Saucony Kinvara

I find them a little too mushy. I don't dislike them, but they're not as good as I think they could be with a little more firmness to the ride. (For comparison's sake, I run most often in Asics Hyperspeed and Tarther.) I do appreciate the relative lack of drop from heel to forefoot, but that's achieved more by the higher forefoot than an aggressively lowered heel. The triangle lugs on the outsole probably add to the mush factor.

Thank You for the feedback

Buy or not Buy?

Can you compare to Nike Lunaracer (2)?

Sorry, I haven't worn the Nikes so can't compare. For me the Kinvaras work fine for a second-run shoe.

I scooped a pair at the Boston Marathon Expo and I have been wearing them day in-day out since. If you run on winding trails a lot, the height of the midsole makes you *FEEL* like you could topple, but I haven't yet. However, for roads, they have been great. I like the cushioning, personally, but I can see how some of the more responsive-cushion junkies would want it firmer. I'm north of 200 miles now and I'm not feeling them let down yet. So if you want a light shoe but not replace them, these shoes are on that end of the spectrum.

I am also looking into the Kinvara. I am on my 3rd pair of Nike Free 5.0, but they are discontinued and I just want something different. Can anyone compare them them to the Free 5.0? I also have Avants, but find that the arch and heel is too built up and don't like the quicksand cushioning

one of the great perks of the job working in running retail is i get to try on all the shoes. the kinvara is a great shoe with a low heel. it's different from the lunaracer 2 in that it's far more flexible (i found the LR2 to be way too stiff) and the heel is lower. if you're coming from the free5.0 i would suggest either the kinvara or the free run, which although it has a thicker midsole, has many more flex grooves to enhance the barefoot feel.

Yeah, but am still prefering the Brooks Launch over all the aformentiond. Someting about the Launch's fit on my foot is money.

The Kinvara and the Free run weigh the same. The 5.0 has gone away as well and was replaced by the Free Run.

i tried them on and found them to be too soft.

thanx for your post - you saved me some bucks. I was just looking at them on the runningwarehouse site, and couldn't believe a 22 to 18 forefoot to heel ratio. I mean my Musha IIs are 18 in the heel, and that's fine for me. But your comment on the "mushy" thing did it. I have the Tarther too, and that's a nice firm ride w/ around a 19 heel.

sodden wrote:

thanx for your post - you saved me some bucks. I was just looking at them on the runningwarehouse site, and couldn't believe a 22 to 18 forefoot to heel ratio. I mean my Musha IIs are 18 in the heel, and that's fine for me. But your comment on the "mushy" thing did it. I have the Tarther too, and that's a nice firm ride w/ around a 19 heel.

you probably couldn't believe a 22 to 18 ff/heel ratio because its wrong. Its 18mm heel / 14 mm forefoot.