The Saucony Kinvara Pro is a lot of shoe. It combines a 42mm stack height with a three-quarter carbon plate and Saucony’s Speedroll rocker and all of that weighs in at a substantial 240g. It’s a carbon plate running shoe designed for comfort over speed but intends to be versatile enough that you could happily pull them on for an easy run or a faster workout.
If you’re a fan of the Kinvara series, don’t get too excited because the Kinvara Pro is not at all like the Kinvara 14 or its predecessors. It’s a completely different shoe. So what is it like compared to other Saucony running shoes, and does it stack up against the best running shoes out there?
Saucony Kinvara Pro technical details
Weight: 240g (women’s)
Drop: 8mm
Price: £200
Special technology: Carbon-fiber plate
Saucony Kinvara Pro – pros and cons
pros
- Comfortable, cushioning
- Nice heel-to-toe transition
- Stable for a big stack
Cons
- heavy shoe
- Some heel slippage
- expensive
Who is this shoe for?
This is a neutral training shoe with a big stack of foam and a three-quarter carbon plate. It’s designed to be a training shoe that will bring a ‘lightweight and breezy feel’ to your everyday training. While it sits in the neutral shoe category, it has some attributes that mean it might suit runners looking for a little more support including a wide base and a good amount of structure to the upper.
How does it fit?
The Saucony Kinvara Pro fits true to size for me in a UK size 6. There was a good couple of cm beyond my toe. I’d say it comes up slightly narrow so wouldn’t be suited to runners with wider feet. The only issue I had with the shoe was a bit of heel slippage. It wasn’t severe enough to cause any rubbing but I had to tighten my laces tighter than I’d have liked to feel secure enough in the heel.
Is it comfortable?
Saucony has used its high-performance PWRRUN PB cushioning in this shoe which gives a great amount of comfort. It’s both soft and firm to allow you to drive off. There’s a good amount of padding around the heel and ankle for added comfort and a plush tongue. As you’d expect in a shoe that weighs in at 240g, comfort is one of the drivers of this shoe.
Saucony Kinvara Pro run test
My first run in the Saucony Kinvara Pro was at a local club 5k race. I popped them on and did a warm-up jog with a clubmate on the road before the race. You can definitely feel the Speedroll technology encouraging you forwards and there’s a lovely heel to toe action.
The start of the race was on grass and we ran a lap of a rugby pitch before heading out onto the roads. Despite not having a rubber outsole the shoe coped well with the grass and I managed to stay upright on the turns.
Out on the roads the route involved lots of turns and wasn’t closed to traffic so we had to go up and down pavements a lot. The Kinvara Pro is a big shoe, but I had no problems navigating the twists and turns – it was pretty agile.
This isn’t a racing shoe, so you’re not getting the same boost as you’d get from the Saucony Endorphin Pro. However, there was a noticeable nudge from that combination of the foam and the plate. It would give you a little encouragement on faster paced training sessions.
My next run in the shoe was a four-mile easy run. My legs were tired from a long run a couple of days before, so it was nice to have a little extra help to glide along. Some carbon-plated shoes aren’t that suited to easy running but the Saucony Kinvara Pro was comfortable at an easy pace.
Where can I buy it?
You can get the Saucony Kinvara Pro directly from Saucony from 1 August.
