Saucony Type A8

The Saucony Type A8 is a lightly cushioned racing shoe. Running the A8 is as close to running barefoot as I dare; these are fast, flat shoes probably best reserved for shorter races and speed work.

Technical Information

At 12.3 ounces per pair in a men’s size 10, these puppies are light. Saucony accomplished this by using a light, thin upper with little structure and few overlays and a thin layer of EVA for the midsole.

Low profile, light, and fast as hell. Or heck. I’m not really fast.

The upper consists of a thin mesh reinforced with Saucony’s FLEXFILM, a plastic overlay melded directly to the fabric. The tongue is thin, and padding around the heel is minimal.

The fabric is breathable, flexible, and relatively unstructured; the shoe’s relatively tight fit provides a degree of support.

Plenty of durable rubber on the outsole.

The PWRTRAC outsole is thin, but most of the outsole is covered with a durable hard rubber, suggestion that these shows should be able to take a beating in spite of their light weight.

As I use these exclusively for racing, I added a pair of lock laces following an unfortunate (actually two) incident last fall.

Impressions and Application

Traci bought these for me at a Christmas shoe sale at Fleet Feet this past winter. They’re the closest thing I have to true racing flats, and they ride, fit, and feel unlike any other shoes I have.

They’re narrow.

What’s striking is how narrow and low the A8s are, even when compared to some of my fast trainers such as the Hoka Cavu and New Balance Pursuit. These are low, lean, and at 6.15 ounces per shoe, light. The shoes have a tight but comfortable fit, with ample room in the toe box. This is probably due to the stretchable upper. Breathability is good, as one would expect with such a light upper.

The ride is fast and firm; there’s little foam to add extra “pop,” and the thin soles allow quite a bit of road feel. The shoes are extremely narrow and lack support, but they are low to the ground and fit snugly.

I would hesitate to run past 5 kilometers in these shoes, but I found that there’s just enough padding to ensure that my 52 year-old legs didn’t feel out of sorts after a fast run.

Durability won’t be a concern, given the durable outsole—and the fact that I will reserve these for race day.

Future

The Type A9 features 3d printed overlays for additional durability on the upper. The outsole and midsole are essentially unchanged.