The Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 is just $129 thanks to this early Black Friday deal — at that price, it’s better value than the new Endorphin Speed 6
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Nick has been a journalist since 2012 and has spent most of that time writing about health and fitness for a variety of publications. Nick spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers , which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear. Nick has covered all aspects of health and fitness throughout his career, interviewing experts and celebrities, trying fitness classes and running marathons, all in the name of providing readers with the information they need to get the most out of an active lifestyle. Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 25min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 16 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick runs 60-90 miles a week and races regularly with his club, which gives him a lot of opportunity to test out running gear: he has tested and reviewed hundreds of pairs of running shoes, as well as fitness trackers, running watches, sports headphones, treadmills, and all manner of other kit. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK. Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for several publications, including Live Science , Expert Reviews , Wareable , Coach and Get Sweat Go , he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent . Nick graduated from the University of York in 2010 with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and worked in the NHS for three years, during which time he completed his NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at News Associates in London. Before starting on Coach and moving into health and fitness, Nick worked as a football journalist and lived in Kathmandu, Nepal for two years.
The Saucony Endorphin Speed has been one of the best running shoes on the market ever since the original launched in 2020.
It’s always been one of the most versatile shoes available thanks to its fast, comfortable ride, and I loved the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 when I racked up over 60 miles in it for my four-star review.
The new Endorphin Speed 6 just launched, and that’s resulted in some great deals cropping up on the Endorphin Speed 5, which is $129 in the Amazon sale right now.
The Endorphin Speed 5 is a super-trainer with a nylon plate and a comfortable but quick ride that makes it ideal for all kinds of daily training runs. Most colors and sizes of the shoe are reduced on Amazon right now, making it a better value buy than the new Endorphin Speed 6 in my opinion. View Deal
For me that discount makes it the better buy ahead of the new shoe, because although Saucony has made some changes to the Endorphin Speed 6, the overall ride feel is still similar based on my early testing.
The main change made to the Endorphin Speed 6 is that it uses a new midsole foam called PWRRUN PBX, which is meant to be a little lighter and softer than the PWRRUN PB foam on the Endorphin Speed 5.
Saucony also slightly increased the midsole stack height in the new shoe by 2mm, so it is a little more cushioned all round than the Endorphin Speed 5, while also making minor updates to the upper and outsole, and adjusting the shape of the nylon plate in the midsole.
On paper the updates sound significant with the new shoe, but when I did my first run in the Endorphin Speed 6 it certainly felt very familiar.
The midsole foam is a little softer, but still quite firm, and the Speedroll rocker on the shoe pushes you smoothly onto your forefoot at both easy and faster paces.
I very much enjoyed the run in the Speed 6, but I was surprised how similar to the Speed 5 it felt, so I actually ran in both shoes at the same time to compare them directly.
There are slight differences – the new shoe is marginally softer at the heel in particular — but overall I do think they have a similar ride feel.
While the Speed 6 might be a slight upgrade overall, I’d certainly be happy grabbing the older shoe in the sale for $50 less, since the Endorphin Speed 6 will set you back $180 right now.