There’s a new (or at least revisited) trend in the running shoe industry to build more “minimalist” or “naturalist” type shoes that don’t alter our gait quite as much as a traditional stability shoe.
The theory is that our bodies were evolved to run a certain way and we can help prevent injuries by using shoes that don’t mess with our natural biomechanics but still provide protection from the dangers of the road or trail.
Over the next few months I’ll be reviewing quite a few different shoes that fall into this category, starting with a new offering from Saucony.
I haven’t worn Saucony shoes since I was in high school, and the model I wore then were very heavy and quite built up. I quickly moved away from those after getting to college.
The Pro-Grid Kinvara, as I show in the video below, is definitely not a “minimal” shoe but has a very low heel/toe differential and is relatively flexible compared to a traditional training shoe. They also weigh a lot less, with a listed weight of 7.7 ounces versus an average trainer that weighs 10-14 ounces.
Here are my very rough initial thoughts after my first 3 or 4 runs in the shoes, and I will follow up with a more in-depth review once I have a few hundred miles on them:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mwU8pIn2CU
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Transcription
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I recently got a pair of Saucony Kinvaras, so I only have a few run in them now, but I’m going to give you my initial thoughts on them and then I’ll follow up in a month or two once I’ve gotten a few more miles on them, and have a better idea of what they’re about.
But just for my initial impressions, the Kinvara is the new naturalist shoe from Saucony. They are supposed to flex and move a little bit more like your natural foot would.
It’s certainly not minimal by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have a very low heel to toe differential. It’s only a few millimeters, and the way that it flexes is a little bit more towards the forefoot where your foot will be going. It doesn’t have quite as much as my trail shoes, in terms of flexion this way, but I do like how they feel.
They’re very comfortable. They have a nice wide toe-box so my feet don’t feel constricted in them at all, but it’s still nice and tight around the ankles, so I don’t feel like my feet are going to fall out of them.
One thing I do notice though, is even though there’s a very small heel-toe differential, you still have a solid almost 2 centimeters of height between you and the ground. So putting them on, since I’ve been wearing much lower shoes lately, I felt a lot taller and it’s a lot more cushioning than I’m used to. That definitely took a few runs to get used to.
My first couple of runs, it wasn’t uncomfortable but I wasn’t sure if I would like them or not. I got out for a 9 miler this evening though, and I got used to them pretty quick. You won’t be able to feel the road a lot through them, but they’re not uncomfortable when I’m running.
I’m definitely not going to be bringing them back. I’m going to give them a fair shake, we’ll see how long that they last. That’s about the only thing that I’ve heard about these shoe that people don’t like, is that they don’t last as long as some other pairs do. But I will judge that for myself once I’ve had an opportunity to get a few hundred miles in them.
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If you’d like to get a pair of these shoes for yourself, then I recommend going to your local specialty running shop and keeping the money in your local community. If you don’t have a local shoe store available, you can also
purchase them online.
Nice review, Blaine. However you failed to mention another outstanding quality of the Kinvaras: the weight, which is listed at 7.7 ounces. Pretty damn light. By the way, I have close to 300 miles on mine and they’re holding up strong. I’ll be running in them at the MDI Marathon this weekend.
Good point! I meant to mention that…I’ve updated the post to include it. (Obviously, I didn’t update the video.)
Good luck at MDI this weekend!
I’ve been wearing Kinvaras in my shoe rotation since mid-summer (although I haven’t been running as much as I normally would) and I really like them. Mine haven’t seen a ton of mileage but I do have a tear in the upper on the outside where the shoe bends at the forefoot. Not sure how it happened but so far it hasn’t affected the performance of the shoe yet. I don’t see any evidence of a tear starting on the other shoe.
i first bought the Kinvara in July after an issue with my Newton’s.. instantly fell in love with the comfort, the toebox, and especially the forefoot cushion!
my first pair have about 300 miles, with plenty more life, and my 2nd pair have close to a 100 on them now. I did long-runs of up to 22 miles in them with absolutely no issues.
easily the best show I have ever worn in my short 16 months of training.. but they sold me on Saucony. I decided to NOT go with them at the Maine Marathon on 10/3, but did race (and BQ) in the Saucony Fastwitch.
i hope with a few more miles on them, they serve you well man!
-seth
This is a nice review. Thanks for sharing it, Blaine. What I loved the most in wearing Kinvaras is that it’s very comfortable from the forefoot cushion to the toebox and the weight is so light.
Read you review and wanted to chime in. I’ve got a pair with just over 900 miles on them and going strong. The secret is to Shoe-Goo the little triangles and heel. I’m 5’9″ 145 pounds, for what it’s worth.