Saucony Triumph vs Brooks Glycerin

In today’s article, I’m going to be comparing two max cushion daily trainers. It’s the Saucony Triumph vs Brooks Glycerin.

This is a head-to-head comparison of two very similar shoes, the Saucony Triumph 19 and the Brooks Glycerin 19.

So how do you know which one to buy?

If you’re looking at both of these shoes, you’re going to get a good idea of which one might be right for you.

So stick around…

Related: Saucony Triumph 19 vs 18

Saucony Triumph vs Brooks Glycerin

The Triumph and the Glycerin have a really soft landing underfoot and are both…

• Neutral trainers
• Super plush.
• Really padded.
• Ultimately built around comfort.
• Really identical in a lot of the stats.

If you’ve already heard of the Glycerin line, not a lot has changed really in the Glycerin 19 from the 18. The Glycerin 19 has more DNA Loft material in the midsole to make it softer with a bit more cushioning and the upper has been updated to provide more support and comfort.

Other than that, you’re still getting the same plush level of thick cushioning that sits around the collar.

This Triumph is the 19 edition of Saucony’s long line of cushioned shoes designed for runners who want comfort and a plush ride but still want to be able to take things up a notch for faster training sessions.

Related: Saucony Triumph vs Hurricane

Quick Comparison

Obviously, the Saucony Triumph and Brooks Glycerin are very similar shoes and they’ve got a lot of the same features.

The Saucony Triumph is a little more plush and has got a little more response, but it does come with a little bit of that weight penalty. The Brooks Glycerin is slightly more breathable, a little bit lighter weight, but it’s not as sweet underfoot as the Saucony.

The Brooks Glycerin is slightly more breathable, a little bit lighter weight, but it’s not as sweet underfoot as the Saucony.

In terms of pure comfort, I still feel the Brooks Glycerin is a better option. The Glycerin is a really comfortable shoe if you are looking for that all-out plushness, loads of padding on the upper, a great step-in comfort, and a lovely feel underfoot, I think the Glycerin is a bit better than the Triumph in that category.

Related: Brooks Glycerin vs Glycerin GTS

Performance

Both the Glycerin and the Triumph are just basically your go-to shoes if you’re looking for premium plush cushioning and comfort. They protect the legs, feel comfy, and provide a really nice comfortable ride.

Both are very similar in terms of performance, cushioning, and softness, but the Triumph has a little more bounce and snap than the Glycerin.

Also, if you are a runner who maybe signed up for a half marathon or a marathon and…

• Your focus is comfort,
• You just want a shoe that’s going to make your feet and legs feel great for the distance,
• You’re not bothered about getting an amazing marathon PR,
• You just want to cross that finish line and go “my legs feel good”,

… I think the Triumph and the Glycerin are both really good options.

Glycerin

The Glycerin is the kind of shoe that you would recommend to a friend who hasn’t done any kind of running at all and looking to start a fitness kick or maybe a couch-to-5k. However, the sweet spot for the Glycerin is kind of slower cushioned runs and recovery runs. 

However, the sweet spot for the Glycerin is kind of slower cushioned runs and recovery runs. 

When you have some training days where you have a really tough session and the next day you have beat-up legs, the Glycerin is one of the go-to shoes to wear after those days.

It has got a bit more of a responsive bounce to it than you would probably expect from something associated with heavy cushioning.

The upper has got a kind of loose feel to it although you can still get a fairly good lockdown fit with it as well. It’s not really heavy, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable on the run, but it’s built for comfort not speed.

So, the Glycerin is a really nice relaxed shoe to wear for all those daily runs that you maybe not be bothered about speed but you just want comfort above anything else.

If you want something even softer than the Glycerin, you’ve got the Asics Novablast or the Nike Invincible, but it’s a bit more expensive and might not be as durable.

If you want something firmer of a ride, then there’s the New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 or the Saucony Endorphin Shift.

Again, I’d say the Glycerin is the king of comfort when it comes to running shoes.

