Saucony Axon 3 Introduction
Saucony has been offering some of the best running shoes for years, and the best cheaper offerings of the past few years. In the neutral scope, the Axon has been a new mainstay for budget-friendly offerings. At $100, the Axon is priced well below the other main neutral offerings
At that price point the Axon will compete against the New Balance FuelCell Propel, Brooks Launch, and Nike Winflo.
I’ve run in three of those offerings, and the Axon is far-and-away the best of that bunch. In fact, I would put this shoe up against any of the $150 offerings and would probably choose the Axons.
Saucony Axon 3 First Impressions
Since I ran in the Axon and Axon 2, I was very excited to see what the Axon 3 would be like. When they arrived, I noticed that the colorway was a bit more subdued (on all offerings) than on the Axon 2. Although not as visually attractive as the 2s, the 3s made up for it in the extra bounce of the sole unit.
On my first run in the 3s, I was very impressed with the bounce and feedback. Beyond that, the aggressive toe-roll pushed me forward for one of my favorite runs of 2023.
Saucony Axon 3 Upper
Again, Saucony doesn’t try to muck things up here with the design of the upper. It is very simple in design and execution, and that is an excellent quality. Using an engineered mesh upper, the brand claims the upper is supremely breathable.
Just like the Axon 2, the upper is designed true-to-size, and has a great transition from heel to toe. It starts with a tight heel, and slowly gets wider as the the foot transitions to the toe.
The toe-box is wide enough to make almost anyone feel comfortable.
The mesh is flexible, and moves well with your feet, keeping you comfortable throughout your runs no matter the distance.
Saucony Axon 3 Sole Unit
Saucony continues to use the PWRRUN material in the midsole, with plenty of cushion–35mm in the heel, and 31mm in the toe–underfoot. The material used to be the main cushion for the brand, but is more dense and less bouncy than current top-line offerings. With that said, the material in the sole unit has been updated a little, with a slightly bouncier feel.
The shoe uses an aggressive rocker design which pushes you forward and helps you push through your heel-toe transition. With the rocker design, your toe-off is natural and helps to keep you at your desired pace.
On the outsole, Saucony updated the material to a carbon rubber, and used a thicker material. This results in a slightly heavier shoe, but the grip is superb.
In the Axon 2, my only real complaint was the traction on wet surfaces, but this new outsole has solved that problem.
I have yet to experience any slipping in the Axon 3s, despite running in the rain and through multiple yard waterings. Fantastic update.
Saucony Axon 3 Conclusions
If you’re here for the frills, then you’re looking at the wrong shoe. There are no frills here. What there is, is a very quality shoe that gets the job done for a great price.
I took this shoe out for a lot of short and quick runs, and also for longer and tempo runs. They performed incredibly well for each of the types of runs.
One of my biggest concerns from year-to-year is that a brand will take one of my favorite shoes and “update” them in a way that ruins it for me (New Balance More v4).
However, Saucony definitely didn’t mess with a good thing, and made sure that the aspects of this wonderful shoe stayed true to their original design.
I was anxious, but when I got these on my feet, it felt like reuniting with an old friend, and I loved it.
