Guide 16:

Saucony is putting a historic year behind them with a handful of updates and new shoes that have won them numerous awards. 2023 is anticipated to be another great year for the brand with new releases that are already turning heads. Today I’ll be reviewing one of their bread-and-butter shoes that’s back for a 16^th iteration: The Guide.

The Guide 16 is a light support model made for standing, walking and running. Let’s get into what’s updated from version 15.

What’s changed:

Having run in previous versions of this shoe over the years, I’m excited to see minimal changes have been made to a shoe that’s last iteration became an easy day staple. One of the bigger changes from the Guide 15 to 16 is a PWRRUN+ insole. PWERRUN+ is more responsive foam and placing it in the sock liner improved my impression of the step-in comfort. Keeping these minimal changes in mind, I’ll move on to my running review of the shoe.

Running in the shoe:

I have run about 10 miles in this shoe to date and it feels better to me than the previous version. While it’s possible my old Guides are broken down, I think in the early stages of this shoe the PWRRUN+ insole is making these feel much more comfortable than version 15. At the store we categorize this as a guidance style shoe. Guidance shoes are typically lightweight running shoes that have some sort of component built to withstand overpronation. Most people that wear guidance or stability shoes will notice the difference in firmness of the midsole material. While it may not be the softest shoe you’ll step in, it’s secure on a variety of levels truly helps overpronators from wearing through a shoe too quickly.

I’ve run on asphalt, concrete and chat surfaces and the Guide performs and feels good on all of these. While the strategic rubber placement on the base of the shoe helps protect the foam from the aforementioned surfaces, I would keep this shoe off of trails. There are several spots of exposed foam on the bottom of the shoe that would get poked and chipped away if you tried this shoe on any kind of technical trail. I would keep this as a road or finely crushed gravel surface only to get the typical 300 – 400 miles expected out of this shoe.

My only gripe with the shoe is that it runs a little bit narrow on my foot, so I had to get a wider width. I have been able to wear many other Saucony shoes without going to a wide width, but the D-width (standard width) version of this shoe was a bit snug on my foot. The full disclaimer is that I do have bunions, which make the forefoot fit on shoes a bit more challenging for me. So, if you have bunions or extra wide feet, I would suggest trying this in a wider width! With this in mind, let’s talk about what kind of profile we look for to match this shoe with.

Who is this shoe good for?

Would recommend this shoe for anyone that overpronates and wears shoes down quicker on the inside. This shoe has a couple of features that help overpronators run easier and get more life out of their shoes. The Guide uses a combination of TPU posting underneath the arch to withstand overpronation and help with the structural integrity of the inside of the shoe. The Guide also utilizes Hallow-Tech, which is the ribboned piece you’ll see intertwined with the 3^rd eyelet and laces. This ribbon wraps all the way underneath the foot to help keep you stable on top. I personally also feel like my foot sinks into the foot bed a smidge to give me additional support.

The Guide has been a reliable shoe in Saucony’s lineup for well over a decade now and I think if you’re new to running this is a phenomenal introduction shoe to get you out the door and logging some comfortable miles. This shoe is also comfortable for everyday use. I had a pair of Guide 14’s that I wore for work, and they were extremely comfortable for standing and walking around on hard surfaces. It’s reliable for a variety of activities.

Who is this shoe NOT good for?

I wouldn’t recommend the Guide for anyone that has a neutral foot strike pattern. If you come in and do the free stride analysis at The Running Well Store, a sales guru will be able to identify your stride. If you’re neutral they will keep you away from this shoe for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that it has features that would go unused. The posting to withstand overpronation would just be extra weight. The second reason is that if you are neutral or supinate, you’ll likely wear out the outside foam much quicker than the inside, which would result in a tilted foam in the later stages of the shoe. This would likely mean you would get less life out of the shoe than typical.