Related: Brooks Glycerin vs New Balance 1080

Triumph

I’ve been quite a long-term fan of the Triumph and the versions that had the EVERUN foam. I felt they were really comfortable easy day shoes but still had a nice amount of pop that you could use them for faster stuff.

I think I like the 19 a little bit over the 18 because I think it has a bit more versatility to it, but it’s still a shoe designed to be comfortable and that’s where it excels the most.

I have been able to do some longer runs where I picked up the pace towards the end and it felt reasonably bouncy and responsive and fun to run in.

The Triumph serves really well as an easy-day shoe, but it has enough fertility to be a daily trainer for some people. So my major runs in the Triumph have mainly been kind of slow plodding runs with some sort of faster testing work thrown towards the end to see how it does at faster paces.

So my major runs in the Triumph have mainly been kind of slow plodding runs with some sort of faster testing work thrown towards the end to see how it does at faster paces.

I definitely think it’s a shoe that I would use for much more longer distance running, but for everyday runs, I prefer something a bit more lively to use for speedier work.

If you’re training for your marathon, the Triumph might land with you at just the right time. It’s going to be good for your tapering and for those runs where you want to keep your legs ticking over. It’s also going to be great after your marathon where you’re looking to gradually get running back into your legs.

It’s also going to be great after your marathon where you’re looking to gradually get running back into your legs.

The Triumph is not going to slow you down or make you feel sluggish because there’s enough pop in it to make you run at a fairly competent rate.

Within Saucony’s lineup, I think I’d probably prefer it to the Endorphin Shift. I think the Triumph is a slightly better more versatile shoe that’s still very comfortable.

Comparing the Triumph to other shoes, I still prefer the softer bouncier feel of the Asics Novablast 1 and 2 or the Nike Invincible. Again, both are just a bit more exciting, comfy, and soft on the run but then have more pop if you’re trying to up the pace.

Related: Best Softest Running Shoes

Weight, Stack, Drop

In the Triumph 19, we have an 8mm heel drop with 32.5 millimeters of stack height in the heel and 24.5 millimeters in the forefoot.

The Glycerin 19 runs on a 10mm drop platform with 31mm of stack height in the heel and 21mm in the forefoot.

The Triumph comes in at a weight of 10.7 ounces (303 grams) for a men’s size 9 and 8.9 oz (252 grams) for a women’s size 8.

The Glycerin 19 weighs in at 9.9 ounces (280 grams) for a men’s size 9 and 8.5 oz (240 grams) for a women’s size 8.

As you can see, the Triumph is about an ounce heavier than the Glycerin, which is a considerable amount that you’re paying for the increased stack height, the extra padding, softness, and the amount of rubber on the outsole.

I personally prefer lower drop shoes and so I give the nod to the Saucony Triumph. However, they’re really close, and honestly, on foot, they feel very similar.

Related: Running Shoe Heel Drop Chart

Obviously, we’ve got to start talking about comfort because that’s what these shoes are designed for…

Comfort

Both of these shoes are super, comfortable, super plush, super padded in the ankle and the tongue, and have a softer sweeter ride in the midsole.

However, that extra comfort comes with a penalty because, honestly, neither of these are lightweight shoes. It really makes me wish that these shoes came in around 9 ounces.

But both Brooks and Saucony make very similar shoes that are a little bit lighter. Brooks makes the Ghost and Saucony makes the Ride. These are very similar neutral training shoes but not as plush, but you do save a little bit of weight if weight is a big concern for you.

Related: What are Neutral Running Shoes?

Midsole

The Glycerin 19 features their DNA Loft material and the Triumph’s midsole is made from their PWRRUN+ foam which is a material that balances softness with a light springy feel making the Triumph a versatile shoe for runners who like a bit of bounce.

Landing Platform

In terms of the geometry of both shoes, the Glycerin has a wide landing platform up in the forefoot of the shoe and then it features an hourglass design so it gets a bit more narrow there in the midfoot section with a rounded heel.

As we look at the profile of the shoe, you can see that the shoe really doesn’t have much of a heel bevel at all, but there’s a slight curvature up in the forefoot.

