Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9: To-Do List

October 14, 2024October 14, 2024 by 100wears

Price: $180 [SOLD OUT; Check eBay for Current Prices]

Why Buy?

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is a fun take on the early 2000’s runner and is plenty comfortable for all day wear.

Why Avoid?

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is far from subtle, and may be hard to style.

Specs

Model	Progrid Omni 9
Height	Low
Material	EVA / Poly
Size	13
Weight	382 g / 13.47 oz
Construction	Cemented
Country of Origin	Indonesia

History

For a brand that doesn’t get a whole lot of love, Saucony has put out some absolutely killer sneakers this year. The Bodega collab on the Grid 2 is one of my favorite sneakers of the year. While I’m not quite sure I’d put this pair in the same category, I have more than one person put this sneaker in the same category. With the current 00’s runner trend still ongoing, they may have a point.

This particular sneaker, and its matching tan pair, were designed by Jae Tips. While he originally started off being known for his hip hop songs, over the past few years his focus has really shifted to fashion. Go on his twitter and it’s nothing but sneakers he designed. He started with Nike, but quickly switched over to Saucony, where he’s released a number of pairs.

This particularly release is on the Progrid Omni 9, the sneaker that Saucony is pushing to try and ride the Asics Gel Kayno 14 wave. Originally released in 2010, the Omni 9 is doing exactly what Suacony wanted. Even GR Omni 9s are actually sold out. Who would have guessed 2 years ago a GR Saucony would be over retail on StockX?

The story for this pair is that these are comfortable sneakers to wear while crossing stuff off your to-do list. Like the Bodega Asics from a few weeks back, I’m not entirely sure I buy this story telling. Still, I really appreciate that we’re getting more and more positive stories.

Still. This is a pair of collab Sauconys that are going for a good bit over retail on the secondary market. Should you fork over the price the Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 costs? Let’s dive in and find out.

Looks

Upper

Quick note at the beginning. White they are listed as the same shoe in different colorways, the upper of the Tan version and the Pink version are slightly different designs. I’m going to focus on the Pink here.

I’m not shy about bright shoes, but the Suacony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is right up there with the brightest of them.

Starting with the base layer, the hexagonal grid is a pinkish red. Up front at the toe box, purple plastic overlays provide toe box structure. Moving slightly back, a rubberized plastic offers structure in the midfoot, and even more purple can be found on the heel. “SAVIOR” is printed on the exterior part of the heel counter in a slightly darker purple – a Jae Tips design nod.

Grey panels can be found at the bottom of the toe box, along the eyelets, and the back. Translucent pink panels run half the length of the sneaker both inside and out. A Blue Saucony river logo is on the sides of the shoe, and the lining is green. Your removable insoles encourage you to check off your to-do list in red text over a blue background.

The tongue, in a light pink and navy, has Saucony branding on one sneaker, with Savior branding on the other.

As you can tell, there is a lot going on with this upper.

Mid- and Outsole

The lower half of the Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 would be extremely loud on any other pair, but on this one? It’s much quieter than the top.

Coming in primarily navy colored foam, you’ll find red and sky-blue hits throughout.

While the Omni 9 was originally an on-road runner when it released, running shoes have changed a lot in 15 years. With so much tread and traction, the traction pattern has a decidedly off-road feel to them in late 2024. And I’m here for it.

Summary

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 has a lot going on. There are pinks, reds, blues, greens, purples, yellows, whites, greys, and probably some colors I’m missing in this list. There is an old rule that says good fashion allows for a maximum of three colors in any outfit. These shoes have 8 on their own!

All that is to say, if you want to dress in a more traditional way, there is simply no way to do so in these sneakers. They will be extremely loud. They will get a lot of attention. You probably won’t look very well put together.

That being said, I still really like them. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think it has to do with that chunkier outsole. That makes them feel like trail shoes – something you’d wear with your Patagonia baggies and multicolored waterproof jacket.

None of the promo shots use this design, but they really should have. Instead, they have them being worn with denim and its… not a good look.

Fit & Comfort

Fit

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 was designed as a standard running shoe, and fits exactly like you would expect. Most people are going to want to go with their normal size, but you should know these were not designed for casual wear. They are going to be a bit tighter, especially in the midfoot, than something that is not athletically focused.

I should add, while these are not going to be as narrow as a Nike or Adidas running sneaker, the narrow midfoot might limit some folks. If you have a particularly wide foot you might want to consider going up half a size.

While these do fit about as standard as a running shoe can, if you’re going to be buying a limited pair, you should definitely try them on in person. Or at least something that fits identically. The Saucony Omni 9 is available in a number of different sneaker stores, so you might as well make sure you’re getting the right size first.

Comfort

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is based on a classic running sneaker, and feels like it. That is to say, these feel great. Sure, since 2010 there have been advancements in foams. This is from an era when Boost was still in the lab. ZoomX was just a glimmer in Nike’s eye.

However, if you’re going to be on your feet all day, this might actually be better than the more short-term running focused super foams. These might not have the same energy return, but they are going to compress less throughout the day.

Further, the uppers make limited use of the cheap structure material that was so common then. It doesn’t dig into your feet the way some others pairs do.

While the colorway might scare you aware from doing so, I would have no problem wearing these walking around a city on vacation.

Materials & Construction

Materials

The materials of the Saucony x Jae Tips Onmi 9 are extremely standard for a running shoe from 2010.

The entire upper is made from man-made materials. I.e. it’s just different variations of plastic. Some of that plastics are in TPU overlays, some in rubberized structure. But, at the end of the day, don’t expect anything on this shoe to patina and improve with age.

Under foot, the entire midsole is made with EVA foam. Saucony (and some reviewers) like to say these are a blend of EVA and Super Rebound Compound (SRC). That sounds great, but SRC is made of EVA.

The outsole of the Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is made of a fairly hard rubber compound. Combined with the thickness of the rubber, these should be extremely durable. I imagine anyone who weighs more than 100 pounds will wear out the EVA long before the outsole rubber wears through.

Construction

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is made using cemented construction. This is, by far, the most common way to make a sneaker. And pretty much the only way you’ll see running sneakers made.

Cemented construction is made by sewing the upper together, and then gluing it directly to the midsole of the sneaker. This style of construction lacks any kind of stitching, which makes it the most flexible way to make a shoe. It also offers great water resistance (though, this upper is full of holes), and is very cheap to make.

As for drawbacks, cemented construction is extremely difficult to resole. For almost every sneaker, once the outsole or the midsole is worn out, the sneaker is trash.

Price

The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 released for an MSRP of $180. The Omni 9 typically retails for between 170 and 180 based on colorway. That means this sneaker didn’t really have any real price premium for the collaboration.

At time of writing, there is one size 8.5 and one size 10 available at small sneaker stores, but for the most part these have sold out. If you’re looking to pick up a pair today, almost every size is going for slightly over retail, with size 12 and 13 going for the highest at around $240.

If you’re looking for current prices, you can check eBay here.

Are the Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 Worth It?

I have to reiterate one thing from earlier in this review. The Saucony x Jae Tips Omni 9 is a bright shoe that is basically impossible to style correctly using traditional style rules. This probably isn’t the sneaker for someone who is looking for an every day pair, or just wants to look good. A standard Omni 9 will be cheaper and look better.