Saucony Guide vs. Hurricane: Decoding the Differences Between Two Trusty Stability Shoes

Today, I’m going to compare the Saucony Guide vs Hurricane.

These are Saucony’s main stability shoes that are talked about more often but actually are reviewed a lot less.

I’m going to go over the Saucony Guide 13 (successor to Saucony Guide ISO 2), the Guide 14, the Hurricane 22, and the Hurricane 23.

Without further ado, let’s get right to it…

In a hurry, here’s what you really need to know about the Guide and the Hurricane.

Related:

• Saucony Hurricane vs. Triumph

Saucony Guide vs. Hurricane

Overpronation Control

For this section, pictures are worth a thousand words.

I overpronate just a tiny bit. We’ll go over the Guides 13 and 14 and the Hurricanes 22 and 23 and I’m going to tell you what I think of the two shoes in terms of stability and how they correct overpronation.

Saucony Ride (neutral shoe)

As you can see, the Ride is a neutral shoe and it does not offer any overpronation control and my heel seems to overpronate a bit.

Related:

• Saucony Ride vs. Brooks Ghost

Saucony Hurricane 22

The Hurricane 22 is correcting my overpronation pretty well. So, for someone with overpronation issues, you’re going to be confident in this shoe.

Saucony Hurricane 23

I really liked the Hurricane 23 over the 22 even if it offers just about the same amount of overpronation control.

The less padded heel collar and the sturdier heel counter are definitely holding my heels a little bit better.

Saucony Guide 13

The amount of overpronation control I got in the Guide is actually better than the Hurricane. It makes sense because the midsole of the Guide 13 is a bit firmer than the Hurricane.

Again, the Guide’s midsole is firmer and actually pops your foot back quicker than the Hurricane, which gives your heel less time to sink into the midsole and roll inward too much.

Saucony Guide 14

My heel starts to slide a little bit out of the Guide 14 compared to the Guide 13, but in terms of overpronation, the Guide 14 also corrected that pretty well.

Related:

• Saucony Endorphin Speed vs. Shift

Saucony Guide vs Hurricane: Best For?

The Saucony Guide and Hurricane are stability shoes for overpronators or even for neutral runners who tend to roll inward at the end of their long runs.

They’re very comfortable to run in and you can’t go wrong in either one of them.

A lot of stability shoes that I’ve worn in the past have been very stiff which is a feeling nobody likes of course.

The Guide and Hurricane don’t feel like you’re being restricted or too rigid through the foot strike, which is a feeling everybody wants.

I would use both shoes for long runs if it’s earlier in your training block and you’re not concerned about pacing as much.

If you’re doing like 20 miles or whatever your long run is, I think you’re going to feel the weight of the shoes just a little bit.

Again, they’re good options if you need a little help with overpronation but you don’t want a stability shoe that is crazy stiff.

However, the Guide is a little bit stiffer than the Hurricane, which will get to later in the article.

Midsole

The Guide and the Hurricane use PWRRUN foam which is basically TPU mixed with some EVA.

What that means is the midsole is not going to get mushy when you’re running in hot weather and it’s not going to firm out on colder days.

The Hurricane has PWRRUN+ which is a more premium foam compared to the regular PWRRUN the Guide has.

The PWRRUN+ midsole feels alive. It’s not really responsive, but it isn’t going to suck the energy out of your foot strike.

Previous versions of Saucony shoes used this EVERRUN material. Basically, PWRRUN and PWRRUN+ are lighter, more efficient, and more durable than EVERUN.

The Guide uses a PWRRUN foam which is very springy and offers a very soft plush feeling. But the midsole setup in the Guide offers a little bit firmer ride than that of the Hurricane and the Triumph.

Related:

• Running Shoe Foam Explained

Stability

I would categorize the Guide and the Hurricane as mild-to-moderate stability shoes but mostly towards the mild.

I think the midsole of the Hurricane actually plays a role in that stability aspect where Saucony curved the midsole around the foot just a little bit so you kind of sit on that sort of like Hoka’s.

The Guide uses their newer support system running through the outsole. That TPU posting pretty much gives you that added support up on the inside.

It’s not totally noticeable but it does allow for that energized snapback as well.

Just like the Guide, the medial side of the Hurricane has this solid TPU guidance frame, and this is where the stability is coming into this shoe as far as preventing you from overpronating through the foot strike.

The good news is, combined with the PWRRUN and PWRRUN+ foams of both shoes, you’re not going to feel this plastic posting very much at all. Good work there, Saucony.

Compared to a New Balance 860 which is really stable, the Guide and the Hurricane are actually a little bit less.

