
Saucony - Endorphin Rift
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Reddit Reviews:
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Based on 1 year's data from Feb 24, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
13
1
"Legs still feel great after 20mi."
"I did the first 65 or so miles of a 100 in them and my feet were in great shape."
"I run in southern AZ so deal with a lot of rock and scree -pretty technical at times and need something with enough cushion but not some unstable moon boot where I can’t feel the trail at all. The Rift is great in this regard."
5
0
"First run out with them and set a new PR on one of my regular runs."
"I did like the rocker and midsole, it comes alive at fast paces."
"The midsole is wonderful and they are fast."
4
4
"Have not had any issues with wet or technical terrain."
"They work really well for me for my preferred terrain (hardwood foresty/rocky, technical, shocking mud at times)"
"My Saucony Endorphin Rifts are pretty darn good at that. ... The lugs are widely spaced, and the compound is also decent at rejecting sticky stuff. ... Most things don't stick to the shoe."
4
4
"I run in southern AZ so deal with a lot of rock and scree -pretty technical at times and need something with enough cushion but not some unstable moon boot where I can’t feel the trail at all. The Rift is great in this regard."
"Not too tippy in technical terrain."
"Underfoot protection from rocks was adequate. ... slightly better underfoot protection against hard sharp objects thanks to its rock plate."
3
2
"the upper has held up much better than both pairs of the Peregrines I've had."
"Lugs are incredibly durable"
"My Saucony Endorphin Rifts are pretty darn good at that. ... The lugs are widely spaced, and the compound is also decent at rejecting sticky stuff. ... Most things don't stick to the shoe."
Disliked most:
1
6
"Also wet grip is terrible."
"really not great on wet, slimy rocks."
"The grip is not great on bare wet rock"
3
1
"Main issue is the lack of plate leads to more rock strikes than I want."
1
9
"My big issue with them is that they rub against the back of my ankle and I've gotten blisters each time I wear them, even when my sock is covering the spot."
"And the worst part for me is that I get blisters on the side of my heels. The minimalistic padding somehow seems to start rubbing after a (long) while."
"the lack of lace eyelets makes lockdown impossible. ... Then because the lock down sucks my toes would bang into the harder toe cap. Lots of pain."
1
2
"My big issue with them is that they rub against the back of my ankle and I've gotten blisters each time I wear them, even when my sock is covering the spot."
"And the worst part for me is that I get blisters on the side of my heels. The minimalistic padding somehow seems to start rubbing after a (long) while."
"the worst part for me is that I get blisters on the side of my heels. ... The minimalistic padding somehow seems to start rubbing after a (long) while."
0
1
"I had a tendency to lose some outsole chunks in the Rifts, Xodus, and Endorphin Edge. ... The Rifts have 250 miles and it's falling apart with pieces of outsole lugs/treads missing and pieces of midsole chunks gone around the toe bumper and forefoot where the outsole is. ... I'm not sure it'll last to 300 miles before I need to soft retire it to easier trails. ... much less durable"
"I had a tendency to lose some outsole chunks in the Rifts, Xodus, and Endorphin Edge. ... The Rifts have 250 miles and it's falling apart with pieces of outsole lugs/treads missing and pieces of midsole chunks gone around the toe bumper and forefoot where the outsole is. ... I'm not sure it'll last to 300 miles before I need to soft retire it to easier trails. ... much less durable"
"slightly less grippy. ... However the Tomir has far better traction and durability. I ran both on the exact same trails."
Easy gravel and non-technical terrain they are fine but the Rift seems to run shorter than the same size in all my other Saucony shoes. My toes are constantly hitting the front of the shoes.
Ik heb trail schoenen gekocht omdat ik vaak bospaadjes gebruik en zo wat meer grip heb. Toen ik ooit begon met lopen kreeg ik ook schoenen aangemeten die mijn pronatie beperkten, een paar jaar later kreeg ik (bij een andere winkel, want ik was verhuisd) neutrale schoenen aangemeten. Dit kwam voornamelijk omdat ik in de tussentijd sterkere spieren had gekweekt. Dus het kan zijn dat je (zeker gezien je huidge km's) nu ook een neutrale schoen aan kan. Hoe dan ook, "om te proberen" toen een Saucony Endorphin Rift gekocht en dit is echt een heerlijke schoen. Loopt goed in het bos, maar ook op de weg, enige is dat ik een zomerschoen heb dus niet waterdicht, maar er is volgens mij ook een met goretex...
I have well over 200 miles in my pair, including many 20-30 mile runs. They were a bit narrower than the Peregrines, which was already snug for me. I thought it needed at least another eyelet for the laces and the one piece tongue and collar had a bit of a sloppy fit. Cranking the laces a bit and heel lock lacing helped. Cushioning-wise, felt somewhere between the Peregrine and Xodus Ultra 2. Underfoot protection from rocks was adequate. Traction was good and I liked that there was a lot of outsole material since I had a tendency to lose some outsole chunks in the Rifts, Xodus, and Endorphin Edge. Overall, I thought they were solid and I wish there was an update to address some of the common weak areas people pointed out. Currently running in the Nnormal Tomir 2.
