of your midsole, does not pit out like a lot of other ones do. You’ll get that deep pitting where your toes sit, especially if they’re wet and you wear them through a season. These tend to stay nice and flexible and add just a little bit of extra bounce that is definitely noticeable to me when I compare it to other types of midsoles.
Saucony Peregrine 15 Upper
A lateral view of the Saucony Peregrine 15.
Let’s move up to the upper of the Saucony Peregrine 15. Just like the rest of the shoe, it’s fairly simple. It’s mostly mesh. Just kind of a single, sock-fit type of mesh. There’s not a lot of stitching. There’s not a lot of other stuff going on. The overlays are made up of laminated rubber — so here at the toe cap, it’s pretty strong, at the front. And then as you move back from the front of the shoe, it gets a little bit thinner, and a little bit less dense. But it provides enough protection to keep the mud out, and keep the low moisture out from the shoe. You’ll see that little bit of a mud guard all the way around the shoe just here at the base.
One of the issues with previous versions of Saucony shoes was that they would start to tear up in some of these pinch points. It looks like that’s been taken care of. I’ve worn them for about a 100 — maybe a little over 100 miles — in wet, gross, Pacific Northwest conditions, and these shoes have done well, and I haven’t babied them and washed them every single time I came home or anything like that.
So overall, the upper is performing well. It breathes well. It drains well. There’s nothing really too exciting about it. You’re not getting a bunch of different stretchy 3D meshes — it’s just classic mesh here, and I think for the purpose, it works extremely well.
From the lacing system standpoint, there is a gaiter hook at the bottom. The lacing is fairly standard, but as with the 14, there is the addition of extra loops for a really secure lockdown. It creates a wrap on your foot without putting all the pressure right at the top of your foot. It adds this anchoring system, and I think does a pretty good job of locking your foot in. And again, for a low-profile shoe with high grip, you may want to go turn it over in these. And I think this is a shoe that stays underfoot, at least for me, and lets you do what you want to do and you don’t have to worry about it being sloppy or loose. You can get this shoe locked down.
The tongue is fairly standard. It’s not gusseted all the way to the top, but it is pretty close. It has a pretty good amount of stretchy mesh that sits there, and allows your foot to just slide in. It creates a nice little sock-like fit in the shoe. One of the things I’m very happy about is there’s no crazy gravel catcher that comes off the back of this, so you have a slightly soft spot here at the heel, and then as it transitions down to the heel cup it’s a much firmer, classic heel cup that you would see in an everyday kind of running shoe. So overall I think this package checks a lot of boxes. There’s not a lot of gimmicks here going on. It’s really just about getting your foot in, locking it down, and letting you go do a run.
Saucony Peregrine 15 Overall Impressions
A top view of the Saucony Peregrine 15.
In closing, I think if you were to do a Wikipedia entry on trail shoes, I think the Saucony Peregrine 15 is one of those shoes that could be the main image for it. It’s just a trail shoe. There’s not a lot of gimmicks here. There’s not a lot of extraneous things going on. You’re not getting sold a carbon fiber plate or some sort of insane rubbers on the outsole. And look, all those things are super cool, and, obviously, in a sport where you could be in a lot of different places, a lot of different terrains and environments, there are times where all of those different technologies come in handy, but that’s not what the Peregrine is.
The Peregrine is a shoe that you can throw on regardless of what’s going on, and it’s going to get the job done. It’s grippy, it’s fairly quick feeling, it’s lightweight, it drains pretty well. All the stuff that you need as the core functions of a trail shoe, the Peregrine does it. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have said that. They seemed to fall off of their initial path of what the Peregrine was, and became something different. This has got enough protection, enough grip, enough good foam, and sock liner and fit, that you can just do a lot in this shoe and really not have to think about it too much.
And the fact that the shoe comes in at $140 makes it a steal by today’s pricing of shoes. I’ve run over 100 miles in these, and I don’t have any mesh tearing up. I don’t feel like they’ve broken down too bad, or that they’re wearing out in any sort of weird way.
All in all, this is a thumbs up. This is a good shoe if you’re looking for something lighter and grippier, to get you through the sloppy part of the year, but also something you can use all the time and do some hybrid running in. For all of the above, this is a good option.
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Call for Comments
- So questions, comments, throw those in the comments section. Thanks for watching. We’ll catch you next time.
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