Just like the Glycerin, the Triumph also has a wide landing platform up in the forefoot, but it doesn’t come to a point quite as much as what we wee in the Glycerin 19.

The Triumph has a bit more of a pronounced hourglass design because it does get a little more narrow in the midfoot section. Then the shoe does have this rounded heel.

Looking at the profile of the Triumph, the shoe has a slightly more of an aggressive heel bevel and a slight curvature up in the forefoot.

Which midsole is better?

In terms of the amount of cushion or softness to run in, both of these shoes offer a lot of comfort for you. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in either one because they’re both really comfortable and both midsoles offer decent energy return to help move you through your gait cycle. 

However, I found that the PWRRUN+ on the Saucony Triumph does feel a little bit less soft. It’s also got a little bit more response and so it has a little nicer toe-off than the DNA Loft on the Brooks Glycerin.

Also, because the Saucony Triumph 19 has a much deeper groove underfoot, I do feel like there’s a little bit more of a trampoline effect, which means you’re going to get a bit more energy return as you compress that midsole foam which just kind of pops you forward as you move through your gait cycle. 

Overall, both midsoles have not disappointed when it comes to cushioning. They’ve got a really thick layer of midsole foam which manages to just feel really soft, enjoyable on the leg, and comfortable for a lot of miles.

Now let’s take a look at the fit of both shoes…

Fit

On the Glycerin, fit for me has been pretty much spot on like all the past iterations I’ve always worn. It’s got a nice bit of room in the front, it’s not loose on the side, but it’s not overly snug either.

There’s loads of padding around the tongue and collar so you get a nice secure and soft fit back there. I did read that the Glycerin 19 does size down a little bit, but I definitely didn’t find that.

It’s not a tight shoe or a narrow shoe and I definitely felt that there was a bit of room in the width and so it’s very comfortable in that perspective.

On the Triumph, I’ve tested like four or five generations before the 19 like the Triumph 17 and I’ve used the same size on all of them. On the Triumph 19, I think it came up a bit longer than the other ones.

I think it has more room at the front of the toe box than with past Triumphs, but it was still fine with my true to size and it fit quite nicely around the midfoot and around the heel. 

I’ve had no real issues with heel slippage. It’s an upper that’s built to be comfortable and snug-fitting to wear.

Upper

Both shoes have an engineered mesh upper that hugs your foot with no issues. They are also super padded all around, but they are on the warmer side as well because of all the padding and all the plushness in the upper.

Brooks Glycerin

The Brooks Glycerin 19 has a lot of perforations up in the toe box, but these perforations really are pretty much just in the toe box because they stop at about the start of the eyelet chain.

On the side, the Glycerin has kind of a quilted material to give the upper a little bit more structure. It also helps to reduce a little bit of the stretch because there is a bit of stretch in this material.

I think that the perforations on the Brooks Glycerin actually work a little bit better because they get wider as your foot splays with every time the shoe lands.

The problem with the Saucony Triumph is that the perforations actually get pushed closer together rather than being pulled further apart. 

Back in the heel, both shoes have a ton of structure.

Saucony Triumph

There’s an updated mono-engineered mesh upper built to feel supportive and comfortable while still adding a good level of breathability, and that’s partly due to Saucony’s Formfit design that aims to lock the foot in place without feeling stretchy or too restrictive.

Just like on the Glycerin, there’s lots of perforations up in the toe box but it also has a lot of perforations along the profile of the shoe too that go back quite a bit. Back in the heel counter, the Triumph has plenty of structure as well.

So, although both shoes are very similar in the upper, I think the Saucony Triumph is a little more plush and a little more padded in the ankle and the tongue than the Brooks, but the Brooks Glycerin 19 does vent just a little bit better, breathes a little bit better, and runs a little cooler than the Saucony.

Lockdown

In terms of lockdown, I was able to get a nice secure lockdown feeling in both of these shoes but just maybe a little bit more so in the Brooks Triumph 19 than I do in the Brooks Glycerin 19 because you don’t have that stretchy material across the midfoot section at all.

