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| Saucony Hattori's -- Two of many colorful combinations |
Saucony Hattori
MSRP $80Saucony: http://www.saucony.com
After a year of running in lower, flatter shoes (the Saucony Kinvara and then the Mirage) I was ready to go even more minimal. The Hattori is Saucony's most stripped-down shoe, designed for runners who are looking for the least amount of material between their foot and the road (or on the trail). Saucony was good enough to supply pairs of the Hattori to me and my guest reviewer, the Harrier of the Night (HOTN), for testing.
Like most reviews we've done on Runner's Tech Review, both testers conducted independent research and supplied separate viewpoints based on our individual experiences. HOTN and I are different types of runners and our expectations for running shoes also differ.
HOTN is is a college student in Connecticut who was born and raised in Sitka, Alaska. I'm based in New York and do most of my running on the streets and trails of Long Island. HOTN has just returned to Alaska for the summer and that's where he put his Hattori's to the test. HOTN competes competitively in marathons, ultramarathons, and mountain running and his preference is to run in the most rustic and nocturnal settings that he can possibly find.
The Emerging Runner
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I had some idea what to expect from this shoe based on the marketing buzz and some early reviews. When the Hattori's arrived I opened the box and observed (on the Emerging Runner) that: "The Hattori does not look like a running shoe and, if not for its sturdy mid-sole/out-sole, I would take it for a slipper with a very over-the-top design. The shoe fit me snugly and was extremely comfortable on my foot. I then tried it without a sock and it felt great."
I have gotten used to lightweight shoes having run the Kinvaras for a year, but these shoes, even at my size, still weigh in under 5 ounces.
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| Pool shoes (left), the original minimalist footwear |
To minimize the tight fit, I ended up buying a couple of pairs of Wigwam Ironman Pro socks that are thin and don't have any cushioning in the heel or toe areas. Even with more voluminous running socks, the experience has been reasonably comfortable and blister free. The fit without socks was better but I didn't like the scratchy feel of the counter along my upper Achilles tendon. Thin socks seem to be the best compromise.
FIRST RUN
The Hattori is indeed slipper-like with a narrow collar. It was a slight challenge to get them on my foot the first few times I tried. Once on, the shoes felt like a part of my foot with a zero drop and the low platform that seemed very natural. However, compared with both the Mirage and Kinvara, the Hattori lacked "spring." I think this is because the Hattori activates off the mid-foot and the spring comes from the arch and fore-foot as a kinetic response to toe-off.
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| Out-soles: after one use (top), after 50 miles (bottom) |
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| Out-sole mostly EVA with three silicone patches |
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| Unused heel plate |
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| No surface wear after a month's use |
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| The shoes performed well during the NHP 8K |
I knew I could run in the Hattori's for at least five miles without an issue so I elected to wear them during an 8K race. I scored a PR for that distance and found the shoes to be highly responsive. In fact, I ran this race at a pace almost a full minute faster than normal. I'll give the bulk of the credit for my PR to my training but the light weight of the Hattori's definitely provided an advantage in the final minutes as I battled fatigue.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Style is definitely a factor in many people's purchasing decisions but for me it is the least important thing. That's a good thing because the first (of two pairs) that I received from Saucony are kind of garish, with their bright red uppers highlighted with black trim, a white mid-sole and some green elements.
Saucony supplied a second pair that are a more conservative combination of black and green. I regret requesting the Hattori's in my normal running size because they are very snug. A half size bigger would have fit better with socks. The shoes do seem to be loosening up a little and perhaps that's intentional.
I pulled out my pool shoes to compare to the Hattori's and found many similarities. The pool shoes, with their hard rubber out-soles and waterproof insoles, weigh almost twice as much as the Hattori's. But unlike the Hattori's, the pool shoes lack any engineering to facilitate running motion. Still, with socks to protect my feet from blisters, my $15 pool shoes would be a preferable choice for me over expensive, highly constructed, running shoes with built-up heels.
BOTTOM LINE
The primary question I've asked myself for the last year is "Can I use an ultra-minimal running shoe as a daily trainer?" With the Hattori's, the answer is clearly yes. HOTN's experiences below and the light construction of the Hattori's make me a little concerned about the durability of these shoes. I'll find out over the next 12 months how they hold together and will update that experience on the Emerging Runner. In the meantime, I don't want to run in anything else.
The Harrier of the Night
I'm from Alaska, a fact of which I'm quite proud. It is a state of superlatives: the mountains are big, the trails wild, and the running is rugged. In the two weeks after I received the Saucony Hattoris, I introduced the shoes to Alaska – to the superlative – as best I could. It was a largely amicable encounter, but one from which these shoes may never recover.