I have >200 miles in my Nnormal Tomir 2s, spanning short steep runs to 20 mile runs with >5,000 feet of climbing at altitude. Previously ran in Saucony Xodus Ultra, Endorphin Edge, and Endorphin (g)rift. Traction and durability on the Tomir 2 are great. They are on the firm side, even with the mileage I put on them so far, and lean on fast feeling given my previous shoes. I would want more underfoot cushioning for anything beyond a marathon or 50K. To me, these are medium generalist leaning shoes, great for racking up miles and training. Fit was a touch too narrow at first, I have wide feet. Took around 50 miles for the insole to pack down and the upper to stretch and flex a bit. Fits comfortably snug now. For the long stuff I am using the Mount to Coast T1. Comfortable fit for my toes, good underfoot cushioning, yet light and fast enough that I don't feel like I'm working too hard when running uphill or picking up the pace. I have ~80 miles on them so far, really just a few long runs, they're great. Durability looks good but need to take them out to at least 200 to say more. If these still look good after 300 miles I would switch completely to them and not get another pair of the Tomir 2s.
I found some of the complains pretty valid. The midfoot is a little loosey goosey and the lacing makes a comfortable lock down tricky to achieve. With that said, I quite liked them. Great foam, weight, subtle rocker. Not too tippy in technical terrain. I did the first 65 or so miles of a 100 in them and my feet were in great shape. Oh, and definitely a nice gravel road shoe. I'm actually still using them (\~400 miles) and the upper has held up much better than both pairs of the Peregrines I've had.
if you are in asics n like asics fit, maybe Fuji n Trabuco also something you should look into. for my light gravel, i have Novablast3 TR, n sometimes also got away with Adizero SL2. but my long distance trail shoes are Torrent2, Speedgoat5, XodusUltra2 n just newly acquired EndorphinRift. among my lineup, SG5 probably overkill for something under 30km. for Salomon, most reviewer would highlight about its narrowness. take note
- Bmai Pace6 Trex-Cordura: 35km - LiNing Di Lu 2: 25km , replacing my SG5 for ultra distance - Salomon ultraglide3: 225km - saucony endorphin rift: 25km, a lil too snug n rigid toebox for long distance, so it will be for short distances only for now - asics novablast 3TR: 750km, mainly on non technical cruising use my SG5 n Saucony XU2 just got relegated: - hoka speedgoat5: 475km,the lugs worn out severely, i still kept it around undecided if it worth resole - saucony xodusultra2: 950km, upper medial side already start tearing, lugs worn out
To me they are something in between. I bought them a Tuesday, ran 8 k in them on Wednesday and then on Saturday I started out in them on a 100k. I ended up doing 70k in them before swapping to another pair of shoes. I have 340k on them now and still like them. The midsole is wonderful and they are fast. And they are plenty wide for my feet and that is not that common. But I am not that impressed with the grip on wet rocks. And the worst part for me is that I get blisters on the side of my heels. The minimalistic padding somehow seems to start rubbing after a (long) while. I would like to see the upper a bit more supporting, the padding redesigned and vibram soles.
I like Tecton x3 and Saucony Endorphin Rift though both could use more support in the upper. La Sportive Prodigio Pro are in the mail so I hope they will be perfect
La Sportiva Prodigio Pro has both rebound and grip. Saucony Rift has good grip on softer surfaces and ok grip on harder surfaces. If it is not too technical then Tecton x3 is also a great choice for running comfortably over long distances. In the near future I will be testing SpeedLand GS TMT and as always hope for the holy grail.
I would look more at the Prodigio Pro than the Max. Hoka Speedgoat 5 is great but the midsole wears out quite easily. The 6 is way too firm for my liking. My favorite Hoka trail shoe is Tecton x3. It is not as good for technical terrain as the Prodigio Pro but eats miles like no other shoe I have tried. Saucony Rift has a great midsole and also is a shoe that eats miles. I do though get blisters on the side of my heels/ankels. But that is my experience and there is no other way for you but getting your own experience.
It depends on the trail itself. If there is any wet surfaces I go with a Vibram MegaGrip option. For me, Merrell Long Sky 2 Matryx. If no wet surfaces I go for comfort which is the Saucony Endorphin Rift. Either way, it has a rock plate for any technical trails with jagged rocks.
I love them! I have been looking for a solid trail shoe for years and everything came up short until the rift. I wear the same 9.5 I do for all my Saucony shoes and don’t have any of the problem with lockdown, rubbing or blisters. What I like best is I don’t think about them when I’m running - put em on and focus on my run and not my shoe…awesome. I run in southern AZ so deal with a lot of rock and scree -pretty technical at times and need something with enough cushion but not some unstable moon boot where I can’t feel the trail at all. The Rift is great in this regard. I can’t talk much about grip on wet rocks or the peaty trails of the northwest but for a desert shoe, I think it’s fantastic. I hope they come out with an updated version.
I've only put \~50mi on my pair and I'm kind of mixed on them. I agree with others that the mid-sole and weight are nice. Grip is, I believe, the same as all other Saucony trail runners. Generally good enough for most trails, but really not great on wet, slimy rocks. Sizing seems weird. My impression is that they run larger than my other Saucony shoes, but I have lockdown issues and feel like my toes and moving around and hitting the front more than my Xodus Ultra 1's in the same size (as an example). I picked up two pairs for cheap and was planning on using them as my racing shoe, but I'm a little nervous about it now. In my mind I categorized them as analogous to a trail version of the Endorphin Speed and that's fairly accurate although they're obviously a bit heavier and have a less aggressive rocker. My big issue with them is that they rub against the back of my ankle and I've gotten blisters each time I wear them, even when my sock is covering the spot.
I absolutely looooved the Rift midsole, its still honestly my favourite all time ride of Amy trail shoe, but I had serious problems with the upper and it's inability to get a secure fit on my foot to prevent sliding forward and slamming my toes into the front of the shoe. I was desperately looking forward to a version 2 with a fixed upper, but alas, Saucony don't want our money apparently
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