Saucony Stabil 6 Mens Running Shoes Review

I have to be honest, these shoes are not very attractive at first sight.  They’re gray and a bit bulky.  If you’ve grown accustomed to beautiful colors, crazy lines, and exciting shapes on your shoes, you’re going to be disappointed.  But, if you’re looking for a stability shoe, you’re probably past worrying about colors and other such silly things.  Chances are you are flat-footed, an overpronator, or both.  Chances are you also have some arch and heel pain, also known as Plantar Fasciitis, that causes some serious pain during and after your run.  If you have these problems, I can’t recommend these shoes enough.

Pros:

• Reasonably Priced
• Extremely good support
• Well constructed
• Very durable

Cons:

• Heavier than you expect
• Not very stylish

A bit of background.  I started running about two years ago after quite a bit of time out of the habit.  I didn’t have any problems with my feet while wearing my Asics.  At some point, I changed the stretches I did before and after my run.  That’s where the pain started.  However, I just didn’t connect the two things for about two months.  A quick visit to my PT, a diagnosis of overpronation and plantar fasciitis and the command to buy some stability shoes.

The first thing that surprised me, other than how much these things looked liked orthopedic shoes, was that they were very reasonably priced.  I picked mine up from a local running store and was expecting to pay out the nose for a specialized shoe.  Grand total, $80.00.  Wow.  That was especially nice after plunking down $130 a few weeks before for a pair of shoes that didn’t helping my foot pain.

Slipping the shoes on for the first time, I have to say they’re comfortable.  The midsole is thick and comfortable and includes a wedge that really supports us overpronators.  The upper is mostly mesh and breathes very well.  They’re a bit heavy, but it makes sense considering how much support they provide.

Since I purchased the shoes, I’ve done two Sprint Tris, a Olympic, and all my training.  I’d guess I’ve put about 350-375 miles on the shoes and they’re in great shape.  I’ve always been really hard on shoes and I’ve been really surprised by how well they’ve held up.  I think I’ll replace them after the Charlotte Half Marathon, mainly because I won’t have time to break in a new pair before the 12th.

So, I’m happy to highly recommend the Saucony Stabil 6 Mens running shoes.  They’re reasonably priced, very supportive, well constructed, and they are durable.  The only two strikes I can come up with are the additional weight over standard shoes and the lack of style.  I don’t think the weight can really be held against the shoes, though, since it’s a requirement to add additional material for the support.