Saucony Kinvara: Another Weapon in my Arsenal

Looking in the closet at my pile of running shoes I can’t help but have one thought, well two actually.  1) Holy crap I have a lot of shoes.  2) I cannot believe that only one of them are Nike.  For 71/2 years of running I have never owned a single training shoe, racing flat, spike, or general tennis shoe that did not have a swoosh on it.  So as I crack open the box to my tenth pair of Brooks Launches and to my second pair of Saucony Kinvaras I can’t help but feel like a bit of a traitor.  Even so, my feelings of Nike-guilt are not strong enough for me to deny the comfort and performance of the new shoes that I have discovered in the past six months.  Looks like my mind is a bit more open than before…I know, shocker.

Saucony Kinvara

Saucony Kinvara Shoe Review

Upon initial inspection of this shoe one of the first things I noticed was the lightness of shoe overall as well as the material used for the upper.  As someone who prefers a lightweight neutral trainer, this was a plus in my book.  Once I slipped it on I was reminded of the Brooks Launch.  Not in actual feel of the shoe itself, but in the immediate feeling of comfort and softness of the sole.  Both shoes have that je ne sais quoi about them in that they just feel good.  I can never think of any other way to put it.  A lot of times shoes either feel ok or too cushioned and bulky because they are so new, but this shoe felt ready to hit the street with not a minute of break-in required.

Here are some general specs of the shoe:

• Lightweight at 7.7 oz
• ProGrid LITE midsole/heel with the remaining constructed of responsive EVA+ foam
• Wide base in the midfoot makes the shoe feel more stable than a typical neutral trainer
• 3 layered upper:  big holed mesh inner layer, skeleton layer that grabs the foot, very light transparent outer layer
• 18mm heel/14mm forefoot drop

One of my favorite things about this shoe is the fact that even though it has a slightly thicker forefoot than most lightweight trainers (14mm rather than the average 12mm), it remains responsive throughout my run and does not get squishy and cause my foot to slide.  This is especially important to me right now in the extremely hot and humid temps that we are experiencing.  This came as a happy surprise to me because I initially felt that the upper was very loose on the foot and would not hold my forefoot snugly enough.  It not only breathes really well due to the thin mesh layers, but it also doesn’t slosh very much when entirely soaked.

Even though I enjoy running in this shoe, there is one thing that I do not like that may actually be more of an issue for female runners.  When I first tried out the shoe I just worked in it for about an hour at Rogue Equipment.  Mostly just walking around and getting a general feel.  For me, the outside edge of the shoe right at the malleolus (the bony ball on each side of the ankle) rubs something awful and ends up cutting my foot.  After my first run of ten miles in the Kinvara I had a problem.  I ended up wearing higher than usual socks and putting band-aids on the area for a while.  Now it is pretty much fine when I wear a sock that covers the rub spot, but I am sort of annoyed at how the shoe seems to cut inward at that spot.  Being that I have only had one pair, I will try my new pair in the coming week and see if it was just a one time flaw or if it’s a trait of all Kinvaras that I am going to have to live with.  Even with a this issue, I am not deterred from wearing the shoe.  The benefits and comfort I described above definitely trump this problem.  I would warn anyone who has had this problem with other shoes to make sure they can make it work though.  Blood is not a welcome thing on runs, or on pretty new shoes : )

Overall, my opinion of this shoe is high and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something light yet soft and forgiving to do everyday runs in.  My longest yet has been 16 in them and I will have no problem exceeding 20 with confidence that they will feel great from mile one on.  And as a bonus for all of those finicky people out there who seem to think shoes need to match their outfit or mood ring that day, they come in beaucoup de couleurs!

Grade: A- (minus for the rub spot and copious amounts of band-aids used to cope)

P.S. Rogue Equipment currently has these gems in several colors