Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2: Jaunt Woven
Price: $140 [SOLD OUT; Check eBay for Current Pricing]
Why Buy?
The Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Jaunt Woven offers a theme without looking like a costume, and has really interesting materials.
Why Avoid?
The Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Jaunt Woven is similar to other models at 3x the price, and the sizing is hard to nail down if you don’t already own a pair.
Specs
| Model | Grid Shadow 2 |
| Height | Low |
| Materials | Hemp / Cotton / Linen / EVA / Polyester / Rubber |
| Size | 13 |
| Weight | 368 g / 12.98 oz |
| Construction | Cemented |
| Country of Origin | Vietnam |
History
Over the past several years, Bodega and Saucony have quietly been putting out more collabs than you might have guessed. Some of them have been absolute bangers. Some of them, well, some of them are the Shadow 6000.
The most recent collaboration between the two brands is this one, the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 in the Jaunt Woven colorway. Here Bodega wanted to take their collaborations into a slightly different direction.
The background for these?
Bodega says these shoes are for those “taking chill pills and other various types of pills.” Its inspiration was a “baja hoodie” (yeah, I had to look up what the real name was too). It isn’t just that, though. While not talked about too much, most modern running shoes are made primarily from polyester. That is to say, plastic. Once you toss them, they can sit around for 200 years and then turn into microplastics.
The Jaunt Woven was designed with more natural materials. Ones that shouldn’t do as much harm to the environment.
All that to say, the question here – are these green shoes worth the green you’ll have to pay on the resale market?
Let’s dive in and find out.
Looks
Upper
When it comes to the upper of the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 in Jaunt Woven, there is a lot going on. By my count there are at least 10 different materials or weaves making up the upper of this sneaker. Coming in various linens, cotton twills, and hemps the upper is a tour de force of texture variation.
However, the texture is not overpowering. Primarily in shades of green and tan, this sneaker does a great job at taking a bunch of patterns and materials and making them look put together.
This former running sneaker builds on these hits with lime green and bright red hits strewn about. The Saucony creek logo is a beige plastic in its normal spot, but a mini version in bright green accents the side of the toe box. The same green can be found in the GRID text on the back and the text on the tongue.
Inside a brown shoe liner covers most of the interior, though there is a bit of regular white polyester further in. Nobody will see it but you, though it is kind of jarring.
The Bodega-designed sneaker comes with two sets of laces. The ones I prefer, and used in most marketing shots, are big thick woven rope laces tipped in bright green. They look great but are a major pain to lace up and won’t hold a knot. The others are a much narrower rope lace tipped in red. These are what come laced in the sneaker when you get them – probably because they didn’t want to spend 30 minutes at the factory lacing each one.
Most of the pictures in this review are the thick ones, though I included a couple thinner shots for comparison.
Mid- and Outsole
Where the upper of the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 in Jaunt Woven completely redoes the playbook in materials, the bottom half of the sneaker mostly just sees changes in the paint and color. The midsole comes in a tan, with a green plaint splatter motif on the back.
The brown rubber outsole has specs in it – similar to Nike ReGrind – with more traditional rubber on high wear areas like the toe and under the ball. Bodega added a few new colors down here – mid browns and forest greens – and it looks great.
Summary
The Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2: Jaunt Woven does a really good job of giving a sneaker a theme without making it feel like a kid’s dress up costume. Maybe even more important, you can wear these themed sneakers without looking like you have a weed leaf on your t-shirt.
A green sneaker will never be the most versatile color, but these still work with a lot of outfits. More so than most running sneakers, even. They work with the typical running sneaker fits, but also things like corduroy.
I’m a big fan of the way these look.
Fit & Comfort
Fit
The Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Juant Woven fits like other Grid Shadow 2s. That means they run extremely small. This is true in both length and width. If you can, I’d strongly suggest going up a half size. Even if you typically go with your normal sneaker size in other Sauconys, these run different.
With my typical size being a 13 I didn’t have that option as there is no 13.5. As a result, I can pretty much only wear these with the thinnest of socks. Think the type of sock you wear with a suit. Even then, the are slightly tighter than I would like.
If you are thinking of picking up a pair, I’d definitely try and find a non-collab version of the Grid Shadow 2 to try on first.
By the way, if you’re wondering what socks you might want to consider picking up, our Best Socks Round Up can be found here.
Comfort
This was my first pair of Grid Shadow 2, and I was a bit surprised how they feel under foot. As a sneaker from the late 90’s I was expecting a fairly hard rubber compound, similar to the New Balance 990v2 that came out around the same time.
After wearing them however, I found they the compound they use in the midsole is very soft. Maybe too much so. It reminds me of the New Balance Fresh Foam – a pair of sneakers that injured my foot so bad I had to stop running for 6 months.
While I have no expectation of running in this pair, I can say that it isn’t my favorite pair for comfort. You should be OK walking around all day, but it wouldn’t be my first choice.
Materials & Construction
Materials
The materials on the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Jaunt Woven are honestly really cool. On the upper, the majority is woven hemp, though you’ll also find linen and twill cotton panels. Most of the hemp canvas is pretty thick – 18 ounces. What hemp isn’t 18 ounces is 16. Though, it’s good that it is as hemp does tend to split after lots of bending. Like what happens to a sneaker upper as you walk around.
Inside, the brown lining is polyester, though Bodega claims it is recycled. I know poly doesn’t really fit the vibe of the rest of the sneaker, but, honestly, you pretty much need to go with either poly or leather lining to prevent it from wearing out immediately. Having it be recycled is as good an option as any.
I do need to mention, though. After about an inch, you get a ton of white polyester that isn’t recycled. From a visual standpoint it’s fine, but not only does it not fit the vibe on a shoe that is heavy on vibes, you can feel it. It feels like a mid-90’s running shoe.
Under foot, a basic foam insole finishes off the interior.
The midsole of this sneaker is a wedge of EVA. The original version of this had a grid of support structure inside of the midsole, but that isn’t included on the retros. Finishing everything off, the outsole is made up primarily of a recycled rubber, though there is some pure rubber there too.
Construction
The Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Jaunt Woven is made in Vietnam using a cemented style construction. Cemented construction is what it sounds. First the upper is sewn together and placed on a last, the upper is then glued directly to the midsole.
This is by far the most common way of making a sneaker. If you want a more in-depth explanation, you can click here. The short version is that this is very flexible and cheap to make, but tends to be the least durable option.
Pricing
Originally priced at $140 (+$15 required shipping) through Bodega, these sold out instantly. After spiking to around $400 for a couple days, resale on most sizes has settled down between $250-300. However, stock numbers for these were very low, so you might find a specific size with limited pairs and a higher price.
This price puts the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Jaunt Woven at a substantial price increase vs a normal pair of Grid Shadow 2s. Most models trade for around $110 on the resale market, and even some collabs fall into that price.
Are the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Jaunt Woven Worth It?
Taking everything into account, are the Bodega x Saucony Grid Shadow 2 Worth It?
Let’s begin with something I think is important to note. I love my pair. I basically never pay resale for a pair of sneakers – there is always something else cool that will be releasing in a week or two. This is a pair I did pay resale for. The materials mean they can work with everything from typical hippie outfit, to casual athleisure fits, and even on some streetwear/ivy blends.
I don’t regret picking up my pair.
All that being said, with collabs like the Colour Plus Companie or even the the Green Tan colorways going for well under half of these, it’s hard to say I’d recommend them to a friend. This is the type of sneaker where you really need to know that this is the one for you. And your size.