Saucony Peregrine 16 Review | The Goldilocks of Trail Running Shoes

For over a decade, the Saucony Peregrine has been a standard shoe in my rotation for everything from the ridiculously technical to buttery smooth rollers to race day. And the Saucony Peregrine 16 is that familiar Peregrine with the best possible traction upgrades.    

I’ve always been a big fan of the Peregrine’s but coming off a less than stellar 15, I was hoping for some tweaks. (Coach Amanda here, I didn’t hate the Peregrine 15, I ran in it last week actually, but also don’t do as many super technical trails as Aimee!)  

The Peregrine 16 does that, bringing back the support and confidence on the technical trails while still feeling easy on the smooth single track.

The Peregrine 16 felt like it was back to the shoe I could grab for any day of the week for any type of trail I decided to do that day.

Saucony Peregrine 16 Overview

Opening up this box, I had mixed feelings. The Saucony Peregrine has been my go-to trail shoe for over a decade, through all the hits and misses.  And for me the 15’s had been a slight miss.  I found myself still reaching for my Peregrine 14’s over the course of the past year.

A 4mm drop, narrow fit shoe is hard to come by in the trail world so when the Peregrine has an off year it’s disappointing.   

The Vibram Megagrip outsole has made a huge difference for me in overall feeling and durability of the Peregrine 16 as compared to the 15.

 I felt like the sole had structure against the corners of rocks instead of collapsing around them.  The Vibram sole has the same 4 mm lugs in the familiar Vibram Traction lug pattern just with extra grippy nubbins now. 

Those lugs are just deep enough to give a good run in powdery and crunchy snow.  It feels like this shoe is back to its high standard of being able to handle any trail. Plus, when you throw in the GTX version, there’s a reason we love recommending this for winter running gear!! Traction, plus feet that aren’t soggy, win.

The PWRRUN foam midsole is that middle ground of cushioning that is not overly soft, disconnecting you from the trail but enough to feel good on those long runs and terrain with lots of rocks. 

I was a little worried when I saw that the midsole had 4 extra mm of foam as compared to the 15, but I didn’t notice a height difference once I hit the trails. The things I did notice was a little more comfort in my miles and my legs didn’t feel heavy on back to back days in the Peregrine 16.

The upper keeps the firmer toe bumper which I like more than I thought mattered. It just lends that extra bit of protection. I also feel like the toe bumper acts as a breaker for the snow keeping my feet marginally drier in the snow (there is a waterproof version as a side note).

So really what’s changed from the Peregrine 15 to the Peregrine 16?  There’s more of the PWRRUN foam cushioning, 4 mm more actually.  To me this actually feels really great. 

Vibram Megagrip outsole and the lugs have dropped from 5 mm depth to 4 mm depth.  As far as versatility, the shallower lug depth wasn’t noticeable with the improved grip for the trails.   

Coach Amanda: Much like Aimee, I have been a long time fan of the Peregrine. In a lot of ways it is how the Kinvara used to feel. It’s stayed true to it’s roots, not becoming a max cushioned shoe, but instead staying right in the mild. It’s not so firm that I long for cushion and yet not so cushioned that I’m missing the ground contact.

The 4mm heel to toe drop is another reason I’ve long recommended this shoe. It reduces that knee angle and really helps with IT Band issues for a lot of runners (myself included)

Saucony Peregrine 16 Fit and Feel

Consistently a true to size shoe model after model, the Peregrine 16 keeps that streak.  These traditionally narrow shoes still maintain that in the heel and mid-foot while having a slightly wider feel to the toebox than previous models.   

The Peregrine 16 keeps things comfortable with a nice amount of padding around the back of the heel collar.  In addition to the slightly padded tongue with a PWRRUN+ sock liner gusseting for about two thirds of the length just to keep things from sliding side to side over the miles.  And the gaiter hooks are still there for that added accessory on the gravely terrain.

I really like that there were no surprises with this fit.  It’s that familiar Saucony Peregrine fit, if you know it, you know what you are slipping into.  It’s nice to know what you are getting with this perennially good shoe.

Coach Amanda: If you’re new to the Peregrine, as noted it’s a slimmer fit shoe, BUT they do have a wide option. I love that it still has a nice padded heel collar, no issues with rubbing or blistering from a firm piece back there.

The padded tongue is starting to become a thing of the past, so I do wonder if we will see it drop away to save weight in future models, but for now it’s comfortable and my feet are very happy taking these out for hours on the trails.

Similar Shoes to the Saucony Peregrine 16

We’ve tested a few trail running shoes that feel similar, but different based on the brand fit:

Saucony Peregrine 15 vs 16

Now the question is always should you buy the older model at a discount or pony up for the new model?

Coach Amanda: As noted, I’m still running in the 15. I like it. I didn’t think it was so awful. BUT the 16 has some upgrades that really make it a better shoe all around, especially if you run in slick conditions or more technical downhills.

Checkout our review of the Peregrine 15 here. It still has great traction, shoot that was the title of my review, but you just can’t be a Vibram outsole. Some of you may prefer that it’s got 4mm less cushion, though again this time we didn’t really notice the stack height change, so it didn’t impact our ankle stability or anything else on the trail.

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