Moisture

Because the Brooks Glycerin 19 is more cloth-like, it does seem to hold in that moisture a lot more than the Saucony Triumph 19 does.

When I run out on trails and in the mornings and there’s a lot of dew on that vegetation, the upper material on the Brooks Glycerin 19 does seem to soak up that water a little bit more and it takes longer for it to dry out.

Another example is when I washed both shoes, I found that the plastic material on the Triumph seems to shed that water and so it dried out really quickly as opposed to the Glycerin 19 that took almost a day for the upper to dry out.

Tongue

Both of these obviously have heavily padded tongues and both have stretchy gussets which I really like. However, I think there’s a little bit more padding in the Triumph 19. But both are really comfortable and I didn’t feel the laces cutting across the top of my midfoot on either shoe.

One key difference is that the Saucony Triumph’s gussets are a little bit further back and hold the tongue a little bit lower. So when you slide your foot into the Triumph, you really feel that midfoot lockdown right away.

The difference in the Brooks Glycerin is the gussets are just a little bit further forward and the tongue sits naturally higher so it doesn’t really hold your foot down in place as well as the Triumph.

Obviously, the gussets on the Glycerin hold the tongue in place, but they don’t give you that same sweet really tight midfoot lockdown feel that the Saucony Triumph does have.

Eyelet Chain

The Brooks Glycerin 19 has a classic style that does its job. Brooks did include some extra plastic around the eyelets to give them some more durability. They also included that extra eyelet in case you want to run with the runner’s knot.

Because this material has a bit of stretch to it, I did have to cinch that lacing system up just a little bit more than I did in the Saucony Triumph 19.

The trade-off is because there’s a little bit more stretch in the Glycerin, I did feel like there’s a little more give as I move through my gait cycle.

The Saucony Triumph 19 has a couple of differences. The first one you’re going to notice is this extra loop down at the beginning of the lacing system. I find that that helps to reduce any kind of bunching that you get up in the toe box.

The lacing system is cut like an hourglass to try and give you a bit more of a customized fit or feel. Again, there is no real stretch in this material at all and so it was pretty easy to get locked in and secure across the midfoot section.

But, again, the trade-off is you feel a little bit more restricted as you move through your gait cycle than you do in the Brooks Glycerin 19.

Laces

The laces are overlooked many times, but I want to bring it up in this because the laces on the Brooks Glycerin are very plush and they feel great in your hands.

The laces kind of go in theme with the plush luxuriousness of the upper, but they’re really stretchy, which makes it hard to get a really good tight lockdown.

The laces on the Saucony Triumph are also soft in hand, they’re a little more lightweight feeling and a little more minimalist, but they don’t stretch as much.

I have read people talking about how they don’t like the laces of the Triumph and that they’re kind of thick squishy laces, but I really like them.

I found that they’re really easy to tie down tightly without having to double knot them. Whenever I give them a good pull, they don’t seem to loosen up and I never have to redo them.

Heel Collar & Tab

The Glycerin has a very classic heel counter design that I found to be really comfortable. But as we look at the Triumph 19, the only real big difference is that heel counter has a bit of a curve to it.

What that does is it creates a nice solid heel pocket for you to set in. It’s a little bit more defined in the Triumph 19 than what’s in the Glycerin 19, but both have lots of structure and I didn’t have any heel slippage in either one.

Outsole

The Brooks Glycerin 19 has plenty of rubber all the way from the heel through to the toe. The shoe has just a little bit of their exposed DNA Loft midsole foam on the lateral side, but for the most part, DNA Loft is all covered so you can expect lots of durability.

The Glycerin does feature these flex grooves as well to help make it a little bit smoother as you move through your gait cycle.

The Saucony Triumph 19 also has plenty of rubber in all of the areas where it would have any kind of ground contact and that’s to protect all of that PWRRUN+ midsole foam.

That level of rubber does seem to be pretty thick and durable and so I’m expecting it to be relatively durable. The shoe also has some flex grooves to make it nice and smooth through your transitions.

