Up next in 10
Correction: Paramount Max available July 1 and not June1
00:00 Details, Fit, Ride 06:56 Comparisons to Paramount Max include ASICS Megablast and Superblast 3, Adidas Hyperboost Edge and Mount to Coast C1
Samples were provided at no charge for testing purposes with no additional compensation. The opinions herein are entirely the author's
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0:00
Today, we're going to take a look at
0:01
Saucony's Paramount Max, releasing June
0:04
1st for $200. It's a giant of a shoe
0:07
with a 43 37 stack height on a broad
0:10
platform, and it features Saucony's
0:13
Incred-Run foam, same as in their Elite
0:16
Endorphin Elite, which is a TPEE foam.
0:19
It is a super fun and energetic five
0:22
smile shoe for me. They weigh 267 g,
0:26
9.42 oz in my US 8.5 EU 42.
0:31
I've taken them for two solid runs here
0:34
on the New Hampshire seacoast. Here are
0:35
my initial thoughts. Hello, everybody.
0:38
Sam from Road Trail Run. Today, we're
0:39
going to take a look at Saucony's
0:42
Paramount Max, $200, and it's releasing
0:45
June 1st. This is a very exciting shoe.
0:49
I've already gotten two runs in them,
0:51
and it's going to be five smile five
0:53
smiles for sure, and I'm going to try to
0:56
explain why, and also compare to some
0:59
others that are in the
1:00
super max category of unplated shoes
1:04
with super critical foams. So, why is it
1:08
special? What did Saucony do here? Well,
1:11
they took
1:12
a slightly denser version of their
1:16
TPETPEE
1:18
foam that they have in the
1:21
Endorphin Elite 2 and now the 3, and
1:24
we'll also have a review of the 3
1:27
coming real soon. And and what they did
1:30
is they put it in an unplated all around
1:34
trainer.
1:35
And to keep this relatively soft quite
1:39
soft foam under control, what they did
1:42
is they put a very nice copious outsole
1:47
that blends really well on the on the
1:49
run. Um
1:50
can see that rubber coverage there.
1:52
Durability, but also this provides the
1:55
response and stability. What they also
1:57
did, and this is the medial side here,
2:00
uh is this the medial side? Yes, it is.
2:03
They made the medial side walls more
2:06
vertical
2:07
than the lateral side. So, that provides
2:11
also a bit of
2:13
support. This is definitely a neutral
2:15
shoe, but it's quite stable and compared
2:18
to some of its competitors,
2:20
which I'm going to discuss, the
2:22
Hyperboost Edge,
2:24
the Megablast, and a bit less so the
2:27
Superblast 3, which is very stable.
2:31
Um
2:31
this rolls along just beautifully with a
2:35
lot of
2:36
bounce off the front. What they did is
2:39
instead of um going with the lightest
2:43
possible weight, because we come in here
2:46
at
2:47
let's see, 9.42 oz, 267 g in a US 8.5,
2:54
they went with
2:56
the broadest platform.
2:58
I think the only one that's kind of
3:01
comparable that's as wide as the
3:03
Superblast 3 up front and all at the
3:06
heel, I'm sorry, 95, but what they did
3:09
here is they kept the midfoot relatively
3:13
narrow. So, what that does is allows you
3:15
to really roll off the heel very very
3:18
smoothly. This is one very fast big shoe
3:22
and one very smooth one.
3:24
So,
3:25
the upper,
3:27
you know, it it's very supportive. It's
3:30
not a minimal kind of upper.
3:33
We have a semi-rigid heel counter. We
3:35
have this kind of Elfi cup here, very
3:38
well held. We have a It'll be hard to
3:40
show, but we have a nice stout strap at
3:44
midfoot.
3:45
Decently padded tongue here with a neat
3:49
double kind of lace crossover two
3:51
places. Um
3:54
the mesh is is soft. It's not the
3:56
thinnest, not as thin as say
3:59
the Megablast has, and I'll show you
4:00
that. I don't get the greatest support
4:02
in the front, but you see here how high
4:06
the toe box is.
4:08
So, while it's a teeny bit pointy, it's
4:10
definitely true to size.
