Saucony Tempus Introduction
The light stability shoe game gained another member with the Saucony Tempus. Ever since running in shoes like the New Balance Vazee Prism or Asics DS Trainer I have always wished that there were more of these types of shoes. Low and behold Saucony has answered my call with the Tempus.
The Tempus is a brand-new shoe with some familiar tech.
If you know their Endorphin line, then this may look familiar. In fact, I many times confused the Tempus with my Endorphin Speed shoes that I also own as they and felt and looked quite similar.
Saucony Tempus First Impressions
Unboxing and putting these in my hands for the first time I was impressed with how light they immediately felt. The blue color certainly popped but not in an obnoxious way.
The first time lacing them up they were nice and snug. They rode a little stiff at first, but I was able to settle into a comfortable pace pretty quickly.
Saucony Tempus Upper
The shoe fit true to size. There was plenty of room in the toe box and I did not have any issues with it being too narrow or too wide. I see no need of having to size up or out.
The upper material was a breathable mesh; with a toe box that was slightly see through. It formed nicely to my feet and was very comfortable. The laces, while a little long, felt great on the top of my feet. There were zero issues with hot spots or the tongue going inward and exposing the top of my foot.
The ankle was pretty sturdy but I found no issues with rubbing or it not keeping my foot locked in.
Saucony Tempus Sole Unit
Starting from the bottom up, the outsole was incredibly grippy. The tread pattern gave me excellent control and kept me in control on impact and lift off. It is incredibly durable and there was minimal wear at the end of my testing. There were zero issues taking these out in the rain.
The midsole is where the shoe really shined with two different midsole approach. Around the midfoot, and especially the medial side, is the firm PWRRUN foam compound. This is the stability portion of the midsole that helped guide my foot when landing. It wasn’t overbearing like a traditional post and it was there only when I needed it.
The other part of the midsole is PWRRUN PB, straight from Saucony’s Endorphin line. It is light, bouncy, and explosive. I have been a long time fan of the Endorphin Speed and Endorphin Pro so this was a real treat. I am happy to see shoe companies taking their premium racing tech and incorporating it into these types of shoes so everyone can take advantage of them.
The stack is surprisingly pretty high at 36.5mm. This is something I see more with racing shoes so it added to the allure of this shoe for sure. The 8mm drop meant I was landing and lifting off with the front and midfoot which allowed me to dial into easy paces but also push up the pace if I wanted to.
Saucony Tempus Conclusions
This was a lot of fun to run in. It did have a long break-in period and took me a good 20 or so miles for it to really ride comfortably. I found it worked best for recovery day or when I wanted to have some pep but not for a workout day.
I was pretty surprised at the price and wish it was 20-30 dollars cheaper for the type of shoe it is. I understand you pay premium prices for premium tech but come on.
As someone who runs in both neutral and stability shoes, I don’t see a compelling reason to get this shoe over something like the Endorphin Speed. As someone who runs in netural and stability shoes, I am not so sure I would choose these shoes over something else at the same price point such as the Endorphin Speed or even something like Nike’s Zoom Fly.
That said, this is still a great shoe and if you normally run in shoes like the Guide then this is a dream.
It really is nice to see the stability shoe being re-assessed for modern runners and not just putting out the same heavy trainer every year.