Saucony Mirage Shoe Review

     Up next in the shoe review series is the Saucony ProGrid Mirage, a light stability road shoe. Introduced as a new model in June '11, the Mirage is another shoe in the stable of Saucony 4mm drop lightweight daily trainers, this one aimed at those who prefer a minimal amount of stability.

One of several color combos, this white is super white white.

     The fit of the Mirage is a little different than what I have found typical of Saucony in that it is fairly roomy all around, other than the beneficially slightly snug heel. The midfoot is maybe slightly more full than usual also but there are straps built into the lacing that integrate with overlays and snugs both sides to your foot as you adjust and tie the laces, and this system works well to connect your foot comfortably to the shoe. The forefoot is also fairly wide and fits my D width foot very well. The upper from midfoot forward is very simple and unrestrained, and is made of a soft open mesh type material that stretches some as your foot moves, making the shoe feel larger than it is without feeling sloppy or loose, a nifty trick.



Weight saving open mesh upper and judiciously applied outsole.



     The Mirage is considered a light weight trainer and my size 10 weigh in at 9.75 oz. but they feel lighter than that in stride. At 26mm heel and 21mm forefoot with sock liner included, the midsole has a nice firm feeling underfoot and gives a smooth ride from easy to tempo paced running.

Concave support piece seen here as the arch in the medial midsole.

     I should say that I have always worn neutral designed shoes before, and the Mirage is my second pair of mild support shoes. The Saucony Fastwitch 5 is my first and will be reviewed in the near future. It's been interesting to experiment with light support shoes and I'm glad I got over the bugaboo of staying within your assigned category, but I would not venture further than light support. The difference I can tell is all about the arch area. Not more or higher arch per se, but there is a feeling of more area underfoot overall, giving a more, well, stable feeling, like the platform of the shoe is wider. It feels good to me and I adjusted immediately and liked it right off. I run some of my road miles out on county highways that are fairly steeply crowned and when traffic forces me from the more level center to the slanted edge of the road this extra stability seems to help correct that cant somewhat.

     One complaint about the Mirage is what Saucony calls the "Hydrator Collar Lining", a thicker roll of foam that lines the upper interior of the collar and also the tongue. No doubt added by the Superfluous Gizmo Dept. of the design crew, this feature is more annoying than useful to me. Not uncomfortable, but noticeable as a wad of foam against your ankle, at least until it compresses with a little wear. Where the upper corners of the tongue meet the collar and overlap in use, this doubling of the foam can force the tongue to slide sideways, which is a little uncomfortable and could potentially rub during a longer run, though I have not had a hot spot yet as a result. I can't figure why, but this happens more with one shoe than the other, and is inconsistent with different pairs. I decided to tackle it somehow and wound up putting a stitch to connect the medial side of the tongue directly to the shoe and- problem solved. This whole thing might be unique to my feet/stride/karma also, who knows.



A tailor I'm not, but hey- it worked!

           Overall, this shoe fits very well, rides smoothly and stays very comfortable on longer and pace runs. As a result I have committed to the Mirage for the road portion of my marathon training and have been very happy with it. In fact I got an extra pair to wear around just as a daily shoe.

     The Saucony Mirage retails for $100, and Saucony is just now on the verge of releasing the Mirage 2.