4:12
Um and these overlays are thin. They
4:15
look like a lot, and you know, some
4:17
people have commented about the style
4:19
here. It's a bit retro. I kind of like
4:22
it. It's a bit different. They're not
4:23
trying to be
4:24
sort of calls back
4:26
the past kind of neatly. Um but what
4:30
these gold overlays do is it raise keeps
4:33
the toe box kind of up off your toes.
4:36
They don't really interfere.
4:38
When I first tried them on, they felt
4:40
maybe a bit low, but as soon as I ran in
4:42
them, it's just fine. I would say that
4:45
even though it's a true to size fit,
4:48
it's a teeny bit pointy at the very
4:50
front, but again, that went away as I I
4:52
ran in them in a bit more.
4:54
The mesh, you can see, not stretch, well
4:57
aerated.
4:58
Um the stability here also, we talked
5:03
about the platform width, 95 75
5:08
120, very broad.
5:10
Also comes from that 95
5:13
mm kind of width at the heel, keeps
5:16
things really stable.
5:17
Um
5:18
How does it feel on the run? Well,
5:20
simply spectacular. Uh what I've had two
5:23
runs in them, way faster than I
5:26
expected. They run much much lighter
5:29
than you'd imagine. Um
5:31
What they've done is they're taking
5:33
advantage of this very high energy
5:35
return TPE TPPE foam and the broadness
5:39
here, 120 mm, to create like a bounce
5:43
platform off the front with the rubber
5:45
keeping things stable. Um
5:48
So, you just have a tremendous amount of
5:50
kind of return off the front. I do think
5:53
it feels a little broad. You can see
5:56
there some of the competitors, like the
5:58
Megablast, is only 110 mm up front.
6:02
Um uh
6:03
maybe a teeny bit broad, but they're
6:05
really taking advantage of that um
6:08
of that
6:09
super critical foam here to really
6:11
rebound you. This is a very versatile
6:14
shoe. I've run
6:16
well under 9-minute miles,
6:18
getting almost down the low low 9
6:21
minutes,
6:22
even close to to 8. I've run slow in
6:25
them. So, it is truly a daily
6:28
trainer, a super max without really any
6:31
kind of compromises depending on your
6:33
speed. It's a super for sure a great
6:36
long run shoe. It's stable enough.
6:38
There's certainly a lot of cushioning
6:40
here at 43 37.
6:43
So, it's kind of an all-rounder. It is
6:45
$200,
6:47
but I expect the five smiles and the
6:50
versatility is going to be really strong
6:52
here for runners. Now, let's take a look
6:55
at a few of the competitors, uh direct
6:58
competitors here to our Paramount Max.
7:01
Let's start with I'm going to reach down
7:03
here. Let's start with the
7:05
Hyperboost Edge from Adidas. Okay, it is
7:09
lighter. It's 8.54 oz, 242
7:14
g,
7:16
and we were 267 g in our Paramount Max.
7:20
Uh we have a 45 mm heel and 39 mm
7:27
forefoot, so we're a little bit higher.
7:30
We have a bit narrower heel platform, 95
7:33
90,
7:34
same 75 across the midfoot, and a
7:38
narrower 110.
7:40
Let's talk about the underfoot, and then
7:42
we'll talk about the upper, cuz there
7:43
are some real differences here.
7:45
>> [snorts]
7:45
>> Um the foam here is an EPeba. So, it's a
7:49
beaded PEba that's expanded. Um
7:53
and what Adidas has done is they say
7:55
this rebound this compresses 40%, but it
7:58
doesn't really feel like it's like super
8:01
soft. It's not as soft feeling and
8:03
bouncy, because what they did is they
8:05
wrapped the entire outer. You can't even
8:07
see it, but there's a film that kind of
8:09
keeps things under control.
8:11
Um
8:12
uh so, it it's it's a little kind of
8:15
snappier. Uh it I don't find it as
8:18
stable at the rear, and the reason is
8:21
because here we have a lighter kind of a
8:25
rubber. It's definitely durable. It's
8:26
like a a CPU type rubber. We see it's
8:29
called traction, which we see on, for
8:32
example, race shoes, including Adidas.
8:35
It's full full coverage across the
8:37
bottom, whereas here we have real
8:39
conventional rubber. So, that provides
8:42
more stability, and I find a quicker
8:44
response off the
8:46
off the Paramount than our
8:49
than our
8:50
Adidas Hyperboost Edge.