However, a lot of people prefer the Guide and the Hurricane because the 860 holds ways too much on the feet.

So, I enjoy the stability of the Guide and the Hurricane and I think they just fit a lot of people.

So, if you overpronate excessively or have flat feet and need more support, then the New Balance 860 is a good option. And, if you want to keep inside Saucony, then the Saucony Omni is a good choice for you.

Energy Return

Nowadays, everything has to be super springy and bouncy and people always talk about energy return in running shoes.

But energy return sometimes means the shoe is so soft that the shoe sort of collapses before you can actually get some energy in return.

The Guide is a little bit on the opposite side of the spectrum.

It has a TPU core which is supposed to be more bouncy, but it also has the EVA outside that is lighter and firmer.

That means that you get a little bit more of a firm and nice responsive feeling when you run. It’s a great shoe if you want a long but fast run.

Some people might think the Guide is too hard or too firm and they need something more substantial to run in.

This is where the Hurricane comes into play. The Hurricane is soft but still lively, and if you like that, then that’s the thing you’re going for.

But if you want a little bit of a lighter stability daily trainer with a firmer feel underfoot, then the Guide really works.

Upper

Saucony updated the mesh on the Guide 14. Apparently, they’re using what’s called a 3D engineered fascia. This is supposed to give you stability all around the foot.

What’s making the upper more secure is the vinyl overlays around the midfoot. The overlays are going to give the shoe more structure and hold your foot a little bit better right above that instep area.

The upper of the Hurricane has engineered mesh like most shoes nowadays where they tighten the mesh in certain parts of the upper to kind of give the shoe some more structure.

They also used that suede/vinyl overlays to give the shoe more structure and help with stability as well as opposed to the Hurricane 22 which feels a little more flimsy especially in the medial side.

Overall, the upper of the Guide 13 and the Hurricane 22 is not for everyone. If you’re one of those people who love comfy couch fit, then these iterations are really good for you.

FORMFIT vs ISOFIT

The new FORMFIT is basically Saucony’s way of saying that the shoe wraps around your foot really well and better than the retired ISOFIT finger technology.

Just like what Saucony did with EVERUN, they felt that people were not really into ISOFIT and lots of runners preferred standard lacing systems.

Sizing

Saucony nailed the upper and the fit.

You can go true to size in these shoes with no issues at all. The toe boxes have good width and do not feel too wide nor too narrow.

Laces

The Guide 14 has very soft kind of cottony-feeling laces compared to the flat kind of more standard feeling laces on the Guide 13.

I’m a fan of the lacing design that Saucony is veering towards.

The laces on the Hurricane 22 and 23 and the Triumph 18 are similar to the Guide 14’s.

The Hurricane 23 has a second extra eyelet on the left right below that very top eyelet. What that does is kind of help give you more structure to the medial side once you tighten up that fit around there.

Insole

I probably wouldn’t use insoles in a stability shoe as much unless you really need it because you’re going to over-correct your overpronation and you’re going to be sitting too much on the inside of the shoe.

Collar & Tongue

Both the Saucony Guide 13 and the Hurricane 22 have super plush, super padded heel collars and tongues.

Saucony obviously changed the way they’re designing the collar and the tongue because they have significantly reduced the amount of padding around the collar and the tongue.

So, I guess Saucony is trying to get back the people who have been steering away from the Guide and the Hurricane because of the shoes’ super padded collars and tongues.

So, the amount of padding the Guide 13 and Hurricane 22 offer actually feels like you’re getting a huge hug, but that doesn’t really work when it’s really warm and you’re bothered by that.

If you, on the other hand, don’t get bothered by the shoe getting super warm in hot temperatures, you’re going to enjoy the Guide 13 and the Hurricane 22 even more.

Also, if you have narrow feet and you need to cinch down the laces a lot, the thicker tongue will actually help you not get any pain on top of your foot or get the laces digging in to your feet.

Heel & Achilles

On the Guide 14 and the Hurricane 23, Saucony has made the heel collar kind of like a pointy style that’s supposed to apparently curve away from the Achilles to reduce stress on that area. There’s also more cupping around in the bottom section of the heel.

I guess Saucony has found that that super padded heel on the Guide 13 and the Hurricane 22 kind of digs into the Achilles tendon.

Although this new heel design doesn’t look really secure, it does lock on to most heels very well because it has an interesting cup inside there.

So, Saucony is going for this new heel with a flare like the Hoka Clifton and the New Balance 1080.

Related:

• Great Running Shoes for Achilles Tendonitis

Outsole

The outsole is going to be a little bit different in the Hurricane 22 and 23.

