The Endorphin Elite is the pinnacle of Saucony racing shoes. Regarded by many as Saucony’s fastest super shoe, the Endorphin Elite features Saucony’s latest technologies and innovation. The Elite belongs to the Endorphin family along with the Pro and the Speed models.
Version 2 has undergone some significant changes including a brand new upper, midsole and outsole. It has a completely different ride to the 1st version. This comparison will tell you which version is better for you.
Endorphin Elite 2
Verdict
The Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 is an extremely soft and squishy racer which doesn’t feel as fast as other super shoes. It’s best suited to neutral runners who are midfoot or forefoot strikers because heel to forefoot transitions are slow. Version 2 has a new, much softer midsole foam and a more flexible plate compared to v1 with a ride that feels slower. It has an improved upper with better heel lockdown but it has lost the aggressive forefoot rocker that made v1 so good.
The Saucony Endorphin Elite is a brand new, top of the range marathon racer with a super aggressive toe-spring and a propulsive ride. It’s an S-tier racer which can compete with the fastest marathon shoes on the market. The Endorphin Elite uses Saucony’s new PWRRUN HG foam which has a slightly firmer feel than PWRRUN PB. It has a firmer but more stable ride than the Endorphin Pro 3 however its main weakness is its low outsole durability.
Recommended for
Racing
Racing
Cushioning type
Plush
Balanced
Cushioning amount
Highly cushioned
Highly cushioned
Stability
not particularly stable
some stability
Sizing
true to size
true to size
Retail price
US$275
US$275
The Elite 2 has a midsole made of aliphatic (open structure) TPU. It’s extremely soft and squishy, and it feels like you’re standing on marshmallows. It has a high level of compression and is a very low density. It feels more like a trainer than a racing midsole.
The Elite 1 has a midsole made of PEBA which is a lot firmer than the 2. It feels much denser and it is harder to compress. It has a high level of responsiveness and rebound.
The Elite 1 has a faster ride than the 2. It has faster transitions and it provides a firmer platform to push off from. The Elite 2 has a slower, softer ride which has more long-distance comfort.
There is a more prominent forefoot rocker in the Elite 1. It has a stiffer plate with a more aggressive rocker to help speed up transitions. With the more flexible carbon plate in version 2, the forefoot rocker is not as aggressive.
When it comes to stability, the Elite 1 is better. It has a firmer ride with less lean bias. It has a more supportive ride which is better for long-distances.
The outsole of the Elite 2 is very soft so it is less abrasion resistant than the Elite 1. The exposed midsole foam of the Elite 2 gets chewed up much easier than the Elite 1 so it has the less durable outsole.
Both versions have very thin, breathable uppers but the Elite 1 has more ventilation holes on its tongue and on its midfoot, making it cooler. The Elite 1 has a loose heel fit but on the Elite 2, this issue has been addressed so overall foot lockdown is better in the Elite 2.
They both fit true to size and have accommodating, spacious uppers. The main difference is that the Elite 2 has a semi-bootie construction with a knitted tongue while the Elite 1 has a more traditional upper.
