Saucony ProGrid V2 Mule Takes the Heel Off a Retro Runner for $140

Saucony launched the ProGrid V2 Mule on August 1 at $140, a backless, laceless version of a shoe that already exists in its catalog. It comes in Black and in a Trek and Black colorway, unisex sizing from 3.5 to 14, and it is the rare mule that started life as a running shoe rather than as a slide. Whether that reads as clever or as a shortcut depends on how much of the original ProGrid V2 you think survives the cut.

The ProGrid V2 belongs to Saucony’s Originals side, the part of the line that reissues the brand’s late 2000s running catalog rather than chasing current racing tech. ProGrid was Saucony’s cushioning platform through that period, and the brand put it under the Triumph, the Omni, the Guide and the Ride before PWRRUN replaced it. Saucony has spent the last several seasons mining that era hard. The ProGrid Omni 9 sits at $155 in standard trim and $170 in suede, the ProGrid Triumph 4 runs $165 across a growing set of makeups, and the ProGrid Ride 1 came back at $140. The full ProGrid V2 shoe sells between $95.95 and $155 depending on the colorway, with a suede version at $165. That is a deep bench for a franchise that was a mid-tier trainer the first time around, and it is the clearest sign that Saucony treats Originals as a real business rather than a nostalgia sideline.

The Mule keeps the ProGrid V2’s upper design and removes the heel counter and the lacing. Saucony pairs soft neoprene with suede, which is the sensible combination for a shoe with nothing holding the foot down at the back. Neoprene gives at the collar and stretches over the instep. Suede holds the shape of the overlays that make a ProGrid V2 recognizable from across a room. Underfoot Saucony went with a full-length EVA midsole and kept the XT-600 rubber shank through the midfoot, which is the piece doing the structural work now that the heel is gone. Brian Moore, Saucony’s chief product officer, framed the shoe as an exploration of how iconic running silhouettes can evolve for today’s lifestyle consumer, and said the backless construction brings a fresh perspective while preserving the visual identity of the franchise. The practical version of that is a shoe you can step into without bending over.

Most brands build a mule by taking a slide and adding upper. Saucony went the other direction and subtracted from a full shoe, which is harder to execute and easier to justify. The risk is obvious. A ProGrid V2 with no heel counter and no laces is a ProGrid V2 with no fit system, and the neoprene has to do all of it alone. The upside is that Saucony gets a different product out of tooling and design work it has already paid for, at a moment when Originals needs new shapes more than it needs new colorways. Counting the Omni 9 variants on Saucony’s own ProGrid page turns up standard, suede, TMY and Disrupt versions of one model. A mule is a new door into the same room, and it lands at the right time of year for something that works as a post-run slip-on and an errand shoe, which is a wider use case than most Originals releases get.

$140 puts the Mule level with the ProGrid Ride 1 and below the standard ProGrid Omni 9 at $155, which is a fair place for a shoe with less material in it. It comes in $25 under the ProGrid V2 Suede at $165 and well under the ProGrid Paramount, which Saucony lists between $175 and $185. Against the full ProGrid V2, which runs from $95.95 on marked-down colorways up to $155 at full price, the Mule is priced as a premium item rather than a clearance-adjacent one. There is no resale record to read yet, since the shoe launched a month ago and has stayed in stock since.

The ProGrid V2 Mule released August 1 at $140. The Black colorway carries style code S101074-1002, and the Trek and Black version sits on the same product page. Unisex sizing runs 3.5 to 12 plus 13 and 14. Saucony is selling it directly at Saucony.com, where both colorways are listed in stock, and through Saucony retailers. The product page files the shoe under Originals rather than under Lifestyle, which is where the rest of the ProGrid reissues live.

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The Sneakers Team

The Sneakers Team is the editorial desk behind becausesneakers, founded and edited by Nick Engvall. Nick has spent more than two decades in the sneaker industry. He built the original Eastbay Blog, led the first dedicated sneaker team at Complex, ran the first UGC and seeding programs at Finish Line, was employee number nine at StockX, and served as Senior Director at Stadium Goods. He hosts the Sneaker History podcast, and his first book, Small Luxuries: Sneakers, arrives in October 2026 from Motorbooks. Release details on this site are checked against the brand's own product information before publication, and anything we cannot confirm is labelled rather than stated.

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