8:53
In terms of the uppers here, well,
8:55
no question, this is a broader fitting
8:57
smoother fitting upper. The Adidas upper
9:01
has relatively stiff collars. You can
9:03
see some of our female testers who have
9:07
small stature
9:09
had issues with on the ankle bone here,
9:12
but this is an early sample, so things I
9:15
think are going to change a bit. Um
9:17
You've got a bit of the same going on
9:19
with the the the kind of overlays that
9:21
reach over the the toes, you can see
9:24
here, but in the Adidas, everything is
9:26
quite a bit firmer. The upper is a dense
9:29
thin mesh.
9:31
Uh whereas here, we've kind of got a
9:34
softer more conventional mesh. Um I
9:37
think the the Adidas, maybe if you're if
9:39
you're
9:40
more up tempo and feel a little more up
9:43
tempo and feel less dramatic, although
9:45
it's certainly, I would say, four and a
9:47
half stars and smiles to the five here.
9:51
Okay, let's move on to another one.
9:53
Let's move to the Megablast
9:56
from Asics.
9:58
Uh the Megablast is considerably
10:00
lighter. Let me get back in the computer
10:02
here
10:04
uh for the stats. I don't have them all
10:06
completely memorized. Okay, we're at um
10:09
7.6 oz, uh 214 g. All these samples are
10:14
um
10:15
in a US 8.5 on a narrower 110 versus 120
10:20
uh mm forefoot. A actually a broader 85
10:25
mm midfoot, and that plays a role in the
10:28
ride. And then we got a a 90 mm heel, so
10:31
a bit narrower there. So, the the
10:34
Megablast in terms of foam is a little
10:36
firmer, a little quicker reacting.
10:39
>> [snorts]
10:40
>> Um this is a much stiffer shoe.
10:43
Um it's more rocker-based.
10:45
I kind of have a bit of an issue getting
10:47
past this midfoot unless I'm running
10:50
faster. In terms of its upper, it's
10:53
really and that's how they get to that
10:54
lighter weight, you know, cuz we're
10:57
actually here we're 267 g in our
11:01
Saucony, and we're 214 g. So, what's
11:05
that? That's uh 50 53 g lighter,
11:09
considerably lighter.
11:11
Um
11:11
>> [snorts]
11:11
>> and part of the issue or part of the
11:13
reason is this upper, very thin
11:16
uh kind of race type upper. Um [snorts]
11:19
a much more minimal kind of collar
11:22
construction, more of the the bolsters.
11:24
Actually a firmer heel counter.
11:27
But then when you go forward, I don't
11:29
find the whole hold that great. If
11:32
you're if you don't have good mechanics
11:34
uh and you're well aligned, um you're
11:37
going to struggle in this one, but it is
11:38
certainly a fit a favorite out there in
11:41
the market for its speed and its super
11:43
lightweight. You can see the tongue is
11:45
quite thin compared to our
11:48
really more plush tongue. All the upper
11:50
differences really add to weight. Now,
11:55
the foam in the uh Megablast is an ATPU.
11:59
So, over here we have this TPEE, which
12:02
is kind of bouncier in feel. This is
12:04
kind of more reactive. It's a It's a
12:06
stiffer shoe, a little harder for me to
12:08
roll through.
12:10
Still a really fine option. Now, let's
12:13
look at another one. Uh let's look at
12:15
the another ASICS,
12:17
the um the Superblast. Okay? Now, the
12:21
Superblast
12:23
gets kind of to the same place as our um
12:28
our Paramount in terms of uh providing
12:32
some stability for a very soft uh foam.
12:36
It's their ATPU foam, the flight uh FF
12:40
Leap, which is uh their best um
12:44
their very best race shoe foam, very
12:46
soft. You can see how soft it is. It's
12:48
quite
12:50
um comparable really more comparable to
12:53
the uh the race shoe from Saucony, the
12:56
Endorphin Elite, that foam.