FIRST IMPRESSION
When I took the Hattori's out of the box, it was further confirmation that the minimalist-running-shoe craze has metastasized to multiple shoe companies, at least for the immediate future. The Hattoris look sharp with their bright colors. Their non-traditional design seems to really strive for "innovation" – whatever that might mean in shoe world.
When I went online to check the Hattori's sticker price ($80), I was surprised because, to my mind, the material and design of these shoes did not seem to be worth $80. However, I wasn't fully surprised since the diminishing size and complexity of faddish minimalist shoes seems to produce a correspondingly large increase in price. This is akin to how the registration cost of marathons, contrary to all logic, seems to increase with the number of participants and ostensible economy of scale.
HOW THE HATTORI'S PERFORMED
While my parsimonious gripes are just that, I was pleased with how the shoes felt while running. First off, they're comfortable. Really comfortable! As I said, I introduced these shoes to Alaska the best way I could. I went running with them on road and track (of course) but also on both technical and non-technical trails and up and down mountains. I launched kayaks in them and played pick-up basketball. I wore them with socks and without. My feet were happy through it all, with few exceptions.
The Hattori's sole is thin. That's the trade-off with minimalist shoes. With thin soles, come more vulnerable feet. I thought the shoes handled flat technical trail well. If you're placing your feet intelligently, they would never suffer from contusion. When you run down a mountain, there's just too much velocity for these little shoes to handle all the impact that is transmitted to your feet. You have to slow down. But as I understand it, mountain running is a sport largely restricted to Alaska and the Intermountain West, so this is probably a non-issue for most prospective Hattori customers.
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| HOTN's Hattori's after use |
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| Emerging Runner's Hattori's after the same period |
The short answer is not well. After I had taken the Hattori's out five times, the webbing that constitutes the top of the shoes was giving way at the toes. The location of my big toe corresponded to the biggest hole and the holes got smaller correspondent to the size of each smaller toe.
I can't say that this is unexpected. I have a pair of mountain running race shoes (that is, shoes I only wear during races). They're 8 oz. These shoes take a beating during each race and are already falling apart after only five different races over two years. But these Hattori's (4 oz.) are not rigorous mountain or technical-trail shoes. They strike me as road running shoes and their competitor is, without a doubt, Vibram's Five Fingers. Five Fingers don't fall apart after five different outings, and that's a comparative disadvantage for the Hattoris.
Saucony seemed to anticipate the weakness of the webbing. There is a shiny stripe of lamination that strengthens the webbing along its perimeter. There are also some lateral stripes of webbing across the top of the shoe that seem to be there more for design than for function. This webbing is located precisely along the top of the shoe, a region that experiences minimal stress. Interestingly, the higher stress areas, where the toes rub up, into, and through the webbing, are free of lamination and thus, full of holes.
DESIGN
Lamination aside, the design is so-so. I'm a size 9, and shoes fit like a glove...or a good-fitting shoe. This is great for trails because a snug fit commands a podalic dexterity that allows precise foot placement as well as the ability to push off roots, boardwalk, and angled rocks.
As the Emerging Runner notes above, the Hattori's are tricky to get on your foot. You have to finaggle and wiggle them a bit. The shoes lack a tab to allow you to hold fast with your index finger while you slip your heel inside of the webbing. This is a seemingly easy-to-fix shortcoming and I'm surprised Saucony shoe engineers didn't account for it.
The color of the shoes that Saucony supplied is striking. I received a red-themed pair, and when running downhill or in a sprint, I felt like Sonic the Hedgehog with my little red shoes darting in and out of my peripheral vision beneath me.
BOTTOM LINE
I'm a pecuniary shoe cynic. Hattoris aside, most shoes probably cost just a couple dollars to make (in terms of labor and materials). Yet, with precious few exceptions, these shoes sell at an absurd MSRP. How has this come to be? I have no idea. And so a shoe like Hattori, while great for running, is so simple you may as well just buy generic water shoes for a third of the price. You'll probably reach the same end result (just as you might as well buy wetsuit booties instead of Vibram's Five Fingers).
However, if huge profit margins and the incongruity between price and product doesn't bother you, and you don't mind buying another pair in the somewhat near future, the Hattoris are probably for you. If that were the case for me, I'd count myself as sold, so to speak, on the Hattoris. And that hypothetical aside, I know I'll be happily wearing my current pair until they fall apart entirely.
Summary
What's good:
- Ultra light weight
- Facilitates mid-foot landing
- Comfortable fit and natural feel
What could be improved:
- Durability
- More guidance on fit
- Price
- Collar design to allow easier placement on the foot
This review by the Emerging Runner and the Harrier of the Night