Overall, both shoes feature a full rubber outsole. However, the Saucony Triumph does have a bit more texture to it. There’s some lugs that are just very small and short that are reminiscent of a trail shoe and the ones on the heel actually have great grip.

I ran in these in the snow up in the mountains and I really dig how the Saucony grips. The Brooks Glycerin has a little bit thicker rubber, but the grip is not as good on the Brooks.

Overall, both of them are nice full rubber outsoles and I don’t think that durability is going to be an issue with either shoe.

Speaking of the devil…

Durability

Both the Triumph and the Glycerin are going to be super durable shoes. I think they’re going to have no problem going 400 or 500 miles.

However, I will give the Brooks Glycerin the slight win on this one. Because of that little tiny bit more rubber on the outsole and that midsole being just a little bit more dense, I think the Brooks Glycerin will last a touch longer.

Verdict

The Saucony Triumph and the Brooks Glycerin cost the same and weigh pretty much the same. It just comes down to the fit and feel of the upper as well as the ride of the midsole.

Both are really good shoes for people who want a lot of cushioning. So if you don’t like a lot cushioning underfoot, you’re probably not going to like the Triumph or the Glycerin.

While I think this is a really hard call for me, I like the Saucony Triumph 19.

But why?

I enjoyed the upper material and the fact that the shoe is able to shed a little bit of the water when I’m out running in the morning, especially with all of that vegetation that has that dew on it.

Also, I like the midsole ride and that little extra foam that they have. It’s not a big difference in terms of the stack height, but there is a little bit more especially up in the forefoot of the shoe that helps keep me comfortable as I’m out running.

The Triumph is great if you’re looking for a shoe that’s going to go out and kind of run easy with no pressure and that’s exactly where the Triumph really excels for most runners.

It definitely feels best suited for those easy paces. I think it still has the capacity to go a little bit faster, but I don’t think that’s what it’s built for. I think the Saucony Ride feels definitely snappier to run in than the Triumph.

Again, the Triumph is surprisingly fast and bouncy for a shoe that’s essentially a big cushioned shoe.

Related: Saucony Triumph vs Ride – PWRRUN and PWRRUN+ Epic Battle

Glycerin

I’m not saying the Glycerin is a bad shoe, it’s just that the Triumph works better with my foot mechanics.

So, if you’re looking for a really nice cushioned shoe that’s really reliable and stood the test of time, the Brooks Glycerin is probably one of the best options to go for.

There are a lot of other cushioned options that are available at the moment. They all do slightly different things, but I think the Glycerin is one of the best all-round for cushioning.

Again, you’ve got the Nike Invincible which is a lot softer, but it doesn’t have that responsiveness the Glycerin has. Then you’ve got the New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 which has about the same level of cushioning, but it’s a bit firmer and definitely more responsive.

You can tell the Glycerin is soft, but it’s not mushy and it still feels like you’re bouncing back off of every step.

The Glycerin is just a great shoe to go for if comfort is your main factor but you don’t want something that’s purely designed for comfort.

Saucony Triumph vs Brooks Glycerin vs Hoka Clifton vs Puma Velociti

I will say that if you’re considering either of these shoes, there is the Hoka Clifton 7 or 8 which is 2 ounces lighter, lower to the ground, lower drop, much more breathable, a little sweeter underfoot, and a little bit cheaper on the pocketbook.

I also think if you are looking for a cheaper easy-day shoe that has a bit more versatility, the Puma Velociti Nitro is a good option to look at. But If you do want similar plushness, padding, and cushioning from Puma, I think the Magnify is also a cheaper option.

I think all of these shoes are going to fit your needs. If you’re looking for a very comfortable, very soft landing recovery day shoe, cruiser shoe, or something soft underfoot, these really are great options.

Where to buy the Brooks Glycerin 19 and Saucony Triumph 19

Amazon

Brooks Glycerin 19
Saucony Triumph 19

Brooksrunning

Brooks Glycerin 19

Saucony

Saucony Triumph 19

I hope you guys enjoyed this Saucony Triumph vs Brooks Glycerin comparison.

Thanks for making it to the end and see you in the next one 🙂