12:58
Like I could press it again, but um and
13:01
then what they do below
13:03
is they have a relatively
13:06
firm layer of um
13:08
of uh their flight foam blast, which is
13:11
a EVA kind of foam. And [snorts] you can
13:14
see it's it's a decently thick layer,
13:16
about 10 mm. And it provides some of the
13:19
same effect as our uh what Saucony does
13:24
in the um Paramount. Um
13:28
but uh it's much more kind of noticeable
13:31
that firm firm layer. Uh whereas the
13:34
Saucony gets that kind of stability
13:38
um for long runs from the outsole. Here
13:41
you can see the um ASICS outsole is much
13:44
more carved is kind of more carved out
13:46
up front. Um but you've got that layer
13:49
of foam, so you've got kind of a stable
13:52
thicker base here and much more of a
13:54
contrast on the run than the Saucony,
13:57
where you you you feel the the soft kind
14:01
of bouncy, and then you've got that that
14:03
rubber at the road that isn't over
14:05
present, but definitely definitely gives
14:08
you the pop.
14:10
Okay, do we have one more? Yes, we do.
14:13
We've got the uh Mount the Coast
14:16
uh C1. This is a a brand new shoe just
14:19
coming out.
14:21
It's also a um
14:23
oops, it's also um
14:26
a a max cushion kind of shoe. Uh this
14:29
one is kind of the steady guy, if you
14:31
will, in the mix of of uh super
14:35
trainers. It um its stack height is 42
14:39
36, so with a 6 mm drop, so that's uh um
14:45
1 mm um
14:47
1 mm lower than the Saucony. Now, what
14:51
uh
14:52
what Mount the Coast does is a little
14:54
bit similar to what ASICS does with the
14:56
Superblast 3. Uh they have a top layer
14:59
of what they call circle cell. It's a
15:02
largely bio-based
15:04
uh super critical foam. Uh it was in the
15:07
H1. You can see it's quite
15:10
it's firmer and denser than our uh
15:13
Saucony Incred Run. That's the name of
15:16
the foam, Incred Run. Um [snorts] and
15:19
then below that they have this layer is
15:21
a rubberized
15:23
EVA type foam. So, what this one is is
15:27
very steady and consistent. Uh it
15:30
doesn't have the excitement of the
15:31
Saucony,
15:33
uh but I would say it's probably
15:35
uh
15:36
a a little bit more stable, a little bit
15:38
more consistent in ride. It's a three
15:41
and a half stars, maybe four, um but
15:44
it's not a big big smile shoe. The upper
15:47
[snorts] is really beautiful. It's a
15:49
very simple engineered mesh, and then we
15:51
have their famous tune fit um
15:55
uh which I don't have adjusted correctly
15:57
quite correctly, but what I do is I just
16:00
I've had it adjusted the way I want.
16:02
I've never had to change it. Uh
16:04
moderately padded tongue, just a solid
16:07
all-arounder um at a $180,
16:11
um
16:12
and that one's pretty pretty darn good,
16:14
too. So, there are a lot of great
16:15
choices.
16:17
Uh but for me,
16:19
I'm really enjoying the fun and the big
16:22
excitement here of the Saucony Paramount
16:25
Max, and the the the race shoe, the
16:28
Endorphin Elite, also with the
16:29
incredible Incred Run foam, is also
16:34
fantastic big smiles. So, it's $200. It
16:38
will be coming out June 1st.
16:40
Um this is the Saucony Paramount Max,
16:44
one of the most fun shoes of the year.
16:47
Some may argue they don't like the look,
16:49
but I think the look is kind of cool, uh
16:51
a little bit retro uh in feel.
16:55
It's going to be a top choice, I think,
16:57
for the uh
16:59
all-around super trainer that can do
17:01
long runs, daily runs, uh that has a lot
17:05
of bounce and energy return. I think the
17:07
Incred Run may have close to 80% return
17:11
I in the the racing shoe, not sure or
17:13
even over. I'm not sure what it is here,
17:15
maybe a touch less cuz we got firmer
17:17
foam.
17:18
Lots of good rubber here, which which
17:21
gives you the durability, but also the
17:23
support. It's a fine one. I'm going to
17:26
do some more runs in it, that's for
17:27
sure.
17:28
Have a great run. Thank you very much
17:31
for watching. We're going to have a full
17:33
multi-tester review of the Saucony
17:35
Paramount Max real soon with lots of
17:39
details in the comparisons as usual.
17:42
See you soon.
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