In the 22, Saucony is using a combination of crystallized rubber in the middle of the outsole and then some XT-900 rubber on the outside of the heel and the toe.

In the Hurricane 23, Saucony has done away with the crystallized rubber and come back to XT-900 all throughout the outsole.

I guess Saucony had complaints about the crystallized rubber so they switched over to the XT-900 carbon rubber.

XT-900 is actually one of Saucony’s older rubber styles. It is definitely designed for more durability compared to just regular rubber and it has a tacky kind of feel to it, which helps the shoe grip a little bit better.

I love the idea of going to a more tacky rubber and it’s good to have a shoe that can also be versatile in the snow.

I like to use a lot of trail running shoes when it’s super icy, but if it’s just patches of snow, I want something that is a little more reliable.

However, although this amount of rubber helps the durability, it impacts the weight of the shoe and some people might not like that.

The outsole is pretty similar from the Guide 13 to the 14. Saucony changed the design just a little bit to make it look a little bit more curved, but I feel like it’s pretty similar and it’s still a semi-curved last.

It’s one of the more linear lasts, which I really like about Saucony because, for overpronators, they really work a little better with insoles.

Weight

The Guide 13 is 10.1oz for men and 9.3oz for women whereas the Guide 14 is 10.5oz for men and 9.3oz for women.

As you can see, the men’s Guide 14 is .4oz heavier than the Guide 13.

The Hurricane 22 is 11.8oz for men and 10.2oz for women whereas the Hurricane 23 is 11.3oz for men and 9.8oz for women.

As opposed to the Guide 14, the Hurricane 23 is getting lighter than the Hurricane 22 but still heavier than the Guides 13 and 14.

I’ve tried both the Hurricane 22 and 23 then the Guide 13 and 14 and I couldn’t really tell the difference between the new and the old models.

However, I definitely felt the difference between the Guide and the Hurricane. The Hurricane is a little bit heavier duty shoe so it has more weight to it whereas the Guide is going to be a little lighter weight.

Overall, both the Guide and the Hurricane are heavy shoes just like most stability shoes out there.

But what makes the Guide and the Hurricane really heavy is because Saucony is trying to offer stability and durability in one package.

Drop & Stack Height

The Guide and the Hurricane have an 8mm drop from heel to toe. This 8-mm drop is pretty nice and it’s the same thing as the Ride and the Triumph.

The Guide 13 has a stack height of 32mm in the heel and 24 in the forefoot whereas the Guide 14 runs on 32.5mm of stack in the heel and then 24.5mm in the forefoot.

The Hurricane 22 is 33mm in the heel and 25 in the forefoot and the Hurricane 23 is 33.5mm in the heel and 25.5mm in the forefoot.

As you can see, the Hurricane has 1mm of stack height more than the Guide and both newer models added .5mm to the heel and forefoot.

Price

Stability running shoes are always going to cost more than neutral shoes.

The reason why is companies have to over-design the shoe and they have to use more materials to create the stability aspect of the shoe.

So, a rule of thumb there, the more materials in the shoe, the higher the price goes.

The Guide 14 is $10 more than the Guide 13 but the Hurricane stayed the same. The Hurricane is more premium compared to the Guide and costs more of course.

As you know, prices go up and day and I can’t tell you how much these would cost the day you’ll be reading this.

My advice to you is that if you buy the Hurricane, make sure you’re committed to the long haul, or else, that price might just not be worth it.

So, if you’re planning to take it at least past 500 miles, that would be my recommendation because it’s a hefty price point.

So, make sure you have a good return policy and that you’re invested for the long haul.

Final Thoughts

For the last couple of years, the Guide series has been by far one of the most sold stability shoes and that’s mostly because the Hurricane was horrible in the ISO 4 version.

The Hurricane ISO 5 worked a little bit better and the Hurricanes 22 and 23 were way beyond what the two previous versions were. But in that space of time, the Guide series did really well.

Overall, you can’t go wrong in both shoes. Both the Guide and the Hurricane have a nice fit and they’re super fun to run in.

The Guide is a little on the firmer side and is quite a snappy agile ride, but if you need more soft cushioning, then you should steer clear and then go for the Hurricane instead.

With every shoe company, there is a next level up. For example, the Brooks Adrenaline has the Brooks Transcend, the Asics GT 2000 has the Kayano, and the Saucony Guide has the Hurricane.

So, there you have it. This was Saucony Guide vs. Hurricane comparison.

I hope you’ve learned something from this and you’ve got an idea of what these two shoes can do in terms of the new models versus the old models and also in terms of the differences between the Guide and the Hurricane.