Lindsey Heim

Behold the three generations...

So, as promised, here is my review of my newest acquisition, the Saucony Tangent 3. I have been a loyal Tangent wearer since the shoe first came out. Prior to that I ran in many different shoes without being too impressed with any one brand in particular. These models include Mizuno, Asics, New Balance and other saucony models. I tried the Tangent 1 (the Barbie pink one on the left) on and it was love after first run. After many years of searching, I had finally found 'my' shoe.

Model tested:
-Women's size 10.5, purchased from www.onlineshoes.com
-note: this coveted size 10.5 is very hard to find. Many don't even cary it as a size option; however, when you didn't practice the ancient art of foot binding growing up and have neanderthal feet, you just need to deal with the cards that you are dealt.

Aftermarket modifications:
-Yankz! lacing system (used on all of my running shoes- if you haven't tried these, they are AWESOME)
- Spenco cross trainer insoles


Out of the box, I first noticed the following changes different from the previous generations: lighter mesh-type upper, and lack of the full foot encompassing tongue that was on the previous models. I have always worn my Tangents out of the box. My most important, longest races have been in brand new shoes. I like to have the optimal 'sproinginess' of brand new shoes on race day- it feel so good! The first run in any shoe is usually AWESOME because of this sproinginess.

So, with that history, I got my shoes ready, and headed to the gym for my weekly 2 hr long run (its way too icy and cold here to run outside- I am not that tough). People ask me why I am running 2 hrs in the middle of winter, and wondering what I am training for. The answer is, I don't know. I was bailed on for my spring race. All I know is that I need to be running and running a lot and running hard for whatever I have coming up because I am not as talented as everybody else. I need to work harder because of that.

So, after the first run, I was very impressed. The ride is similar to the other tangents-a very minimal sole that is not built up too much in any particular area. Enough stability, but not too much that your foot is pushed in a direction that it doesn't want to be. The lack of the fabric around the tongue makes the shoe very airy, and makes one feel fast. The mesh looks super sweet when you wear colored socks showing through.

The only drawback is when I wore them without socks. Where the tongue meets the main shoe body is thicker because it is not attached at the sides like the other tongues. This gave the shoes some nice blood stains from my foot. I know, I was playing with fire running no socks this early in a pair of shoes, but hey, these are the sacrifices I make to give you my finest shoe review over the course of one week. On a side note, I really didn't intend to wear the shoes without socks, I just forgot socks when I went to the gym- it was nothing or my big, thick smartwool socks that I LOVE in the winter.

Color wise, I find the shiny green and mostly white a little bland in my book. At first I hated the bright pink, then loved it. The blue was also nice. This color scheme is not quite as fun, that 'just another running shoe' look.

So, after an N=5 runs, and almost 6 hrs of running in them. I give them a hesitant 'thumbs up*,' with an asterisk, this is due to wearing a bloody hole in my foot, and being pretty 'plain jane' on the color scheme. Besides that, the more important things, the ride, support, lightness, ventilation, and 'sproing' of the shoe is the shoe is awesome.